New Delhi, April 24:  PM Narendra Modi in the presence of Panchayati Raj Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched two programmes to empower the grassroots. He first launched the new portal - e-GramSwaraj app via video conferencing with the Sarpanches on Friday. The Unified Portal is a new initiative of Ministry of Panchayati Raj which will provide the Gram Panchayats with a single interface to prepare and implement their Gram Panchayat Development Plan.

As part of the second programme, PM Modi also launched the Swamitva Scheme on the occasion. The scheme provides for an integrated property validation solution for rural India. The demarcation of inhabited land in rural areas would be done by the use of the latest surveying methods. Check here for live updates on PM Narendra Modi's address.

India is celebrating National Panchayati Raj Day today. Narendra Modi also launched Swamitva Yojana on Friday. As the country is observing social distancing through COVID-19 lockdown, Prime Minister interacted with various participants through video-conferencing.

In his address, PM Narendra Modi said that coronavirus has given us a message to walk on the path of self-dependence. He said, "We cannot fight these difficulties without self-dependence. We must not have to rely on help from outsiders. States, districts, must become self-dependent and help India fight such difficulties. Gram Panchayats play an important role in this. They are the epitome of self-dependence."

He further appreciated the villages in India who gave the mantra of - 'Do gaj doori ' to define social distancing in simpler terms, to fight coronavirus pandemic.

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Earlier in the day, he took to Twitter, The Prime Minister took to Twitter to announce that he will interact with  Sarpanchs across India on Friday. "Those Sarpanchs who will be sharing their views with PM @narendramodi will be doing so by joining the interaction at a Common Service Centre close to them", PM Modi tweeted.

India's COVID-19 tally on Friday crossed 23,000-mark and stood at 23,077 with 1684 new cases and 37 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. The death toll, on the other hand, jumped to 718.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 24, 2020 11:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).