Cabinet Secretary reviews progress of 115 aspirational districts

The meeting was attended by the Prabhari Officers, the officer in-charge coordinating the exercise for transformation of 115 Aspirational Districts along with the Secretaries and representatives from 12 Union ministries," a Niti Aayog statement said. In his remarks, the Aayog said Sinha called upon the Prabhari Officers to be the catalysts of change for all round development of the aspirational districts. He underlined the need to come out with innovative ways to address the issues in these districts. The cabinet secretary emphasised that the Niti Aayog will be undertaking overall co-ordination of the exercise and that there is need to set up an institutional mechanism for oversight and faster implementation of schemes in the aspirational districts. During the meeting Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant outlined the priorities, challenges and the road ahead for the aspirational districts. He urged the officials to work in close co-ordination with the states and evolve mechanisms for effective implementation of government programmes in a time bound manner. Secretary Health, Preeti Sudan said the ministry will share health indicators and HMIS (Health Management Information System) data so that the progress of health and nutrition related schemes in the identified districts can be monitored properly. She underlined the importance of convergence of the efforts of ASHA, ANM and Anganwadi workers. Secretary, Rural Development, Amarjeet Sinha said the social capital can make a remarkable difference given the fact that 8,603 Gram Panchayats are covered in the aspirational districts. He also underlined the need to expand the self help groups in these districts for a better outcome.

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