After showcasing homegrown instant payment system that has redefined commerce bringing back millions into the formal economy, India is set to offer pioneering rural land reform at the global stage during the four-day long World Bank Conference 2025, beginning from May 5 in Washington, DC.
The SVAMITVA Scheme is a landmark initiative to provide legal ownership of property in rural inhabited areas using drone and geospatial technology.
With property cards issued to 24.4 million households across over 1.6 lakh villages, and mapping covering more than 100 million property parcels, SVAMITVA has revolutionised land governance in rural India and unlocked an estimated $1.162 trillion in land value, said sources in the Ministry.
A high-level delegation led by Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and comprising Joint Secretary, MoPR Alok Prem Nagar, Additional Surveyor General (Policy & Coordination), Survey of India Shailesh Kumar Sinha, and senior officials from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, will represent India.
The Ministry’s participation reflects Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of leveraging technology for good governance and ensuring inclusive, grassroots-led development in rural India, sources stated.
India’s success story will be presented in two key sessions at the Conference, themed “Securing Land Tenure and Access for Climate Action: Moving from Awareness to Action.”
It will bring together global leaders, policymakers, experts and development partners to explore strategies for secure land tenure and land-use management to support climate resilience and sustainable development.
Plenary session
In the plenary session on May 6 on “Good Practices and Challenges in Land Tenure and Governance Reform”, Vivek Bharadwaj’s address on SVAMITVA will contribute to global deliberations on SDG Target 1.4.2, highlighting the transformation in rural property rights, women’s empowerment, and dispute resolution, said Ministry sources.
The session will open with a global update on land tenure and feature high-level exchanges among leaders and senior officials from participating countries, focusing on scalable solutions for land governance and tenure reform. It will conclude with a global Call to Action on land rights.
On May 8, in technical session on “Establishing the Land Foundation for Climate Action and Disaster Risk Management”, Alok Prem Nagar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, will present India’s innovative use of high-resolution spatial data generated under the SVAMITVA Scheme through the Gram Manchitra platform – a powerful geospatial planning tool supporting village-level planning, solar energy site selection, disaster risk mitigation, and rural infrastructure development.
The session will focus on the intersection of land planning, climate adaptation, and the application of advanced geospatial technologies.