When India’s aspiration took flight

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The United Nations development program lauded India’s aspirational districts Program (ADP) for its work in the upliftment of 112 backward districts of India. Ranchi, Chandauli, Simdega, Sonbhadra and Rajghar emerged as the top five districts with maximum change since the program started in 2018 in net resilience according to the UNDP. The UNDP recognized that the Aspirational district program can be used as a template for regional disparities in any part of the world.

Overview of the Aspirational District Program

  • Launched in 2018
  • Anchored by NITI Aayog
  • Aim- quickly and effectively transform the socio-economic backward districts
  • The broad contours of the program are 3C’s
    – Convergence of central and state schemes
    – Collaboration of central, state-level ‘Prabhari’ officers and district collectors
    – Competition among districts driven by a mass movement
  • District teams work to achieve the aim of the programme
  • There is a joint secretary or additional secretary-level officer appointed by the Government of India as a central officer for each district to guide the district team. Hence there is an element of experience.
  • The focus is on five critical sectors-
    – Healthcare
    – Education
    – Agriculture and water resources
    – Financial inclusion and skill development
    – Basic infrastructure
  • Monitoring real-time data
  • convergence across government programs and schemes (large funds are not given under the program. The teams have to make efficient use of the resources that they receive under the central and state schemes.)
  • Involvement of NGOs and the civil society
  • Real time data of the district indicators and a delta ranking dashboard to infuse competitiveness

UNDP report

The success story can be exemplified by the fact that few aspirational districts outperformed non aspirational districts. The districts have also admitted that the continued focus on the program on health and nutrition has made them resilient in tackling the pandemic.

The report highlighted a few best practices like competitiveness increases performance. The best practice of one aspirational district is shared with others. They can then develop a new model suited for their needs. Also, it was seen that if a district team is challenged, they will find a solution. Another notable feature of the initiative was that it is a team program. Example of GoalMart, an e-commerce portal launched by a Assam’s Goalpara district administration to promote rural, ethnic and agrarian products of the district in the national and global markets. This was gainful, particularly during the lockdown. Black rice was in high demand and it was even exported to Australia and New Zealand.

The UNDP report has highlighted few areas of improvement. For example, the sectors of emphasis can be expanded to include gender and environment. There is a need to focus on capacity building, especially the appointment of dedicated personnel in the aspirational areas. In this context, education, health and agriculture need attention due to the remoteness. People don’t want to work in secluded regions, away from towns. One major issue of concern is the misreporting and under-reporting of data. This however has been tackled by the involvement of central officers and a system of third party audit. An online dashboard shows progress in real-time. It applauds the good work of a district and at the same time, it highlights the districts which are left behind in the race. Likewise, the delta ranking exhibits the top-most and the bottom-most districts. Sitamarhi in Bihar, Gumla in Jharkhand, Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, Bijapur in Karnataka and Nawada in Bihar are among the least improved districts according to UNDP’s resilience and vulnerability index.

With the motto of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ an inclusive developmental model was designed. The recognition by UNDP’s resilience and vulnerability index speaks volumes about the potential of the program. Going forward the government has to make sure that the districts don’t remain aspirational for long. They should graduate by coming at par with other developed districts. This will mark the true success of the program.