Aspirational district programme should be extended to block and city levels: PM

Aspirational districts should be ‘inspirational districts’ of India, and the Aspirational District Programme should be extended to block and city levels, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.

Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) launched in 2018 aims to transform 112 districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas.

”Lauding the success of the Aspirational Districts Programme, the prime minister said the government should strive to make these the ‘inspirational districts’ of India and extend the programme to the block and city levels,” an official statement quoted Modi as saying on Thursday.

The prime minister was chairing a three-day national conference of chief secretaries, underway at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. The conference began on June 15.

The statement said the prime minister stressed that India’s best, young officers should be posted to the aspirational districts to bring about noticeable changes through their creative thinking and fresh ideas.

The experience and learnings gained by them while working in these districts would be unparalleled and prove useful for the entire country, the statement said, quoting Modi.

Speaking on education, the prime minister said teachers’ training can be strengthened by leveraging digital technology and learning mobile apps.

He said award-winning retired school teachers could also be roped in for visiting schools and training teachers.

Modi also suggested that there could be a dedicated TV channel for teachers’ training.

It may be recalled that in Budget 2022-23, the government announced that 200 TV channels would be launched for improving access to high quality education in the remotest part of the country.

The prime minister suggested organising competitions among young entrepreneurs, startups and youths across states for preparation of quality content in various mediums such as drama, animation, mono-acting, etc. in regional languages.

According to the statement, deliberations were held on ‘Crop Diversification and Achieving Self-Sufficiency in Oilseeds, Pulses and Other Agri-Commodities’ and ‘Implementation of National Education Policy-School Education’.

There were sessions on ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav: Road to 2047’ and the Aspirational Districts Programm, it added.

According to the statement, the issue on ”Reducing Compliance Burden” was taken up on each table for deliberations.

Several strategies for ‘Aatmanirbhar Krishi’ and for a digital mission in agriculture were also discussed, it said, adding that the need for greater Centre-state coordination for driving India’s infrastructure growth story through PM-GatiShakti was also highlighted.

The statement has said all the states and union territories actively participated, flagged concerns, highlighted best practices and suggested possible solution in every session.