Consider the following statements regarding the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI):

1. PAI is a multi-domain and multi-sectoral index assessing the holistic development of Panchayats.

2. PAI Version 2.0 covers data from over 2 lakh Gram Panchayats across 29 States/UTs.

3. The index only focuses on financial indicators of Panchayats.

How many of the above statements are correct?

 

The correct answer is option 2.

In News

• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj recently organized a national write-shop to roll out PAI Version 2.0 for the financial year 2023-24, enhancing Panchayat development assessment.

Key Points

• PAI includes 435 local indicators covering multiple domains. Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
• PAI Version 1.0 covered 2.16 lakh Gram Panchayats in 29 States/UTs, while Version 2.0 improves functionality. Hence, Statement 2 is correct.
• The index is multi-sectoral and does not focus solely on financial indicators. Hence, Statement 3 is incorrect.
• Statements 1 and 2 are correct since PAI assesses multiple development domains and Version 1.0 covered data from over 2.16 lakh Gram Panchayats across 29 States/UTs. Statement 3 is incorrect because the index assesses a wide range of socio-economic indicators, not only financial ones.