9 themes for a better village

Poverty is not created by poor people; it arises from our failure to support human capabilities.

A poverty-free Panchayat ensures social security so that no one slides back into poverty. It is a village of development and prosperity, with livelihoods for all.

Poverty and unemployment are linked and need a concrete plan: invest in people, open up ways for poor families to earn more, and secure their social protection.

Targets for every Panchayat

1. 1100% of eligible beneficiaries connected with social security schemes.
2. 2Job cards for 100% of eligible applicants, and continuous work for active job card holders under the employment guarantee scheme.
3. 3100% of families enrolled under PDS, with the ration cards they are entitled to.
4. 4100% of eligible citizens covered under the Ayushman Bharat card scheme.
5. 5100% of SHG and farmer group members linked with group or individual enterprise (Udyam) schemes.
6. 6100% of farmers registered on Central and State portals, so they get benefits of schemes like PM-KISAN.
7. 7100% access to services as per the Citizen Charter.

Health is complete well-being of body, mind and soul. Good health and well-being for everyone, at every age, is the mark of a healthy village.

Health is one of the 29 subjects given to Panchayats in the 11th Schedule of the Constitution. Gram Panchayats can ensure quality health services, vaccination for all and affordable medicines, so that maternal, newborn and child deaths fall and hunger and malnutrition end, with special care for pregnant women and adolescent girls.

Targets for every Panchayat

1. 1100% of pregnant women registered at the Anganwadi centre in the first trimester.
2. 2100% of children aged 2 to 5 enrolled in Anganwadis, with weight gain of all children monitored.
3. 3Toilets built and used in 100% of eligible households.
4. 4100% institutional deliveries.
5. 5100% full immunisation of children.
6. 6Four ANC check-ups for 100% of pregnant women.
7. 7100% access to nutritious food for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children aged 6 months to 6 years.

Every child should enjoy the right to survival, development, protection and participation until they are fully grown. The SDGs cannot be achieved without child rights.

To become child-friendly, a Gram Panchayat must understand children's needs at every stage of childhood and the main child-related issues in its area.

The most deprived children, from SC/ST, nomadic and minority families, with special needs, orphaned or with one parent, or in contact with the law, are often left out of Anganwadis and schools and need special care.

Targets for every Panchayat

1. 1100% registration of pregnancies and births at the Anganwadi.
2. 2100% vaccination.
3. 3100% ID / Aadhaar enrolment.
4. 4100% institutional deliveries.
5. 5100% of children enrolled in Anganwadi / nursery.
6. 6100% primary education for children.
7. 7A 100% end to child labour, child marriage, child sexual abuse and child trafficking.
8. 8VHNDs held 100% of the time.

Water is the source of happiness, energy, health and purity, and gives life like a mother.

A water-sufficient village gives every household a working tap connection with water of the required quality, manages water well, meets all farming needs and protects water ecosystems.

Enough safe water for every use, from drinking and cooking to cattle and crops, improves everyone's quality of life. Careful use and conservation of water protect our world.

Targets for every Panchayat

1. 1Safe piped water supply to 100% of households.
2. 2Safe piped drinking water in 100% of institutions (Anganwadis, sub-health centres, Panchayat Bhawans, schools etc.).
3. 3Soak pits, kitchen gardens or other used-water management arrangements in 100% of households.
4. 4Water quality testing at least twice a year for 100% of public water sources.
5. 5Lasting water availability in 100% of water sources.

Let us build a Gram Panchayat for our children's future: full of nature's gifts and greenery, using renewable energy, with a clean and safe environment and a balanced climate.

Clean and green Panchayats are the base of sustainable development. The SDGs commit to protecting the environment by managing natural resources, climate change, biodiversity, ecosystems and waste, and Panchayats have a direct role in this work.

Targets for every Panchayat

1. 1100% end to open defecation, with every family member using the toilet every time.
2. 2Clean, non-polluting fuel used by 100% of households.
3. 3100% ban on single-use plastic in and around the Panchayat.
4. 4Toilets in 100% of public institutions (Anganwadis, schools, Panchayat Bhawan, health centres).
5. 5100% upkeep of trees planted during plantation drives.
6. 6100% use of dustbins in homes, public places and institutions.

Infrastructure makes a village and shapes how life moves in it. Mahatma Gandhi said that the future of India lives in its villages.

Self-reliant infrastructure gives the community access to basic services such as water, sanitation, health, nutrition, employment and housing, and is key to reaching all the SDGs by 2030. Buildings and services that work for women, children and persons with disabilities make sure no one is left out of development.

Targets for every Panchayat

1. 1Good-quality pucca roads and street lights in 100% of wards and neighbourhoods.
2. 2Housing for 100% of eligible families.
3. 3Toilets available and used in 100% of households.
4. 4Proper drainage at 100% of locations.
5. 5Clean drinking water for 100% of households.
6. 6100% of households made aware of how to use and maintain water and sanitation assets.

Every person in the village should be protected and get the benefit of social security. Social security makes sure no one is left behind, and the Constitution provides for it for all citizens.

It includes cash support and services that build people's capacities and protect them from risks like unemployment, exclusion, illness, disability and old age. It prevents poverty across the life cycle and stops it passing from one generation to the next.

Targets for every Panchayat

1. 1100% of eligible children registered at Anganwadis.
2. 2Nutritious food from Anganwadis for 100% of enrolled pregnant women and lactating mothers.
3. 3100% of eligible families with a ration card, getting ration from the government ration shop.
4. 4100% of eligible people benefiting from social security schemes.
5. 5Safe drinking water and sanitation in 100% of habitations.
6. 6Ayushman cards for 100% of eligible people.

Good governance ensures that every resident of the Gram Panchayat gets the benefits of schemes and responsive service delivery. Achieving the SDGs depends on good governance at every level.

Good governance means transparency, accountability, responsiveness and the fullest participation of citizens. It enables Panchayats to carry out all their duties while providing basic services to everyone.

Targets for every Panchayat

1. 1Monthly Gram Panchayat meetings with all members held 100% of the time.
2. 2Monthly meetings of Panchayat-level committees held 100% of the time.
3. 3A public information board showing key information on funds and activities, in place 100%.
4. 4100% of land records updated digitally.
5. 5100% time-bound service delivery by the Panchayat as per the Citizen Charter.
6. 6100% of mandatory Gram Sabhas held in the village.
7. 7Special Gram Sabhas with children and with women on their development and opportunities, held 100% (at least once a year).

Panchayats are responsible for development and well-being in rural areas, so they must also advance gender equality, so that no woman or girl is left out of development.

A women-friendly Panchayat ends every form of discrimination against women and girls and empowers them through greater participation in political, economic and social life.

It promotes decent, productive work and businesses that give women equal opportunities, and ensures equal pay for equal work, as the law requires.

Targets for every Panchayat

1. 1A 100% end to discrimination against women and girls in all its forms.
2. 2Birth of a girl child: encourage families to celebrate it like a festival, and register 100% of girl births.
3. 3Active Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs) working for girls and women, and 100% marriage registration.
4. 4A 100% end to all forms of violence against women and girls in public and private life.
5. 5Safe villages and habitations where women and girls feel fearless: get safety audits done by women's and adolescent girls' groups, and fix the causes of fear they find, such as dark streets and roads.
6. 6Promote positive masculinity and gender-sensitive behaviour among men and boys, with the help of civil society organisations.
7. 7Raise awareness of laws and safety measures for women and girls through regular legal awareness camps with voluntary organisations and Anganwadi centres.
8. 8Programmes for school children on cybercrime and the harm caused by drugs.
9. 9A 100% end to harmful practices like child marriage, forced marriage, purdah, dowry, violence against Dalit women and witch-hunting.
10. 10Connect girls and women with self-help groups so they become self-reliant and employable.
11. 11Stop girls dropping out of school: provide safe transport and separate toilets at school, and give attention to women's education.
12. 12To end child marriage, early marriage and forced marriage, plan a monthly Bal Sabha, Mahila Sabha, Ward Sabha and Gram Sabha, encourage women to attend, and discuss these practices and their consequences in detail so everyone understands.
13. 13100% effective participation of women and girls, and equal opportunity in decision-making in political, economic and social life.
14. 14Active and effective participation of elected women representatives in Panchayats, with proper training, information, advice and support.
15. 15Do not allow male relatives of women representatives to attend meetings or work in their place.
16. 16Connect women from all eligible families with groups, open Jan Dhan accounts for all women, and link them with financial institutions to become self-employed.
17. 17Work for all active women job card holders, and safety at the workplace.