Assessing Financial Inclusion, Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure in 112 Aspirational Districts of India

Abstract

The apex planning body of India, NITI Aayog launched an Aspirational District Programme (ADP) in January 2018. The programme aimed to the quick and effective transformation of 112 (14%) districts of the country. This programme is considered as world's biggest result-based governance initiative having reached up to 250 million people. It is based on a ranking that is done on monthly basis. This ranking is based on 49 KPIs across six broad socio-economic themes.

The study attempts to inquire and assess the progress made by 112 Aspirational Districts under Financial Inclusion, Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure theme from the inception of the programme to June 2022 (i.e. 54 months). Instead of ranking districts with delta rank or composite scores, the study divorce from NITI Aayog's methodology of monthly delta ranking. The study explores 8 indicators under the basic infrastructure theme and 16 indicators under the financial inclusion and skill development themes. For this purpose, the study explores the availability of individual household latrines, drinking water, electricity and road connectivity. Districts are also tracked for the number of Internet-connected Gram Panchayats, and panchayats with Common Services. Every district is provided with the target as per national development priority, the study makes an effort to grasp the distance of each district from the national target. This allows researchers to develop a scale Very Far, Far, Near, Very Near, Achieved with descriptive statistics techniques. Juxtaposing the scale with timelines results in a pattern of progress made by these 112 districts.

Citation

Parekh, P. (2024), "Assessing Financial Inclusion, Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure in 112 Aspirational Districts of India", Sergi, B.S., Tiwari, A.K. and Nasreen, S. (Ed.) Modeling Economic Growth in Contemporary India (Entrepreneurship and Global Economic Growth), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 187-213. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-751-320241011