Aspirational District Programme - Objectives, Focus Areas, Significance, Challenges And Its Impact!

The Aspirational District Programme (ADP) was launched in January 2018. The aim was to quickly and effectively transform 112 aspirational districts across 27 states in the country. Aspirational Districts can be defined as those districts that are affected by poor Socio-Economic Indicators.

Candidates can read further to learn about the objectives of this programme, the latest news around it and other facts and figures associated to keep them updated with the upcoming UPSC IAS exam. Government Schemes and Initiatives form an important part of government exams, and questions related to this topic can be seen in the mains and the current affairs section of the Prelims of the above-mentioned examination.

Latest News on the Aspirational Districts Programme

• On January 7, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 'Sankalp Saptaah' initiative. It is a week-long programme for Aspirational Blocks. The programme is aimed at improving governance at the block level. It is being implemented in 500 Aspirational Blocks across 329 districts in the country.
• On October 17, 2022, NITI Aayog released the baseline ranking for 115 aspirational districts. The ranking is based on a composite performance index across five key areas.
• On October 22, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Aspirational Districts Programme has changed the lives of over 25 crore people in 112 country districts. He said that the programme's success will now form the basis of the Aspirational Blocks Programme.

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What is the Aspirational Districts Programme?

The Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) is a flagship programme of the Government of India that was launched in January 2018. It aims to quickly and effectively transform the 112 most under-developed districts across the country. The Programme was initiated by NITI Ayog in partnership with state and district administration levels.

What are Aspirational Districts?

Aspirational Districts are those Districts in the country that have low socioeconomic indicators. Improvements in these aspirational districts have the potential to lead to an overall improvement in human development. This programme is supported by NITI Aayog. Individual ministries have also taken on responsibility for driving the progress of the program’s aspirational districts.

Broad Contours of the Programme 

• Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), 
• Collaboration (of Central, State level Nodal Officers & District Collectors), and 
• Competition among districts through monthly delta ranking.

Source: NITI Aayog

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Objectives of the Aspirational Districts Programme 

• The government is committed to raising the living standards and ensuring Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas, i.e. inclusive growth for all.
• It essentially aims for Sustainable Development Goals, eventually leading to the progress of the nation.
• The aim for the districts is to first compete with the best district within the state and subsequently aspire to become the best in the country by learning from others with the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism.
• Districts are also encouraged to develop and replicate best practices that promote progress across socioeconomic themes.

Source: NITI Ayog

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Performance Indicators of the Aspirational Districts Programme

There are 49 Key Performance Indicators of the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) under 5 themes as follows

• Health & Nutrition (30%)
• Education (30%)
• Agriculture & Water Resources (20%)
• Financial Inclusion & Skill Development (10%)
• Basic Infrastructure (10%)

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Significance of the Aspirational Districts Programme

The aspirational Districts Programme is an ambitious project of GOI and has Varied significances, such as

• It promotes a better standard of living conditions and inclusive growth for all with a motto of “Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas.”
• This program aims to achieve the Sustainable development goals (SDG) leading to the nation's progress.
• It has given states and districts more say over their development. Because local challenges vary significantly, state and local governments are best positioned to identify development challenges and design tailored policy interventions.
• Instead of making a specific financial allocation for the ADP, the program has focused on improving governance, using existing resources better, and achieving better results for the same amount of money.
• By working collaboratively, innovative service delivery approaches that were previously limited to one or a few districts in the country have been replicated in other areas.
  • The smart classroom initiative, for example, which is being implemented in Banka, Bihar, to improve student learning outcomes, is being replicated in aspirational districts throughout Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Jharkhand.

• By collaborating with the private sector, philanthropic organizations, and technical partners, the ADP is challenging the widely held belief that development is solely the government's responsibility.
  • These collaborations help to infuse new ideas into the program and act as force multipliers on outcomes.

• Further, it has increased district competition by allowing them to regularly assess their position with other aspirational districts and the country's best-performing districts.

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Challenges Associated with the Aspirational Districts Programme

• Despite its inclusive nature, the program fails to capture critical variables such as environment and gender.
• The majority of districts focused their efforts on health and nutrition, education, agriculture, and water resources. They placed less emphasis on the skill development and financial inclusion sectors. This shows that there is an imbalance in the implementation of the program.
• At various levels, this program is being impacted by the issue of insufficient budgetary resources. This perpetuates the district and block-level shortages of human resources and technical capacity.
• NITI Aayog serves as a mentor in 27 districts across eight states. The remaining districts have been adopted by 12 Central Government Ministries similarly. Coordination is hampered when multiple ministries are involved in the implementation.
• It is primarily concerned with assessing quantity (that is, access coverage) rather than quality; for example, timely delivery of textbooks in schools is part of the ranking index, but very little weightage is given to the quality of education provided in these districts.

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Champions of Change Dashboard

Champions of Change Dashboard is a portal launched by NITI Aayog to monitor districts’ progress and aid in decision-making for better planning.

• The COC dashboard is part of the Government of India’s concerted effort to emphasize outcome-based monitoring of public service delivery.
•  The data is used to discuss challenges and best practices with relevant line ministries, state governments, and district administrations, as well as to develop practical solutions to on-the-ground issues.
• The COC dashboard is part of the Government of India’s concerted effort to emphasize outcome-based monitoring of public service delivery.
• The data is used to discuss challenges and best practices with relevant line ministries, state governments, and district administrations, as well as to develop practical solutions to on-the-ground issues.

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Aspirational Districts Programme: Key Facts and Figures for UPSC

Let us have a look at some key facts and figures about the Aspirational District Program for the UPSC Exam

Facts & Figures
Launch Date	Jan 2018
Under the aegis of	NITI Ayog
Total number of Districts in ADP	112
Total Number of Key Performance Indicators	5
Best District in the year 2022	Haridwar
Ranking Method	Delta Ranking Method

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Focus Areas of Aspirational District Programme

• The government has adopted the Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas strategy for inclusive growth and improving living standards.
• The program encourages active participation in a flourishing economy, aiming to maximize individual potential.
• The Aspirational District Programme focuses on key areas like infrastructure, education, agriculture, water resources, financial inclusion, and health.
• Districts are evaluated using key performance indicators determined through consultations with various stakeholders.
• Through competitive and cooperative federalism, districts strive to become among the best in their states and eventually nationwide.

Impact of Aspirational District Programme

• The Aspirational District Programme (ADP) focuses on decentralized development and values natural factors through firm valuation.
• Aspirational districts employ creative information utilization and businesslike organization for an integrated strategy at the heart of comprehensive development.
• The government, through the Aspirational District Programme, aims to motivate regions that have advanced moderately slower to achieve key social results.
• Result-driven rivalry among neighboring governments is encouraged to boost efforts and improve the operation and planning of their programs.
• In the health domain of the Aspirational District Programme, positive outcomes include increased enrollment of pregnant women in the well-being framework, reduced institutionalization of children, and encouragement of diarrhoea treatment.

Way Forward

• Aspirational districts must develop strategies for indicator saturation. Special attention is needed in sectors such as health, nutrition, and education to regain ground lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Governance mechanisms in difficult districts must be strengthened. For example, studies have shown that districts perform better when key officials such as the district magistrate, chief medical officer, district agriculture officers, and so on have stable tenures. It is also critical that the state authorities fill vacancies for these key positions regularly.
• The ADP template should be extended to underdeveloped blocks and districts that are falling behind in social indicators.
• The first UNDP evaluation of the Aspirational Districts Programme recommended a realignment of program sectors. It advocates for the inclusion of topics such as the environment and gender.

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