The World Bank Land Conference 2025(WBLC 2025), the premier international forum for the land sector, was held from May 5 to 8, 2025 in Washington DC, the United States of America (USA).
- Washington (the USA)-based World Bank (WB) has been organising the Land Conference for over 20 years, with the aim of bringing together over 1,000 participants from wide range of sectors such as government, academia, civil society, and the private sector.
- Theme of WBLC 2025: “Securing Land Tenure and Access for Climate Action: Moving from Awareness”.
- During the conference, India was honored as a Country Champion under the leadership of Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR). This recognition underscores India’s global leadership in inclusive land governance and grassroots empowerment.
About World Bank Land Conference 2025(WBLC 2025):
i.The conference aimed to explore strategies for securing land tenure, modernizing land administration for sustainable development and climate-responsive governance.
ii.Key Speakers: Guangzhe Chen, Vice President for Infrastructure, The World Bank; Rohitesh Dhawan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM); Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Vice Chairperson of United Nations (UN) Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, among others.
iii.On the sidelines of the conference, various sessions were organised which highlighted best practices, operational strategies and cutting-edge research to drive reforms in land tenure, promote the use of geospatial technologies, and build resilience in tackling climate challenges.
India at 2025 WBLC:
A high-level Indian delegation led by Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary of MoPR showcased India’s pioneering digital land reform initiatives i.e. Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SWAMITVA Scheme) and Gram Manchitra, India’s advanced Geographic Information System(GIS)-based spatial planning platform at two different key sessions of 2025 WLC.
- Other members of the Indian delegation were: Alok Prem Nagar, Joint Secretary of MoPR; Shailesh Kumar Sinha, Additional Surveyor General, Survey of India and other senior officials from the state of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Key Sessions:
i.Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary of MoPR represented India as a Country Champion in the Plenary Session on ‘Good Practices and Challenges in Land Tenure and Governance Reform’.
- While addressing the event, he highlighted SWAMITVA Scheme, a flagship initiative of Government of India (GoI) has emerged as a transformational initiative in India’s rural land governance.
- Since the inception of scheme in April 2020, India has surveyed 68,000 square kilometers (sq. kms) of rural land, unlocking an estimated USD 1.16 trillion (approximately 100 crores) in land value.
- So far, over 24.4 million households have been issued across 1.6 lakh villages and mapped over 100 million property parcels across India.
ii.On the sidelines of 2025 WBLC, MoPR also led a high-level special session titled ‘Securing Land Rights for a Billion People’. The opening session was addressed by Dr. Klaus W. Deininger, Lead Economist at WB.
- The special session highlighted the end-to-end implementation and impact of the SVAMITVA Scheme, from drone surveys and legal frameworks to property card issuance and institutional convergence.
iii.On the last day of 2025 WLC, Alok Prem Nagar, Joint Secretary of MoPR led a Technical session on ‘Establishing the Land Foundation for Climate Action and Disaster Risk Management’, wherein he presented India’s Gram Manchitra platform, which uses high-resolution spatial data of SVAMITVA to support village-level planning, solar energy site selection, disaster mitigation and rural development.
- He emphasized the significance of capacity building, financial incentives, and community engagement, positioning Gram Manchitra as a forward-looking solution for disaster preparedness and inclusive development.
WBLC 2025 Concluded: Global Praise for India’s Rural Governance Models
The 4-day long WBLC 2025 was concluded on a high note as India earned global recognition for its innovative and technology-led rural governance initiatives like: SVAMITVA Scheme and Gram Manchitra platform.
- Through its participation at WBLC 2025, India has positioned as world thought leader in land tenure reforms rural development.
About World Bank (WB):
President- Ajay Banga
Headquarters- Washington, DC, the United States of America (USA)
Established- 1944
About Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR):
Union Minister- Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) (Constituency- Munger, Bihar)
Minister of State (MoS)- S.P. Singh Baghel (Constituency- Agra, Uttar Pradesh, UP)
