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Daily News Analysis

ASPIRATIONAL BLOCK PROGRAMME

6th January, 2023 POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

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In News

  • The Union Government will soon launch the Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP), a new initiative along the lines of the Aspirational District Programme.
    • The Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) was announced by the Union Finance Minister in her 2022-23 Budget speech.
  • Under the Programme, a total of 500 blocks across the country have been identified based on the recommendations of a four-member committee constituted by the government last year.
  • The NITI Aayog, in partnership with the states, will release a quarterly ranking of these blocks based on their performance on development indicators covering sectors such as health, education and nutrition, among others.

Aspirational District Programme (ADP) :

  • The Union Government launched the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ programme in 2018.
  • The overall objective of the programme;
    • Convergence of Central & State Schemes.
    • Collaboration of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers and District Collectors.
    • Competition among districts with a spirit of mass Movement.
  • 115 districts were transparently identified from 28 states by a committee of Senior Officers to the Government of India, in consultation with State Officials using a composite index.
    • The Composite index included data from the Socio-Economic Caste Census, Key health and education sector performance and the basic infrastructure of the State.
  • The NITI Aayog coordinates and manages the programme with support from Central Ministries and State Governments.
    • NITI Aayog is supervising the initiative in 30 districts.
    • Various central ministries oversee 50 districts.
    • The Ministry of Home Affairs focuses on 35 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts.
  • The Officers at the level of Joint Secretary or Additional Secretary are nominated to become the ‘Central Prabhari Officers’ of each district.
  • States have appointed Prabhari officers.
  • An Empowered Committee under the NITI Aayog will help to converge various government schemes and efforts.
  • NITI Aayog release the Delta ranking for Aspirational Districts to assess the performance across 5 developmental areas;
    • Health and Nutrition.
    • Education.
    • Agriculture and Water Resources.
    • Financial Inclusion and Skill Development.
    • Basic Infrastructure.

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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/govt-set-to-launch-scheme-tomorrow-to-raise-blocks-on-development-scale-8364234/