The Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP), the flagship scheme to transform 112 underdeveloped districts, will be revamped as the NITI Aayog aims to incorporate “major refinements and structural improvements in the existing framework, with selective modifications in programme design and implementation process”, the policy think tank told a House panel. New districts might be added to the scheme, it stated.
ADP 2.0 will have revised key performance indicators, and the emphasis will be on innovation and training people in selected districts. But the cash rewards for the best performers might be done away with, according to the think-tank’s officials. “Several existing indicators have reached near-saturation across most districts, leaving limited scope for incremental gains. Accordingly, survey-based and outcome indicators are being reassessed in consultation with concerned Ministries. It is proposed to revise and rationalise the KPI framework by July 2026 to sharpen focus on remaining gaps and drive last-mile saturation,” ministry of planning told the standing committee of finance, which is led by BJP’s Bhartruhari Mahtab.
Niti Aayog told the panel, “There were almost 80 indicators (in the scheme). Several indicators have been saturated. These districts are no longer at the bottom. So, about 30 districts were star performers. We will put them in a separate category. We will not be giving them any (financial) awards any more, but people like that label aspirational; they want to aspire to the next level. So, we will allow them.”
“The second is innovation. If I want to do something innovative, I give some money. The third is some expenditure on training, etc. So, we will continue to support them in innovation. But we will pull them out of the awards. About 80% money goes for awards. So, that is the basic restructuring. About 30-odd districts will move out, and we have not yet looked at whether we should include new districts. It is quite possible. So, in the next 2-3 months, we will finalise them and the programme should be rolling out the new version of ADP by April,” Aayog said.
{{/usCountry}}“The second is innovation. If I want to do something innovative, I give some money. The third is some expenditure on training, etc. So, we will continue to support them in innovation. But we will pull them out of the awards. About 80% money goes for awards. So, that is the basic restructuring. About 30-odd districts will move out, and we have not yet looked at whether we should include new districts. It is quite possible. So, in the next 2-3 months, we will finalise them and the programme should be rolling out the new version of ADP by April,” Aayog said.
{{/usCountry}}According to the new plan, top-performing districts among the 112 ADP districts are proposed to be graduated into an “Inspirational Districts” category. These districts will act as torchbearers and mentors for other aspirational districts. They will be ranked separately and will not be eligible for award funds under the challenge method, though they may access support under the innovation category.
Started in 2018, the ADP remains a key scheme to uplift India’s poorest districts.