Parliament Question: National development plan and cooperative federalism

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1902 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2026 NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM 1902 # SHRI PRADIP KUMAR VARMA: Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state: (a) the progress made in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Developed India @2047 vision and the 15-year long-term strategy in terms of national planning, regional targets, outcome measurement, and international rankings; (b) the achievements made in the development of backward regions and governance reforms through the Aspirational Districts Programme and DMEO evaluations; (c) the success achieved in center-state coordination, competition, and policy convergence through cooperative federalism, state rankings and best practice forums; and (d) the achievements made in innovation, entrepreneurship and the development of a knowledge economy through the Atal Innovation Mission and Startup India? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS & PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION; MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE (RAO INDERJIT SINGH) (a) The Government, through National Indicator Framework (NIF), is monitoring the progress on 17 SDGs. SDG India Index measures and tracks national progress of all States and UTs on indicators which are closely aligned to MoSPI’s NIF. Since 2018, four editions of the SDG India Index have been released. The latest edition of SDG India Index was released in 2023. The report highlights India's progress towards SDGs, showcasing significant improvement in the overall score from 66 in 2020-21 to 71 in 2023-24. The details regarding the goal-wise and indicator-wise performance of States and Union Territories, are in public domain and can be accessed at https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2024- 07/SDG_India_Index_2023-24.pdf. Page 1 of 3The Government recognises the long-term objective of achieving Viksit Bharat @2047, envisaging a developed and inclusive India by the centenary year of independence. The concerned Ministries/ Departments are responsible for formulating sector- specific implementation plans and outcomes. The States/Union Territories undertake visioning exercises for their respective Vision @2047 documents outlining state-specific development strategies aligned with national priorities. NITI Aayog supports this process through analytical inputs, stakeholder consultations and policy guidance to facilitate alignment of sectoral strategies with broader development goals. (b) The Aspirational Districts Programme uses a 3C strategy - Convergence, Collaboration, and Competition to provide targeted support for the holistic development of Aspirational Districts. As per the UNDP report titled “Aspirational Districts Programme: An Appraisal,” submitted in December 2020, significant progress has been made in various aspects such as sector-wise growth, better governance through convergence, and accelerated development through competitive federalism. This progress has been driven by factors including strong leadership, real-time monitoring, data-driven decision-making, and capacity building. Additionally, the Institute for Competitiveness highlighted that nearly all districts in the ADP have shown improvement on key development parameters compared to the baseline, with the programme successfully advancing social impact and justice by targeting the benefits towards the most disadvantaged areas. The delta ranking system has played a crucial role in fostering a competitive and dynamic culture, which has motivated several low-performing districts to enhance their standings over the past three years. The Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) in NITI Aayog undertakes independent evaluations of Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes and promotes institutionalisation of outcome-based monitoring frameworks, thereby strengthening evidence-based policymaking and governance reforms. (c) Cooperative federalism is institutionalised through the Governing Council, which serves as a platform for dialogue between the Union and States/UTs on national development priorities. Chief Secretaries’ Conferences and thematic consultations further facilitate policy convergence, administrative reforms and coordinated implementation across levels of government. Competitive federalism is promoted through various indices and performance-based rankings, including the SDG India Index, Champion of Change Dashboard and other sectoral indices, which encourage healthy competition, transparency and sharing of best practices among States/UTs. (d) Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is Government of India’s flagship initiative set up in the year 2016 to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of the country. AIM has implemented four major programs to promote innovation and entrepreneurship across the country. Page 2 of 3(i) Under the Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) program, 10,000 ATLs have been established in schools across all States and Union Territories. These labs provide hands-on STEM education and innovation exposure to more than 1.1 crore students, fostering problem-solving skills and an innovation culture at the school level. (ii) Under the Atal Incubation Centres (AIC) program, 82 incubators have been operationalised to support startups in diverse sectors. These incubators have supported over 5,000 startups, facilitating job creation and mobilization of significant follow-on investments. (iii) The Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACIC) program has established 20 centres, particularly in underserved and aspirational districts, to promote grassroots innovation, local entrepreneurship and livelihood opportunities. (iv) Under the Atal New India Challenges (ANIC) initiative, more than 50 innovative solutions in priority sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, mobility and education have been supported. Under Startup India initiative, the Government is implementing three flagship Schemes, Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) to provide funding opportunities and support startups across sectors at various stages of their business cycle These interventions have created a continuum of innovation support ranging from school- level ideation to startup incubation and community-level entrepreneurship, thereby strengthening the national innovation ecosystem. ***** Page 3 of 3