Transformation of Aspirational Districts Programme

• NITI Aayog announced “Transformation of Aspirational Districts” programme that aims to expeditiously improve the socio-economic status of 115 districts out of total 712 from across 28 states. Launched in January 2018.
• Aim : The Government is committed to raising the living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth for all – “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”.
• Principles : The programme is based on three core principles:
  • Convergence (of Central & State Schemes),
  • Collaboration (among citizens and functionaries of Central & State Governments including district teams), and
  • Competition among districts
• Themes : The programme focusses on 5 main themes which have direct bearing on the quality of life and economic productivity of citizens. These are:
  • Health & Nutrition,
  • Education,
  • Agriculture & Water Resources,
  • Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and
  • Basic Infrastructure,
• With States as the main drivers, this program will focus on the strength of each district, identify low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress, and rank districts based on 49 performance indicators.

Click Here to See the List of 115 Aspirational District Identified

Ranking of Districts

• This ranking is based on incremental (delta) change in the performance indicators from March 31, 2018 to May 31, 2018 and aims to spur a sense of competition among districts to improve their rank.
• 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 through a household survey.
• Besides, NITI Aayog in partnership with the government of Andhra Pradesh has created Champions of Change dashboard. The dashboard is designed, developed, and maintained by the Planning Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh for monitoring the real-time progress of the districts.
• District collectors of all the aspirational districts can input the latest available data of their respective districts.

First Delta Ranking

Most Improved Districts

District	State	Delta	Rank
Dahod	Gujarat	19.8	1
West Sikkim	Sikkim	18.9	2
Ramanathapuram	Tamil Nadu	17.7	3
Vizianagaram	Andhra Pradesh	17.5	4
Y.S.R	Andhra Pradesh	14.9	5
Bijapur	Chhattisgarh	14.7	6
Washim	Maharashtra	13.8	7
Udham Singh Nagar	Uttarakhand	13.7	8
Korba	Chhattsigarh	13.6	9
Virudhunagar	Tamil Nadu	13.1	10

Least Improved Districts

District	State	Delta	Rank
Kupwara	Jammu & Kashmir	0.5	108
Begusarai	Bihar	0.8	107
Ranchi	Jharkhand	1.2	106
Simdega	Jharkhand	1.2	105
Khagaria	Bihar	1.4	104

One Liners Based on the Transformation of Aspirational Districts” Programme

1. Transformation of Aspirational Districts” programme launched by? NITI Aayog
2. Three core principles of Transformation of Aspirational Districts” programme
3. 5 main themes of Transformation of Aspirational Districts” programme
4. Number of districts identified under the programme? 115
5. Ranking dashboard prepared by which state? Andhra Pradesh
6. NITI Aayog partnered with which company to conduct survey of the districts?
7. Most improved district in the first delta ranking?
8. Least improved district in the first delta ranking?
9. Number of districts considered for first delta ranking? 108
10. First delta ranking based on period spanning? March 31, 2018 to May 31, 2018