UNDP Report Lauds Aspirational Districts Programme, Recommends

Replication in Other Parts of the World

 About United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

• UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to eradicate poverty,
reduce inequalities and exclusion, and build resilience so countries can sustain
progress.

• As the UN’s development agency, UNDP plays a critical role in helping countries
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

• UNDP has its headquarters in New York City, but works primarily through its offices in
about 170 countries and territories
 Aspirational Districts Programme

• Prime Minister launched the Aspirational Districts Programme in January 2018 to

accelerate improvement in key development parameters in the 112 most under-
developed districts of the country.

• Anchored by NITI Aayog, the core approach of the programme is based on 3Cs:
Convergence (of central and state schemes), Collaboration (of Central, State level
‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors) and Competition (among the districts in key
performance indicators driven by a Mass Movement or a Jan Andolan).

• With States as the main drivers, this program will focus on the strength of each
district, identify low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress,
and rank districts.
• The programme focusses on 5 main themes/sectors - Health & Nutrition, Education,
Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Basic
Infrastructure, which have direct bearing on the quality of life and economic
productivity of citizens.

• 49 key performance indicators across five sectors that include health and nutrition
(30% weightage) through 13 indicators, education (30%) through 8 indicators,
agriculture and water resources (20%) through 10 indicators, financial inclusion and
skill development (10%) through 10 indicators, and basic infrastructure (10%)
through 7 indicators have been chosen to measure progress of the districts.

• Districts are prodded and encouraged to first catch-up with the best district within
their state, and subsequently aspire to become one of the best in the country, by
competing with, and learning from others in the spirit of competitive & cooperative
federalism.
 Real Time Monitoring and Ranking of districts

• While district officials are responsible for updating a majority of real time data
against the indicators, NITI Aayog commissions regular surveys to ensure validity of
data entered on the dashboard. NITI Aayog has partnered with two survey agencies,
Tata Trusts and IDInsight referred to as knowledge partners under the ADP.

• The delta ranking provided on the Champions of Change (CoC) dashboard is a unique
and dynamic feature of the ADP. The Delta ranking method measures incremental
changes in performance indicators on a monthly basis.
 List of 112 Aspirational Districts
Jammu & Kashmir Bihar Assam Odisha 88. Singrauli
1. Kupwara 21. Sitamarhi 40. Goalpara 65. Dhenkanal 89. Khandwa
2. Baramula 22. Araria 41. Barpeta 66. Gajapati Gujarat
Himachal Pradesh 23. Purnia 42. Hailakandi 67. Kandhamal 90. Dahod
3. Chamba 24. Katihar 43. Baksa 68. Balangir 91. Narmada
Punjab 25. Muza_arpur 44. Darrang 69. Kalahandi Maharashtra
4. Moga 26. Begusarai 45. Udalguri 70. Rayagada 92. Nandurbar
104. Firozpur 27. Khagaria 109. Dhubri 71. Koraput 93. Washim
Uttarakhand 28. Banka Jharkhand 72. Malkangiri 94. Gadchiroli
5. Udham Singh Nagar 29. Sheikhpura 46. Garhwa 73. Nawarangpur 95. Osmanabad
6. Haridwar 30. Aurangabad 47. Chatra 74. Nuapada Andhra Pradesh
Haryana 31. Gaya 48. Giridih Chhattisgarh 96. Vizianagaram
7. Mewat 32. Nawada 49. Godda 75. Korba 97. Visakhapatnam
Rajasthan 33. Jamui 50. Sahibganj 76. Rajnandgaon 98. Y.S.R. Kadapa
8. Dholpur Sikkim 51. Pakur 77. Mahasamund Karnataka
9. Karauli 34. West Sikkim 52. Bokaro 78. Kanker 99. Raichur
10. Jaisalmer Nagaland 53. Lohardaga 79. Narayanpur 100. Yadgir
11. Sirohi 35. Kiphire 54. Purbi Singhbhum 80. Dantewada Kerala
12. Baran Manipur 55. Palamu 81. Bijapur 101. Wayanad
Uttar Pradesh 36. Chandel 56. Latehar 105. Bastar Tamil Nadu
13. Chitrakoot Mizoram 57. Hazaribagh 106. Kondagaon 102. Virudhunagar
14. Fatehpur 37. Mamit 58. Ramgarh 107. Sukma 103. Ramanathapuram
15. Bahraich Tripura 59. Dumka Madhya Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh
16. Shrawasti 38. Dhalai 60. Ranchi 82. Chhatarpur 108. Namsai
17. Balrampur Meghalaya 61. Khunti 83. Damoh Telangana
18. Siddharthnagar 39. Ribhoi 62. Gumla 84. Barwani 110. Asifabad (Komaram Bheem)
19. Chandauli 63. Simdega 85. Rajgarh 111. Jayashankar Bhupalpally
20. Sonebhadra 64. Pashchimi Singhbhum 86. Vidisha 112. Bhadradri kothagudem
87. Guna
• In an independent appraisal report, United Nations Development Programme
Independent appraisal of Aspirational Districts Programme by UNDP

• (UNDP) India has lauded the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) as ‘a very
successful model of local area development’ that ‘should serve as a best practice for
several other countries where regional disparities in development status persist for
many reasons’.

• The report said due to concerted efforts made under the 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’. Notwithstanding some speedbumps in its journey, the APD ‘has
been immensely successful in propelling development among the backward districts’.

• The report said ADP is ‘aligned to the principle of “leave no one behind”—the vital
core of the SDGs. Political commitment at the highest level has resulted in rapid
success of the programme’.
• Certain sectors such as Healthcare and Nutrition, Education, and to a certain extent
Agriculture and Water Resources have registered massive improvements. Other
sectors of Basic Infrastructure, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development also
achieved improvement in indicators and offer scope for further strengthening.

• A comparison between the Aspirational Districts and their counterparts found that
ADs have outperformed non-ADs.

• Districts have also admitted that the continued focus of the programme on health
and nutrition has helped them in tackling the Covid crisis.

• The report also recognizes the unique collaborative nature of the programme to
bring all stakeholders, including state and local governments, development partners,
and citizens, together to achieve goals and targets.
• The report also acknowledged the remarkable commitment shown by the topmost
political leadership of the country, including Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,
towards the programme. Ever since the launch of the programme in 2018, the PM
has constantly ‘motivated and enthused district collectors to deliver their best at the
field level’.

• While exploring the 3Cs,‘Convergence, Competition and Collaboration’, approach of

the ADP, the report said most interviewees ‘emphasized on the importance of
convergence that fostered moving away from working in silos towards synchronised
planning and governance to achieve the targets of the programme’.

• Similarly, the ‘competition’ aspect too was found ‘to be helpful in promoting better
monitoring and creating healthy competition to achieve targets of the programme.
This also served as a motivating factor for districts to increase their efforts and track
progress’.
• The programme has strengthened the technical and administrative capacities of the
districts, however, the report said there was a need to focus more on capacity
building, ‘including the appointment of dedicated personnel such as Aspirational
District Fellows or Technical Support Units across all the districts or to collaborate
with development partners for providing technical expertise, skills training, etc’.

• The report also appreciated the delta rankings provided on the programme’s
Champions of Change dashboard. The competitive and dynamic culture fostered by it
has successfully pushed several low performing districts (as per baseline rankings) to
improve their standing in the past three years. 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.
• As regards challenges and suggestions, the report said some stakeholders highlighted
the need to revise a few indicators that are close to being saturated or met by most
districts, such as ‘electrification of households’ as an indicator of basic infrastructure.

• Overall, the report has appreciated the positive impact of the programme and
stressed on the need to ensure ‘the focus on development is encouraged further,
and momentum gained so far in expediting growth is maintained.

• Based on the findings of the evaluation, it is recommended that the success of the
programme be scaled up and replicated for other sectors and districts’.