E-Gram Swaraj, 2020

Policy Update
Riya Singh

Background

eGramSwaraj is a flagship digital governance policy initiative of the Government of India launched under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) on 24 April 2020. Developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and spearheaded by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), the policy aims to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) by bringing planning, financial accounting, monitoring, audit and reporting onto a single digital platform. It was conceived to enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency, and citizen participation in rural governance while reducing administrative bottlenecks that characterised manual record systems.

The portal integrates with key systems like the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) for real-time financial transactions, Local Government Directory (LGD) for PRI data interoperability, and AuditOnline for audit compliance. Over time, it expanded language support through the Bhashini integration, now enabling services in 22 Indian languages to broaden accessibility.

Beneficiaries include Gram Panchayats, Block and District Panchayats, state PRI departments, government officials and citizens who can access Panchayat performance, fund utilisation and development data.

Functioning

eGramSwaraj functions as a work-based accounting and planning platform that digitalises core Panchayat activities:

Planning: Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP) are prepared and approved within the system.
Accounting: Real-time digital accounting records and integrates with PFMS for fund releases and online payments.
Progress Monitoring: Physical and financial progress of schemes is updated and viewable in dashboards.
Asset Management: Asset directories with geo-tagging enable spatial tracking of infrastructure created under Panchayat plans.
Reporting and Audit: Online reporting and audit support ensures financial discipline and transparency.
Citizen Access: Open reports allow citizens to view fund utilisation, project status and financial vouchers without login.

The platform enables workflow management, role-based access, and integration with other governance platforms for seamless data flow across ministries and departments. Its comprehensive modules cover profiling, planning, reporting, accounting and user administration.

Challenges

Despite its strengths, there exists operational issues such as:

Delayed data uploads in some states, affecting uniform adoption.
User-experience issues with the mobile app and navigation inefficiencies.
Uneven adoption across states due to training and capacity gaps.
Language limitations prior to broader regional language support, impacting accessibility.
Inconsistent audit coverage due to varying state implementation.

Performance

Although official budget, annual reports and parliamentary records offer granular figures, available data from the eGramSwaraj portal dashboard and progress reports indicate strong operational growth:

Key Performance Indicators

Over 2.7 lakh Panchayati Raj Institutions across 28 states and 6 Union Territories are onboarded onto eGramSwaraj.
For FY 2024–25, around 2.54 lakh Gram Panchayats uploaded GPDPs, and 2.41 lakh Gram Panchayats completed online transactions for 15th Finance Commission grants.
Dashboard reports show structured accounting across Zilla, Block and Village Panchayats for financial years 2023–24 to 2025–26, indicating consistent accounting activity and closure of financial cycles (available from eGramSwaraj).
Online payment status reports show PFMS integration enabling Panchayats to initiate, approve and monitor payments on-platform (reports current as of Jan 2026).

State & Scheme Reporting

State-wise GPDP upload figures and financial progress reports (FY 2025-26) are available directly on the portal, showing increasing digitisation of planning and expenditure capture across Panchayats nationwide.

Fiscal Transparency & Transactions

The integration with PFMS and treasury systems supports online payment vouchers and receipts, allowing Panchayats to conduct digitised accounting and financial reporting at scale.

Impact

eGramSwaraj’s impact resonates across multiple governance dimensions:

Transparency: Open access to Panchayat financial records and GPDPs enhances public accountability and deters financial irregularities.
Efficiency: Real-time recording and automated accounting reduce delays inherent in manual systems, allowing faster execution and payments.
Citizen Engagement: Citizens can access Panchayat profiles, funds, vouchers and progress data, deepening local participation.
Data-Driven Governance: Integration with scheme data across ministries fosters a holistic view of rural development driven by verified data.

Analytical reviews show that digital accounting and planning integration under eGramSwaraj improves fiscal discipline, aids audit readiness and supports decision-making at the grassroots.

Emerging Issues

Adoption Disparities: Variances in digital capacity across states affect uniform usage.
Suggestion: Enhanced training under Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan/CB&T programmes.
User Experience Challenges: Navigation and interface issues limit uptake by field officials.
Suggestion: UI/UX redesigns and mobile-first improvements with feedback cycles.
Language Accessibility: Despite Bhashini support, continuous localisation refinement is needed.
Suggestion: Expand local language help and tutorials.
Audit Compliance Variability: Uneven audit practices across states reduce accountability impact.
Suggestion: Standardise audit timelines and capacity building by state audit teams.
Data Quality and Timeliness: Inconsistent data updates hinder real-time insight.
Suggestion: Incentivise timely reporting with performance benchmarks.

Way Forward

eGramSwaraj represents a cornerstone of Digital India in empowering grassroots governance. To elevate its contribution towards New India, the focus needs to be on:

Strengthening analytics and dashboards: Enable predictive insights for better planning and fund utilisation.
Interoperability: Deepen integration with other national digital public infrastructure (DPI) tools.
Capacity Building: Continuous training to ensure digital fluency among PRI officials.
Citizen-centric Services: Expand push notifications, grievance redress and feedback loops to foster deeper community engagement.

The portal’s trajectory from digitising accounting to becoming a centralised rural governance backbone demonstrates its potential to reshape Panchayat administration and enhance rural development outcomes.

References

National Informatics Centre. (2026). eGramSwaraj Project Details. https://www.nic.gov.in/project/egramswaraj/ (National Informatics Centre)
Ministry of Panchayati Raj. (2026). e-GramSwaraj Overview. https://panchayat.gov.in/en/e-gramswaraj/ (Panchayat Ministry)
Press Information Bureau. (2025). Driving Digital Transformation in Gram. (Sep 2025). (Press Information Bureau)
IMPRI Insights. (2025). EGramSwaraj 2020: Transforming Panchayati Raj. (impriindia.com)
eGramSwaraj Portal Dashboard & Reports (2025–26). https://egramswaraj.gov.in/ (egramswaraj.gov.in)

About the Contributor

Riya Singh is a Research Intern at IMPRI. She is a student of the Master of Arts in Public Policy and Governance at the Tata Institute of Social Science, Hyderabad and holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Delhi. Her research interests lie in government policy and data analysis.

Acknowledgement: The author sincerely thanks Ms. Aasthaba Jadeja, Ms. Bhaktiba Jadeja and the IMPRI team for their valuable support.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.