Why in News?

• Recently, the Prime Minister of India launched the Aspirational Block Programme at the second National Conference of Chief Secretaries in Delhi.

What is Aspirational Block Programme?

• The Aspirational Blocks Programme is on the lines of the Aspirational District Programme that was launched in 2018 and covers 112 districts across the country.
• This new programme is aimed at improving performance of blocks lagging on various development parameters.
• This will enable holistic development in those areas that require added assistance.
• The programme will cover 500 districts across 31 states and Union Territories initially.
• Over half of these blocks are in 6 states—Uttar Pradesh (68 blocks), Bihar (61), Madhya Pradesh (42), Jharkhand (34), Odisha (29) and West Bengal (29).

What is Aspirational Districts Programme?

• It was launched in 2018 and aims to transform districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas.
• 3C Strategy: The broad contours of the programme
• Convergence (of Central & State Schemes)
• Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors)
• Competition (among districts driven by a Mass Movement )
• Parameters for Ranking:The ranking is based on the incremental progress made across 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under 5 broad socio-economic themes
  • Health & Nutrition (30%)
  • Education (30%)
  • Agriculture & Water Resources (20%)
  • Financial Inclusion & Skill Development (10%)
  • Infrastructure (10%)