On Wednesday, the Nasscom Foundation launched its ‘Aspirational Districts Programme’ with the objective of digitally enabling and skilling more than 3.5 million people by March 2024. Rakesh Ranjan, mission director, Aspirational Districts Programme, NITI Aayog, said the programme is a promising step towards accelerating the country’s progress in meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Under this initiative, the Nasscom Foundation will tap into more than 100 aspirational districts, of which 55 districts have already been identified in 23 states. These aspirational districts will be equipped with Digital Resource Centres that will act as change agents and engines of development, ensuring they provide need-based information, resources and an array of government-based services that will positively impact citizens’ lives.
Nidhi Bhasin, the CEO of the Nasscom Foundation, said that the government’s Aspirational Districts Programme spearheaded by the NITI Aayog has triggered equitable growth and development in every corner of the country. “As an extension to the government’s initiative, the Nasscom Foundation’s Aspirational Districts Programme focuses on the two aspects of inclusive growth and meeting SDG commitments,” Bhasin said. “We are confident that through our collective efforts to roll out people-centric digital initiatives, we will be able transform 55 districts and empower over 3.5 million lives and thus make technology affordable, equitable and most importantly accessible to the last mile.”
Ranjan of NITI Aayog added that with initiatives like the Nasscom Foundation’s Aspirational Districts Programme, significant progress will be made towards equitable development. “This is one of the first steps in ensuring a national inclusive development strategy that fosters technology and ensures that no district is left behind,” he said. “Even though remarkable socio-economic measures have been undertaken for the country’s progress, these do not adequately reflect on the quality of life of the people. The Nasscom Foundation, through this programme, is making an attempt to address this shortcoming and it is a step forward in making India a digitally-empowered nation.”