Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS), in collaboration with Transforming Rural India Foundation (TRIF), organized the Jharkhand Local Governance Symposium on 30 July 2025. The event showcased field insights by Rural Management (RM) interns on governance themes across five districts.

The event was graced by Dr Joseph Marianus Kujur, SJ, (Director, XISS), along with Mr Sourabh Bhattacharjee (Health and Governance Specialist, TRI), Dr Anant Kumar (Head of Programme RM), along with XISS faculty members Dr Niranjan Sahoo, Dr Pramil K. Panda, and Dr K. Kusumavathi from the Rural Management Programme.

Senior government officials, Mr A.P. Singh (Chairman, State Finance Commission), Mr Rajeev Ranjan, IAS (Special Secretary, Department of Planning and Development), Ms Rajeshwari B (Director, Department of Panchayati Raj), Mr Akshay Kumar Singh (Secretary, Department of Planning and Development), Mr Harishwar Dayal (Member, SFC), Mr Krishna M. Poddar (Member, SFC), Mr Ajay B. Singh (WASH Specialist, UNICEF), Mr Sudhakant Jha (Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation), and Mr Shailendra Kumar Singh (Department of Panchayati Raj), also shared their reflections during this event.

The discussions focused on Budget Realisation Studies across Panchayats, implementation challenges within the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), and the relevance of Own Source Revenue (OSR) models to strengthen grassroots planning. Emphasis was placed on closing the loop between planning, execution, and fund utilisation to enhance developmental outcomes. The way forward called for data-backed governance, deeper convergence, and institutional platforms to amplify community voices in local decision-making.

Earlier, Director, XISS, in his welcome address, emphasized stating the event instrumental in, “Bridging the gap between grassroots realities and governance systems is key to inclusive rural development.”

Meanwhile, Chairman, State Finance Commission highlighted the need to strengthen institutional frameworks and said, “Standing Committees at the Panchayat level must be revitalized to ensure inclusive and participatory governance.”

Special Secretary, Department of Planning and Development emphasized performance tracking, asking, “How do we align district and block-level indicators to uplift tribal and aspirational areas through consistent metrics and implementation?”

Director, Department of Panchayati Raj raised concerns over digital governance delays and noted, “Despite repeated follow-ups, the response from central systems like eGramSwaraj remains inadequate, hampering timely implementation.”

Secretary, Department of Planning and Development encouraged linking local planning with macro-level policy design and stressed convergence across departments.

Further, WASH Specialist, UNICEF said, “Despite significant interventions, grassroots impact remains limited due to weak coordination and absence of actionable indicators.”

The discussions stressed the importance of ensuring community voice in planning, utilizing tools like writeshops to capture ground realities, and reinforcing the planning–execution–utilisation cycle. The symposium concluded with a collective call for deeper institutional convergence, data-backed governance, and decentralized ownership as the way forward.