NITI Aayog convened the Regional Best Practices Seminar (South) on 9 March 2026 under the Aspirational Districts Programme and Aspirational Blocks Programme (ADP/ABP) at Visakhapatnam, bringing together senior officials from the Central Government, 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, Shri Rohit Kumar, Additional Secretary and Mission Director (ADP/ABP), NITI Aayog, 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.

Technical Session II and III on Health, Nutrition and Skill Development highlighted innovative best practices including the Anaemia Mukt initiative from Bidar district to address anaemia among women and children, and the Amma Rakshitha programme from Nirmal district to improve maternal health outcomes. Additional innovative practices were also shared by the District Collector of Kurnool district, showcasing district-led approaches to strengthen skills of the youth of the district.

The discussions emphasised the importance of peer learning among districts, documentation of successful models and scaling of locally relevant innovations to strengthen the implementation of the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme.

The event also witnessed the unveiling of the Best Practices Compendium, documenting impactful initiatives from districts across southern states and providing a repository of replicable models for strengthening service delivery and development outcomes across Aspirational Districts and Blocks.

 

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MJPS/PRK

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