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Telangana State Skill Mission (TSSM)

Telangana government formulates policy to provide more jobs for youth

Government of Telangana proposes to launch Telangana State Skill Mission program to skill 5 lakh unemployed youth and the students coming out of the educational institutions before 2019 an Apex Body Telangana State Skill Council (TSSC) under the Chairmanship of the Hon'ble Chief Minister to give policy direction to the Mission; and TELANGANA STATE SKILL MISSION (TSSM) to implement the program under the direction of Apex Body will shortly be in place.

TSSM shall be registered as a society under the Societies Act and shall be reporting directly to the Chairman of the TSSC.

T-Hub

Gateway for innovation
T-Hub located in Gachibowli, Rangareddy District, Telangana, India is designed for technology related start-ups, and its mission is to catalyse the creation of one of the tightest and most vibrant entrepreneur communities in the world in order to encourage and fuel more start-up success stories in India.

T Hub is an incubator, but also a unique public-private partnership between the government of Telangana, IIIT-Hyderabad, ISB and NALSAR, and other private sector players.

The first phase of T-Hub was formally launched by E. S. L. Narasimhan, Governor of Telangana and Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, and Telangana IT & Panchayat Raj Minister K. T. Rama Rao on 5th November 2015.

Hyderabad’s startup revolution and Telangana govt’s daring experiment

No Indian government has attempted anything like T-Hub before, and Minister KTR’s gamble could be paying off.

The recently announced second phase of expansion bears testimony to its success. The facility, which will spread over 350,000 square feet,will receive an investment of Rs 180 crore and is likely to be open to entrepreneurs by mid-2018.

The facility will have about 1,000 startups along with other players of the ecosystem.

The Secretary also added that Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has evinced interest to share the cost of the project and the IT Minister had a meeting with Kant in this regard.

T-Hub embodies India’s startup ecosystem
Union Minister of Information Technology, Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday appreciated the Telangana Government’s initiatives in developing the T-Hub and expressed confidence that such initiatives would make the City of Pearls, one of the top start-up cities of the world.

T-Hub clearly embodies what we believe — India’s start-up ecosystem. What the T-Hub has done for India is impressive and we hope to replicate it in other States,” the Union Minister said.

Odisha to set up startup park on the lines of T-Hub

KT Rama Rao said T-Hub was providing the best outputs alongside innovative ideas. “Impressed by this programme, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has given assurance to work with TS on some projects. Our startups are enjoying international exposure. Big companies like Cisco, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and others have tied up with startups at T-Hub and are funding innovations there,” he said.

Hyderabad’s T-Hub targets becoming one of the world’s largest startup ecosystems

Today,T-hub has India’s largest startup ecosystem under a single roof, with over 70,000 square feet of space. The infrastructure and the design are both futuristic and cutting edge. As you walk into this startup haven, you cannot help but feel the vibrancy and energy that the startups bring in.

The startups within T-hub are divided into seven sectors and specialisations – Fintech, Healthcare, Agritech, Smart Cities, Transportation and Logistics, Sustainability and Social Tech capturing Big Data, IOT, Analytics, Sensors, Cloud and Mobility.

T-Hub is not just an incubator which support startups through their journey, it is a startup which is creating a startup ecosystem in Hyderabad to make the city the startup capital of India.

The concept of T-Hub is this: where startups get access to infrastructure, networking opportunities, workshops and assistance from the senior management team of T-Hub, in return for a small monthly fee.

T-hub is also in the process of creating a technology-driven ‘Sandbox’, which is going to be the first-of-its-kind in the country.Startups will get access to supercomputers through this, which are otherwise available only at giant corporates.

T-Hub and CL Educate entered into an MoU to make innovation accessible to millions of youngsters who are working or studying in schools and colleges. Awareness, research, a technology-platform, a curriculum, access to mentors and funds are some of the benefits that will reach aspiring young entrepreneurship aspirants through this collaborative partnership.

T-hub is talk of the world, says KT Rama Rao

T-Hub has launched a new program T-Bridge at Silicon Valley in USA , that will connect Indian startups with global market opportunities, and help bring global startups to India.

Some of the startups housed in T-hub echoed management’ sentiment that T-hub is much more than just a physical space.

T-Hub is at the intersection of government, corporates, venture capitalists, research sector and startups.

“By 2014, our IIIT incubator had managed to create a startup culture in Hyderabad. In fact, many success stories like RedBus and Bookpad attributed to Bengaluru actually have roots in this city. But no one was bringing things together to take it to the next level. That’s what T-Hub does,” says Kollipara.

T-Hub is run by professionals with zero government intervention, and has to become financially sustainable on its own. No handholding by the government. If it fails, it fails. If the startups in the incubator cannot scale up, they will be weeded out.

Today, T-Hub supports 200 startups in the co-working space and guide 5 incubatees in which they have a stake.

A monument and a dream-team
The Catalyst building is a monument in itself. A five-storey creative ensemble by W Design Studio in Hyderabad, it is a high-energy, colourful and vibrant working space which is extremely agile and unorthodox. “It is a mix between the corporate world and college campus. The building had to be creative and inspirational, and suitable for low budgets and long-working hours put in by entrepreneurs,” says Gokul Krishna of W Design.

Firing up startups, the Hyderabadi way
“If you look at incubators in general, they are designed to fail because you are targeting a customer base which has a probability of 10% success. 90% of the startups across the world fail. Incubators don’t have the magic wand to make that any better. So we are not here to change that, but to tell the 90% to learn from their mistakes and come back and build a successful company,” Jay Krishnan explains.

Instead of trying to replicate Silicon Valley, T-Hub has chosen 6 key sectors from which they would incubate startups, and all of them were chosen based on the strengths of Hyderabad as a city. Health technology, agricultural technology, financial technology, transport and logistics, sustainability and social sector are their key areas.

For the startups incubated at the Hub, the partnership has catalyzed their growth immensely.

Mukesh Chandra, founder and CMO of fin-tech company Paymatrix which is incubated at T-Hub, recalls how the partnership threw doors open for them in the market. “We had a good idea and the technology, but not all banks and payment gateways were willing to work with us. There were some lingering doubts. But once we came on board T-Hub, they were confident,” says Chandra.

Paymatrix is a service which allows users to pay housing rent using their credit card and also helps them with rental documentation. In the near future, Paymatrix will also allow peer-to-peer lending as well. So if you are out of cash, you could borrow money from small lenders registered as non-banking financial companies for your rent through this service.

“The networking opportunities which T-Hub provided us helped us a lot. The senior management monitors us very closely, helps us leverage the brand of T-Hub. We have been able to crack better deals,” says Anusha Kurupathi Parambil, founder and CEO of Paymatrix.

Converting euphoria to substance
Yet, they still have a long way to go, says Jay Krishnan. “One of the problems with Indian startups is that they are not solving problems of India. Ecommerce was a big success in the US because it really was needed at that point. We have copy-pasted these ideas in India. T Hub faces the same problems too,” he says.

“Indian startups are more about euphoria and less about substance, and they just chase capital rather than being the next frontier in technology,” Jay Krishnan says. He adds that Indian startups also have a sense of entitlement: “They think they should get funding just because they have an idea.”

Sources

http://www.t-hub.co/
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/inside-t-hub-hyderabads-startup-revolution-and-telangana-govts-daring-experiment-50886
https://yourstory.com/2016/11/hyderabad-t-hub-incubator/
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/‘T-Hub-embodies-India’s-startup-ecosystem’/article16438054.ece

Mission Bhagiratha

Telangana Water Grid (Drinking Water Project) named as Mission Bhagiratha is to provide 100 liters of clean drinking water per person in rural households and 150 liters per person in urban households. This project aims to provide water to about 25000 rural habitations and 67 urban habitations.

Costing an estimated Rs.35,000 crore, the project envisages laying 1.26 lakh km of pipeline network that will reach 25,000 rural and 67 urban households across Telangana.

But that is contingent upon Godavari and Krishna rivers supplying water to the project. As part of the project, while Godavari river will supply 34 tmcft, Krishna river will feed 21.5 tmcft to the water grid.

Telangana government’s ambitious initiative to provide piped water supply to every household Mission Bhagiratha is Telangana Chief Minster K. Chandrashekar Rao’s dream project.

A drinking water project of this scale has never been attempted before in this country and Rao has vowed not to seek votes in the next election if the project isn’t completed by 2019.

Telangana’s plans to get internet to 36 mn people

Along with the Mission Bhagiratha water pipelines, Internet cables are also laid to provide Internet to each and every household.

Swach Bharath official hails Mission Bhagiratha as best in the world

Drinking Water Supply and Swach Bharath Mission Secretary Parameswaran Iyer, who met him at Pragathi Bhavan here on Thursday. Parameswaran Iyer has expressed happiness that Mission Bhagiratha Drinking Water Scheme is one of its kind in the country, which was going to supply drinking water to the households and it will become a role model in the Country. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after inaugurating Mission Bhagiratha in Gajwel, had told them that this program is one of the best in the country.

Maharashtra to replicate Mission Bhagiratha

The project, which was initially called the Telangana Drinking Water Supply Project, was renamed by chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, a deeply religious man, after Bhagiratha, a mythical king who is credited with bringing River Ganga from the heavens to the earth, in December 2015.

The chief minister’s interest in the water grid project is not without some history. In 1996-97, when Rao was still a legislator of the Telugu Desam Party or TDP (he floated Telangana Rashtra Samiti in 2001), he implemented a similar project, albeit on a smaller scale.

At a cost of Rs.60 crore, the Siddipet drinking water project supplied water to households in 180 villages, a part of Rao’s Siddipet constituency. It involved collecting water from Lower Manair Dam and supplying to households. The project is still operational.

The new Telangana Water Grid will depend on water resources from Srisailam, Sriram Sagar Project, Komuram Bheem Project, Paleru Reservoir, Jurala Dam and Nizam Sagar Project, the major hydro projects in the state.

The state-level grid will have 26 internal grids. The main trunk pipelines, running a length of about 5,000km, will supply water to secondary pipelines, stretching over 50,000km. The secondary pipelines will carry water to tanks in habitations from where a village-level pipeline network extending 75,000km will supply water to households in the state.

The state government is engaging Mumbai-based firm Genesys International Corp. Ltd to map the water grid project using geographical information systems and LIDAR technology. LIDAR is a surveying technology, on the lines of a radar, to build high-resolution maps using laser beams. Genesys had earlier deployed its technology to map parts of Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh, and Lavasa City near Pune.

Water is life! International community has declared clean drinking water as a human right long back. Yet, lack of drinking water is a common sight in our state and country.

Even though two perennial rivers flow across the state, the tragedy is, most of Telangana state does not have access to clean drinking water.

To change this situation, the Telangana government, under the able leadership of CM Sri K Chandrashekar Rao, has designed the Telangana Water Grid - a mammoth project intended to provide a sustainable and permanent solution to the drinking water woes.

The Telangana Water Grid would depend on water resources available in Krishna & Godavari - two perennial rivers flowing through the state. A total of 34 TMC of water from Godavari river and 21.5 TMC from Krishna river would be utilized for the water grid. Plans are ready to use water from Srisailam, Sriram Sagar Project, Komuram Bheem Project, Paleru Reservoir, Jurala Dam, Nizam Sagar Project. This scientifically designed project intends to use the natural gradient wherever possible and pump water where necessary and supply water through pipelines.

The state-level grid will comprise of a total of 26 internal grids. The main trunk pipelines of this project would run about 5000 km, and the secondary pipelines running a length of about 50000 km would be used to fill service tanks in habitations. From here the village-level pipeline network of about 75,000 km would be used to provide clean drinking water to households.”

Sources

http://www.telangana.gov.in/news/2014/12/15/water-grid

http://www.siasat.com/news/swach-bharath-official-hails-mission-bhagiratha-best-world-1113423/

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/Mission-Bhagiratha-reaches-600-habitations/article16442682.ece

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/narendra-modi-telangana-visit-mission-bhageeratha-2959158/

Mission Kakatiya

Telangana shows the way in restoring village tanks.

The Mission Kakatiya programme is all set to go national. Niti Aayog, the central body that replaced the Planning Commission, is expected to push for the adoption of the Telangana government's programme of rejuvenating small and medium irrigation and village tanks in other states.

A silent transformation is taking place across rural Telangana as the country’s newest state has emerged as a role model in rejuvenating minor irrigation tank system, a lifeline for small and marginal farmers.

“Mission Kakatiya”, a flagship programme of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government to restore centuries-old village tanks through people’s participation, has earned appreciation from the Union Water Resources Ministry for setting an example in reviving the defunct chain of tanks.

Mission Kakatiya with tagline Mana Ooru Mana Cheruvu is a program of restoring all the tanks and lakes in Telangana State, India. The project aims at restoring over 46,500 tanks across the state at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore over five years to create a storage capacity of 255 TMC of water.

The name 'Mission Kakatiya' is given in the remembrance and tribute to the Kakatiya rulers who developed large number of the irrigation tanks.

The Program was inaugurated on 12 March 2015 by chief minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao.

Defunct for decades, several tanks are now brimming with water, bringing smiles on the faces of farmers as the project is expected to boost agricultural production by at least 30 per cent, increase groundwater recharge and drinking water availability and improve the soil quality.

A visit to a few tanks under restoration in Adilabad, a backward and tribal-dominated district bordering Maharashtra, revealed a discernible change and a new sense of optimism among farmers with tanks in their villages brimming with water, enough to irrigate their crops. “Farmers growing paddy and turmeric here are now assured of water availability for the entire crop season of 120 days,” said Shivaiah, sarpanch of Parimandal village.

“People are actively taking part in the programme as they see benefit in the area of irrigation, improved groundwater recharge and drinking water facility. Besides, the silt, removed from the tanks, has high nutrient value and its usage will help farmers save on fertilisers and pesticides,” Sridhar Rao Deshpande, Officer on Special Duty to the Irrigation Ministry, told The Tribune.

Under the first phase, completed in April, over 8,000 tanks have been restored at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore. Another 9,000 tanks were taken up under the second phase during the current financial year.

The project involves desilting the tanks, repairing the bunds, clearing catchment area and feeder channels of encroachments, repairing damaged sluices and surplus structures and laying canals up to the fields. Many of these tanks were built during the Kakatiya dynasty, over 800 years ago. A chain of interconnected rain-fed tanks, whose flow depended on gravity, were developed and canals were built from these lakes to supply water to the fields. However, they have become defunct over time.

The experts say that over the years, yields have come down drastically in the upland Telangana because of decreasing reliance on tank irrigation and rampant exploitation of groundwater resources. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has released Rs 1,000 crore for the programme and has shown its willingness to provide another Rs 1,000 crore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a specific mention of the project during his recent visit to the state. “We have also approached NITI Aayog for Rs 5,000 crore assistance,” the irrigation official said. “In the combined state of Andhra Pradesh, the successive governments had completely neglected minor irrigation sector in Telangana. We are now correcting the situation through people’s involvement. This mission will go down in the history as the biggest project of its kind ever undertaken in the country,” state Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao said.

Initially, people were sceptical in view of their past experience but after seeing the results, their aspirations have gone up and there is enthusiasm all around,” Adilabad district Collector M Jagan Mohan said.

Even the groundwater table has shown a marginal rise with the spruced up tanks and lakes receiving considerably good inflows.

"It is just a humble start and there is still a long way to go. While the agriculture scenario is certainly a cause of concern with south-west monsoon offering a mixed bag of a dry spell and patches of good rains, it is a motivating message from Mission Kakatiya," said minor irrigation chief engineer Bhupathiraju Nagendra Rao.
Tanks have been the life line of Telangana owing to the state's geographical positioning. The people of the state are highly dependent on the tanks which are spread across all the 10 districts. The topography and rainfall pattern in Telangana have made tank irrigation an ideal type of irrigation by storing and regulating water flow for agricultural use.

Construction of tanks in Telangana has been an age old activity since pre Satavahana era. During the Kakatiya era, the construction of tanks was carried out with utmost technical expertise. Tanks such as Ramappa, Pakhala, Laknavaram, Ghanapuram, Bayyaram which were built by Kakatiyas resemble seas and they greatly helped agriculture and overall development and prosperity of the Kakatiya kingdom.

This vision and legacy of Kakatiyas were carried forward by Qutubshahis and Asafjahis who ruled this region for centuries. Hundreds of big and small tanks were built in Telangana region during their rule. Government desires to uphold the vision of Kakatiyas which envisages revival and restoration of Minor Irrigation Sources in Telangana State.

Tank irrigation has huge bearing on generation of rural employment, poverty reduction and agricultural growth. The sheer size of command area under tank irrigation makes it a large center of agricultural production and provides a critical opportunity for commercial agriculture through market linkages.

Sources
http://missionkakatiya.cgg.gov.in/homemission
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/telangana-shows-the-way-in-restoring-village-tanks/291625.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Mission-Kakatiya-a-blessing-for-farmers/articleshow/54455315.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/National-push-for-Mission-Kakatiya/articleshow/51771607.cms

Telangana Districts

Telangana has 33 districts from 17th February 2019. Telangana had 10 districts and changed to 31 on 11th October, 2016.

Panchayati raj (council of five officials) is the system of local self-government of villages in rural India as opposed to urban and suburban municipalities.

Telangana's Panchayati Raj system is a three-tier structure in rural areas and a two-tier structure for urban local bodies (ULBs). The system includes:

Gram panchayats: The smallest and only permanent unit in the Panchayati Raj system
Mandal parishads: 127 in Telangana
Zilla parishads: 33 in Telangana
Municipalities: 141 in Telangana
Municipal corporations: 13 in Telangana

In Telangana, a "Zilla Parishad" represents the district-level governing body, a "Mandal" is the block-level governing body, and a "Gram Panchayat" is the village-level governing body, with the Zilla Parishad overseeing the Mandal which in turn oversees the Gram Panchayat; essentially, the Zilla Parishad is the highest tier of local governance, followed by the Mandal, and then the Gram Panchayat at the grassroots level.

Gram Panchayat consists of a village or a group of villages divided into smaller units called “Wards”. Each ward selects or elects a representative who is known as the Panch or ward member. The members of the Gram Sabha elect the ward members through a direct election.

In Telangana, a "mandal" is a larger administrative unit encompassing multiple "gram panchayats," which are the basic units of local governance at the village level; essentially, a mandal is a group of villages governed by several gram panchayats under a single administrative head, similar to a tehsil in other parts of India.

Gram panchayat: The village council, where people 18 and older vote for their representatives. The elected representatives, along with the sarpanch, make up the gram panchayat. The sarpanch is the elected leader of the gram panchayat and is also known as the gram pradhan, mukhiya, or president.

The president (sarpanch) and vice president (upa-sarpanch) in a gram Panchayat are elected from among the elected ward members. the term of office for elected members in a Gram Panchayat, including the Sarpanch and Upa-Sarpanch, is typically five years.

Zilla Parishad members in Telangana are elected in a few ways:

Direct election: Villagers directly elect members of the Zilla Parishad.
Indirect election: Ward members indirectly elect members of the Zilla Parishad.
Government appointment: The government may also appoint members of the Zilla Parishad.
Co-opted members: Zilla Praja Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) co-opt two members from minorities, such as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis.

In Telangana Mandal parishad (MPTC) members are elected by people in each mandal who vote for their representative and The Zilla Parishad (ZPTC) is made up of MPTC members, the president, and the vice president. The president and vice president are elected from among the elected MPTC members.

Elections are held every five years, and all residents of the district's Zilla Parishad territory who are over the age of 18 are eligible to vote.

Mandal Praja Parishads General Body meeting will be conducted with in every 90 days to review and monitor developmental activities.

The Government appoints Mandal Parishad Development Officer for each Mandal Praja Parishad as he has to look after executive orders and instructions of the Government and Mandal Praja Parishad.

A Village Panchayat is responsible for basic village-level functions like sanitation, water management, maintaining public spaces, and minor infrastructure repairs, while a Mandal oversees development activities at the block level, and a Zilla Parishad manages larger scale development projects across an entire district, including coordinating between different blocks and planning major infrastructure initiatives.

Responsibilities

Village Panchayat (Gram Panchayat):

Basic infrastructure: Maintaining village roads, street lights, public buildings, and drainage systems.
Sanitation and hygiene: Implementing cleanliness drives, managing waste disposal, and promoting hygiene practices.
Water management: Overseeing water distribution systems, maintaining wells and ponds.
Community welfare: Organizing social events, addressing local grievances, and providing support to vulnerable groups.
Tax collection: Collecting local taxes for village development projects.

Mandal (Block Panchayat):

Coordination between villages: Facilitating communication and collaboration between different village panchayats within a block.
Rural development programs: Implementing government schemes related to agriculture, health, education, and women's empowerment at the block level.
Monitoring and evaluation: Supervising the progress of development projects in villages under its jurisdiction.
Resource allocation: Distributing funds received from the Zilla Parishad to different village panchayats based on need.
Land management: Overseeing land records and resolving land disputes within the block.

Zilla Parishad (District Council):

District-level planning: Creating comprehensive development plans for the entire district, including infrastructure projects, education initiatives, and healthcare facilities.
Budget allocation: Distributing funds to different Mandal panchayats based on the district development plan.
Major infrastructure projects: Initiating and overseeing large-scale projects like road construction, irrigation systems, and power grids.
Monitoring and evaluation: Assessing the overall effectiveness of development programs across the district
Capacity building: Providing training and support to the staff of Mandal panchayats and Village Panchayats

Revenue

Only 1% of the revenue of panchayats was earned by them, with the rest being raised as grants from the State and the Centre, show data. Specifically, 80% of the revenue was from Central government grants; only 15% was from State government grants. Consequently, the revenue raised by panchayats formed a minuscule share of the States’ own revenue.

Government grants: The state and central governments distribute a portion of their tax revenues to rural local bodies like Gram Panchayats. For example, the Fifteenth Finance Commission allocates grants to Gram Panchayats, Mandal Praja Parishads, and Zilla Praja Parishads in a ratio of 85:10:5%.
Taxes: Gram Panchayats can collect taxes on houses and marketplaces. However, their own revenue sources are limited, and they can't levy taxes on exported goods.
Donations: Gram Panchayats can receive donations for community works.

In Telangana, Mandal Praja Parishads receive funds from the Zilla Praja Parishad, which distributes funds from the state and central governments

Central and state governments transfer funds to Zilla Parishads and Village Panchayats through a system of "assigned revenue sharing" where a portion of the state's tax collection is allocated to these local bodies based on recommendations from the State Finance Commission, usually following a formula that considers factors like population, area, and poverty levels;these funds are then transferred directly to the respective Zilla Parishad and Panchayat accounts, enabling them to carry out development projects in their jurisdiction.

A Gram Panchayat in India prepares a budget annually for the following year that includes estimated receipts and disbursements. The budget is then submitted to the Zilla Parishad, which may approve it or return it to the Gram Panchayat for modifications. The Gram Panchayat must resubmit the budget for approval after making modifications.

In India, the state government primarily allocates funds to Zilla Parishads (district councils), which then further distribute a portion of these funds to the Village Panchayats based on factors like population, geographical area, development needs, and performance indicators outlined by the State Finance Commission; essentially, the central government provides funds to the state, which then decides the division between Zilla Parishads and Village Panchayats according to its own guidelines and priorities.

The Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Telangana. The Panchayat Raj Engineering Department (PRED) functions under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development

Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992: This act requires state governors to establish a Finance Commission to review the financial situation of Panchayats. The commission makes recommendations to the governor on how to distribute taxes, duties, tolls, and fees between the state and Panchayats. The commission also recommends how to allocate grants-in-aid to Panchayats from the state's Consolidated Fund.

"Devolution of Power and Funds to Panchayati Raj Institutions" refers to the process of transferring authority and financial resources from the state government to local self-governing bodies called "Panchayati Raj Institutions" in India, essentially giving them more autonomy to manage local affairs and development projects at the village and district levels.