Local Governments in Independent India, since 1992,has been formalized under the
panchayat raj system (rule by village committee), a three-tier system with elected bodies at the village, taluk and district levels. The modern system is based in part on traditional
panchayat governance, in part on the vision of
Mahatma Gandhi and in part by the work of various committees to harmonize the highly centralized Indian governmental administration with a degree of local autonomy. The result was intended to create greater participation in local government by people and more effective implementation of rural development programmes. Although, as of 2015, implementation in all of India is not complete the intention is for there to be a
gram panchayat for each village or group of villages, a tahsil level council, and a
zilla panchayat at the district level.