Aspirational Districts Programme: Data-Driven Catalysis of Grassroots Socio-Economic Improvement
- Post by: IPRR
- October 8, 2023
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Saurabh Rishi[1], Urvashi Prasad[2], Shashank Shah[3], and Radha R. Ashrit[4]
[1] Senior Specialist, NITI Aayog
Email: saurabh.rishi@gov.in
[2] Director, NITI Aayog
Email: urvashi.prasad@nic.in
[3] Senior Specialist, NITI Aayog
Email: shashank.shah@gov.in
[4] Deputy Director General, DMEO, NITI Aayog
Email: radha.ashrit@nic.in
| Title: | Aspirational Districts Programme: Data-Driven Catalysis of Grassroots Socio-Economic Improvement |
| Author(s): | Saurabh Rishi, Urvashi Prasad, Shashank Shah, and Radha R. Ashrit |
| Keywords: | Aspirational Districts; Governance; Real-time Monitoring |
| Issue Date: | October 8, 2023 |
| Publisher: | IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute |
| Abstract: | India’s Prime Minister launched the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) in January 2018. The programme covers 112 districts across the country that have historically lagged on socio-economic parameters. This is the first time that a programme of this size and scale has been launched by the government with the objective of accelerating progress through improved data-driven governance, robust monitoring, making development a mass movement, working as Team India (Centre and States), and collaborating with stakeholders outside the government. Instead of a large infusion of funds, the programme’s emphasis is on better governance for improving outcomes. Forty-nine Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been identified under the ADP across 5 sectors. The results are for all to see. A comparison between the Aspirational Districts (ADs) and their counterparts by an independent UNDP Study undertaken in 2021 found that ADs have outperformed non-ADs. In January 2023, the Aspirational Blocks Programme was launched to replicate the success of the ADP template across 500 relatively underdeveloped blocks in the country. |
| Page(s): | 6-11 |
| URL: | |
| ISSN: | 2583-3464 (Online) |
| Appears in Collections: | IPRR Vol. 2 (1) [January-June 2023] |
| PDF Link: | https://iprr.impriindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Aspirational-District-Program_IPRR-V2I1_Jan-June-2023.pdf |
(January-June 2023) Volume 2, Issue 1 | 8th October 2023
ISSN: 2583-3464 (Online)
India’s Prime Minister launched the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) in January 2018. The programme covers 112 districts across the country that have historically lagged on socio-economic parameters. This is the first time that a programme of this size and scale has been launched by the government with the objective of accelerating progress through improved data-driven governance, robust monitoring, making development a mass movement, working as Team India (Centre and States), and collaborating with stakeholders outside the government. Instead of a large infusion of funds, the programme’s emphasis is on better governance for improving outcomes. Forty-nine Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been identified under the ADP across 5 sectors. The results are for all to see. A comparison between the Aspirational Districts (ADs) and their counterparts by an independent UNDP Study undertaken in 2021 found that ADs have outperformed non-ADs. In January 2023, the Aspirational Blocks Programme was launched to replicate the success of the ADP template across 500 relatively underdeveloped blocks in the country.
India has made tremendous progress on various socio-economic indicators. However, inter-state and intra-state disparities persist. Let us take the example of institutional deliveries. According to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), 99.8% of the deliveries in Kerala were in institutional settings, compared to 76.2% in Bihar. Examples of such disparities within the same state include Haryana, where 74.6% of institutional deliveries take place in the district of Mewat while 96.67% of such deliveries take place in the nearby district of Gurgaon. It is precisely to address these disparities and to ensure that no one is left behind in the development process, India’s Prime Minister launched the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) in January 2018.
The programme covers 112 districts across the country that have historically lagged on socio-economic parameters. This is the first time that a programme of this size and scale has been launched by the government with the objective of accelerating progress through improved data-driven governance, robust monitoring, making development a mass movement, working as Team India (Centre and States), and collaborating with stakeholders outside the government. Instead of a large infusion of funds, the programme’s emphasis is on better governance for improving outcomes.
Data-driven governance and spurring competition among districts
The ADP focuses on socio-economic indicators that can improve the ease of living of citizens across five main sectors that have a direct bearing on the quality of life and economic productivity of citizens. These have been identified following extensive deliberations with government ministries and experts. These indicators have been used to construct a composite index for ranking the districts. Using these indicators, a composite index has been created for ranking the districts. A baseline ranking for all the districts was released by NITI Aayog in April 2018. Subsequently, the performance of the districts on all the identified parameters has been updated on a regular basis and is reflected on a dashboard. The ranks assigned to districts are based on the progress they make, instead of comparing them to the baseline. This helps to ensure that the ranks are not biased by historical achievements, or lack thereof.
This data is also made publicly available through the Champions of Change Dashboard which can be accessed through NITI Aayog’s website. This is perhaps the first time that development data has been democratized at such a scale in a developing country. This real-time monitoring not only facilitates improvements in governance but also ensures transparency and promotes the use of the data by all stakeholders. Validation of the data is done through household surveys conducted by third parties. This helps ensure that authentic data is filled up by the districts.
Forty-nine Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been identified under the ADP across 5 sectors. These indicators have been further segregated into eighty-one data points. The indicators are a mix of input, process, output, and outcome indicators as summarised below:
1. Health and Nutrition: With 30% of the overall weightage allotted, Health and Nutrition mainly focuses on antenatal care, postnatal care, the health of newborns, nutrition and growth of children, gender parity, contagious diseases, and health infrastructure.
2. Education: The Education sector accounts for 30% of the overall index focusing on learning outcomes, the transition rate from primary to upper primary and subsequently to secondary schooling; as well as infrastructural (toilet access for girls, drinking water, electricity supply) and institutional indicators (Right To Education [RTE] mandated pupil-teacher ratio and timely delivery of textbooks).
3. Agriculture and Water Resources: Agriculture is the backbone of India’s economy, with more than 50% of the workforce engaged in cultivation and allied activities, this sector has been assigned a weightage of 20%. It focuses on outputs (yield, price realization, etc.), inputs (quality seed distribution and soil health cards), and institutional support (crop insurance and electronic markets); along with irrigation and animal husbandry (artificial vaccination and insemination).
4. Financial Inclusion and Skill Development: Together, these two sectors account for 10% of the overall index. Financial Inclusion focuses on the coverage of important Central Government Schemes (Atal Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, etc.), the reach of institutional banking (number of accounts opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana), and ease of institutional financing for small businesses (disbursement of Mudra loans). Skill Development indicates progress in the skilling of youth, employment, and the skilling of vulnerable/marginalized youth under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), and other schemes.
5. Basic Infrastructure: With a weightage of 10%, this important sector focuses on the availability of individual household latrines, drinking water, electricity, housing for all, and road connectivity. Districts are also being tracked for the number of internet-connected Gram Panchayats and Panchayats with Common Service Centres.
Aspirational Districts Programme Monitoring Framework
Institutional mechanisms for working as Team India
In a country of India’s scale and diversity, states and districts are best positioned to design customized policy interventions for addressing their own specific developmental challenges and goals. There is a wealth of evidence to show that devolving resources and responsibilities to lower levels of government can result in improved governance of public sector facilities, greater utilization of public services, and ultimately greater accomplishment of the desired socio-economic outcomes.
The Government of India has nominated an Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary-level Central Prabhari Officer (CPO) for each Aspirational District. Similarly, states have nominated a State Prabhari Officer (SPO) for each District. The Prabhari Officers are mentors to the respective districts. The focal points for ADP are the district collectors or magistrates who are the officials closest to the ground. Empowering them means that they do not always have to wait for authorities at higher levels to make decisions. They play a crucial role in implementing the programme and monitoring the key performance indicators through the dashboard.
An important differentiator of this programme is that, unlike usual government schemes, ADP does not entail a large infusion of funds into the districts. Instead, it focuses on better utilization of existing funds. Additionally, ADP promotes the convergence of funds from central and state schemes as well as the creative utilization of CSR and District Mineral Funds. The focus, therefore, is on using all possible sources of funds in a coordinated manner and avoiding duplication.
Making development a mass movement
The name of the programme has been chosen carefully. Districts are called ‘aspirational’ instead of ‘backward’ so that they aspire to achieve the best possible performance in the state and eventually at the national level. The programme seeks to make development a mass movement by infusing a sense of purpose in the district administration as well as in the citizens through real-time monitoring, sharing of best practices, and governance reforms. The programme is not limited to government stakeholders. In fact, the ADP has facilitated extensive participation of civil society, corporates, and experts. These partnerships undoubtedly serve as a force multiplier and help to strengthen the programme through innovative ideas.
The results are for all to see. A comparison between the Aspirational Districts and their counterparts by an independent UNDP study undertaken in 2021 found that Aspirational Districts have outperformed non-aspirational Districts. Across the sectors of health and nutrition, and financial inclusion, the study found that 5.8% more pregnant women with severe anemia are treated, 4.5% more pregnant women register for antenatal care within their first trimester, 9.6% more home deliveries are attended by a skilled birth attendant, 4.8% more children diagnosed with diarrhea are treated. Under financial inclusion indicators, the study found that 406, 847, and 1,580 more accounts were opened per 1 lakh population under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantra Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, respectively.
Several districts have improved their performance significantly from the baseline. Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh has improved by nearly 63% (at the overall level) since the inception of the programme in April 2018. Ranks are also available theme-wise. For instance, in the area of health and nutrition, Ranchi in Jharkhand is the district that has shown the highest improvement (66%) since baseline.
The launch of the ADP signals a significant reimagination of government and governance in India. By ensuring that no Indian is left behind, this initiative has provided greater momentum for meeting India’s commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals and realizing Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047.
In January 2023, the Aspirational Blocks Programme was launched to replicate the success of the ADP template across 500 relatively underdeveloped blocks in the country. Focusing on blocks enables a greater than proportionate share of development to reach the vulnerable and marginalized sections by providing access to social and economic infrastructure. By making the block an administrative and monitoring unit, a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach being applied to every part of the country, is avoided. Instead, tailored approaches can be adopted by the block administration to catalyze improvements in various socio-economic parameters in the region. Decision-making is also brought closer to the grassroots through this approach.
References
An Assessment of Aspirational Districts Programme. 2020. Institute for Competitiveness and Social Progress Imperative. Available at: https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-03/An-Assessment-Of-Aspirational-Districts-Program.pdf
Aspirational Districts Programme: An Appraisal. 2020. United Nations Development Programme. Available at: https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-03/Aspirational-Districts-Program-An-Appraisal.pdf
Aspirational Districts Unlocking Potentials. 2018. NITI Aayog. Available at: https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-03/Aspirational%20Districts%20-%20Unlocking%20Potentials_compressed.pdf
Champions of Change Dashboard. NITI Aayog. Available at: http://championsofchange.gov.in/site/coc-home/