LUCKNOW, July 27 -- Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Saturday said that empowering villages and promoting self-reliance in rural areas were essential to building a developed India. He called for transforming villages into "smart villages" on the lines of smart cities. Maurya was addressing a review meeting of CDOs at Yojna Bhawan, where he noted that Uttar Pradesh was leading in several rural development schemes and had the highest women's participation under MGNREGA. He asked officials to activate dormant self-help groups (SHGs), ensure greater transparency in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), and improve on-ground visibility of development works. During the meeting, the deputy CM launched the State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM) dashboard and unveiled the fifth edition of the department's quarterly magazine....