Context

• NITI Aayog has released the second delta ranking of the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP).
• The ranking measured the incremental progress made by districts between June 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018.

About

What is Aspirational  Districts programme?

• It aims to expeditiously improve the socio-economic status of 115 districts from across 28 states. The three core principles are - Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), Collaboration (among citizens and functionaries of Central & State Governments including district teams), and Competition among districts.

How does it approach the development of these districts?

• The programme focuses on 5 main themes - 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.

Institutional arrangement for collaboration, coordination and competition

• It is a product of collective effort in which States are the main drivers. At GOI level, programme is anchored by NITI Aayog.
• In addition, individual Ministries have assumed responsibility to drive progress of districts.
• For each district, a central Prabhari officer of the rank of Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary has been nominated.
• An Empowered Committee under the convener-ship of CEO, NITI Aayog has been notified to ensure convergence in schemes and address specific issues brought out by Prabhari officers.
• States have been requested to form a committee under Chief Secretary to implement the programme. States can also have nominated officers and State level Prabhari off

How will the progress of these districts be monitored?

• Real-time monitoring & ranking with 49 key performance indicators (81 data points) have been identified across 5 themes, in consultation with Ministries.
• The dashboard is designed, developed, and maintained by the Planning Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
• The ranking of districts is dynamic and would reflect the incremental (delta) improvement made month on month.

What are the means of collecting data for beta ranking?

• The initial delta ranking was largely based on data filled by District teams.
• NITI Aayog has entered into partnership with Tata Trusts, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations (ID Insight) to assist the districts in enumerating improvement in key performance indicators a through household survey.

Purpose of Ranking  

• Since these districts face many challenges including legacy, unexploited or weak resource base, deficit of manpower at different level due to difficult living conditions etc, the ranking is also a tool to identify sectors and indicator specific challenges so that the “Team India” which is driving this programme can take corrective measures.
• District teams have the benefits of current data so that they can fine tune their response and improve impact of their effort

Is the ranking of these districts dynamic?

• Yes, several districts that had ranked low in the baseline ranking released in April 2018 have shown remarkable improvement. Similarly, districts that are ranked low in this delta ranking have to accept the challenge of dramatically improving their ranks in the recent months.