SDG 1 – No poverty

• Target 1.3 – Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable
  • Indicator 1.3.1 – Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable.

SDG 2 – Zero hunger

• Target 2.1 – By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
  • Indicator 2.1.1 – Prevalence of undernourishment
  • Indicator 2.1.2 – Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)

• Target 2.2 – By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons.
  • Indicator 2.2.1 – Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age
  • Indicator 2.2.2 – Prevalence of malnutrition (weight for height >+2 or <-2 standard deviation from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age, by type (wasting and overweight)
  • Indicator 2.2.3 – Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15 to 49 years, by pregnancy status (percentage)

SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing

• Target 3.1 – By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births
  • Indicator 3.1.1 – Maternal mortality ratio
  • Indicator 3.1.2 –Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
• Target 3.2 By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births
  • Indicator 3.2.1 – Under-5 mortality rate
  • Indicator 3.2.2 – Neonatal mortality rate
• Target 3.8 – Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all
  • Indicator 3.8.1 – Coverage of essential health services (defined as the average coverage of essential services based on tracer interventions that include reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, infectious diseases, non communicable diseases and service capacity and access, among the general and the most disadvantaged population)

SDG 4 – Quality Education

• Target 4.6 – By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
  • Indicator 4.6.1 – Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex.
• Target 4.a – Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
  • Indicator 4.a.1 –Proportion of schools with access to (a) electricity; (b) the Internet for pedagogical purposes; (c) computers for pedagogical purposes; (d) adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities; (e) basic drinking water; (f) single-sex basic sanitation facilities; and (g) basic handwashing facilities (as per the WASH indicator definitions)
• Target 4.c – By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States.
  • Indicator 4.c.1 – Proportion of teachers in (a) pre-primary; (b) primary; (c) lower secondary; and (d) upper secondary education who have received at least the minimum organized teacher training (e.g. pedagogical training) pre-service or in service required for teaching at the relevant level in a given country.

SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy

• Target 7.1 – By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services.
  • Indicator 7.1.1 –Proportion of population with access to electricity

SDG 11 – Sustainable cities and communities

• Target 11.1 – By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
  • Indicator 11.1.1 – Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing.

Launched in January 2018, the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) seeks to rapidly and effectively improve 112 of the country’s most underdeveloped districts. The programme is built around three key pillars: Convergence (aligning Central and State schemes), Collaboration (engaging Central, State-level Nodal Officers, and District Collectors), and fostering Competition among districts through monthly delta rankings, all supported by a mass movement.

The ADP works by implementing projects that address the challenges in one of its five core target themes: Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Infrastructure. The projects can be either innovative policy practices or replication of best-practices and use of consolidated advanced technologies. District administrations and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) have to submit their projects to NITI Aayog’s Project Management Unit, who will support them in shaping the plans to effectively leverage socio-economic and human development.

Next to the preparation phase, NITI Empowered Committee evaluates the projects assessing if they have the potential to improve development indicators and if they are aligned with the Economic Action Plan for Sustainable Development Goals (EAP-SDG). In the case of CPSEs projects, CPSEs’ boards also have to provide necessary approvals. After the project is approved, it is implemented by its proposer and the monitoring is undertaken by the Department of Public Enterprise and by NITI Aayog.  

With States playing a leading role, the initiative emphasizes leveraging each district’s strengths, targeting easily achievable goals for quick progress, and tracking advancement through monthly rankings. Districts are ranked based on their improvement across 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) grouped under the five major socio-economic themes. The monthly delta rankings and district performances are published on the Champions of Change Dashboard.

ADP has a great focus on overcoming hunger and malnutrition. Thus, among its KPIs monitored for improvement, there are: “Percentage of underweight children under 6 years”, “Percentage of Severe Acute Malnourishment (SAM) in children under 6 years to total children under 6 years”, “Percentage of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) in children under 6 years to total children under 6 years”,  “Percentage of pregnant women regularly taking Supplementary Nutrition under the ICDS programme”, “Percentage of newborns breastfed within one hour of birth”, and “Percentage of low birth weight babies (less than 2500g)”.

The ADP focuses on inclusive development, considering specific needs of:

1. Women: Promoting gender equality and women’s health.
2. Children: Prioritizing nutrition and education of children
3. Youth: Fostering educational and employment opportunities.
4. Marginalized Populations: Recognizing unique cultural and socio-economic needs and historic marginalisation.
5. Population of hard-to-reach areas: Recognizing challenges of hilly terrains, landlocked and hard- to- reach areas.

Lessons from ADP include:

1. The importance of a data-driven approach for effective monitoring.

2. The need for stakeholder collaboration at all levels of governance.

3. The value of flexibility and adaptability to address district-specific challenges.

4. The critical role of Jan Andolan (community engagement) for successful implementation.

5. The value of peer learning through best practices.

Integrated programmes for human capital development, including health and education and early childhood development; Integrated programmes for gender equality and empowerment

NITI Aayog is primarily the knowledge institution involved in monitoring, research and evaluation of ADP and coordinates with all central line ministries and state administrations. NITI Aayog is the premier think- tank of Government of India.

ADP involves multi-sectoral governance with a decentralized approach, engaging local communities and development sector organizations. Compared to the traditional top-down method, the ADP encourages active collaboration across different levels of governance within each Aspirational District, along with promoting public-private partnerships. This stakeholder-focused model is built on a shared understanding among partners and relies on a common framework of outcome-based metrics and data.

112 of India’s 739 districts, spread across the country, focusing on the most underdeveloped.

As the main strategy of the Aspirational Districts Programme is based on convergence of existing schemes which have their own funding arrangement, large infusion of funds has not been envisaged. However, in order to foster competitive spirit, and for addressing critical gaps, additional allocation based on challenge method has been provisioned. Every month, districts are assessed on the basis of monthly progress on key indicators and the best performing Districts in overall terms and in each of the five socio-economic themes are awarded. Based on the performance under the Challenge Method, the districts propose projects which are then approved by an Empowered Committee consisting of Secretaries of central line ministries chaired by CEO, NITI Aayog.

ADP has a robust monitoring system under which the districts report administrative data on 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as per their periodicity every month. The Monthly Performance Reports (MPRs) are sent to the districts every month. The data is available to districts and public on the ‘Champions of Change’ dashboard

http://championsofchange.gov.in/site/coc-home/

ADP website https://www.niti.gov.in/aspirational-districts-programme