Out of NITI Aayog's 20 most underdeveloped districts, 19 are from states ruled by BJP or its allies

NITI Aayog has come up with a mechanism under which 101 most underdeveloped districts of the country termed as 'aspirational' would be competing with each other in terms of performance and they will be ranked on 49 indicators based on various data points.

The ranking of districts follows the launch of 'Transformation of Aspirational Districts' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi  with an aim to quickly and effectively transform some of the most underdeveloped districts in the country.

Among others, Asifabad (Telengana), Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh), Kiphire (Nagaland), Shrawasti, Siddarthnagar and Balrampur (Uttar Pradesh), Namsai (Arunachal Pradesh), Sukma (Chattisgarh) are ranked at bottom of the list.

While on top of the list among others include Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh), Osmanabad (Maharashtra), Cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh), Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu), Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand), Mahasamund (Chhattisgarh), Khammam (Telangana), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). As per the baseline ranking, Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh is ranked highest with score of 48.13 per cent while Mewat in Haryana tails at the end with 26.02 per cent.

Here are the 20 bottom districts in the country   Interestingly, out of the 20 states, BJP is either the ruling party or part of alliance ruling the state.  Interestingly, Kerala and West Bengal didn't take part in the survey. Amitabh Kant said they would be joining the survey later. 

Among all the ‘aspirational’ districts at the bottom of the list, there’s only one district from South India. The rest of the bottom districts are North, Central or the North-East. Of course this information should be taken with a pinch of salt, considering 21 of the 29 states of the country are ruled by BJP or its allies. 

This is just the baseline figure and the number indicates the rank of the district. For example, Banka (Bihar) is 82nd, while Mewat (Haryna) is 101st. 

 

1. Banka, Bihar – 82 (JDU-BJP)
2. Sonebhadra, UP – 83 (BJP)
3. Golpara, Assam – 84 (BJP-AGP)
4. Purnia, Bihar – 85 (JDU-BJP)
5. Pakur, Jharkhand – 86 (JDU-BJP)
6. Darrang, Assam – 87  (BJP)
7. Chandel, Manipur – 88 (BJP)
8. Katihar, Bihar – 89 (JDU-BJP)
9. Sahibghanz, Jharkhand – 90 (BJP)
10. Araria, Bihar – 91 (BJP)
11. Sukma, Chhattisgarh – 92 (BJP)
12. Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh (BJP)– 93
13. Balrampur, UP – 94 (BJP)
14. Siddharthnagar, UP – 95 (BJP)
15. Bahraich, UP – 96 (BJP)
16. Shrawasti, UP – 97 (BJP)
17. Kiphir, Nagaland – 98  (NDPP-BJP)
18. Singrauli, MP – 99 (BJP)
19. Adilabad, Telangana – 100 (TRS)
20. Mewat, Haryana – 101 (BJP)

From the beginning of next fiscal year from April 1, this real-time data collection and monitoring will be open for public viewing. The 49 indicators on 81 data points will cover five development areas of health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development and basic infrastructure.

India cannot grow at a high rate on a long run until these districts catch up, whatever high are the GDP number, it has no meaning until the benefit of growth percolates down to very basic level, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said while announcing the launch of ranking for the "Aspirational Districts'.

This will converge the central and state schemes, collaborate central, state and district collectors to strengthen these districts by identifying the low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress and then rank the district by getting the data on a real-time basis.

All the states -- except West Bengal and Kerala -- are on board in this ranking initiative; however, these states are expected to join soon, Kant said. From April 1, these 101 districts will start entering data and from May onwards, they will be ranked based on progress made (delta ranking) on a real-time basis.

With inputs from PTI