NITI Aayog convenes best practices seminar

Visakhapatnam: NITI Aayog, which is helping the authorities in developing Visakhapatnam as a growth hub, convened the Regional Best Practices Seminar (South) here on Monday under the Aspirational Districts Programme and Aspirational Blocks Programme (ADP/ABP) bringing together senior officials from the Central, State Governments and district administrations from across southern India.

The seminar focused on showcasing replicable district-led innovations and governance practices that have contributed to improving development outcomes in aspirational districts and blocks In his keynote address, , Additional Secretary and Mission Director (ADP/ABP) NITI Aayog Rohit Kumar highlighted the progress of the aspirational districts and blocks programme, praised the efforts of district and block officials, and stressed making it a Jan Andolan through community participation and departmental convergence.

He also noted that many indicators are nearing saturation and appreciated the strong performance of southern States.

The seminar was attended by senior officials including Shri Anant Shankar, Joint Secretary, Planning Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, along with District Collectors and officers from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The seminar featured three thematic technical sessions highlighting district-led interventions in Education and skill development; health, nutrition and social development and skill development. In technical session I on education and skill development, districts presented innovative initiatives including the NIRMAN initiative from Alluri Sitarama Raju district aimed at improving foundational learning outcomes, and the Rural Incubation Centre model from NTR district which promotes innovation and entrepreneurship among rural youth.