Knowledge Nugget : Why ‘SabhaSaar’, AI tool for Gram Sabha, matters for your UPSC exam

Why in the news?

On the occasion of Independence Day, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool named ‘SabhaSaar’ is rolled out in Tripura and thereafter made available to other states. It was unveiled by the Union Minister of Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan and his deputy Prof SP Singh Baghel in New Delhi on Thursday (14th August).

Key Takeaways:

1. ‘SabhaSaar’ leverages the power of AI to generate structured minutes of meetings from gram sabha videos and audio recordings. It will bring uniformity in minutes of the gram sabha meetings across the country. Panchayat officials can use their e-GramSwaraj login credentials to upload video/audio recordings on ‘SabhaSaar’.

2. ‘SabhaSaar’ is built on Bhashini, an AI-powered language translation platform launched by the government to bridge literacy, language, and digital divides. The tool generates a transcription from a video or audio, translates it into a chosen output language, and prepares a summary. It enables transcription in all major Indian languages like Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Gujarati, in addition to English.

3. ‘SabhaSaar’ is ideal for panchayats, administrative bodies, and rural development projects as it streamlines documentation and empowers stakeholders with instant access to meeting insights, as per sources.

4. A gram sabha is supposed to meet at least four days (January 26, May 1, August 15, and October 2) in a year. To ensure that gram sabhas meet regularly and function transparently, the Panchayati Raj ministry has launched a Panchayat NIRNAY portal, a real-time monitoring system that deals with their meetings.

5. With the primary objective of making the Gram Sabha meetings more participatory, transparent and vibrant, Panchayat NIRNAY has provisions for scheduling and notifying citizens with the meeting agenda well in advance.

6. According to data available with the ministry, over 10,000 gram Sabha meetings were held through the Panchayat NIRNAY platform during the financial year 2024-25. Most of these meetings were held in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar.

SabhaSaar. (Source: Ministry of Ministry of Panchayati Raj)

7. Gram Sabha is the bedrock of the Panchayati Raj System in India. Notably,  April 24 is celebrated as the Panchayati Raj Day. It was on this day that a three-tier system at the village, block, and district levels was established in 1993  after the enactment of the 73rd Amendment Act.

8. As per the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, there are 2,55,397 village panchayats, 6,742 intermediate panchayats, 665 district panchayats, and 16,189 traditional local bodies across the country.

BHASHINI

1. Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2022, BHASHINI, under the National Language Technology Mission, aims to provide translation services in 22 scheduled Indian languages to break through linguistic barriers and enable people to access digital services smoothly.

2. Bhashini is an artificial intelligence (AI)-based language translation tool designed to facilitate real-time translation of Indian languages to establish a National Public Digital Platform for languages and increase the amount of content available in Indian languages.

3. The BHASHINI project is designed to integrate technological advancements in governance with multiple language integration, fostering national integration and creating a more inclusive society by adopting artificial intelligence tools.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: What are the other digital initiatives for Gram Panchayats?

1. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj provided a written response to an unstarred question asked in the Rajya Sabha last year. It asked the ministry about the steps taken by the Government for the empowerment of Panchayats. The written response detailed the initiatives taken by the government. These initiatives include:

2. eGramSwaraj, a user-friendly web-based portal, which aims to bring in better transparency in the decentralised planning, progress reporting, financial management, work-based accounting, and details of assets created.

3. AuditOnline has been launched to ensure timely audit of Panchayat accounts i.e. receipts and expenditures of Gram Panchayats. This application not only facilitates the auditing of Panchayat accounts but also provides for maintaining of audit records.

4. To deliver various citizen-centric services online in the rural areas and Gram Panchayats, Common Service Centres have been set up through a ‘Common Service Centre – Special Purpose Vehicle’, a society of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Post Read Question

The fundamental object of Panchayati Raj system is to ensure which among the following? (UPSC CSE 2015)

1. People’s participation in development.

2. Political accountability

3. Democratic decentralization

4. Financial mobilization

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only

(b) 2 and 4 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

(Sources: Tripura pioneers artificial intelligence integration for greater digital inclusion in Northeast, How AI tool will bring structure, uniformity to minutes of gram sabha meetings across country, sansad.in, Role of Panchayati Raj in strengthening local governance)

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