Lok Sabha Question No. 254 (STARRED), answered on 2021-12-15
Subject: Aspirational Districts Programme
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: Kaushalendra Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *254 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2021

## ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS PROGRAMME

## †*254. SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR: DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) the salient features of the Aspirational Districts Programme;
- (b) the names of districts where the said programme is operational, State-wise including Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh;
- (c) the details and quantum of funds sanctioned, released and utilized/spent by the Union Government under the said programme, district-wise; and
- (d) the details of works undertaken in these districts and progress made as on date?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS & PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION; MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

(RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  No.  *254  REGARDING  'ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS  PROGRAMME'  RAISED  BY  SHRI  KAUSHALENDRA  KUMAR AND DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY FOR ANSWER ON 15 TH  DECEMBER, 2021.

- (a) There are 112 Aspirational Districts, across 26 States and 1 Union Territory. These were selected through a transparent process on basis of published data. List of data sets and the weight attached to them for selection of these districts is attached in Annexure - I .

As  regards  salient  features  of  the  programme,  it  aims  at  rapid  transformation  of  these backward  districts  across  sectors  which  are  critical  for  improving  quality  of  life  or economic  productivity  of  citizens.  These  sectors  are  Health  and  Nutrition,  School Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure. 49 key performance indicators have been selected across these sectors and a district's performance is monitored on the basis of progress made on these indicators. The broad strategy of the Aspirational Districts Programme rests on the 3 Cs Convergence (between Central and State Schemes), Collaboration (between Centre, State, District  Administration, Development Partners and Citizens) and Competition (between Districts). Every month, districts are ranked on basis of progress made and this instill's in them a sense of competition which results in rapid improvement. Another strategy of the programme  is  nomination  of  Joint  Secretary/Additional  Secretary  level  officials  from Government  of  India  as  Central  Prabhari  Officers  for  each  of  the  district.  The  role  of these  Prabhari  Officers  is  to  guide  the  district  administration  on  basis  of  their  long experience.

- (b) The State-wise list of all 112 Aspirational Districts is attached as Annexure - II.
- (c) As  the  main  strategy  of  the  programme  is  based  on  convergence  of  existing  schemes which  have  their  own  funding  arrangement,  large  infusion  of  additional  fund  is  not envisaged. However, in order to foster competitive spirit, and for addressing the critical gaps, additional allocation on challenge route is also envisaged. Every month, districts are assessed  on  the  basis  of  monthly  progress  and  the  best  performing  District  in  overall terms and in each of the five sectors are identified. The first and second rankers in overall terms are awarded Rs. 10 crores and Rs. 5 crores respectively. The first ranker from each of the five sectors is awarded Rs. 3 crores each. The list of outcomes and indicators on the basis of which Districts are ranked is at Annexure - III.
- (d) As  stated  above,  the  Aspirational  Districts  Programme  is  over  and  above  the  existing schemes  of  the  Central  and  the  State  Governments  concerned  and  as  such  it  is  in  the nature  of  additionality.  Based  on  the  performance  grant  as  mentioned  in  (c)  above, districts undertake specific projects to address critical need felt by the District Administration.

****

## List of data sets and weights used for selection of Aspirational Districts

| DATABASES                                                                                    | SECTOR                                  | WEIGHT   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|----------|
| Landless households dependent on Manual labour (Socio Economic Caste Census - Deprivation 7) | Deprivation (25%)                       | 25%      |
| Ante natal care (National Health and Family Survey (NHFS) - 4)                               | Health& Nutrition (30%) Education (15%) | 7.5%     |
| Institutional delivery (NHFS-4)                                                              | Health& Nutrition (30%) Education (15%) | 7.5%     |
| Stunting of children below 5 years (NHFS-4)                                                  | Health& Nutrition (30%) Education (15%) | 7.5%     |
| Wasting in children below 5 years (NHFS-4)                                                   | Health& Nutrition (30%) Education (15%) | 7.5%     |
| Elementary dropout rate (Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE) 2015-16) |                                         | 7.5%     |
| Adverse pupil teacher ratio (U-DISE 2015-16)                                                 |                                         | 7.5%     |
| Un-electrified households (Ministry of Power)                                                | Infra (30%)                             | 7.5%     |
| Households without individual toilets (Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation)            | Infra (30%)                             | 7.5%     |
| Un-connected PMGSYvillage (Ministry of Rural Development)                                    | Infra (30%)                             | 7.5%     |
| Rural Household without access to water (Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation)          | Infra (30%)                             | 7.5%     |
| Total                                                                                        |                                         | 100%     |

## Annexure-II

## State-wise list of all 112 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        |
|       39 | UT of Jammu &Kashmir | Kupwara       |

|   S. No. | State                | District            |
|----------|----------------------|---------------------|
|       40 | UT of Jammu &Kashmir | Baramulla           |
|       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             |
|       79 | Odisha               | Dhenkanal           |

|   S. No. | State         | District             |
|----------|---------------|----------------------|
|       81 | Odisha        | Kandhamal            |
|       82 | Odisha        | Balangir             |
|       83 | Odisha        | Kalahandi            |
|       84 | Odisha        | Rayagada             |
|       85 | Odisha        | Koraput              |
|       86 | Odisha        | Malkangiri           |
|       87 | Odisha        | Nabarangpur          |
|       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     | Bhoopalapally        |
|      101 | Telangana     | Bhadradri-Kothagudem |
|      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 | Sonbhadra            |
|      111 | Uttarakhand   | Udham Singh Nagar    |
|      112 | Uttarakhand   | Haridwar             |

## Annexure-III

## List of indicators on which Districts are ranked

|   S. No. | Key Performance Indicators                                                                                                   |
|----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1.1 | Percentage of Pregnant Women receiving four or more antenatal care check-ups against total ANC registration                  |
|      1.2 | Percentage of ANC registered within the first trimester against total ANC registration                                       |
|      1.3 | Percentage of pregnant women (PW) registered for ANC against estimated pregnancies                                           |
|      2   | Percentage of pregnant women taking Supplementary Nutrition under the ICDS programme regularly                               |
|      3.1 | Percentage of Pregnant having severe anaemia treated, against PW having severe anaemia tested cases.                         |
|      3.2 | Percentage of Pregnant Women tested for Haemoglobin (Hb) 4 or more times for respective ANCs, against total ANC registration |
|      4.1 | Sex Ratio at birth                                                                                                           |
|      4.2 | Percentage of institutional deliveries out of total estimated deliveries                                                     |
|      5   | Percentage of home deliveries attended by an SBA (Skilled Birth Attendance) out of total Home deliveries                     |
|      6.1 | Percentage of new-borns breastfed within one hour of birth                                                                   |
|      6.2 | Percentage of live born infants with a birth weight 2500 gms                                                                 |
|      6.3 | Proportion of live babies weighed at birth                                                                                   |
|      7   | Percentage of underweight children under 5 years                                                                             |
|      8.1 | Percentage of stunted children under 5 years                                                                                 |
|      8.2 | Percentage of children with Diarrhoea treated with ORS                                                                       |
|      8.3 | Percentage of children with Diarrhoea treated with Zinc                                                                      |
|      8.4 | Percentage of children with ARI in the last 2 weeks taken to a health facility                                               |
|      9.1 | Percentage of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)                                                                                |
|      9.2 | Percentage of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM)                                                                              |
|     10.1 | Breastfeeding children receiving adequate diet (6-23 months)                                                                 |
|     10.2 | Non-Breastfeeding children receiving adequate diet (6-23 months)                                                             |
|     11   | Percentage of children fully immunized (9-11 months) (BCG+ DPT3 + OPV3 + Measles1)                                           |
|     12.1 | Tuberculosis (TB) case notification rate (Public and Private Institutions) as against estimated cases                        |
|     12.2 | TB Treatment success rate among notified TB patients (public and private)                                                    |

| 13.1   | Establishment of Health &Wellness Centres (HWCs)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|--------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 13.2   | Proportion of Primary Health Centers compliant to Indian Public Health Standards                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| 13.3   | functional FRUs (First referral units) rate                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| 13.4   | Availability of specialist services in District hospitals against IPHS norms                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| 13.5   | Conduct of village health, Sanitation, Nutrition Days                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| 13.6   | Proportion of Anganwadis with own buildings                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| 13.7   | Percentage of First referral units (FRU) having labour room and obstetrics OT NQAS certified (i.e., meet LaQShya guidelines)                                                                                                                                                      |
| 14.1   | Transition Rate (a) Primary to Upper Primary level                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| 14.2   | (b) Upper Primary to Secondary level                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| 15     | Toilet access: %schools with functional girls' toilets                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| 16     | Learning outcomes (Average in government schools) (a) Mathematics performance in Class 3 (b) Language performance in Class 3 (c) Mathematics performance in Class 5 (d)Language performance in Class 5 (e) Mathematics performance in Class 8 (f) Language performance in Class 8 |
| 17     | Female literacy rate (15+ Age group)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| 18     | Percentage of schools with functional drinking water facility                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| 19     | Percentage of schools with functional electricity facility at secondary level                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| 20     | Percentage of elementary schools complying with RTE specified Pupil Teacher Ratio                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| 21     | Percentage of schools providing textbooks to children within 1 month of start of the academic session                                                                                                                                                                             |
| 22     | Water Positive investments and Employment                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| (a)    | Percentage of net sown area under micro-irrigation                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| (b)    | Number of water bodies rejuvenated under MGNREGA                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| 23     | Crop Insurance- Percentage of net sown area under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| 24     | Increase in Critical Inputs usage and supply                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| (a)    | 3 (a)Percentage increase in agricultural credit                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| (b)    | 3 (b) Certified quality seed distribution                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| 25     | Number of mandi in the district linked to electronic market                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| 26     | A) Percentage change in Price Realization (Wheat) B) Percentage change in Price Realization (Paddy Common, Paddy Grade A)                                                                                                                                                         |
| 27     | Percentage share of high value crops to total sown area in district                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| 28     | Agricultural productivity of 2 major crops                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| 29     | Percentage of animals vaccinated                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| 30     | Artificial Insemination coverage                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |

|   31 | Number of Soil Health Cards distributed                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   32 | Total Disbursement of Mudra loan (in rupees) per 1 Lakh population                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|   33 | Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY ): Number of Enrolments per 1 Lakh population                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|   34 | Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY): Number of Enrolments per 1 Lakh population                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|   35 | Atal Pension Yojana (APY): Number of Beneficiaries per 1 Lakh population                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
|   36 | Percentage of bank accounts seeded with Aadhaar as a percentage of total banking accounts                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|   37 | Number of accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|   38 | No of youth certified in short term and long-term training # schemes / no of youth in district in age group 15-29*                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|   39 | No of certified youth employed # /No of youth trained under short term and long-term training                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|   40 | Number of Apprentices completing/Total number of trainees registered on the portal                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|   41 | No of people certified under Recognition of Prior Learning # / Non formally skilled workforce **                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|   42 | Number of Vulnerable/Marginalized youth certified trained under short term and long term training a) Women - certified trained, b) SC - certified trained c) ST - certified trained d) OBC - certified trained e) Minorities - certified trained f) Differently abled - certified trained) / Total Number of youth certified trained |
|   43 | Percentage of households with electricity connection                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|   44 | Percentage of Gram panchayats with internet connection                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|   45 | (a) Percentage of habitations with access to all weather roads under PMGSY (b) Cumulative number of kilometres of all-weather road work completed as a percentage of total sanctioned kilometres in the district under PMGSY                                                                                                         |
|   46 | Percentage of households with Individual Household Latrines                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|   47 | Percentage of Rural habitations with access to adequate quantity of potable water - 40 lpcd drinking water in rural                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|   48 | Coverage/ establishment of Common Service Centres at Gram Panchayat level                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|   49 | Number of pucca houses constructed for household who are shelter- less or having one room with kuchha wall and kuchha roof or having 2 room with kuchha wall and roof                                                                                                                                                                |