Why in the news-

The NITI Aayog launched the ‘Vocal for Local’ initiative under its Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP).

About Vocal for Local Initiative

Under this program, indigenous local products from 500 Aspirational Blocks have been mapped and consolidated for sale.
District collectors and block-level officials will collaborate with partners such as Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to facilitate sustainable growth of microenterprises in Aspirational Blocks.
To facilitate this, a dedicated window for Aspirational Blocks Programme under the brand name ‘Aakanksha’ on GeM portal has been established.

The ABP is set on the lines of the Aspirational District Programme that was launched in 2018 and covers 112 districts across the country.
The Centre had announced its intention to launch this initiative in the Union Budget 2022-23.
The programme will cover 500 districts across 31 states and Union Territories initially.
Over half of these blocks are in 6 states—Uttar Pradesh (68 blocks), Bihar (61), Madhya Pradesh (42), Jharkhand (34), Odisha (29) and West Bengal (29).
However, states can add more blocks to the programme later.

	Details
Launch Date	January 2018
Objective	To transform identified aspirational districts quickly and effectively through a mass movement.
Program Contours	Convergence of Central & State Schemes Collaboration among Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors Competition among districts driven by mass Movement.
Selection of Districts	117 Aspirational districts identified by NITI Aayog based on composite indicators. Real-time progress monitored based on 49 indicators from 5 thematic areas.
Weightage of Indicators	Health & Nutrition (30%) Education (30%) Agriculture & Water Resources (20%) Financial Inclusion & Skill Development (10%) Basic Infrastructure (10%)
Core Strategy	Development as a mass movement Identify strengths and low-hanging fruits in each district Measure progress and rank districts Foster competition.
Features	Transform into a Jan Andolan Real-time data tracking for monitoring improvement Convergence between central and state government programmes. District performance made public Experience building of district bureaucracy Targeted towards the entire district population.