AP Panchayat Raj Services

Panchayati Raj (Council of five officials) is the system of local self-government of villages in rural India[1] as opposed to urban and suburban municipalities. It consists of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through which the self-government of villages is realized. [2] They are tasked with "economic development, strengthening social justice and implementation of Central and State Government Schemes including those 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule.

In states or Union Territories with less than two million inhabitants there are only two levels of PRIs. The Gram Sabha consists of all registered voters living in the area of a Gram Panchayat and is the organization through which village inhabitants participate directly in local government. Elections for the members of the Panchayats at all levels take place every five years. The Panchayats must include members of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the same proportion as in the general population. One third of all seats and chairperson posts must be reserved for women, in some states half of all seats and chairperson posts.