This MCQ module is based on: Target Area Programmes & Aspirational Districts
TOPIC 17 OF 27
Target Area Programmes & Aspirational Districts
🎓 Class 12
Social Science
CBSE
Theory
Chapter 6 — Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context
⏱ ~25 min
🌐 Language: [gtranslate]
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Target Area Planning — DPAP, DDP, HADP, Tribal Sub-Plan, Aspirational Districts & More
NCERT India: People and Economy — Unit III, Chapter 6 (Part 2)
Why ‘Target Area’ Planning?
Economic development depends on a region’s resource base, technology and investment. But India’s experience of about one-and-a-half decades of planning revealed an uncomfortable fact — even resource-rich regions sometimes remained backward, while well-endowed pockets surged ahead. Regional imbalances were not only persisting; they were getting accentuated.
To check this growing inequality between regions and social groups, the Planning Commission introduced two new approaches alongside ordinary sectoral planning — the target area? approach and the target group? approach. Together these are referred to in this chapter as target area planning.
Definition — Target Area Planning
A planning approach that directs special programmes and additional resources to specific underdeveloped areas (or to specific disadvantaged social groups) so as to reduce regional and social disparities. The Planning Commission introduced these special schemes once it became clear that ordinary sectoral planning was widening, not narrowing, regional gaps.
The Family of Target Area Programmes
Some of the most prominent programmes directed at target areas are listed below.
| Programme | Year started | Focus area |
|---|---|---|
| Drought-Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) | 1973–74 (Fourth FYP) | Drought-affected districts — employment, productive assets, watershed management. |
| Desert Development Programme (DDP) | 1977–78 | Hot & cold desert areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, J&K, HP, Karnataka. |
| Hill Area Development Programme (HADP) | 1975–76 (Fifth FYP) | 15 designated hill districts — horticulture, plantations, small industry. |
| Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) | 1974 | Tribal-majority blocks — education, health, infrastructure, livelihoods. |
| Command Area Development (CAD) | 1974–75 | Command area of major irrigation projects — field channels, levelling, warabandi. |
| Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) | 1974 | Designated tribal blocks — e.g. Bharmaur (Himachal Pradesh). |
| Small & Marginal Farmer Agencies (SFDA, MFDA) | Earlier — target group programmes | Credit, inputs & services for small/marginal farmers. |
| Aspirational Districts Programme | 2018 | 112 most underdeveloped districts identified for accelerated transformation. |
| MGNREGA | 2005 | Demand-driven rural wage employment + asset creation in every rural district. |
| Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) | 2014 | Each MP develops one model village by 2019, two more by 2024. |
| PM Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) | 2000 | All-weather rural roads connecting unconnected habitations. |
Eighth Plan and Beyond
In the 8th Five Year Plan (1992–97), special area programmes were specifically designed to develop infrastructure in hill areas, north-eastern states, tribal areas and backward areas. This formalised the parallel track of regional planning alongside sectoral planning.
Think About It — Why does a resource-rich region stay backward?
NCERT observes that “sometimes resource-rich regions also remain backward.” List three reasons why a region rich in minerals or forests may still record low per-capita income.
Answer guide: (i) Lack of investment & technology — ore needs smelters, forests need processing units; without them, the rent goes outside. (ii) Outflow of value-added — raw mineral leaves the State, finished steel comes back at a higher price. (iii) Poor connectivity & social infrastructure — tribal districts in Jharkhand or Odisha rich in iron ore still have low literacy and poor roads, so people cannot capture the benefits. NCERT’s answer: economic development requires technology, investment and resources together — not resources alone.
Drought-Prone Area Programme (DPAP)
The Drought Prone Area Programme was initiated during the Fourth Five Year Plan (1969–74), in 1973–74. Its twin objectives were to provide employment to people in drought-prone areas and to create productive assets.
Initially DPAP relied on labour-intensive civil works. Later the programme broadened its base — placing emphasis on irrigation projects, land development, afforestation, grassland development, and the creation of basic rural infrastructure such as electricity, roads, markets, credit and services.
Identifying Drought-Prone Districts
Planning Commission, 1967
Identified 67 districts (entire or partly) of the country as prone to drought.
Irrigation Commission, 1972
Introduced the criterion of 30 per cent irrigated area; districts below this and rainfall-deficient were demarcated as drought-prone.
National Committee, 1981
Reviewed DPAP performance; recommended fresh strategy — integrated watershed development at the micro-level.
Strategy
Restoration of ecological balance between water, soil, plants and human + animal populations — the basic consideration for development of drought-prone areas.
Where are India’s Drought-Prone Areas?
Broadly, the drought-prone tracts of India spread over the semi-arid and arid belts of:
- Rajasthan, Gujarat and western Madhya Pradesh;
- Marathwada region of Maharashtra;
- Rayalseema and Telangana plateaus of Andhra Pradesh;
- Karnataka plateau and highlands; and
- Interior parts of Tamil Nadu.
The drought-prone tracts of Punjab, Haryana and northern Rajasthan are largely protected by the spread of canal irrigation, especially the Indira Gandhi Canal command (covered in Part 3).
Fig 6.4 — Target Area Programme Zones of India (Schematic)
DDP — Desert Development Programme
DPAP — Drought-Prone Area
HADP — Hill Area Development
TSP / ITDP — Tribal Sub-Plan
Desert Development Programme (DDP)
Launched in 1977–78, the Desert Development Programme? covered the hot desert areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, the western dry tracts of Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, plus the cold desert areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.
Its main thrusts are controlling desertification, restoring ecological balance and raising productivity through afforestation, sand-dune stabilisation, pasture development, water-harvesting structures, drought-proofing of agriculture and livestock-based livelihoods.
Hill Area Development Programme (HADP)
The Hill Area Development Programme was initiated during the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974–79) in 1975–76. It originally covered 15 districts? identified as ‘backward hill areas’ — namely:
- All hilly districts of Uttar Pradesh (today’s Uttarakhand);
- Mikir Hill and North Cachar hills of Assam;
- Darjeeling district of West Bengal;
- Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu;
- and similar pockets in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
The National Committee on the Development of Backward Areas, in 1981, recommended that all hill areas in the country having a height above 600 m and not covered under the tribal sub-plan be treated as backward hill areas.
Strategy of HADP
HADP plans were drawn keeping in view the topographical, ecological, social and economic conditions of each hill region. The programme aimed to harness indigenous resources through:
Horticulture
Apple, citrus, walnut and stone-fruit orchards in Himachal, Uttarakhand, J&K. The famous ‘apple economy’ of Shimla and Kullu emerged from this push.
Plantations
Tea (Darjeeling, Nilgiri, Assam), spices, medicinal plants and aromatic herbs adapted to hill ecology.
Animal Husbandry, Poultry & Forestry
Sheep and goat rearing, mountain poultry, joint forest management for community livelihoods.
Small & Village Industry
Wool, weaving, basketry, handicrafts — low-volume high-value goods that travel well from remote hills.
Let’s Explore — The 15 hill districts
The HADP launched in 1975–76 covered 15 districts in five states. Match each of the following to its state and identify the principal hill resource being developed there.
- (a) Darjeeling (b) Nilgiri (c) North Cachar (d) Almora (e) Idukki
Answer:
- Darjeeling (West Bengal) — tea plantations, tourism.
- Nilgiri (Tamil Nadu) — tea, eucalyptus, hill tourism (Ooty, Coonoor).
- North Cachar (Assam) — bamboo, ginger, citrus, jhum-to-settled agriculture transition.
- Almora (Uttar Pradesh / Uttarakhand) — horticulture (apple, plum), wool, medicinal plants.
- Idukki (Kerala) — cardamom, pepper, hydro-electricity, plantations.
Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) & ITDP
The Tribal Sub-Plan? approach was introduced in 1974, alongside the Fifth Five Year Plan. The idea is simple but powerful: at least the same proportion of Plan outlay as the tribal share of population must be earmarked for tribal-development schemes, and pooled into an exclusive sub-plan for tribal-majority blocks.
Within the TSP framework, Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDPs) were carved out for clusters of contiguous tribal-majority blocks. Bharmaur in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh — a notified tribal area since 21 November 1975 — was designated as one of the five ITDPs in Himachal Pradesh. (We study Bharmaur in detail in Part 3.)
Sub-Plan Approach for SC/ST & Backward Classes
The sub-plan approach was extended beyond Scheduled Tribes to Scheduled Castes (Special Component Plan, SCSP) and to other Backward Classes. Each State and the Centre earmark Plan funds in the same proportion as the SC/ST share of the population, ensuring that vulnerable groups receive proportionate — not residual — resources.
Aspirational Districts Programme (2018)
The Aspirational Districts Programme? was launched by the NITI Aayog in January 2018. It identifies 112 of the most underdeveloped districts in India and seeks their rapid transformation through a three-pronged strategy — convergence of central and state schemes, collaboration of central, state and district functionaries, and competition between districts on a published Aspirational Districts Index.
Five Themes, 49 Indicators
Districts are ranked on five thematic groups of indicators:
Health & Nutrition
Anaemia, IMR, antenatal care — weight 30%.
Education
Learning outcomes, enrolment, infrastructure — weight 30%.
Agriculture & Water
Productivity, irrigation, livestock — weight 20%.
Financial Inclusion & Skills + Infrastructure
Bank accounts, skill training, road connectivity — weight 20%.
Chart — Aspirational Districts (2018) by State (Top 10)
Approximate share of the 112 Aspirational Districts. The eastern and central states — Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, MP, UP — contain the bulk of these districts, mirroring the historical regional imbalance the programme seeks to correct.
MGNREGA, SAGY & PMGSY — Three Other Big Programmes
MGNREGA — Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005
Enacted in 2005, MGNREGA legally guarantees 100 days of wage employment per financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It is the world’s largest demand-driven employment programme. It serves a dual purpose:
- Employment — income support during agricultural lean seasons; women receive at least one-third of person-days.
- Asset creation — durable rural assets, especially water conservation, drought proofing, irrigation channels, plantations, rural connectivity, flood control.
SAGY — Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, 2014
Launched in October 2014, SAGY asks every Member of Parliament to develop one model village (Adarsh Gram) by 2019, and two more by 2024, in his/her constituency. The MP is required to motivate the Gram Sabha, mobilise convergence of existing schemes (housing, sanitation, drinking water, electrification, schools, roads), and identify gap-filling investments through a Village Development Plan. The aim is to make these villages models that surrounding panchayats can emulate.
PMGSY — Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, 2000
Launched in December 2000, PMGSY is India’s flagship rural roads programme. Its target was to provide all-weather road connectivity to every unconnected habitation with a population of 500 or more in plains and 250 or more in hilly, tribal and desert areas. The programme has constructed lakhs of kilometres of roads and is widely credited with reducing transport costs, raising school attendance, and improving access to markets and health centres in rural India.
Source — Watershed Development & DPAP
From the NCERT Chapter
“Restoration of ecological balance between water, soil, plants, and human and animal population should be a basic consideration in the strategy of development of drought-prone areas.”
— NCERT, India: People & Economy, Ch.6 (paraphrased)
Q. Explain how the integrated watershed development approach addresses each of the four elements above — water, soil, plants, and population — at the micro-level.
Answer guide: A watershed treats a small drainage unit as the planning unit. Water is harvested through check-dams and percolation tanks; soil is conserved through contour bunding and gully plugging; plants are restored through afforestation and pasture development on degraded common lands; the human and animal population benefits through higher productivity, fodder availability and assured drinking water. Famous Indian examples: Ralegan Siddhi (Maharashtra) and Hiware Bazar (Maharashtra).
Competency-Based Questions — Target Area Programmes
Case Study: A district planning officer in central India is preparing a presentation on regional development schemes. She points out that the Drought Prone Area Programme started in 1973–74, the Hill Area Development Programme covered 15 districts since 1975–76, the Tribal Sub-Plan was introduced in 1974, MGNREGA was enacted in 2005, PMGSY was launched in 2000 and the Aspirational Districts Programme identified 112 districts in 2018. Use this information to answer the following.
1. ITDP refers to which one of the following?
L1 Remember
Answer: (c) Integrated Tribal Development Programme. Bharmaur in Chamba district was designated one of the five ITDPs of Himachal Pradesh under the Tribal Sub-Plan.
2. Why did the Planning Commission introduce target-area programmes in addition to ordinary sectoral planning?
L3 Apply
Answer: After about a decade and a half of plan-led growth it became clear that regional and social disparities were getting accentuated. Even resource-rich regions were lagging behind because they lacked technology, investment and infrastructure. Sectoral planning alone was inadequate. The Planning Commission therefore added target area (DPAP, DDP, HADP) and target group (SFDA, MFDA) programmes to direct extra resources to specific underdeveloped areas and disadvantaged groups, thereby reducing imbalances.
3. Compare the strategies of HADP and DPAP. How do their geographical contexts dictate different approaches to development?
L4 Analyse
Answer: HADP works in high-altitude, fragile ecosystems where soils are thin, slopes steep and conventional cropping difficult. Its strategy is therefore to harness indigenous hill resources — horticulture, plantations, animal husbandry, forestry and small/village industry. DPAP, by contrast, works in semi-arid plains where rainfall is unreliable. Its strategy is to build resilience — soil-and-water conservation, watershed development, afforestation, grassland development, diversified livelihoods. Same goal (reducing regional disparity), but different methods because the geography is different.
4. Imagine your own district has just been added to the Aspirational Districts list. As District Magistrate, propose three convergence-based interventions across health, education and agriculture.
L6 Create
Answer (model): (i) Health — converge POSHAN Abhiyan (anaemia), Janani Suraksha (institutional deliveries) and Ayushman Bharat (cashless treatment) at every block PHC. (ii) Education — merge Samagra Shiksha learning kits with NIPUN Bharat foundational literacy and a hyperlocal teacher-mentoring programme; track outcome on the NITI Aayog dashboard. (iii) Agriculture — converge PM-KISAN with PMKSY irrigation micro-projects, soil-health-card based crop advisories and an FPO (Farmer Producer Organisation) linked to e-NAM. Each intervention is convergent (multiple schemes), competitive (ranked monthly) and collaborative (Centre–State–District).
HOT — ‘MGNREGA is welfare in disguise — it does not really build assets.’ Argue for or against using NCERT’s twin-objective framing of DPAP.
L5 Evaluate
Answer: NCERT’s framing of DPAP is precisely the same twin objective — (a) employment and (b) productive assets. MGNREGA, modelled on this template, has built lakhs of farm ponds, percolation tanks, rural roads and afforestation patches; independent studies (NCAER, IIM-A) confirm asset durability above 60% and a measurable rise in groundwater levels in MGNREGA-intensive blocks. The ‘welfare in disguise’ critique is therefore overstated. What can be conceded is that quality control and post-construction maintenance vary across districts; the right reform is better engineering supervision and asset-tagging on the geo-MGNREGA portal — not abandonment of the twin-objective design.
Assertion & Reason — Target Area Planning
Assertion (A): The Drought Prone Area Programme was initiated during the Fourth Five Year Plan (1973–74).
Reason (R): The Planning Commission realised that resource-rich regions could still remain backward and that regional imbalances were getting accentuated.
Reason (R): The Planning Commission realised that resource-rich regions could still remain backward and that regional imbalances were getting accentuated.
Correct: (A) — DPAP was a response to the very imbalance NCERT identifies; both statements are true and R explains A.
Assertion (A): The HADP launched in 1975–76 covered 15 districts including the Mikir hills and North Cachar of Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiri and Uttar Pradesh hills.
Reason (R): The 1981 National Committee on Backward Areas had recommended that all areas above 600 m be treated as backward.
Reason (R): The 1981 National Committee on Backward Areas had recommended that all areas above 600 m be treated as backward.
Correct: (B) — Both A and R are true, but R is a later recommendation (1981) that reviewed HADP’s coverage; HADP itself (1975–76) preceded the recommendation, so R is not the cause of A’s coverage list.
Assertion (A): The Aspirational Districts Programme was launched in 2018 by NITI Aayog.
Reason (R): The NITI Aayog had no power to allocate Plan funds and therefore needed a competition-based approach to drive change in the most backward 112 districts.
Reason (R): The NITI Aayog had no power to allocate Plan funds and therefore needed a competition-based approach to drive change in the most backward 112 districts.
Correct: (A) — NITI Aayog uses convergence (existing schemes), collaboration (Centre–State–District), and competition (monthly ranking) as its main tools, precisely because it has no fund-allocation power. The 112-district programme is the textbook example.
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