Context:

• Darrang district of the State has been ranked as the best performing district among the all 14 aspirational districts of the North-east. Darrang has emerged as the best performing district with an aggregate improvement of 47.8 per cent.
• This was announced in the three-day conclave of ‘Sustainable Development Goals 2020’, organised jointly by NITI Aayog and North Eastern Council.
• The achievement came following the monitoring of the performances by the competent authority during the period from March 2018 to December 2019. 

About Aspirational Districts Programme:

Launched in January 2018, the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ programme aims to quickly and effectively transform some of the most underdeveloped districts of the country.

The broad contours of the programme are Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors), and Competition among districts driven by a Mass Movement or a Jan Andolan.

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.

Focus of the programme:

To enable optimum utilization of their potential, this program focuses closely on improving people’s ability to participate fully in the burgeoning economy. Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure are this programme’s core areas of focus.

Significance of the scheme:

If these districts are transformed, there would be tremendous improvement in the internal security environment of the country.

If Prabhari officers can bring convergence in the development efforts of different Ministries and state Governments and the schemes specially launched by Home Ministry in these districts, it would serve as a great opportunity to ensure rapid development in the country.