Lok Sabha Question No. 815 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: Review of Aspirational Districts/Blocks Programmes
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: Shri G M Harish Balayogi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 815

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026

## REVIEW OF ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS/BLOCKS PROGRAMMES

## 815   SHRI G M HARISH BALAYOGI:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a)        whether  the  Government has undertaken any review to assess the  progress  made  by  districts  and  blocks  identified  under  the Aspirational  Districts  and  Blocks  Programmes  since  inception and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)      the  criteria  and  parameters  adopted  to  determine  whether  a district/block has achieved the developmental benchmarks required for exit from the respective programme;
- (c)      whether  any  district/block  has  so  far  been  declared  as  having fulfilled the criteria for graduation/exit from the programme and if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (d)    whether the Government plans to revise/expand the existing list of  Aspirational  Districts  and  Blocks  to  include  newly  created districts or other backward regions and if so, the details and the proposed timeline thereof; and
- (e)   whether any mechanism has been put in place for periodic review, reclassification  and  rotation  of  districts  and  blocks  under  the programmes  to  ensure  dynamic  inclusion  and  exit  based  on developmental outcomes and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## 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 CULTURE

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

- (a) There have been two independent assessments of the functioning and impact of the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP)
- (i) UNDP made a comprehensive appraisal of this programme
- (ii)  Institute  for  Competitiveness  Assessment  (a  team  of  expert led  by  Prof.  Michael  Porter  of  Harvard  Business  school)  made  a detailed assessment of the programme

The  UNDP  report  titled  'Aspirational  Districts  Programme:  An Appraisal,'  submitted  in  December  2020,  confirmed  that  significant progress  has  been  made  in  various  aspects  such  as  sector-wise growth,  better  governance  through  convergence,  and  accelerated development through competitive federalism. This progress has been driven  by  factors  including  strong  leadership,  real-time  monitoring, data-driven  decision-making,  and  capacity  building.  Additionally,  the Institute for Competitiveness highlighted that nearly all districts in the ADP have shown improvement on key development parameters compared to the baseline, with the programme successfully advancing social impact and justice by targeting the benefits towards the most disadvantaged areas. The delta ranking system has played a crucial role  in  fostering  a  competitive  and  dynamic  culture,  which  has

motivated several low-performing districts to enhance their standings over the past three years.

(b) & (c) The Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) and Aspirational Blocks  Programme  (ABP)  aims  to  saturate  all  Key  Performance Indicators (KPIs) (49 in ADP & 40 in ABP) across all the themes under the  programme  for  achieving  overall  socio-economic  development  in these districts and blocks.

As on date, there are no criteria and parameters for a district/ block to graduate or exit from the respective programme.

- (d)           At present there is no such proposal.
- (e)        The performance of Aspirational Districts/Blocks is reviewed regularly,  and  they  are  ranked  based  on  the  progress  made  on  the defined indicators; however, there is no such mechanism in place for periodic reclassification and rotation of districts and blocks under the programmes.

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