Rayagada Officials Highlight Tribal Health Issues at NITI Aayog’s National Seminar on Best Practices
By Chandrabhanu Singh
New Delhi, Aug. 8: NITI Aayog conducted a high-impact national seminar on Best Practices under the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) and Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) on August 7, 2025, in New Delhi. The seminar brought together key administrators from across India to share transformative models and innovations aimed at achieving holistic development in backward and tribal areas.
The event was inaugurated and chaired by Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog, who underscored the importance of the 3Cs approach—Competition, Convergence, and Collaboration—in driving 100% saturation of key indicators under ADP and ABP. He encouraged field-level officers to scale locally proven models and bring greater community participation to governance.
The seminar featured thematic sessions on six focus areas: (1) Fostering Growth through Skill & Livelihood Interventions, (2) Transforming Health with Breakthrough Practices, (3) WASH Initiatives for Clean Water, Safe Sanitation & Healthy Communities, (4) Innovations in Agriculture, (5) Nourishing Tomorrow through Progressive Nutrition Models, and (6) Learning Reimagined with Educational Innovations.
From Odisha, Sri Akshaya Kumar Khemundu, CDO-cum-Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad, Rayagada, and the Additional District PHO (TB) actively participated in the seminar. During the health-focused session, Sri Khemundu highlighted the unique challenges faced in promoting institutional deliveries among pregnant women in Rayagada, a tribal-dominated district with scattered populations and difficult terrain. He emphasized the need for context-specific solutions and improved rural connectivity to ensure access to quality maternal healthcare services.
The seminar also saw participation from the Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog; Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation; and various subject matter experts. Many appreciated the grounded insights brought forward by field-level administrators like those from Rayagada.
The event concluded with a collective call to action, led by CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, stressing the urgency of documenting, replicating, and scaling impactful practices, particularly in remote and vulnerable regions. The seminar reaffirmed NITI Aayog’s commitment to inclusive development through knowledge sharing and collaborative governance.
