Reimagining governance 

Reimagining governance 

What has happened?

The 115 Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) conceived by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is radical not because this is the first time that a government in India has focussed on India’s most backward districts but because the exercise envisages a serious re-imagination of government and governance, and deepens cooperative federalism.

Target Areas

Education, health and nutrition, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, basic infrastructure and skills

Why the term “Aspirational” used instead of backward?

Attitudes and narrative matter for outcomes: So that they are viewed as islands of opportunity and hope rather than areas of distress and hopelessness

How the districts were chosen?

In consultation with state officials: The 115 districts were chosen by senior officials of the Union government in consultation with State officials on the basis of a composite index of the following

• Deprivation enumerated under the Socio-Economic Caste Census
• Key health and education performance indicators
• The state of basic infrastructure
• A minimum of one district was chosen from every State

No special funds for this scheme

To Leverage the resources of the several government programmes that already exist but are not always used efficiently

Structure

• Prabhari: Each district is assigned a prabhari (in-charge) officer from the Centre (of additional secretary or joint secretary rank) and a prabhari officer from the State (of the rank of Secretary to State government) who will work in cooperation with the district administration
• Centre and State to work together: It is necessary for the Centre and States to be involved because not all decisions can be taken at the level of district

For example, if there is a shortage of teachers in a local school or a shortage of health personnel in a primary health centre, it needs the State capital to act, possibly through transfers of personnel from over staffed areas

• DM’s role is most important: The most crucial is the District Magistrate or Collector who is familiar with the challenges of his or her geography and has considerable power to implement government schemes

Publicly available rankings

• This programme takes the principle of competitive federalism down to district administrations
• Each district will be ranked on the focus areas which are disaggregated into easily quantifiable target areas
• So as not to bias the rankings on historical achievements or lack of them, the rankings will be based on deltas or improvements.

Smart data

With continuously updated data dashboards, those running the programme on the ground can alter strategies after accurate feedback.

Conclusion

In a way, the ADP is a big pilot programme from reorienting how government does its business of delivering development. A decisive shift in the paradigm of governance is likely to finally fulfil the many broken promises of the past.