Review & Sensitisation Workshop On Aspirational Districts Programme Held In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: A one-day review-cum-sensitisation workshop on Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) & Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) was held at Lok Seva Bhavan here on Saturday.

Charing the workshop, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja provided an overview of history and objectives of ADP and ABP. He encouraged stakeholders to view the challenges faced by Odisha, such as geographic isolation, infrastructure gaps, and capacity constraints, as opportunities for innovation and growth.

The workshop, organised by the Planning & Convergence Department, saw participation of key stakeholders from both state and central governments. The ADP & ABP team from NITI Aayog, led by Gitanjali Gupta, Additional Secretary and Mission Director (ADP & ABP), delivered a detailed presentation covering all aspects of the two programmes to sensitize the participants.

Dr. Pravakar Sahoo, Programme Director and State Adviser for Odisha, NITI Aayog, was also present.

Secretaries of key state government departments, including Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment, Health & Family Welfare, School & Mass Education, attended the workshop.

Additionally, Collectors of 16 Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks, along with their CDO-cum-EOs, Zilla Parishad & Deputy Directors of the District Planning & Monitoring Unit (DPMU), were present.

The Block Development Officers of the 29 Aspirational Blocks joined the programme over video conference.

Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary, Anu Garg emphasised the importance of achieving saturation of the ADP & ABP indicators, noting that this would contribute significantly to reducing multidimensional poverty and advancing the State’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

She highlighted that these programmes play a vital role in localizing the SDGs through the convergence of efforts across departments, ensuring coordinated and effective delivery of benefits to the last mile.

Gupta presented the core strategies of the programmes, urging all stakeholders to intensify their efforts during the ongoing Sampoornata Abhiyan to achieve the saturation of selected indicators.

The State’s perspective was presented by Manish Agarwal, Additional Secretary, ADP & ABP, Planning & Convergence Department.

His presentation highlighted the year-on-year performance of Aspirational Districts across five thematic sectors, the status of various ongoing projects, and the ongoing recruitment of Aspirational Block Fellows to enhance the implementation of the Block Development Strategy.

The workshop also featured presentations by Barpeta (Assam) Collector, Ayush Garg who attended the programme physically, Deputy Commissioner of Saraikela Karsawan, Jharkhand Ravi Shankar Shukla and former Deputy Commissioner of Baramula, J&K Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar (currently with state department, J&K) attended virtually and shared their experiences and best practices.