Why in news:

• Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir has recently emerged as the top district in north India in the first independent appraisal of the National Aspirational District Programme by the UNDP.
• The development holds even greater importance in the light of the fact that the district was once known for heavy militant infestation.
• Among the 112 aspirational districts ranked by the UNDP on five key criteria of Healthcare & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Basic Infrastructure and Skill Development & Financial Inclusion, Kupwara is the top ranked at number 30 among eight other aspirational districts in north India.
• Kupwara is also the only north Indian aspirational district to make it to the top 30.
• The lowest ranked aspirational district among northern states is Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba at the 85th position.
   

Key Points:

• The UNDP in a recent assessment of the Aspirational Districts Programme  across 28 states concluded that the programme had helped achieve the objectives of accelerated growth in 112 most backward districts of the country through convergence of government programmes.
• The assessors used two indices – resilience and vulnerability – to determine which of the districts performed better than the others.
• The review found Ranchi, Chandauli, Simdega, Sonbhadra and Rajgarh to be India’s best performing aspirational districts and Sitamarhi, Gumla, Dantewada, Bijapur and Nawada to be the least performing.
• A comparison between the Aspirational Districts and their counterparts (non- Aspirational Districts) found that ADs outperformed non-ADs with 9.6 pc more home deliveries attended by a skilled birth attendant there; 5.8 pc more pregnant women with severe anaemia treated ; 4.8 pc more children diagnosed with diarrhoea treated; 4.5 pc more pregnant registered for antenatal care within their first trimester.
• UNDP also recommended ‘Malaria Mukt Bastar Abhiyaan’ in Bijapur and Dantewada as a best practice saying it reduced malaria incidences in these districts by 71 pc and 54 pc, respectively.
• The report recommended replication of the programme in other countries facing development challenges and said India’s Aspirational Districts Programme significantly improved previously neglected districts, including those affected by Left Wing Extremism and these areas “have experienced more growth and development in the last three years than ever before.

About Aspirational Districts Programme:

• The programme aims to quickly and effectively transform the districts incorporated in its purview.
• 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.
• With States as the main drivers, this program is focussed on the strength of each district, identifying low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measuring progress, and ranking districts.
• The Aspirational Districts Programme also assesses the eff­ectiveness of the flagship programmes of the Government of India and generate evidence-based documentation which can be used to support NITI Aayog and other stakeholders in their eff­orts, to address existing gaps, evidence-based planning and decision making.
• It is also expected to provide guidance to district administrations, development partners, knowledge partners and any other stakeholders in achieving the vision and targets.
•  In addition, the programme is also aimed to analyze the specific impact of government policies across the different districts, especially in relation to known issues of development challenges among the aspirational districts.
• A remarkable feature of the programme that has greatly contributed in its success is regular monitoring of the programme at the central level and active involvement of District Collectors at the field level.
• One of the chief advantages of the ADP is that it has given attention to districts otherwise neglected due to their lower performances.
• This aspect has aided most districts to demand the necessary support required for their districts.
• A key feature that sets the ADP apart from other development programmes is the clear and comprehensive framework it provides to the districts.
• This framework has provided eff­ective guidance for districts to focus their eff­orts on achieving the targets of the programme.
• In fact, the framework is an effective method of ensuring that e­fforts are synchronised with the wider goals of the country and are not arbitrary in nature.