NITI Aayog and JICA Sign Phase II Pact to Boost India–Japan Cooperation on SDGs in Aspirational Districts

In a major step to strengthen India–Japan development cooperation, NITI Aayog and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have signed the Record of Discussions (RoD) for Phase II of the “Project for Promotion of the Program for Japan–India Cooperative Actions Towards Sustainable Development Goals.”

The collaboration reinforces the long-standing India–Japan partnership and advances joint efforts to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focused push in Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks across the country.

Shri Rohit Kumar stated that the partnership leverages institutional strengths, shared expertise and grassroots experience to drive inclusive development in underserved regions. Under the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) and Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP), the project will strengthen policy frameworks and implementation systems across six priority themes: Global Partnership, Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure.

The initiative emphasises institutional capacity building, improved monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and effective localisation of SDGs, aiming to ensure measurable and sustainable development outcomes at the grassroots level.