Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh launches Mission Antyodaya Survey

Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday launched the Mission Antyodaya Survey 2022-23 to assess the outcome of various development schemes in rural areas.

Singh also launched a portal and a mobile application linked to the survey.

The Department of Rural Development has been conducting the Mission Antyodaya Survey across all gram panchayats in the country since 2017-18 to measure the outcomes through convergence of various schemes.

Speaking on the occasion, Singh said the survey will prove to be the lifeline of development in India. "For central and state governments, ground data is important to formulate schemes. This survey will provide that important data," he said, and urged state governments and panchayats to ensure that the survey is completed in time.

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The survey aims to lend support to the process of participatory planning for the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) which will improve service delivery, enhance citizenship, create pace for an alliance of people's institutions and groups, and improve governance at the local level, according to an official statement.

The preparation of GPDPs is a comprehensive exercise that uses both primary and secondary data for preparing the final plan document for any panchayat. Mission Antyodaya Survey presents secondary data to carry out gap analysis. The data will also serve as a key input in the preparation of block and district plans.

The village-wise survey is expected to be conducted over a period of one month involving community resource persons (CRPs). The survey is being conducted to collect village-level data on 183 indicators under 216 data points of 21 sectors. The survey questions have been categorised into five stratums – panchayat infrastructure, panchayat services, village infrastructure, village services, and village practices.

According to officials, 26 central government ministries and departments have been consulted for finalisation of the questionnaire. The questionnaire has been translated in 13 regional languages.

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The ministry, in consultation with the NIC-DRD, has developed the android mobile application with geo-tag feature for 36 assets in villages. It has also set up an in-house help desk for smooth resolution of queries related to the questionnaire and mobile application, they said.

Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Kapil Moreshwar Patil were also present, while Minister of State for Rural Development Faggan Singh Kulaste joined the event virtually.