Aspirational Block Programme (ABP)
26-08-2023
12:00 PM
1 min read
What’s in today’s article?
- Why in News?
- Why was the ADP or the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ initiative launched?
- How has the ADP performed?
- News Summary
Why in News?
- The Prime Minister of India recently launched the Aspirational Block Programme (ABP), which is aimed at improving performance of blocks lagging on various development parameters.
- Launching the ABP, PM underscored the success achieved in various Aspirational Districts in the country under the Aspirational District Programme (ADP).
Why was the ADP or the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ initiative launched?
- Launched in 2018, the ADP aims to quickly and effectively transform (socio-economic status of) 112 most under-developed districts across the country, with a vision of a New India by 2022.
- The focus is to improve India’s ranking under the Human Development Index (HDI) and localising Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), leading to the progress of the nation.
- The districts have been identified by NITI Aayog based upon composite indicators from -
- Health and Nutrition (30%),
- Education (30%),
- Agriculture & Water Resources (20%),
- Financial Inclusion & Skill development (10%) and
- Basic Infrastructure (10%), which have an impact on HDI.
- The broad contours (all driven by a mass movement) of the programme are -
- Convergence (of Central & State Schemes),
- Collaboration (of Central, State level Nodal Officers & District Collectors), and
- Competition among districts through monthly delta ranking (available on the Champions of Change Dashboard), so that they can learn from others in the spirit of competitive and cooperative federalism.
- With States as the main drivers, this program focuses on the strength of each district, identifying low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement and measuring progress by ranking districts on a monthly basis.
- NITI Aayog works closely with the respective line Ministries and various development partners to fast-track progress at the district level, ensuring inclusive growth for all, ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’.
How has the ADP performed?
Image Caption: Performance of ADP
- The UNDP India has lauded the ADP as ‘a very successful model of local area development’, and acted as a catalyst for expediting development in the previously neglected districts, including those affected by Left Wing Extremism.
- The programme has strengthened the technical and administrative capacities of the districts, however, there was a need to focus more on capacity building.
- Best Practice under the ADP - GoalMart: It is an e-commerce portal launched by Assam’s Goalpara district administration to promote rural, ethnic and agrarian products of the district in the national and global markets.
News Summary
- Background: In her Budget (2022-23) speech, the Finance Minister had announced the government’s intention to launch the ABP.
- About the ABP:
- The ABP will take the aspirational district model up to block level and will enable holistic development in those areas that require added assistance.
- The programme will cover 500 districts across 31 states and UTs initially and over half of these blocks are in 6 states - Uttar Pradesh (68 blocks), Bihar (61), Madhya Pradesh (42), Jharkhand (34), Odisha (29) and West Bengal (29).
Q1) How many aspirational districts are there?
A total of 112 Aspirational Districts (AD) across 27 states have been identified by NITI AAYOG based upon composite indicators from Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill development and Basic Infrastructure which have an impact on HDI.
Q20 What are some of the best practices under the ADP initiative?
GoalMart: It is an e-commerce portal launched by Assam’s Goalpara district administration to promote rural, ethnic and agrarian products of the district in the national and global markets.
Source: PM launches Aspirational Block Programme aimed at spurring development parameters | NITI Aayog | NHM | PIB | UNDP India