Reports IndicesTuesday, 3 March 2026·The Hindu
NITI Aayog and JICA sign Phase II of SDG cooperation for Aspirational Districts and Blocks
On 3 March 2026, NITI Aayog and JICA signed the Record of Discussions for Phase II of their SDG cooperation project.
Key highlights
Direct fact
On March 3, 2026, NITI Aayog and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed the Record of Discussions for Phase II of the project on Japan-India cooperative actions towards Sustainable Development Goals.
Key specifics
- The agreement was signed on March 3, 2026 by NITI Aayog and JICA.
- Phase II focuses on Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks in India.
- The project aims at institutional capacity building, knowledge exchange and evidence-based governance.
- Six priority themes are mentioned for targeted support under the cooperation.
- The initiative builds on earlier Japan-India SDG collaboration and localisation of SDGs at district and block levels.
Exam lens
Question type: Governance and development partnership, NITI Aayog-JICA, March 3 2026, Aspirational Districts, Aspirational Blocks, SDG localisation; TNPSC may ask which institution signed the RoD and for what objective.