♦ NITI Aayog and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed the Record of Discussions (RoD) for Phase II of the Japan–India Cooperative Actions towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on 2 March 2026, aimed at strengthening development interventions in Aspirational Districts and Blocks. The agreement was signed in the presence of Rohit Kumar, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme at NITI Aayog, and Takeuchi Takuro, Chief Representative, JICA India.

♦ The second phase of the project seeks to deepen India–Japan collaboration in achieving the SDGs, with a focus on institutional capacity-building and improving governance systems at the district and block levels.

♦ Under the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) and Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP), the initiative will work across six themes — global partnership, health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development, and basic infrastructure.