Panchayati Or Panchaayati Raj is a system of governance in which gram panchayats are the basic units of administration. It has 3 levels: village, block and district.

The term ‘panchayat raj’ is relatively new,. 'Raj' literally means governance or government. Mahatma Gandhi advocated Panchayati Raj, a decentralized form of Government where each village is responsible for its own affairs, as the foundation of India's political system. His term for such a vision was "Gram Swaraj" (Village Self-governance

Village level panchayat

It is called a Panchayat at the village level. It is a local body working for the good of the village. The number of members usually ranges from 7 to 31; occasionally, groups are larger, but they never have fewer than 7 members.

The block-level institution is called the Panchayat Samiti. The district-level institution is called the Zilla Parishad