1. About the Programme
The Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) was launched by the Prime Minister on January 7, 2023, during the 2nd National Conference of Chief Secretaries. The Programme focuses on improving governance to enhance the quality of life of citizens in the most difficult and underdeveloped blocks of India by converging existing schemes, defining outcomes, and monitoring them on a constant basis.
2. Partnerships & Networks
Blocks will undertake the following to make ABP a Jan Andolan:
- Seek guidance of elected representatives.
- Involvement of College, Universities and Schools in ABP.
- SHGs as motivators and instruments of behaviour change.
- Intensive IEC for community awareness and participation.
3. Capacity Building
Capacity building is a central component of the ABP with the emphasis on enhancing governance via capacity building. The ABP capacity building strategy is centred on:
- Programme orientation and leadership training
- Building domain expertise
- Partnership with NIRDPR and SIRDs
- Use of iGOT for capacity building
4. Pillars of ABP
- Convergence (of Central & State Schemes).
- Collaboration (of NITI Aayog, Central Ministries and Departments, State Governments and District and Block Administration).
- Competition among blocks driven by a spirit of mass Movement.
5. Strategy for ABP
Development of Block Development Strategy:
- Blocks would identify key interventions across all the sectors of ABP that could help achieve saturation of services and surpass the State average on key socio- economic parameters.
Flexibility to States:
- States would have requisite flexibility to choose some indicators based on their context.
API Based Data Sourcing:
- The Programme would source data against indicators directly from Management Information Systems of Ministries and Departments.
Capacity Building of Functionaries:
- ABP would ensure continuous capacity building of block level functionaries to ensure effective and accelerated implementation of schemes.
Knowledge Portal for Continuous Learning:
- The Programme would have a knowledge portal for documentation and dissemination of best practices.
- A systematic approach to knowledge management would be adopted for continuous learning under the programme.
Ranking of Blocks:
- The programme would rank all the blocks every quarter based on their performance.
- The financial incentives to blocks will also be given on a quarterly basis.
Awards and Incentives:
- ABP will provide awards and incentives for exemplary contribution towards attainment of ABP Objectives.
Selection of Blocks
- The 500 Blocks that are part of the ABP were selected by an Inter-Ministerial Committee in consultation with States.
- An index of backwardness was developed based on data set pertaining to health and nutrition, education, basic infrastructure, and a proxy of poverty using Mission Antyodaya and Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011-12.
