India is a federation with extreme diversity across districts in natural resource endowments, poverty incidence, development gains and potential for growth. Accordingly, the role of district administration is to apply customised development models as per local context. Local government and decentralised planning are the avowed Indian mechanisms and strategy, respectively, as per 73rd and 74th amendment to ensure delivery of several public goods and social justice. District level planning holds a significant position in Indian governance system due to the advantages of efficiency, access to local resources and knowledge as well as quick response potential. It is also the level at which planning can effectively include people’s requirements and ensure real-time flexibility based on changing ground realities.