India set to lead global land reform talks at World Bank headquarters
New Delhi: A high-level Indian delegation is set to present its SVAMITVA Scheme and Gram Manchitra platform at the World Bank Land Conference 2025, taking place from May 5-8 at the World Bank Headquarters in the US capital of Washington DC, the Panchayati Raj Ministry said in a statement Sunday.
Led by Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), and comprising of Joint Secretary, MoPR Alok Prem Nagar, Additional Surveyor General, Survey of India Shailesh Kumar Sinha, along with senior officials from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, the delegation will present its flagship SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) Scheme at two key sessions during the upcoming international forum on land governance.
This year's World Bank Land Conference, themed "Securing Land Tenure and Access for Climate Action: Moving from Awareness to Action", will bring together global leaders, policymakers, experts and development partners to explore strategies for securing land tenure, modernising land administration for sustainable development and climate-responsive governance.
Under India's flagship SVAMITVA Scheme that provides legal ownership of rural properties using drones and geospatial technology, property cards to over 24.4 million households across 1.6 lakh villages have been issued, mapping over 100 million property parcels and unlocking an estimated USD 1.162 trillion (approximately 100 crores) in land value.
India will play a key role at the World Bank Land Conference 2025, wherein the SVAMITVA Scheme will be spotlighted as a transformative model of rural empowerment through drone mapping, high-accuracy geospatial data, and platforms like Gram Manchitra for climate-aligned planning.
With applications in tax administration, infrastructure, and disaster preparedness, SVAMITVA exemplifies inclusive, tech-driven governance.
India's leadership in digital land reforms and its commitment to South-South collaboration will be central to the global dialogue on scalable and people-centric land solutions.
The conference agenda includes high-level plenary sessions, regional workshops, thematic exchanges, and an innovation expo, all focused on accelerating secure land access, modernising land administration systems, and driving climate-responsive governance.
Sessions will highlight best practices, operational strategies, and cutting-edge research on scaling up land tenure reforms, promoting the use of geospatial technologies, and building resilience in the face of climate challenges.
Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj Vivek Bharadwaj, will represent India as a Country Champion in the Plenary Session on "Good Practices and Challenges in Land Tenure and Governance Reform" wherein SVAMITVA Scheme's impact on rural property rights, women's empowerment, and dispute resolution, contributing to global discussions on SDG Target 1.4.2 (Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, (a) with legally recognized documentation, and (b) who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and type of tenure) will be discussed.
Alok Prem Nagar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, will lead a Technical Session on "Establishing the Land Foundation for Climate Action and Disaster Risk Management" wherein India's Gram Manchitra platform, which utilizes SVAMITVA's high-resolution spatial data to support village-level planning, solar energy site selection, disaster mitigation and rural development will be showcased.
India's participation in the 2025 World Bank Land Conference marks a significant milestone in global rural land governance. In March 2025, India hosted a six-day International Workshop on Land Governance with delegates from 22 countries, where SVAMITVA drew strong interest for its digital mapping and geospatial approach, with several nations expressing intent to collaborate.
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