SRINAGAR: As many as 1,75,168 Women Elected Representatives (WERs) in Jammu and Kashmir have been trained under the Centre’s revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) since 2022-23, the Union Government informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
According to data placed before the House by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, 1,07,089 women representatives were trained in 2022-23 and 68,072 in 2023-24, while seven received training in 2024-25. No WER training was recorded for JK in 2025-26 or up to July 10 of 2026-27 under the overall RGSA training component.
The figures were disclosed in response to a starred question on measures to strengthen women’s participation, leadership and functioning in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).
The Ministry said that nationally 23,83,765 Women Elected Representatives were trained during the last three financial years, from 2023-24 to 2025-26. The training covers induction, refresher courses and theme-based Panchayat Development Plan programmes aimed at strengthening leadership and governance capabilities
For JK, the Centre released Rs 65 crore each in 2023-24 and 2024-25 and Rs 57 crore in 2025-26 under the revamped RGSA. The reported utilisation was Rs 98.61 crore, Rs 57.89 crore and Rs 78.99 crore, respectively.
The Ministry also reported that 399 women representatives from JK received digital governance/literacy training in 2023-24. However, no JK representative was listed as having undergone training under the Own Source Revenue module during 2025-26 or up to July 10, 2026.
Only five women representatives from JK had undergone the specialised module, Championing of Change—Empowering Women Leaders in Local Governance and Beyond, as of July 10, 2026. The module was launched under the Sashakt Panchayat Netri Abhiyan to strengthen leadership skills among women Panchayat leaders.
At the national level, 1,53,616 WERs had undergone the specialised module by July 10, 2026.
The Ministry said the campaign seeks to promote women-led governance, while initiatives covering digital platforms, financial capabilities and own-source revenue are intended to improve transparency, accountability and decision-making at the grassroots level.
It added that the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) assesses Gram Panchayats across nine themes of the localisation of Sustainable Development Goals, including the Women-Friendly Panchayat theme. The PAI uses around 150 thematic indicators to identify performance gaps and areas requiring focused intervention.
The Centre said an external evaluation of the revamped RGSA was conducted by the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), which assessed the effectiveness of capacity-building programmes and recommended corrective measures. However, no independent review specifically assessing programmes for strengthening the leadership and participation of women representatives has been undertaken, as Panchayats are a State subject.
