NITI Aayog signs SoI with Lupin Foundation for collaborating in Aspirational Districts

The NITI Aayog and Lupin Foundation on July 23, 2018 signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to collaborate in Aspirational Districts Programme.

The SoI was signed by Yaduvendra Mathur, Additional Secretary of NITI Aayog and Sita Ram Gupta, Executive Director of Lupin Foundation.  

Highlights of the Statement of Intent

• The NITI Aayog and Lupin Foundation will collaborate to improve indicators in education, health & nutrition, financial inclusion and skill development, agriculture and water resources and basic infrastructure in Aspirational Districts of India.

• Lupin Foundation, along with the NITI Aayog, will work in three states - Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

• The collaboration will facilitate the creation of an ideal template to develop economic strength, technological viability and moral leadership across three districts in these 3 states as part of Phase I of the cooperation.

• Lupin Foundation will work towards three main pillars of ensuring integrated developmental policy in the model states
o Social development - It will include initiatives for health, education and women empowerment.
o Economic empowerment – It will focus on interventions in spheres of agriculture, animal husbandry and skill enhancement.
o Infrastructure development - Lupin will loop to establish durable infra in the form of internal roads, school buildings and water resources.

About Aspirational District Programme

• Launched by PM Narendra Modi in January 2018, the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ programme aims to quickly and effectively transform some of the most underdeveloped districts of the country.

• The broad features of the programme are:
o Convergence of Central & State Schemes
o Collaboration of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors
o Competition among districts driven by a Mass Movement or a Jan Andolan

• The programme aims to focus on the strength of each district, identify low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress, and rank districts. It also supports Government’s initiative of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ to raise the living standards of its citizens and ensure inclusive growth for all.

• The Government has chosen 49 key performance indicators to measure progress of the districts under the programme.

• Districts are encouraged to first catch-up with the best district within their state, and subsequently aspire to become one of the best in the country.

About Lupin Foundation

Lupin Foundation is a trust, NGO, independent body promoted by Lupin Ltd. Lupin is an innovation-led pharmaceutical company with a global footprint and known for its generic medicines. Formed in 1988, the Foundation works towards creating an alternative model of rural development which is sustainable, replicable and ever evolving.