The Aspirational Districts Programme, launched by NITI Aayog in 2018, focuses on improving development outcomes in 112 backward districts through ______ approach involving real-time monitoring and competitive federalism.
- centralized command
- convergence, collaboration, and competition
- privatization of services
- suspension of local governance
Answer: convergence, collaboration, and competition
Aspirational Districts Programme: Key features: (a) 112 districts identified based on socio-economic indicators, (b) Focus sectors: Health, education, agriculture, financial inclusion, infrastructure, (c) Approach: Convergence of schemes, collaboration among stakeholders, competition through rankings, (d) Real-time monitoring: Dashboard with district-level data, (e) Prabhari officers: Senior officials assigned to mentor districts. Aims to accelerate development in backward regions through data-driven, competitive federalism. Early results show improvements in key indicators.