Lok Sabha Question No. 4386 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-30
Subject: Aspirational Districts
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: Kripanath Mallah, Jaskaur Meena

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4386

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.03.2022

## ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS

## 4386. SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH: SHRIMATI JASKAUR MEENA:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) the salient features of the Aspirational Districts programme;
- (b) the  achievements  made  so  far  under  the  said  programme  along  with  the  details  of pending  work  and  the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  complete  the pending works; and
- (c) whether the Government has planned to enhance digital connectivity in these districts and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND 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) The Aspirational  Districts  Programme was launched for rapid transformation of  112 relatively  underdeveloped  Districts.  Some  of  the  salient  features  of  this  Programme include  identification  of  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.  Besides  real-time  monitoring,  the  Champions  of Change Portal provides District Administration with tools for data-driven governance and evidence-based policy making.

Every month, districts are ranked on basis of progress made and this instils them with 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) All Aspirational Districts have seen improvement since inception of the Programme. However,  every  district  varies  from  others  in  its  strengths  and  challenges,  and accordingly,  so  does  its  performance.  Details  of  district-wise  performance  (overall) since  inception  for  aspirational  districts  is  available  on  the  Champions  of  Change Portal (http://championsofchange.gov.in/site/coc-home/) which is in the public domain.
- (c) Department of Telecommunications has planned following schemes for provisioning of 4G based Mobile services in uncovered villages of various Aspirational Districts:
-  Aspirational  Districts  Scheme  (502  Villages):  The  scheme  has  been  planned  for provisioning  of  4G  based  Mobile  Service  in  502  uncovered  villages  of  Aspirational districts  of  four  States-Uttar  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Madhya  Pradesh  &  Rajasthan  with  an estimated  cost  of  Rs.  686.71  crore.    Agreement  has  been  signed  with  the  Project Implementing Agencies i.e. M/s RJIL for Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh Bidding Unit, M/s Bharati Airtel Ltd. for Bihar bidding unit and M/s Bharati Hexacom Ltd. for Rajasthan bidding unit.
-  Aspirational  District  Scheme  (7287  Villages):  The  scheme  has  been  planned  for provisioning of 4G based Mobile service in 7287 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts  of  5  States  -  Andhra  Pradesh,  Chhattisgarh,  Jharkhand,  Maharashtra  and Odisha with an estimated cost of Rs. 6466 crore.  The scheme has been approved by Cabinet in its meeting on 17.11. 2021.

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