Aspirational District & Blocks Program

Introduction

The Government of India launched the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ initiative in January 2018 to ensure an inclusive and all-round development across all 112 districts.

A total of 112 Aspirational Districts (ADs) 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 sectors.

Weightage has been accorded to each sector as below:

• Health & Nutrition (30%)
• Education (30%)
• Agriculture & Water Resources (20%)
• Financial Inclusion & Skill Development (10%)
• Basic Infrastructure (10%)

1. Overall 49 Key Performance Indicators have been identified from the above sectors.

2. Total 13 core indicators along with 31 sub indicators have been identified as key performance indicators for the Health & Nutrition sector. The maternal & child health, immunization, supplementary nutrition, anemia reduction, adequate infrastructure and human resources are the main themes covered under Health & nutrition sector. 

3. The program stands tall on three critical pillars of Convergence of Central & State Schemes, Collaboration of Central, State-level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors, and Competition among districts.

AD Repository:

• Operational Guidelines for improving Health and Nutrition status in Aspirational Districts to provide a framework for implementing action and various health initiatives for guiding State, and District Program officers. The guideline was launched by Hon’ble Minister of Health & Family Welfare on 22nd October 2018. Dedicated supportive supervision checklists are the part of guideline and for overall District assessment, Facility (SC/PHC/CHC/DH), Community and Health & Wellness centre assessment for monitoring key aligned health programmes in Aspirational Districts.
• The Guidebook for National Mentors which provides a detailed standard operating procedure for National Mentor checklists and framework for implementation.
• Health Atlas: As a diagnostic tool for Aspirational districts, developed by MoHFW and launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 14th April 2018 from Bijapur, Chhattisgarh.

Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP)

Hon’ble Prime Minister launched the Aspirational Blocks Programme on 7th January 2023, during 2nd National Conference of Chief Secretaries.

Under this initiative, 500 blocks have been identified by NITI Aayog for rapid improvement across 27 states and 4 Union territories.

ABP focuses on improving governance to bring about social development in the relatively difficult and underdeveloped blocks of India by converging existing schemes, defining outcomes, and monitoring results on a constant basis using digital tools and approaches. Along the lines of Aspirational Districts strategy, the Aspirational Blocks strategy also hinges upon three broad contours.

• Convergence of Central & State Schemes
• Collaboration of NITI Aayog, Central Ministries and Departments, State Governments and District and Block Administration and,
• Competition among blocks driven by a spirit of mass movement.

The objective of Aspirational Blocks Programme is to improve socio-economic, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and overall quality of life in the identified Aspirational Blocks.

The main objectives are as follows:

• Reaching the last mile through Convergence, Collaboration and Competition.
• Time bound Block specific Action plan.
• Saturation coverage of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Blocks surpass the State average.

Overall, 40 KPIs have been identified from 5 sectors under the Aspirational Blocks Programme and weightage has been accorded to each sector as below:

• Health & Nutrition- 30%
• Education- 30%
• Agriculture & allied services- 20%
• Basic Infrastructure- 15%
• Social Development- 5%