Lok Sabha Question No. 3524 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-02
Subject: Ranking of Aspirational Districts
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: L.R. Shivaramegowda, ANJU BALA, Tejpratap Singh,Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3524

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.01.2019

## RANKING OF ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS

## 3524.   SHRI L.R. SHIVARAME GOWDA: SHRIMATI ANJU BALA: SHRI TEJ PRATAP SINGH YADAV:

Will the Minister of Planning be pleased to state:

- a) whether the NITI Aayog has brought out Ranking of 115 Aspirational Districts and if so, the details thereof;
- b) whether  the  Government  has  planned  to  develop  country's  115  most  backward districts by 2022 and if so, the details thereof, district-wise;
- c) whether  the  Government  is  setting  up  a  mechanism  for  real-time  monitoring  of Government's development programmes and if so, the details thereof; and
- d) the steps taken by the Government to all backward districts of the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTERY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

- a) Yes. Under the on-going Aspirational District Programme, progress made  in selected performance indicators is regularly captured on NITI Aayog's web-portal: www.championsofchange.gov.in and districts are regularly ranked on the basis of incremental performance. Latest such ranking of Aspirational Districts announced by Niti Aayog on 27-122018 is placed at Annexure-I.
- b) Government of India has not declared any district as a backward district. However, 117 districts in  28  States,  which  have  shown  relatively  slower  progress  in  socio  economic  indicators  have been  identified  as  'Aspirational  Districts.'  State  wise  list  of  these  117  districts  are  placed  at Annexure-II. At present the programme is being implemented in 112 Districts as Government of West Bengal has not yet joined this programme.

The core strategy envisaged in this programme is to improve efficiency in the existing programmes  of  the  Central  and  the  State  Governments  through  convergence.    Under  this programme, Central Prabhari Officer in the rank of Joint Secretary/Additional Secretaries have been assigned at the Centre level to monitor   the implementation of the programme. They are to assist  the  State  governments  and  the  district  administrations  to  improve  their  performance  by acting as a bridge between the State Government, District and the Government of India. 49 Key

Performance Indicators having 81 data points have been identified across important sectors like Health,  nutrition,  education,  agriculture  and  water  resources,  financial  inclusion  and  skill development and basic infrastructure  and districts have been requested to create district action plan to bring rapid improvement in the targets. A dynamic dashboard is facilitating the district to ascertain  its  position  among  the  Aspirational  Districts  in  India  on  the  basis  of  incremental change. This in turn is expected to enthuse the District teams to become competitive and with the assistance of their own State government to improve their position.   In addition, key Central Ministries have prioritized these districts in their programme.

This has resulted in improving the focus of the district administration towards the activities which are critical for improving the quality of life of people in these districts and their economic productivity. These innovative features of the programme have resulted in districts improving their performance in key sectors.

- c) For monitoring of the performance of the districts, Government of India has appointed an officer from  central  Government  as  Central  Prabhari  officer  for  each  district  mentioned  above.  As stated  above,  there  are  49  key  performance  indicators  having  81  data  points  in  sectors  under focus  of  the  aspirational  district  programme.  One  of  the  functions  of  the  Central  Prabhari Officers is to monitor progress of districts across these 49 indicators. In addition, as mentioned above, progress made in these indicators by District teams are being captured on Niti Aayog's web portal www.chamionsofchange.gov.in. this has helped in not only ranking that districts on the basis of their performance which in turn motivate them but also offer a tool to District team to continuously assess their performance and improve the same.
- d) Same as in (b) above.

-------

## Annexure-I

## RANKING OF THE BASIS OF INCREMENTAL PERFORANCE (JUNE TO OCTOBER 2018) (Rank 1 is the best and so on)

| State             | District                 |   Overall Rank |
|-------------------|--------------------------|----------------|
| TAMILNADU         | Virudhunagar             |              1 |
| ODISHA            | Nuapada                  |              2 |
| UTTAR PRADESH     | Siddharthnagar           |              3 |
| BIHAR             | Aurangabad               |              4 |
| ODISHA            | Koraput                  |              5 |
| JHARKHAND         | Gumla                    |              6 |
| JAMMU &KASHMIR    | Kupwara                  |              7 |
| ARUNACHAL PRADESH | Namsai                   |              8 |
| BIHAR             | Jamui                    |              9 |
| JHARKHAND         | Ranchi                   |             10 |
| ANDHRA PRADESH    | Vizianagaram             |             11 |
| CHHATTISGARH      | Dakshin Bastar Dantewada |             12 |
| MADHYA PRADESH    | Singrauli                |             13 |
| ODISHA            | Balangir                 |             14 |
| ASSAM             | Udalguri                 |             15 |
| PUNJAB            | Firozpur                 |             16 |
| GUJARAT           | Narmada                  |             17 |
| JHARKHAND         | Lohardaga                |             18 |
| ANDHRA PRADESH    | Y.S.R.                   |             19 |
| TAMILNADU         | Ramanathapuram           |             20 |
| MADHYA PRADESH    | Vidisha                  |             21 |
| PUNJAB            | Moga                     |             22 |
| CHHATTISGARH      | Mahasamund               |             23 |
| UTTAR PRADESH     | Chitrakoot               |             24 |
| UTTAR PRADESH     | Fatehpur                 |             25 |
| CHHATTISGARH      | Rajnandgaon              |             26 |
| HIMACHAL PRADESH  | Chamba                   |             27 |
| CHHATTISGARH      | Uttar Bastar Kanker      |             28 |
| MIZORAM           | Mamit                    |             29 |
| HARYANA           | Mewat                    |             30 |
| JAMMU &KASHMIR    | Baramula                 |             31 |
| MAHARASHTRA       | Osmanabad                |             32 |
| MAHARASHTRA       | Gadchiroli               |             33 |
| ODISHA            | Gajapati                 |             34 |
| TELANGANA         | Bhoopalapalli (Warangal) |             35 |
| ODISHA            | Dhenkanal                |             36 |

| ODISHA         | Kandhamal           |   37 |
|----------------|---------------------|------|
| CHHATTISGARH   | Kondagaon           |   38 |
| JHARKHAND      | Palamu              |   39 |
| CHHATTISGARH   | Bijapur             |   40 |
| UTTAR PRADESH  | Sonbhadra           |   41 |
| BIHAR          | Nawada              |   42 |
| MANIPUR        | Chandel             |   43 |
| MADHYA PRADESH | Rajgarh             |   44 |
| CHHATTISGARH   | Korba               |   45 |
| BIHAR          | Banka               |   46 |
| ASSAM          | Darrang             |   47 |
| SIKKIM         | West District       |   48 |
| UTTAR PRADESH  | Chandauli           |   49 |
| JHARKHAND      | Simdega             |   50 |
| JHARKHAND      | Godda               |   51 |
| UTTAR PRADESH  | Shrawasti           |   52 |
| KARNATAKA      | Raichur             |   53 |
| MADHYA PRADESH | Damoh               |   54 |
| BIHAR          | Khagaria            |   55 |
| TELANGANA      | Asifabad (Adilabad) |   56 |
| JHARKHAND      | Bokaro              |   57 |
| ASSAM          | Goalpara            |   58 |
| GUJARAT        | Dohad               |   59 |
| UTTAR PRADESH  | Balrampur           |   60 |
| UTTARAKHAND    | Hardwar             |   61 |
| JHARKHAND      | Garhwa              |   62 |
| CHHATTISGARH   | Narayanpur          |   63 |
| TRIPURA        | Dhalai              |   64 |
| MADHYA PRADESH | Guna                |   65 |
| UTTAR PRADESH  | Bahraich            |   66 |
| BIHAR          | Begusarai           |   67 |
| TELANGANA      | Khammam             |   68 |
| MAHARASHTRA    | Washim              |   69 |
| UTTARAKHAND    | Udham Singh Nagar   |   70 |
| BIHAR          | Purnia              |   71 |
| RAJASTHAN      | Sirohi              |   72 |
| BIHAR          | Gaya                |   73 |
| JHARKHAND      | Khunti              |   74 |
| JHARKHAND      | Dumka               |   75 |
| BIHAR          | Araria              |   76 |

| ODISHA         | Rayagada             |   77 |
|----------------|----------------------|------|
| BIHAR          | Sitamarhi            |   78 |
| ASSAM          | Baksa                |   79 |
| MADHYA PRADESH | Khandwa (East Nimar) |   80 |
| BIHAR          | Muzaffarpur          |   81 |
| MADHYA PRADESH | Barwani              |   82 |
| BIHAR          | Sheikhpura           |   83 |
| MAHARASHTRA    | Nandurbar            |   84 |
| ODISHA         | Kalahandi            |   85 |
| JHARKHAND      | Purbi Singhbhum      |   86 |
| MADHYA PRADESH | Chhatarpur           |   87 |
| RAJASTHAN      | Karauli              |   88 |
| ASSAM          | Barpeta              |   89 |
| RAJASTHAN      | Baran                |   90 |
| JHARKHAND      | Ramgarh              |   91 |
| RAJASTHAN      | Dhaulpur             |   92 |
| BIHAR          | Katihar              |   93 |
| CHHATTISGARH   | Bastar               |   94 |
| MEGHALAYA      | Ribhoi               |   95 |
| ASSAM          | Dhubri               |   96 |
| JHARKHAND      | Pashchimi Singhbhum  |   97 |
| CHHATTISGARH   | Sukma                |   98 |
| ODISHA         | Nabarangapur         |   99 |
| RAJASTHAN      | Jaisalmer            |  100 |
| KARNATAKA      | Yadgir               |  101 |
| JHARKHAND      | Hazaribagh           |  102 |
| JHARKHAND      | Latehar              |  103 |
| JHARKHAND      | Sahibganj            |  104 |
| ODISHA         | Malkangiri           |  105 |
| ANDHRA PRADESH | Visakhapatnam        |  106 |
| NAGALAND       | Kiphire              |  107 |
| JHARKHAND      | Giridih              |  108 |
| JHARKHAND      | Chatra               |  109 |
| ASSAM          | Hailakandi           |  110 |
| JHARKHAND      | Pakur                |  111 |

## Transforming Aspirational Districts

|   S. No. | State             | District      |
|----------|-------------------|---------------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh    | Vizianagaram  |
|        2 | Andhra Pradesh    | Visakhapatnam |
|        3 | Andhra Pradesh    | Y.S.R. Kadapa |
|        4 | Arunachal Pradesh | Namsai        |
|        5 | Assam             | Goalpara      |
|        6 | Assam             | Barpeta       |
|        7 | Assam             | Hailakandi    |
|        8 | Assam             | Baksa         |
|        9 | Assam             | Darrang       |
|       10 | Assam             | Udalguri      |
|       11 | Assam             | Dhubri        |
|       12 | Bihar             | Sitamarhi     |
|       13 | Bihar             | Araria        |
|       14 | Bihar             | Purnia        |
|       15 | Bihar             | Katihar       |
|       16 | Bihar             | Muzaffarpur   |
|       17 | Bihar             | Begusarai     |
|       18 | Bihar             | Khagaria      |
|       19 | Bihar             | Banka         |
|       20 | Bihar             | Sheikhpura    |
|       21 | Bihar             | Aurangabad    |
|       22 | Bihar             | Gaya          |
|       23 | Bihar             | Nawada        |
|       24 | Bihar             | Jamui         |
|       25 | Chhattisgarh      | Korba         |
|       26 | Chhattisgarh      | Rajnandgaon   |
|       27 | Chhattisgarh      | Mahasamund    |
|       28 | Chhattisgarh      | Kanker        |
|       29 | Chhattisgarh      | Narayanpur    |
|       30 | Chhattisgarh      | Dantewada     |
|       31 | Chhattisgarh      | Bijapur       |
|       32 | Chhattisgarh      | Bastar        |
|       33 | Chhattisgarh      | Kondagaon     |
|       34 | Chhattisgarh      | Sukma         |
|       35 | Gujarat           | DAHOD         |
|       36 | Gujarat           | Narmada       |
|       37 | Haryana           | Mewat         |
|       38 | Himachal Pradesh  | Chamba        |

## Annexure-II

|   39 | Jammu &Kashmir   | Kupwara             |
|------|------------------|---------------------|
|   40 | Jammu &Kashmir   | Baramula            |
|   41 | Jharkhand        | Garhwa              |
|   42 | Jharkhand        | Chatra              |
|   43 | Jharkhand        | Giridih             |
|   44 | Jharkhand        | Godda               |
|   45 | Jharkhand        | Sahibganj           |
|   46 | Jharkhand        | Pakur               |
|   47 | Jharkhand        | Bokaro              |
|   48 | Jharkhand        | Lohardaga           |
|   49 | Jharkhand        | Purbi Singhbhum     |
|   50 | Jharkhand        | Palamu              |
|   51 | Jharkhand        | Latehar             |
|   52 | Jharkhand        | Hazaribagh          |
|   53 | Jharkhand        | Ramgarh             |
|   54 | Jharkhand        | Dumka               |
|   55 | Jharkhand        | Ranchi              |
|   56 | Jharkhand        | Khunti              |
|   57 | Jharkhand        | Gumla               |
|   58 | Jharkhand        | Simdega             |
|   59 | Jharkhand        | Pashchimi Singhbhum |
|   60 | Karnataka        | Raichur             |
|   61 | Karnataka        | Yadgir              |
|   62 | Kerala           | Wayanad             |
|   63 | Madhya Pradesh   | Chhatarpur          |
|   64 | Madhya Pradesh   | Damoh               |
|   65 | Madhya Pradesh   | Barwani             |
|   66 | Madhya Pradesh   | Rajgarh             |
|   67 | Madhya Pradesh   | Vidisha             |
|   68 | Madhya Pradesh   | Guna                |
|   69 | Madhya Pradesh   | Singrauli           |
|   70 | Madhya Pradesh   | Khandwa             |
|   71 | Maharashtra      | Nandurbar           |
|   72 | Maharashtra      | Washim              |
|   73 | Maharashtra      | Gadchiroli          |
|   74 | Maharashtra      | Osmanabad           |
|   75 | Manipur          | Chandel             |
|   76 | Meghalaya        | Ribhoi              |
|   77 | Mizoram          | Mamit               |
|   78 | Nagaland         | Kiphire             |
|   80 | Odisha           | Gajapati            |

|   81 | Odisha        | Kandhamal         |
|------|---------------|-------------------|
|   82 | Odisha        | Balangir          |
|   83 | Odisha        | Kalahandi         |
|   84 | Odisha        | Rayagada          |
|   85 | Odisha        | Koraput           |
|   86 | Odisha        | Malkangiri        |
|   87 | Odisha        | Nawarangpur       |
|   88 | Odisha        | Nuapada           |
|   89 | Punjab        | Moga              |
|   90 | Punjab        | Firozpur          |
|   91 | Rajasthan     | Dholpur           |
|   92 | Rajasthan     | Karauli           |
|   93 | Rajasthan     | Jaisalmer         |
|   94 | Rajasthan     | Sirohi            |
|   95 | Rajasthan     | Baran             |
|   96 | Sikkim        | West Sikkim       |
|   97 | Tamil Nadu    | Virudhunagar      |
|   98 | Tamil Nadu    | Ramanathapuram    |
|   99 | Telangana     | Asifabad          |
|  100 | Telangana     | Bhopapalli        |
|  101 | Telangana     | Khammam           |
|  102 | Tripura       | Dhalai            |
|  103 | Uttar Pradesh | Chitrakoot        |
|  104 | Uttar Pradesh | Fatehpur          |
|  105 | Uttar Pradesh | Bahraich          |
|  106 | Uttar Pradesh | Shrawasti         |
|  107 | Uttar Pradesh | Balrampur         |
|  108 | Uttar Pradesh | Siddharthnagar    |
|  109 | Uttar Pradesh | Chandauli         |
|  110 | Uttar Pradesh | Sonebhadra        |
|  111 | Uttarakhand   | Udham Singh Nagar |
|  112 | Uttarakhand   | Haridwar          |
|  113 | West Bengal   | Dakshin Dinajpur  |
|  114 | West Bengal   | Maldah            |
|  115 | West Bengal   | Murshidabad       |
|  116 | West Bengal   | Birbhum           |
|  117 | West Bengal   | Nadia             |