Transformation of the Aspirational Districts Programme (TADP) is a highly ambitious initiative of Government of India, which intends to effectively transform some of the most backward districts in the nation in time bound manner. In total, there are 115 aspirational districts identified by NITI Aayog. Five themes have been identified as priorities under the initiative. Each Aspirational District is mapped to specific CPSEs for financial support through CSR. The Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all the United Nations Member States in 2015, stipulates a vision for universal peace and prosperity. There are 17 SDG and 169 targets. Under the requirements of TADP, every TADP district in the country has drawn up an implementable Action Plan. Paper attempts to map the Action Plan (2018-20) of Sukma district (in state of Chhattisgarh, India) with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). While undertaking the mapping, the concerned schemes under each ‘budget head’ of the action plan of Sukma were comprehended, and accordingly, the allocation was done for the different SDG. It is seen that there is a mismatch between the ‘challenges’ and the ‘strategies’ as defined in the Action Plan. There are some of the ‘challenges’ for which no strategy has been proposed. The SDG 1 (End Poverty) seems to attract maximum budget in Sukma. The SDG 3 (Health) seems to attract the next highest allocation of funds in the Action Plan. Despite this, the Delta Ranking of the Sukma for the Health Sector is quite alarming (96th out of 115). Though the Convergence activities have been prudently identified in the Plan, how to achieve the same is not spelled out. The SDG 5 (Gender Equality); SDG 6 (Water & Sanitation); SDG 10 (Reduce Inequality) need more financial support than as allocated in the Action Plan.
Mapping of SDG with the Aspirational District Action Plan of Sukma (Chhattisgarh, India)
