The book comes in the context of understanding the history of rural local governance in India. It provides an in-depth analysis of the structures of the Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) and the functioning of the PRIs since 2000. The introduction presents an overview of the functioning of the Panchayati Raj system. The volume takes up specific states and union territories individually and provides exhaustive data on blocks/talukas/mandals and districts of the state/union territory based on the 2001 and 2011 Census along with maps, demographic data and a socio-economic profile of each. There are special articles that appraise the functioning of the Panchayats in Fifth Scheduled Areas, study the involvement of women in Panchayats and the impact of the institutions on empowering women and look into fiscal decentralisation of PRIs.