VISAKHAPATNAM: Healthy competition among districts is essential to achieve faster development and deliver results within a short period, said NITI Aayog Additional Secretary and Mission Director Rohit Kumar.
He said sharing best practices from programmes implemented across the country will help accelerate the development of Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks. He was speaking at the Regional Best Practices Seminar (South) organised by NITI Aayog in the Rushikonda area of Vizag on Monday. Representatives from AP, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands attended the seminar.
Rohit Kumar said the Aspirational Districts Programme plays a key role in rural development by identifying backward districts and setting targets in health, agriculture, basic infrastructure and skill development. Its success led to the launch of the Aspirational Blocks Programme.
He said the programme functions on the principles of convergence, collaboration and competition among the Union and State governments and local bodies to improve development indicators. In AP, drinking water facilities in anganwadi centres increased from 3.7 per cent to 100 per cent. Tamil Nadu introduced measures to reduce malnutrition, while Telangana recorded progress in education sector.
He cited malaria control in Manyam, maternal health initiatives in Karnataka, mental health programmes in Kerala and tuberculosis efforts in Tamil Nadu as examples.
AP Planning Department Joint Secretary Ananth Shankar said the initiatives are improving conditions in backward regions and supporting the state’s growth under the Swarna Andhra 2047 vision aligned with the Union government’s Viksit Bharat goal. He said ASR, Manyam and Kadapa districts are part of the programme, and Kadapa secured first place in the Sampoornata Abhiyan in September 2025.