New Delhi, Apr 23 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and gram sabhas across the country in an event being held at Bihar’s Madhubani on Thursday, and also launch several projects worth approximately Rs 13,500 crore, the Panchayati Raj Ministry said in a statement.

Modi will also address the gathering on the occasion in what is going to be his first public remarks following the ghastly terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

The event is being held to commemorate the National Panchayati Raj Day (NPRD), marking 32 years of the 73rd Constitutional (Amendment) Act, 1992, which gave constitutional status to panchayats as institutions of rural local self-government.

In an official statement, the ministry said the function will be organised at Lohna Uttar Gram panchayat in Jhanjharpur block in Madhubani district of Bihar.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in a separate statement that Modi will also flag off Amrit Bharat Express and Namo Bharat Rapid Rail in Bihar.

The prime minister will address PRIs and gram sabhas across the country and also confer Special Category National Panchayat Awards 2025 on this occasion.

Another programme of Modi, scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, has been cancelled in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack where 26 people were gunned down.

This year, the National Panchayati Raj Day is being observed as a major national programme through a ‘Whole-of-Government’ approach, involving the participation of six Union ministries — Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Railways, and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Prime Minister Modi will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone for several key infrastructure and welfare projects that include LPG bottling plants, electrification projects, housing schemes, railway infrastructure, and road development, amounting to approximately Rs 13,500 crore.

Financial assistance under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin and Urban) and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY–NRLM) will also be disbursed during the programme. With these initiatives, ‘Grameen Bharat’, particularly rural regions of Bihar, stand to benefit immensely through enhanced connectivity, services and economic opportunity, it said.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’, and Bihar Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha will be among those present at the event, besides senior officials from the Union and the state government.

The prime minister will also give the Special Category National Panchayat Awards 2025, which include the Climate Action Special Panchayat Award (CASPA), Atma Nirbhar Panchayat Special Award (ANPSA) and Panchayat Kshamta Nirman Sarvottam Sansthan Puraskar (PKNSSP).

“The awards aim to recognise gram panchayats and institutions that have demonstrated exemplary performance in areas such as climate resilience, fiscal self-reliance and capacity building,” the Panchayati Raj Ministry said.

Awardees have been selected from states including Bihar, Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Assam.

In addition, three of the six awardee gram panchayats — Motipur (Bihar), Dawwa S (Maharashtra) and Hatbadra (Odisha) — are led by women sarpanches, reflecting inclusive leadership at the grassroots. PTI AO KSS KSS