Bhubaneswar, May 28, 2025:
In a moment of pride for Odisha, Suakati Gram Panchayat in Keonjhar district has bagged a prestigious Jury Award at the 22nd National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) 2025, becoming one of only three grassroots bodies across the country to be honoured in the newly introduced Gram Panchayat category.
Organised annually by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, the NAeG Awards aim to recognise and promote excellence in the implementation of e-Governance initiatives that make public service delivery more efficient, transparent, and citizen-centric.
Suakati was honoured alongside Palsana Gram Panchayat (Gujarat) and Lalitpur Municipal Council (Uttar Pradesh) under the category “Grassroot Level Initiatives for Deepening/Widening of Service Delivery”, marking a significant recognition of rural digital empowerment efforts for the first time in the awards’ history.
The 2025 edition saw a total of 19 initiatives recognised—10 with Gold Awards, 6 with Silver, and 3 with Jury Awards—across six key categories including:
Government Process Re-engineering for Digital Transformation
Innovation through AI and New Age Technologies
Best Practices/Innovation in Cyber Security
Grassroot-Level Digital Initiatives
Replication & Scaling of Successful Projects
Data-Driven Digital Transformation by Central/State Bodies
Among the Gold Awardees are noteworthy initiatives like the Mining Tenement System by the Indian Bureau of Mines, Digi Yatra by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and SAMPADA 2.0 by Madhya Pradesh’s Commercial Tax Department. Silver Awards were conferred to projects including Rohini Gram Panchayat (Maharashtra) and West Majlishpur Gram Panchayat (Tripura).
Each Gold Award carries a trophy, certificate, and ₹10 lakh, while Silver Awardees receive ₹5 lakh, aimed at furthering digital initiatives or addressing resource gaps.
The awards will be formally presented during the 28th National Conference on e-Governance, a premier event where India’s top digital governance innovators converge to chart the future of e-Governance.
With this recognition, Suakati Panchayat has set an inspiring example for rural India, demonstrating how local bodies can harness technology to transform lives and public services at the grassroots level.
