Aspirational Districts were ranked on improved performance over the months of June – October 2018

Ranking includes, for the first time, validated data from Household Surveys

The NITI Aayog today released the Second Delta ranking for the Aspirational Districts which measures the incremental progress made by them between June 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018, across six developmental areas of Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion, Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure.

The ranking factors in validated data from Household Surveys conducted by NITI Aayog’s knowledge partners, namely, TATA Trusts and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (IDInsight). The Surveys were carried out in all Aspirational Districts during the month of June 2018 covering more than 1,00,000 households. These surveys were used to validate critical data-points and provide inputs for nine further data-points for which district-level data is not readily available at regular intervals.

Releasing the Second Delta Ranking, Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITIAayog said, “We have constantly endeavoured to ensure transparent, real-time measurement of qualitative development in Aspirational Districts through the use of third-party validated data. This will strengthen the spirit of competitive and cooperative federalism on the foundations of evidence-based policy making.”

The delta ranking is computed in a transparent manner for combined improvements made during June and October 2018.

In the overall ranking, the most improved districts are as follows:

Rank	District	State
1	Virudhunagar	Tamil Nadu
2	Nuapada	Odisha
3	Siddharthnagar	Uttar Pradesh
4	Aurangabad	Bihar
5	Koraput	Odisha

The Second Delta ranking also details the following districts as Least Improved over the period of June – October 2018:

Rank	District	State
107	Kiphire	Nagaland
108	Giridih	Jharkhand
109	Chatra	Jharkhand
110	Hailakandi	Assam
111	Pakur	Jharkhand

The districts which have shown great initiative and displayed a qualitative jump in their scores between June and October 2018, have been dubbed as ‘Fast Movers’: 

District, State	June 2018	October 2018
Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir	108	7
Ranchi, Jharkhand	106	10
Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh	103	3
Jamui, Bihar	99	9
Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh	82	25

The delta ranking of the Aspirational Districts combines the innovative use of data science with pragmatic administration, keeping the district at the locus of inclusive development. This positioning is expected to aid the District Magistrates/Collectors to focus more on these sectors and improve their ranking in future.

About ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ programme

Launched by the Prime Minister in January this year, the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ programme aims to quickly and effectively transform some of the most underdeveloped districts of the country.

The broad contours of the programme are Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors), and Competition among districts driven by a Mass Movement or a Jan Andolan. With States as the main drivers, this program will focus on the strength of each district, identify low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress, and rank districts.

The Government is committed to raising the living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth for all – SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas.

To enable optimum utilization of their potential, this program focuses closely on improving people’s ability to participate fully in the burgeoning economy. Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure are this programme’s core areas of focus.

After several rounds of consultations with various stakeholders, 49 key performance indicators have been chosen to measure progress of the districts. Districts are prodded and encouraged to first catch-up with the best district within their state, and subsequently aspire to become one of the best in the country, by competing with, and learning from others in the spirit of competitive & cooperative federalism.

Aspirational Districts ranking drives district-level performance improvement through validated household data and sectoral indicators for competitive and cooperative federalism. The Second Delta ranking measures district-level incremental progress from June to October 2018 across six sectors using administrative indicators and, for the first time, third-party validated household survey data to validate and supplement district data; it reports most and least improved districts, identifies 'Fast Movers', and describes the programme's focus on convergence, collaboration, competition, and 49 performance indicators to drive district prioritisation and evidence-based administration.