BRGF and intra-district backwardness:towards a programmable index

Launched by the then Prime Minister in February 2006, the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) programme primarily intends to “redress the regional imbalance” in the country. The programme guidelines categorically mandates that each identified BRGF district should prepare a “diagnostic study” of its backwardness specifying the relatively backward pockets within the district based on which the district plan would be prepared. This paper tries to look at the approach of the programme along with a few operational issues in some detail. An attempt has been made to develop a conceptual framework for addressing the two foundational issues – identification of regions and measurement of level of development therein through a programmable index along with a possible prioritisation scheme that would help district level planning.