GUWAHATI, Feb 25 - A round-table discussion was organised recently by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Transformation and Development Department (T&DD) to disseminate understanding on the needs of aspirational districts, discuss methodologies and means for taking forward projects and programmes in the aspirational districts, discuss possibilities of projects and fund flow through districts and other means of moving forward.
The round table was attended by PSU representatives, district officials, State government representatives and UNDP. The aim of the discussion was to build partnerships with the PSUs, government and international organisations to work together for faster development in the aspirational districts.
Rama M Kamaraju, Senior Consultant, Niti Aayog, spoke about the role NITI Aayog is playing in the design of the Aspirational District Programme and the scope for funding with districts being able to avail these funds through challenge method or innovative project designs.
He acknowledged the role of PSUs and their involvement in the development of the aspirational districts.
Rajiv Bora, Additional Chief Secretary, Transformation and Development Department, emphasised the need for strengthening the district action plans and designing projects/programmes which are sustainable.
Dr JB Ekka, Principal Secretary, T&D Department, talked about the importance of data collection and the need for working in a saturation model to achieve the highest result in any area.
Dr Rakesh Kumar, Additional Country Director, UNDP, emphasised the need for strong technical assistance for strengthening support to the districts and the PSUs.
Samir K Khare, Additional Secretary, DEA, Ministry of Finance, spoke about the need for special district wise allocation for making this programme even more successful.
