Focus: GS II- Government policies and Interventions
Why in News?
As part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, NITI Aayog held a day-long conference on the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP).
About Aspirational Districts Programme
- Aspirational Districts are those districts in India, that are affected by poor socio-economic indicators.
- These are aspirational in the context, that improvement in these districts can lead to the overall improvement in human development in India.
- At the Government of India level, the programme is anchored by NITI Aayog. In addition, individual Ministries have assumed responsibility to drive the progress of districts.
- The objective of the program is to monitor the real-time progress of aspirational districts.
- Aspirational Districts’ programme (ADP) is based on 49 indicators from the 5 identified thematic areas, which focuses closely on improving people’s Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure.
- With States as the main drivers, ADP seeks to focus on the strength of each district, identify low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress, and rank districts.
- There are 115 districts identified from 28 states as Aspirational Districts, at least one from each state.
