Admin organises workshop on Panchayat Advancement Index

Bandipora, July 8: The District Administration Bandipora on Tuesday organised a day-long training-cum-workshop on Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0 at Mini Secretariat Bandipora. The programme was presided over by Deputy Commissioner Bandipora, Manzoor Ahmad Qadri.In a statement issued here, among others, Assistant Commissioner Development (ACD) Bandipora Bashir Ahmad Padder, District Treasury Officer Sheikh Abid, State Resource Persons from the Department of Panchayati Raj J&K, and officers from various line departments participated in the session. The workshop was organised to raise awareness and build capacity among district officers regarding the recently launched PAI 2.0, an evolved version of the Panchayat Development Index (PDI). Speaking on the occasion, State Resource Person Malik Mohammad Ashfaq highlighted that PAI is a multi-sectoral tool developed to measure the progress of Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) at the Panchayat level. He informed that the index was initially introduced as PDI by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), Government of India, in 2023.On the occasion, it was informed that PAI 2.0, launched this year, has been modified to enhance outcome-based development tracking and to promote evidence-based planning at the grassroots level. The tool ranks Gram Panchayats based on their performance across various thematic areas, fostering healthy competition and supporting their journey toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. During the programme, the resource person further informed that the index has been prepared with technical support from NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), aligning with the global 2030 SDG Agenda adopted by 193 countries, including India. Progress under the 17 SDGs at the national level is monitored by NITI Aayog through the National Indicator Framework (NIF) of MoSPI.It was shared that the earlier version, PDI, included 577 indicators across 9 themes, covering 144 targets and 688 data points. The data for FY 2022–23 has been uploaded to the PDI portal (www.pdi.gov.in), where Panchayat-level report cards, along with Block and District-level reports, are now available. These reports will assist departments in evaluating development progress through a thematic and evidence-based approach. It is pertinent to mention here that District Bandipora has secured second rank in the North Zone under NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Block Programme (ABP). Tulail Block, selected as the focal block, has achieved notable progress across key sectors and secured 2nd rank in J&K for the quarter ending March 2025 of FY 2024–25. Speaking on the occasion, the DC said, “We are working with a clear mission to bring Bandipora to the number one position, ensuring 100 percent saturation under every development indicator.”