Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today lauded the role played by District Collectors in particular, and Civil Servants in general during the COVID pandemic. He was addressing the inaugural session of Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration, through video conference.
Dr Singh said, India’s fight against Corona proved effective because of the early lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said, the prompt administrative measures saved India from slipping into a crisis situation seen in several advanced countries of the world with a much smaller population. He added that the population size of the country and its geographical spread presented a challenge which was diligently dealt by the administration in India.
Speaking on the concept of Aspirational Districts based on 49 key indicators, the Minister said that based on a scientifically designed mechanism, each Aspirational District was to focus on improving these key indicators and raise its rating.
He also complimented the Aspirational Districts of Goalpara and Dhubri in Assam for having achieved Ayushman Bharat coverage of nearly 100 percent and 85 percent. In addition, Goalpara district had within six months, raised its position from 68 to16 in the All-India list of 150 Aspirational Districts.
