Aspirational Block Programme (ABP)

Why in news?

• The Prime Minister has launched the Aspirational Block Programme (ABP).

About Aspirational Block Programme (ABP):

• The Aspirational Blocks Programme is on the lines of the Aspirational District Programme that was launched in 2018.
• ABP aims to improve the performance of blocks lagging on various development parameters. This will enable holistic development in those areas that require added assistance.
• The programme will cover 500 blocks across 31 states and Union Territories initially. Over half of these blocks are in 6 states—Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
• 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.

About Aspirational District Programme:

• The Government has launched the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ initiative in 2018 >> where the focus is to improve India's ranking under Human Development Index, raising living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth of all.
• A total of 117 Aspirational districts have been identified by NITI Aayog based upon composite indicators from Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure which have an impact on Human development Index.
• A minimum of one district was chosen from every State.
• These districts account for more than 20% of the country’s population and cover over 8,600 gram panchayats.
• The three core principles of the programme are:
  • Convergence of Central & State Schemes which brings together the horizontal and vertical tiers of the government.
  • Collaboration among citizens and functionaries of Central & State Governments, including district teams. This will enable impactful partnerships between government, market, and civil society.
  • Competition among districts driven by a spirit of the mass movement.
• Each district is ranked based on 49 performance indicators identified across the 5 core themes. This includes
  • Health & Nutrition (30% weightage)
  • Education (30% weightage)
  • Agriculture and Water Resources (20% weightage)
  • Financial Inclusion and Skill Development (10%)
  • Basic Infrastructure (10%)
• The delta ranking of the Aspirational Districts combines the innovative use of data with pragmatic administration.
• The programme ranks districts based on the improvement achieved month-on-month through the ‘Champions of Change’ dashboard (An online Dashboard).
• It is coordinated by NITI Aayog with support from Central Ministries and the State Governments.

Fund:

• There is no financial package or large allocation of funds to this programme.
• The intent is to leverage the resources of the several government programmes that already exist but are not always used efficiently.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding Aspirational District Programme:

1. The programme covers entire districts in India

2. There is no separate financial package for this programme

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer