In News:

India’s digital governance model received global recognition as the Meri Panchayat mobile application won the prestigious WSIS Prizes 2025 Champion Award under the category Cultural Diversity and Identity, Linguistic Diversity and Local Content. The award was presented during the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025 held in Geneva, Switzerland.

Key Highlights:

• The award was conferred by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as part of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) initiative.
• The WSIS+20 event commemorated 20 years of WSIS, providing a platform to assess digital progress, address new challenges, and promote inclusive information societies.
• The event was co-hosted by ITU and the Swiss Confederation, and co-organized by UNESCO, UNDP, and UNCTAD.

About the “Meri Panchayat” App:

• A flagship m-Governance platform developed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in collaboration with National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY).
• Designed to empower 2.65 lakh Gram Panchayats, the app caters to over 950 million rural residents and 25 lakh elected Panchayat representatives.

Key Features:

• Real-time Access: Budgets, receipts, payments, and Panchayat-level development plans.
• Transparency & Accountability: Social audit tools, geo-tagged fund utilization, and grievance redressal mechanisms.
• Participatory Governance: Enables citizens to propose projects, rate completed works, and view Gram Sabha decisions.
• Multilingual Support: Interface available in 12+ Indian languages, enhancing local inclusivity.
• Weather and Civic Info: Gram Panchayat-level weather forecasts, civic services, and infrastructure details.

Significance:

• The app strengthens participatory democracy by digitally integrating rural citizens into governance.
• It aims to bridge the digital divide and promote linguistic and cultural inclusivity in rural India.
• Recognized globally for promoting citizen-centric governance and local content diversity.