ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). PRIs are envisioned as a means of achieving success in poverty alleviation in rural areas. The most significant of the anti-poverty programmes in the past few years has been the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) promotes and supports Self-Help Groups (SHGs) particularly of women, which in turn can create and support self-employment. The Government of India approved restructuring of Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) as the NRLM and launched the same in June 2011. Decentralisation as a means of inclusive governance aims at enabling social justice. An important aim of the reservation of seats at the local level was to tackle the social discrimination faced by the marginalised communities on a day-to-day basis. Reservation hoped to enshrine local democracy with the principles of equality of treatment of all and to address the historic discrimination that had existed.
