Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your UPSC current affairs knowledge nugget on model youth gram sabha.

(Relevance: The Panchayati Raj system is an important topic in the General Studies II paper of the UPSC CSE. As you review the PYQs, you have likely noticed that UPSC has included multiple questions on this topic. AI-powered ‘SabhaSaar’ and the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) and MYGS are some of the latest initiatives to strengthen PRIs. Therefore, getting a holistic understanding of MYGS is important from an exam perspective.)

Why in the news?

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (Department of School Education & Literacy) and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs,launched the Model Youth Gram Sabha initiative on 30th October 2025 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.

A Training Module on Model Youth Gram Sabha and the MYGS Portal were also unveiled, marking an important step towards connecting young minds with the spirit of grassroots democracy.

Key takeaways:

1. MYGS is in line with the popular Model UN where thousands of students each year engage in academic simulation of the United Nations to learn about principles and working of the UN. Here students play the role of delegates from different countries and attempt to solve real world issues with the policies and perspectives of their assigned country.

2. As part of the MYGS initiative, a mock Gram Sabha will be conducted in identified schools, where students from classes 9-12 will play the roles of sarpanch, ward members, and village-level officials, including village secretary, Anganwadi worker, auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM), and junior engineers.

दिनांक : 30 अक्तूबर 2025 स्थान : डॉ अंबेडकर इंटरनेशनल सेंटर, नई दिल्ली

आज माननीय केंद्रीय राज्य मंत्री प्रो. एस. पी. सिंह बघेल जी ने ‘मॉडल यूथ ग्राम सभा (Model Youth Gram Sabha – MYGS)’ का शुभारंभ किया — जो छात्रों को अनुभवात्मक शिक्षा (Experiential Learning) के माध्यम से… pic.twitter.com/B2mxL0ZDRp

— SP SINGH BAGHEL (@spsinghbaghelpr) October 30, 2025

3. They will hold mock meetings of the Gram Sabha, discuss various issues, and prepare the villagebudget and development plans. Gram Sabhas are the local assemblies comprising all adults in a rural area.

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4. The objective is to equip students with hands-on experience in grassroots democracy to build leadership and civic engagement. It develops an understanding of Panchayati Raj Institutions and their functioning, and promotes transparency and accountability in local governance.

5. The initiative aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by nurturing constitutional values, social responsibility, and civic consciousness among students, preparing them for active citizenship.

6. The initiative is being launched in over 600 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) and 200 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) across the country in the first phase beginning from October 2025. The exercise of holding the mock Gram Sabha will be followed by two separate regional and national-level competitions for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Eklavya Model Residential Schools.

7. In both school categories, the winning schools will receive a prize money of Rs 1 crore each, while runner-up schools will get Rs 75 lakh, and schools getting the third place will receive Rs 50 lakh. Apart from the prize money, the participating schools will be provided with certificates. The Panchayati Raj Ministry will also provide a support of Rs 20,000 to each school for holding the mock Gram Sabha.

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Panchayati Raj Institutions

⇒ The Panchayati Raj Institutions play a very important role in the rural hinterland of India in the decentralisation of power and governance to the grassroots level. By giving local bodies the power to govern themselves, the system promotes participatory democracy, where people can actively participate in decision-making processes that affect their communities.

⇒ The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992, which came into effect on April 24, 1993, gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), marking a significant moment in the history of decentralisation of political power to the grassroots level. To mark this day, April 24 is celebrated as the Panchayati Raj Day.

⇒ In recent times, the importance of Panchayati Raj has grown, as effective local administration is necessary for India to achieve inclusive growth and address problems like climate change and rural-urban migration.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI)

1. This year in April, the government’s inaugural Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) was launched for ranking over 2.16 lakh panchayats based on their performance and progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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2. According to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), it is a multi-dimensional index used to assess the implementation of Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) across nine broad themes.

3. The nine SDG themes are: Poverty-Free and Enhanced Livelihoods in Panchayat; Healthy Panchayat; Child-Friendly Panchayat; Water Sufficient Panchayat; Clean and Green Panchayat; Panchayat with Self-Sufficient Infrastructure; Socially Just and Socially Secured Panchayat; Panchayat with Good Governance; and Women-Friendly Panchayat. Under these brackets, performances on 144 targets were measured.

4. The panchayats were scored on a scale of 0-100 based on these indicators and ranked in one of five categories: Achiever (90-100), Front Runner (75-90), Performer (60-75), Aspirant (40-60) and Beginner (below 40).

5. Of the 2.16 lakh panchayats, 699 have been ranked as Front Runner, 77,298 as Performer, 1,32,392 as Aspirant, and 5,896 as Beginner. Of the 699 panchayats which have been ranked as Front Runner, 346 are from Gujarat, followed by Telangana (270) and Tripura (42).

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Post Read Question

The fundamental object of Panchayati Raj system is to ensure which among the following? (UPSC CSE 2015)

1. People’s participation in development.

2. Political accountability

3. Democratic decentralization

4. Financial mobilization

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only

(b) 2 and 4 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer key
(c)

To read about the digital initiatives for Gram Sabha click here.

(Sources: Role of Panchayati Raj in strengthening local governance, National Panchayati Raj Day 2024, How the new Panchayat Advancement Index ranks rural local bodies

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