India marked a strong and impactful presence at the World Bank Land Conference 2025. In the four day conference held from 5th to 8th May 2025, in Washington D.C., India took on the role of a Country Champion. This was under the leadership of Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj. During the conference, India’s flagship initiatives like SVAMITVA Scheme and Gram Manchitra platform drew global attention. They were seen as models of inclusive and technology-driven rural governance.
While the Plenary Session on “Good Practices and Challenges in Land Tenure and Governance Reform”, outlined how secure land ownership through SVAMITVA is improving livelihoods, empowering women, and enabling access to credit in rural India, the real-life success stories from across the country of farmers, women, and small entrepreneurs demonstrated the ground-level impact of property rights and formalized land records in India. With 68,000 sq. km surveyed and Rs.1.16 trillion worth of land monetized, SVAMITVA stood out as a scalable model for inclusive economic transformation at the global level. Subsequently, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj led a high-level special session titled “Securing Land Rights for a Billion People”, during the conference which was attended by representatives of World Bank Divisions and several countries highlighting the end-to-end implementation and impact of the SVAMITVA Scheme, from drone surveys and legal frameworks to property card issuance and institutional convergence.
In the technical session on “Establishing the Land Foundation for Climate Action and Disaster Risk Management” held on 8th May, Shri Alok Prem Nagar, Joint Secretary, MoPR, showcased Gram Manchitra, a geospatial planning platform that empowers Gram Panchayats to prepare data-driven, localized development plans. The tool’s role in promoting climate resilience, infrastructure planning, and convergence of schemes was demonstrated drawing appreciation for its applicability in global south context. In his presentation, Shri Nagar also emphasized the importance of capacity building, financial incentives, and community engagement, positioning Gram Manchitra as a forward-looking solution for disaster preparedness and inclusive development.
