Niti Aayog to monitor 115 'aspirational districts'

Niti Aayog is set to monitor on a real-time basis the progress made by 115 "aspirational districts" that face challenges on health and nutrition, education and financial front, and display their ranking from next month.

The Aayog recently launched its first round of ranking of India's aspirational districts. The ranking was based on the socio-economic performance.

"There will be a dynamic ranking of the performance of districts. Objective and measurable indicators have been identified in focus sectors. These are going to be benchmarked with the best performing districts in India. Since the progress will be captured on a real-time basis, a dashboard has been formulated that features a real-time monitoring mechanism," Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant told reporters here.

It is not merely a name and shame module, the programme is essentially a "synergy-enhancing module" that will eventually give every corner of India - rural or urban, a chance to exceed its own aspirations, and a platform to be heard and where required, helped, he said.

Tata Trust, Piramal Foundation, ITC, and L&T and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ID Insight are helping Niti Aayog in its initiative through conducting surveys and providing ground level and technical support.

NITI's focus will be to improve India in the human development index ranking, raising the living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth for all. The progress of aspirational districts will be defined by achieving welfare targets rather than budgetary ones.

The baseline ranking for the 115 aspirational districts is based on 49 indicators across five sectors that includes health and nutrition (30% weightage) education (30%), agriculture and water resources (20%), financial inclusion and skill development (10%) and basic infrastructure (10%).

Of these 115 districts, 50 are allocated across 12 ministries. 35 districts that are in the Left Wing Extremist areas are allocated to the Ministry of Home Affairs, and 30 districts have been allocated to NITI Aayog.