Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj Shri Vivek Bharadwaj will inaugurate the two-day National Workshop on 22nd February, 2024 at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, in collaboration with School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, is organizing a Cross Learning-cum-Interactive National Workshop on Gram Panchayat Spatial Development Plan (GPSDP) on 22nd and 23rd February, 2024 at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Madhya Pradesh Shri Manu Srivastava, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj Shri Alok Prem Nagar and Director, School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal Prof. Kailasa Rao M will also participate in the National Workshop.

Distinguished participants from various sectors including State Town and Country Planning Departments, Leading Planning and Architecture Institutes, Industry experts, Smart City Mission Leaders, State Level Bankers Committee, NABARD, and several government agencies will also contribute to the workshop. Noteworthy also are the representatives from 17 partner specialized agencies and institutions of national repute, encompassing Planning and Architecture Colleges, along with elected representatives and functionaries from 34 Gram Panchayats spanning 14 States, for which GPSDPs have been meticulously prepared. This gathering promises robust exchanges of insights, experiences, strategies and innovative approaches, fostering collaborative efforts towards advancing the holistic development agenda for Gram Panchayats across the nation.

The two-day interactive session includes presentations by 17 Partner Planning and Architecture Colleges on 34 Gram Panchayats from 14 States for which GPSDPs were prepared. The discussion with the State Town and Country Planning (T&CP) Department is expected to shed light on statutory provisions for rural area spatial planning and the role of T&CP in the preparation and implementation of the GPSDP.

Laying special emphasis on the criticality of a spatial approach to rural planning and recognizing its significance for all-round development, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has spearheaded an initiative aimed at on-boarding all States, institutions and key stakeholders around transformative endeavours such as the Gram Panchayat Spatial Development Plan. A significant stride towards realizing this vision has been initiated through a comprehensive two-day brainstorming National Workshop fostering the exchange of invaluable information, knowledge and experiences. This workshop serves as a pivotal platform for in-depth discussions concerning the roadmap, master plan and strategy pivotal for the holistic development of Gram Panchayats. The Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (RADPFI) Guidelines, 2021, introduced by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, are poised to play a vital role in guiding and shaping the formulation and effective execution of Gram Panchayat Spatial Development Plans, thereby propelling sustainable progress and prosperity across rural landscapes.

The two-day interactive National Workshop will provide an ideal and interactive platform for fostering cross-learning opportunities among Panchayats and Government Agencies. With a focus on understanding the overarching vision and long-term planning needs, the National Workshop aims to address various facets of inclusive and sustainable development in rural areas, including infrastructure development, disaster management, waste management, skill development among others. The Workshop is intended to elicit views of stakeholders on adoption of spatial planning for enhancing the quality of life in rural habitats, using RADPFI Guidelines to achieve their goals and enlist support for transformation of the countryside from denizens, financiers, policy planners, technology providers alike. Through shared insights and concerted efforts, the National Workshop endeavours to catalyze positive transformation across Gram Panchayats nationwide.     

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Different Formats of Conferences

 Conferences come in various formats, each tailored to meet specific goals, preferences, and needs of participants. Here are some common conference formats:

1. Traditional/On-site Conferences:

   • Held at physical venues.
   • Participants travel to the conference location.
   • Include keynote speakers, presentations, workshops, and networking sessions.

2. Virtual Conferences:

   • Conducted entirely online.
   • Attendees participate from anywhere in the world.
   • Utilizes video conferencing, webinars, and virtual networking tools.

3. Hybrid Conferences:

   • Blend of on-site and virtual elements.
   • Some participants attend in person, while others join remotely.
   • Combines the benefits of both traditional and virtual formats.

4. Webinars:

   • Short for web seminars.
   • Typically focus on a specific topic or theme.
   • Delivered online through webinar platforms.

5. Symposiums:

   • In-depth discussions on a particular subject.
   • Involve experts presenting and discussing research or ideas.
   • Encourage audience participation and engagement.

6. Roundtable Discussions:

   • Small, interactive sessions.
   • Participants discuss specific topics in-depth.
   • Facilitator guides the conversation.

7. Poster Sessions:

   • Display of visual presentations summarizing research or projects.
   • Attendees move between posters to learn about various topics.
   • Allows for informal discussions.

8. Unconferences/BarCamps:

   • Participant-driven events.
   • No fixed agenda; sessions decided by attendees on the day.
   • Encourage collaboration and spontaneous discussions.

9. Ignite Talks:

   • Short, high-energy presentations.
   • Each speaker has a limited time (e.g., 5 minutes) to present.
   • Focused on sharing key insights or ideas.

10. Expo/Trade Shows:

    • Showcase products, services, or innovations.
    • Include exhibitor booths, demonstrations, and networking opportunities.
    • Often industry-specific.

11. Panel Discussions:

    • Multiple experts discuss a topic.
    • Facilitated by a moderator.
    • Encourages diverse perspectives and audience interaction.

12. Academic Conferences:

    • Focus on sharing and discussing academic research.
    • Include paper presentations, workshops, and academic discussions.

The choice of format depends on the conference's objectives, the nature of the content, and the preferences of organizers and participants. In recent times, the rise of virtual and hybrid formats has provided increased flexibility and accessibility for conference participation.

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 The overall strategy for the development of Lakshadweep Islands is based on achieving sustainable growth, preserving the unique cultural and environmental characteristics, and enhancing the quality of life for the islanders. It aspires to position Lakshadweep as a model for responsible and inclusive development, balancing economic progress with environmental conservation. The strategy includes leveraging the islands natural beauty to promote tourism, creating a robust and resilient economy, and fostering a sense of pride and well-being among the local communities.

The holistic development, through strategic planning and community engagement, envisions a future where Lakshadweep Islands thrive in harmony with nature and sustainable economic practices. The projects for development of Lakshadweep Islands are structured taking into consideration requirements under various Applicable Laws including environment, forest and CRZ clearances, etc.

The Ministry of Tourism has revamped the Swadesh Darshan Scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD 2.0) with the objective to develop sustainable and responsible tourism destinations, following a destination & tourism-centric approach and has notified 57 destinations in the country including Lakshadweep for development under SD 2.0.

In line with the National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism formulated by the Ministry of Tourism, ‘Travel for LiFE’ initiative has been launched with the aim to promote sustainable tourism in the country, through mindful and deliberate actions mobilized toward tourists and tourism businesses in the consumption of tourism resources.

In order to promote sustainable and responsible tourist destinations and promote sustainable tourism in the country, Ministry of Tourism in association with Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Responsible Tourism Society of India (RTSOI) also organised Regional Workshops covering States/UTs of different regions in the country. Workshop for States/UTs of Southern region including the UT of Lakshadweep was organized at Hyderabad in February, 2023.

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The Ministry of Tourism has taken several steps to boost the tourism sector in Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh, as per details given below:

i.          Sanctioned projects for the development of tourism related infrastructure under the ‘Swadesh Darshan’ and ‘Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development’ Schemes.  The details of projects sanctioned under the above-mentioned schemes with components in the UT of Ladakh are given below:

a.     ‘Development of Jammu-Srinagar-Pahalgam-Bhagwati Nagar-Anantnag-Salamabad Uri-Kargil-Leh’ under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme - Total Project Cost Rs.77.33 Crore includes Development of Tourist Facilities at Kargil & Leh in Ladakh for an amount of Rs.13.43 Crore. The project was sanctioned in 2016-17.

b.    ‘Development of Tourist facilities at Anantnag-Pulwama-Kishtwar- Pahalgam-Zanskar Padum - Daksum - Ranjit Sagar Dam’ under Swadesh Darshan Scheme – Total Project Cost Rs.86.39 Crore includes Development of Tourist Facilities at Zanskar-Padum in Ladakh for an amount of Rs.9.45 Crore. The project was sanctioned in 2016-17.

c.     ‘Development of Tourist Facilities at Gulmarg-Baramulla- Kupwara- Kargil – Leh’ under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme – Total Project Cost Rs.91.84 Crore includes Development of Tourist Facilities at Kargil and Leh in Ladakh for an amount of Rs.37.64 Crore. The project was sanctioned in 2016-17.

d.    Sound & Light Show at Leh, Ladakh & Water Screen Projection Multimedia Show at Tourist Facilitation Centre, Kargil, Ladakh under the Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development Scheme for an amount of Rs.23.22 Crore during 2020-21.

ii.         The Ministry of Tourism has revamped its Swadesh Darshan Scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the objective to develop sustainable and responsible destinations. ‘Leh’ & ‘Kargil’ have been identified as destinations for development under SD2.0 in the UT of Ladakh.

iii.       During 2019-20, financial assistance has been provided to the UT of Ladakh for organizing ‘Losar Festivals’ for an amount of Rs.15.00 Lakh under Domestic Promotion & Publicity including Hospitality (DPPH) Scheme.

iv.        Ministry of Tourism has been promoting the UT of Ladakh and its various tourism products on the Incredible India website and through the social media handles of the Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry has been showcasing Ladakh in the India pavilion at international travel fairs and exhibitions, held overseas.

The UT Administration vide Notification S.O. 30 dated 6th August, 2021 has removed the requirement of permit for visiting restricted areas for domestic tourists. As on date whole of Ladakh except a few pockets along the LAC and LoC [for security reasons] are open for domestic tourists. However, permit for foreigners is still a requirement to visit the restricted areas within the UT.

The UT Administration in collaboration with the concerned security forces has established police check posts at spots identified collectively. Further, the UT Administration issues advisory from time to time regarding precautions to be taken for health reasons, safety and security.

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 The commitment of building a Viksit Bharat would be incomplete without an inclusive society where all sections co-exist with dignity and harmony without any discrimination. With strong will to full-fill this commitment, on 12th Feb, 2021 Support for Marginalized Individual for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) scheme with sub-scheme Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Person was launched.

This sub-scheme has dedicated components for providing health care support, skill development support, shelter home support for destitute transgender persons, provision to setup transgender protection cells at district and state level, provision to setup transgender welfare boards at state level, trans-safe toilets etc.

Recognizing the right of self-perceived identity to transgender persons a National Portal for Transgender Persons was launched in November 2020. The identity certificate issued through this Portal is a valid and recognized document for update of name and gender in AADHAR, educational certificates etc. Till date a total of 16463 transgender identity certificates have been issued through the portal.

Transgender persons often face discrimination, violence and atrocities and hence they need special protection in society. To ensure their protection The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 and Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 were brought and provision of Transgender Protection Cell at State and District level and Transgender Welfare Board at State level has been made in SMILE scheme. A guideline for model transgender welfare board has been circulated by the Ministry to all States/UTs.  Further, all States/UTs/Union Ministries/Departments have been asked to ensure to provide option of “transgender” wherever any gender related information is collected.

Safe residential facility in from of shelter home for destitute transgender persons has also been kept as an essential part of the SMILE scheme. The shelter homes, called Garima Greh, not only provide free lodging and food but also free counselling, life skills, technical skills so that the residents come out as a confident and positive person with respectable mode of livelihood. Till date more than 400 transgender persons have been provided skill development trainings and have gained employment. There are 12 Garima Greh offering rehabilitation and mainstreaming services are operational in different part of country and it has been envisioned to setup atleast one Garima Greh in each State/UT.

The story of Saburi Yadav, Deepaka Yadav, Krishi Tandi, Naina sori, Soniya Janghel, Shivanya Patel, Nishu Chhattriya,Komal Sahu, Tanushree Sahu,Sunil, Divya Nishad, Himanshi Kumar, Damni Korram, Rani Mandavi, Seema Pradhan, Sandhiya Kumar, Bharka, Riya Mandavi, Saanu of Chhattisgarh is quite inspiring. When came out as transgender persons they faced discrimination in society, even disowned by their families. They all found safe abode at Raipur Garima Greh which is operated by Chhattisgarh Mitwa Sankalp Samiti and completely funded by MoSJE. Though uncertain about their future, they were determined to do something meaningful in their life which may become inspiration for others, dignity for themselves and leave impact on society.  Raipur Garima Greh arranged life skill trainings, mental ability examination trainings and physical examination trainings and today 9 of them are serving the State at Bastar Fighter unit of Chattisgarh Police and 13 of them are serving as Constable at Chattisgarh Police.

The 9 Residents of Raipur Garima Greh serving at Bastar Fighter unit of Chattisgarh Police

 

The 13residents of Raipur Garima Greh serving at Bastar Fighter unit of Chattisgarh Police

 

The 7residents of Raipur Garima Greh serving as Security Guard at G4S security, Vedanta group

Arunita, Sakashi, Aarohi, Khushi, Roma, Sandhya,Pravita of Raipur Garima Greh cracked the interviews and gained employment at G4S security, Vedanta group as Security Guard.  .

Shradha Priyadarshini from Odisha was born as male but later identified herself as transgender person. As her family members did not accept her self-identification as transgender, she left her family to found safe and caring shelter at Bhubneshwar Garima Greh operated by CBO Sakha. Garima Greh provided her skill training in beauty and wellness. Now she is a practising beautician and continuing her graduation as well.

Shradha, a resident of Bhubaneshwar Garima Greh as practicing beautician

 

Transgender persons either in gender transition mode or in their existing self-perceived gender identity have various medical needs. An MoU has been signed with National Health Authority for a specialized Ayushman Bharat TG Plus card for providing more than 50 health benefit services to transgender persons and for first time gender re-assignment as well as cosmetic treatments have been included under Ayushman Bharat scheme for transgender persons.

On request of this Ministry, Swachh Bharat Mission(Urban) has included dedicated toilets for transgender persons in their policy guidelines and Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship is in process of formulating specialized skill development training programme for transgender persons. Meanwhile National Institute of Social Defence is in process of finalizing demand-driven skill development training activities dedicatedly for transgender persons. Aim of skill development and skill up-gradation of transgender persons is not limited to ensuring their positive inclusion in national workforce but to self-employment as well so that they can contribute to nation building for Atmanirbhar Bharat and ultimately leading to Viksit Bharat.

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 Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh inaugurated the two-day Bhumi Samvaad VIII: National Conference of State Revenue / Registration Secretaries and Inspector General of Registration (IGR) on “Sharing of Best Practices in Land Management Modernization” today at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. MoS Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, MoS Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, MoS Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil, Secretary Smt. Nidhi Khare and Joint Secretary Shri Sonmoni Borah were also present on the occasion.

Shri Giriraj Singh while interacting with the Officers from various State/UTs emphasized that saturation of digitalization process of land records and registration will help mitigate the huge pendency of court cases involving land disputes and will further help in improving the raking of the country in terms of Ease of Doing Business. Shri Singh also mentioned that digitalization of land records and registration is expected to improve the GDP of the country by about 1.5%.

 

Shri Giriraj Singh emphasized the importance of emerging technologies like Blockchain, CORS in the modernization of land management which will go a long way in achieving the objectives of the Government under Gatishakti. Shri Singh highlighted the importance of new initiatives of the government namely, ULPIN (Bhu-Aadhaar), Transliteration of Land Records for providing land records in multiple languages to enhance ease of doing business, NGDRS for One Nation – One Registration. Shri Singh also mentioned that the government will continue to support and encourage the States and recognizing their efforts by way of Bhumi Samman to better performing States and Districts, as done in the past.

 

Minister of State for Steel & Rural Development Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste stated that all benefits of schemes should reach the citizens in the last mile with transparent governance as envisaged by the Prime Minister. He further stressed that digitalization process of land records and registration will help mitigate the huge pendency of court cases involving land disputes and will also help in ensuring the transparency in identifying the correct beneficiaries for providing right compensation for land acquisition by the government.

Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti urged cooperation and support from States to have similar dialogues at the District level regularly to understand the issues faced by common farmers related to land and how to enhance their access to credit by digitalization of land records and reducing the land related disputes.

Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil emphasized the importance of dialogue to arrive at solutions with a positive approach. He further highlighted that the modernization of land management will be a big contribution of this department in achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat.

 

Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Smt. Nidhi Khare stated that such National Conference on sharing of good practices is much needed to integrate the efforts and initiatives in second generation reforms related to land governance. She further emphasized that the deliberations in the two day conference will go a long way in assessing the impact and scalability of various relevant innovations and good practices to make them implementable at the national level.

Smt. Khare also elaborated that the two day conference will cover a number of themes relevant to good practices in modernization of land management including Land Records Digitization and its Impact on reduction in processes, time, cost, visits to offices, revenue court litigations and Ease of Living etc. in land related services; Bhu-Aadhar or ULPIN Generation - Best practices for generating and maintaining Bhu-Aadhar or ULPIN databases; Auto Mutation in Land Management- Advancements and Applications; Impact of digitisation of land records and computerisation of registration in reduction of litigation; Use of Digitisation of Land Records for Credit access; Innovative Technologies in Land Records and Property Registration and best practices in anytime, anywhere registration. The Conference would end with session on business ready framework of reforms in land management. Sharing of best practices in Land Management Modernization would bring out key actionable points that can be scaled up for bringing uniformity in transparency, efficiency and seamless delivery of services related to land to our citizens.

 

Joint Secretary Shri Sonmoni Borah said that the work of digitalization of land records is nearing its saturation except for North -Eastern States where also the work has started now. He emphasized that the objective of this two day National Conference is to share good practices in modernization of land management and deliberations will be held on how to make regulations more citizen centric public service more effective.

 

The two-day Conference will bring together a diverse group of speakers and participants from various stakeholder groups, including Central as well as State/UT Governments and institutes. It will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and ideas, showcase innovations, share successful case studies, identify solutions, discuss future strategies, and provide mutual learning opportunities on various topics and potential use across sectors. State delegations consisting of Officers from Revenue and Registration Departments and IGR are participating in the conference alongwith representatives from key Central Ministries / Departments and other Stakeholders.

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