Capacity-building of elected representatives is the missing link in genuine democratic decentralisation.

Q. Capacity-building of elected representatives is the missing link in genuine democratic decentralisation. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

The 73rd Amendment (1992) inserted Part IX and the 11th Schedule, transferring 29 subjects to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), but constitutional status alone does not create competent governments. With over 2.6 lakh Gram Panchayats now handling plans, funds and audits, the skill deficit of elected representatives, not the legal mandate, is the binding constraint on genuine decentralisation.

Why capacity is the missing link - Functions without functionaries' competence: devolution of 29 subjects means little if representatives cannot read a budget or frame a Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) [1]. - Digital governance raises the skill bar: eGramSwaraj demands online planning, accounting and vendor payments through the PFMS interface, through which PRIs routed over ₹50,000 crore in FY 2025-26 — untrained representatives simply cannot operate it [2]. - Fiscal devolution outpaces absorption: rural local body grants under successive Finance Commissions rose sharply, yet untied funds need planning literacy to convert money into outcomes [3]. - Proxy representation: with women forming about 46% of elected representatives, weak training entrenches "sarpanch-pati" proxy rule despite Article 243-D reservation [4].

Capacity-building efforts and their gains - RGSA, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, is the principal vehicle for training representatives and strengthening Gram Sabhas [1]; cumulatively 4.10 crore representatives and functionaries across 2.70 lakh PRIs have been trained [3]. - Sashakt Panchayat-Netri Abhiyan (March 2025) targets women leaders, with over 7 lakh trained in 2025-26 [4]. - Result: 96%+ of Gram Panchayats now upload GPDPs online — evidence that training converts entitlement into exercise [2].

Limits of the argument Capacity is necessary but not sufficient: without genuine devolution of the three Fs — funds, functions, functionaries — and regular elections and empowered Gram Sabhas, trained representatives remain agents of implementation rather than self-government.

Decentralisation succeeds where legal empowerment, fiscal transfer and human capability advance together. Sustained, modular training linked to digital tools and localised SDGs can make Panchayats genuine units of self-government, realising the 73rd Amendment's promise in the march towards Viksit Bharat @2047.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. Objectives of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, PIB/MoPR — RGSA as Centrally Sponsored capacity-building scheme; GPDP and Gram Sabha strengthening 2. E-Gram Swaraj and Digital Empowerment of Panchayats, PIB/MoPR — eGramSwaraj–PFMS payments, GPDP upload coverage 3. Building Viksit Bharat from Ground Up: 12 Years of Panchayat Reforms and Innovation, PIB/MoPR — 4.10 crore representatives trained; rise in rural local body grants 4. Sashakt Panchayat-Netri Abhiyan for Capacity Building of Women Elected Representatives Launched, PIB/MoPR — women as ~46% of representatives; women representatives trained under RGSA