VIJAYAWADA: Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh 20-Point Programme Implementation Committee, Lanka Dinakar, announced on Monday that a detailed review of Central and State welfare schemes in aspirational districts and blocks will be undertaken shortly.
Addressing the media at the Secretariat, Dinakar said the review aligns with the Viksit Bharat – Swarna Andhra@2047 vision, aimed at fast-tracking development in the backward regions.
He proposed that Sathya Sai, Prakasam, and Annamayya districts be added to the aspirational district list due to their socio-economic challenges. Currently, AP has three aspirational districts—Alluri Sitarama Raju, Parvathipuram Manyam, and Kadapa—and 15 aspirational blocks.
He credited the progress made since 2014 to the ‘double engine government’ led by CM N Chandrababu Naidu and PM Narendra Modi.
“Extreme poverty has dropped from 16.2% in 2011-12 to 2.3% in 2022-23,” he said, attributing this to effective welfare delivery and DBT transfers totalling Rs 45 lakh crore to 55 crore Jan Dhan accounts. Dinakar emphasised the ‘3Cs’ approach, ‘Convergence, Collaboration, and Competition’, as key to measurable development. He said the State would ensure the timely release of matching grants for central schemes.