- The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on January 5, 2018, interacted with Collectors and Officers-in-charge of aspirational districts, at a Conference organized by NITI Aayog at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.
- These are those 115 districts, that are lagging on specific development parameters. The Union Government has embarked upon a major policy initiative for the rapid transformation of these 115 aspirational districts.
- To coordinate the efforts of the Centre and states, the government has appointed 115 senior Central government officials as “Prabhari Officers”, while the district magistrates have been asked to improve the socio-economic indices of these states.
- These have been called aspirational districts rather than backward or poor. The idea is to underline the seriousness in transforming these in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of New India by 2022.
- The Niti Aayog identified 30 most backward districts, while the ministries were asked to choose a pool of another 50 districts on which they would focus. 35 maoist effected districts were also added in the list. These districts were chosen on the basis of data from the socio-economic caste census deprivation, nutrition and health indices, education, access to drinking water, toilets and electrification.
- Jharkhand tops the list, with 19 backward districts, followed by Bihar with 13 districts; Chhattisgarh is at the third spot with 10 districts. NITI Ayog is developing a real-time monitoring mechanism of key performance indicators and will rank the districts on a continuous basis.
- While selecting the districts, maximum weight was given to data of landless households dependent on manual labour. The other criteria were nutritional level of children below five years of age and their drop-out rate from schools.
- The Prime Minister gave the examples of the Jan Dhan Yojana, the construction of toilets, and rural electrification, which can transform India as well as these districts.
- The Prime Minister suggested that top-down solutions do not yield results. Therefore, the effort is that people on the field contribute to solutions. In this context, he appreciated the clarity of thought, and faith in conviction.
- The Prime Minister said said these 115 districts can become the foundation for developing New India by 2022.
New India 2022 Vision
The Prime Minister Modi has announced a Vision of New India by 2022, the year in which India will complete its 75 year of Independence. Based on the prime minister’s vision, Niti Ayog outlined the components of New India Vision 2022. Followings are the component of New India:
- Poverty Free India
- Dirt & Squalor Free India
- Corruption Free India
- Terrorism Free India
- Casteism Free India
- Communalism Free India
Sankalp Se Sidhi (2017-2022): To achieve the New India vision, Niti Ayog has started Sankalp Se Sidhi Mission, Which includes:
- Swachh Bharat
- Swasth Bharat
- Shikshit Bharat
- Sampann Bharat
- Saksham Bharat
- Surakshit Bharat
