Aspirational Districts Programme

The policy makers all over the world are observing a transitional shift in their development strategy, from centralized planning to evidence based policy making. The use of digital technology to monitor real time progress through a dash board has had a direct bearing on quality of life and economic productivity of the citizens.

‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ Programme is one such initiative by NITI Aayog, which aims to expeditiously improve the socio-economic status of 117 backward districts by promoting culture of competitive federalism in India. The programme ensures real-time monitoring and ranking of states on Key Performance Indicators like antenatal care, learning outcomes, agriculture price realization, disbursement of Mudra loans, road connectivity etc.

Core Principles of the Programme

  • Convergence, of Central & State Schemes
  • Collaboration, of central, state level ‘Prabhari’ (in-charge) officers and district collectors.
  • Competition among districts.

Five Main Themes of the Programme

  • Health & Nutrition
  • Education
  • Agriculture & Water Resources
  • Financial Inclusion & Skill Development
  • Basic Infrastructure

Core Strategy of the Programme

  • Collective national effort with States as main drivers of change
  • Work on the strength of each district and make it a catalyst for development.
  • Ensure development as a mass movement in these districts.
  • Measure progress and rank districts to spur a sense of competition.
  • Districts shall aspire to become State’s best to Nation’s best.

Criticism of the Programme

  • Centrally monitored programme by an executive organization defies the concept offederalism
  • Threatens Panchayati Raj Institutions(PRIs) and undermines decentralized planning
  • Validation of stats by third party agencies is limited
  • It ignores implementation condition. Incremental improvement shown in indicators can be inflated and may not reflect grass root reality
  • An increased layer of bureaucracy and oversight
  • The programme lacks budgetary support and financial support
  • The programme seeks improved outcomes in backdrop of same administrative architecture

Human Capital Index

The first ever scientific study measuring and comparing the strength of countries “human capital” was conducted by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the request of the World Bank. The ranking are based on four parameters: life expectancy, years of schooling, learning and functional health. India ranks 158th in the world compared to 195 countries for investments on its workforce in education and health care. This is comparatively low when compared even with its South Asian peers. As the world economy grows increasingly dependent on digital technology, from agriculture to manufacturing to the service industry, strength in human capital is increasingly important for stimulating local and national economies and to propel Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Way Forward

  • The centralizing tendency of the programme needs to be checked.
  • Financial autonomy as well as legitimacy of Panchayati Raj Institutions needs to be ensured
  • The concept of Cooperative federalism also needs to be imbibed in this programme
  • Codify penalties for government servants who inflate data regarding government progress in the region
  • Address budgetary requirements of the programme
  • Claims of progress made needs to be opened to the public for introspection.

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