Buoyed by the success of Amazon Prime Video’s Hindi comedy-drama Panchayat, the Centre is planning to sponsor micro-series to raise awareness about rural development initiatives, according to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
The ministry is planning a multi-episode campaign with specific segments highlighting issues such as women’s leadership in Panchayats and the importance of financial self-reliance in rural areas.
This comes after the ministry sponsored three special episodes of Panchayat earlier this year.
Designed for mobile-first viewing, micro-series are short-format shows ranging from 30 seconds to five minutes, delivering a complete narrative within minimal time.
“Through micro series, we are planning to highlight the issues confronting the Panchayati system in the rural areas and also to showcase the outstanding achievements or inspiring stories of the people associated with Panchayati Raj Institutions including sarpanch,” said Vivek Bharadwaj, secretary, Panchayati Raj ministry.
Bharadwaj said the goal is to boost participation among rural citizens for more effective use of government resources and better community outcomes.
To aware young masses, it is important that we use technology, media, and all other possible forms of disseminating information and awareness, he added.
With nearly 970 million internet connections and 1.16 billion mobile subscribers as of March 2025-including 528.68 million in rural areas-India is fast becoming a hotbed for micro-dramas. As attention spans shrink and mobile platforms dominate, experts say micro-series could shape the future of storytelling.
“Micro-series is becoming one of the popular medium to reach out to people, so it’s an important tool but as far its efficacy is concerned it is yet to be proved,” said Mateen Ahmad, assistant professor, AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia.
Earlier, the ministry had worked with TVF to sponsor three Panchayat episodes streamed on Amazon Prime Video in March-April, between the show’s third and fourth seasons. Featuring Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Jitender Kumar, Chandan Roy, and Faisal Malik, the episodes mixed relatable storytelling with sharp social commentary.
“The episodes were designed exclusively for the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and about the issues that we wanted to communicate with the masses such as husbands of women sarpanches acting as ‘proxy sarpanch’ and discharging duties as de facto sarpanch, generating own source of revenue (OSR) for self-reliance of Panchayat and digital initiative,” Bharadwaj said.
He added that the collaboration was a strategic effort to use entertainment to spotlight the importance of Panchayati Raj Institutions and the challenges and opportunities in rural administration.