In India the Panchayati Raj generally refers to the system introduced by the constitutional amendment in 1992, although it is based on the traditional panchayat system of South Asia. The modern Panchayati Raj and its Gram Panchayats should not be confused with the extra-constitutional Khap Panchayats (or Casta Panchayats) found in northern India. The Panchayati Raj system was formalized in 1992, following a study by several Indian committees on various ways of implementing more decentralized administration.
Mahatma Gandhi defended Panchayati Raj as the foundation of India's political system as a form of decentralized government in which each village would be responsible for its own affairs. The term for such a vision was Gram Swaraj ("people's autonomy"). Instead, India developed a highly centralized form of government. However, this has been moderated by the delegation of several administrative functions at the local level, giving power to the panchayats of chosen grams. There are significant differences between the traditional Panchayati Raj system, which was predicted by Gandhi, and the system formalized in India in 1992.
In India, the Panchayati Raj now functions as a governance system in which gram panchayats are the basic units of local administration. The system has three levels: Gram Panchayat (village level), Mandal Parishad or Block Samiti or Panchayat Samiti (block level) and Zila Parishad (district level). It was formalized in 1992 by amendment 73 to the Indian Constitution.
Several Committees on Panchayati Raj:
• Balwant Rai Mehta: established 1957
• V.T. Krishnammachari: 1960
• Takhatmal Jain Study Group: 1966
• Ashok Mehta Committee: 1977
G.V.K. Committee Rao: 1985
• Dr. L.M. Singhvi Committee: 1986