India's Ministry of Panchayati Raj has launched the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI), a data-driven framework to measure and improve grassroots development. The PAI uses 435 indicators across nine themes aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to assess gram panchayats. Early adoption shows PAI scores prompting targeted interventions in areas like sanitation and women's empowerment, moving rural development away from subjective perceptions towards objective, transparent, and SDG-aligned planning.