India, Sept. 30 -- NITI Aayog member R Balasubramaniam on Tuesday called for a shift from sectoral planning to a spatial planning approach, with greater emphasis on human and social capital and the development of local economic clusters. Balasubramaniam was speaking at a national workshop on 'Viksit Panchayat: Connecting People, Places, Resources and Opportunities' organised by NITI Aayog.

According to an official statement, the inaugural session highlighted the importance of decentralised governance, spatial planning, capacity development, digitalisation, and convergence for advancing Viksit Gram Panchayats.

The spatial planning approach integrates geographical, land-use, and spatial data into rural development planning to decide where...