The 73rd Amendment: Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule create a three-tier Panchayati Raj

Background

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1993 added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution.
The Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects over which Panchayats have decision-making powers.
Part IX set up a three-tier structure: Gram Panchayats at the village level, Panchayat Samitis at the intermediate or block level and Zilla Parishads at the district level.
All members of the three bodies are elected; the chairpersons at the intermediate and district levels are indirectly elected from among the elected members.
At every level, seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population.
A Gram Sabha consists of all persons registered in the electoral rolls of a village within a Gram Panchayat's area, and its powers and functions are determined by State legislatures through law.