Ms. Drishti Dwivedi will present her MTP2 as per the details below:

Date: 29th June 2026

Time: 1030 – 1130 hrs.

Venue: C-TARA Conference Room No.2

Topic: Designing a Spatially Enabled Planning Framework for Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans

Guide: Prof. Anand B. Rao

Co-Guide: Prof. Amit Y. Arora         

Examiners: Prof. Bakul Rao, Prof. Arnab Jana

Abstract:

This study develops a standardised and spatially enabled planning framework for Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans (VGPPs) in the context of Viksit Bharat @2047. It responds to the limitations of conventional Gram Panchayat Development Plans, which are often annual, scheme-oriented, and insufficiently differentiated across diverse rural contexts. The study is also grounded in the newly passed VB-G RAM G Act, under which the VGPP becomes the statutory starting point from which all works, convergence decisions, and upward aggregation are to originate. The study argues that Gram Panchayat planning must therefore move beyond a uniform approach and incorporate multidimensional categorisation, spatial evidence, and context-sensitive prioritisation. Using a mixed-method design, the research combines policy and literature review, comparative conceptual analysis, stakeholder consultation, and framework development. It proposes the Integrated Panchayat Development Index (IPDI) for categorising Gram Panchayats, integrates spatial planning principles drawn from RADPFI, and develops a structured template that links diagnostic assessment, map-based planning and convergence. The resulting framework is intended to strengthen evidence-based decision-making, improve the spatial targeting of interventions, and support more adaptive and locally responsive rural planning. Overall, the study contributes a practical and analytically grounded model for preparing VGPPs that are aligned with the statutory mandate, inclusive development and territorial sensitivity, under the emerging rural governance paradigm.