UNDP lauds Aspirational Districts Programme

Context

In an independent appraisal report, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India has lauded the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) as a very successful model of local area development.

• The report mentioned that it could be applied worldwide.

About Aspirational Districts Programme

• The Government of India has launchedthe 'Transformation of Aspirational Districts' initiative in January 2018.
• Implementation: NITI Aayog anchors the programme with support from Central Ministries and the State Governments.
• Aim: The ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ Programmeaims to expeditiously improve the socio-economic status of 117 districts from across 28 states.
• Principles:The three core principles of the programme are –
• Convergence (of Central & State Schemes)
• Collaboration (among citizens and functionaries of Central & State Governments including district teams)
• Competition among districts.
• Themes: The programme focuses on 5 main themes - Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure.
• Real-time monitoring:NITI Aayog in partnership with the Government of Andhra Pradesh has created a dashboard ‘Champions of Change’for monitoring the real-time progress of the districts.
• Ranking:Districts are ranked through ‘delta ranking’ based on progress made on a real-time basis.
• Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu achieved overall first rank.
• Simdega (Jharkhand), Chandauli (Uttar Pradesh), Sonbhadra (Uttar Pradesh) and Rajgarh (Madhya Pradesh) were found to have progressed the most since the beginning of the programme.
• Achievements: Under ADP previously neglected districts, including those in remote locations and those affected by Left Wing Extremism, 'have experienced more growth and development in the last three years than ever before.
• The programme has strengthened the technical and administrative capacities of the districts.