Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the distribution of e-property cards under the SWAMITVA scheme on 24th April at 12 noon via video conferencing. Saturday is also the National Panchayati Raj Day and to mark the very occasion PM will also confer the National Panchayat Awards 2021. 
 
4.09 lakh property owners will be given their e-property cards. This will also mark the implementation of the SVAMITVA scheme across India. 
 
Prime Minister will distribute the National Panchayat Awards 2021 at the event where Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will also be present. 
 
Categories of National Panchayat Awards 2021

The awards are being conferred under the following categories: Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (to 224 Panchayats), Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar (to 30 Gram Panchayats), Gram Panchayat Development Plan Award (to 29 Gram Panchayats), Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award (to 30 Gram Panchayats) and e-Panchayat Puraskar (to 12 States).
 
Money transfers with just a click in real-time

PM Modi will transfer the award money as Grants-in-Aid with just the click of a button. The award money ranges from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.50 lakh. In real-time, the amount will be directly transferred to the bank account of the Panchayats concerned.  This is the first time such a thing will be done.
 
What is SWAMITVA scheme?

SVAMITVA or Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas was launched last year by the Prime Minister on 24 April 2020.

SVAMITVA is a Central Sector Scheme for the promotion of dynamic and economic and independent rural areas in India.

The scheme has the power to transform rural India using modern technology tools for mapping and exploration.

It paves the way for the use of assets as financial assets by local people to access loans and other financial benefits. The scheme will cover around 6.62 Lakh villages nationwide between 2021-2025.

The pilot phase of the Scheme has been implemented in 2020-2021 in the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and in selected areas of Punjab and Rajasthan.