IIM Visakhapatnam Conducts Consultation Workshop for ASR District under NITI Aayog Initiative
Visakhapatnam, 19 February 2026: The Indian Institute of Management Visakhapatnam, the anchor institution for NITI Aayog, conducted a Consultation Workshop to prepare a sustainable growth plan for Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) District. The workshop brought together senior district officials, including Shri A. S. Dinesh Kumar, IAS, policymakers, and key stakeholders. The objective was to jointly shape a roadmap for sustainable and inclusive development.
The programme began with a Welcome Address by Prof. Vijaya Marisetty, Dean (Academics) and Dr B R Ambedkar Chair at IIM Visakhapatnam, and Principal Investigator of the project. This was followed by Opening Remarks from Prof. M. Chandrasekhar, Director, IIM Visakhapatnam. He noted that, as the only IIM endowed with the Dr B R Ambedkar Chair Professorship, the institute is well positioned to undertake socially impactful projects. He also highlighted that ASR District is rich in social and cultural capital. The study, he noted, seeks to derive value from these assets through importance performance analysis.
Addressing the gathering, Shri A. S. Dinesh Kumar, IAS, said that efforts are underway under the Sampoornata Abhiyan to improve performance across five themes and 46 indicators. He referred to AP’s Swarnandhra Vision 2047, which outlines ten guiding principles to transform the state into a developed and prosperous one, with a focus on product perfection. He noted that the district has strong potential in coffee, pepper, and turmeric. He emphasized the need to move beyond traditional approaches and focus on quality, branding, and value creation to drive regional prosperity. He also highlighted the importance of the three Cs: convergence, collaboration, and competition, along with coordinated institutional efforts. He commended the IIM Visakhapatnam research team for their efforts so far.
Held at IIM Visakhapatnam, the workshop marked an important milestone in the six-month project. It represents the second phase of the initiative and focuses on stakeholder co design and validation of findings from the evidence based first phase.
Prof. Vijaya Marisetty presented the draft findings of the NITI Aayog project. The report draws on primary data from 627 households and analysis across 213 Key Performance Indicators. The study identifies critical sectoral gaps, evaluates human and natural resource potential, and proposes a Hub and Spoke logic for growth.
The consultation included stakeholder discussions and a multi stakeholder workshop conducted using the World Café methodology. This structured format encouraged participatory dialogue, shared learning, and solution-oriented thinking.
The workshop concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Prof. Abinash Singh, Assistant Professor, Economics and Social Sciences and Co-Principal Investigator. The final report, incorporating stakeholder inputs, will be submitted to NITI Aayog to guide implementation of the growth plan for ASR District.
