The ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ Programme aims to expeditiously improve the socio-economic status of 117 districts from across 28 states. 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), and Competition among districts. Driven primarily by the States, this initiative focuses on the strengths of each district, and prioritizes the attainable outcomes for immediate improvement.
The NITI Aayog launched the first Delta ranking (incremental progress) for the Aspirational Districts, based on self-reported data of districts between March 31, 2018 to May 31, 2018, across five developmental areas of Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure.
“The purpose of this ranking is to spur a sense of competition among the dynamic teams in the districts. Since these districts face many challenges including legacy, unexploited or weak resource base, deficit of manpower at different levels due to difficult living conditions etc, the ranking is also a tool to identify sectors and indicator specific challenges so that Team India, which is driving this programme, can take immediate corrective measures”, said Shri Amitabh Kant, releasing the first delta ranking of the Aspirational Districts.
The Districts started entering data from 1st April, 2018 in the Champions of Change Dashboard and 108 districts out of total 112, participated in this ranking. Data entry by remaining four districts is also in progress, though they are not part of this ranking.
