The Integrated Action Plan (IAP) was a development scheme launched by the Government of India to address the root causes of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in affected districts. It was approved on November 25, 2010, to solve the problem of development deficit and bridge the trust-deficit between the administration and local communities in tribal and backward areas. The IAP was initially implemented in 60 selected tribal and backward districts across nine states, with 51 of them being LWE-affected.
The scheme worked by providing Additional Central Assistance (ACA), a 100% grant basis block grant, to the identified districts. The initial grant was ₹25 crore per district in 2010-11, increasing to ₹30 crore in subsequent years. The funds were placed at the disposal of a District-level Committee, which had the flexibility to choose development schemes based on local needs. This Committee was headed by the District Collector and included the Superintendent of Police (SP) and the District Forest Officer (DFO). The key mechanism was to fund projects for public infrastructure and services, such as school buildings, Anganwadi Centres, Primary Health Centres, drinking water supply, and village roads, to show quick results.
The IAP was a sub-component of the State component of the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF). It was formally renamed as the Additional Central Assistance (ACA) for LWE affected districts on August 1, 2013, and was extended to cover 88 districts. The IAP/ACA scheme was discontinued by the government from 2015-16 following the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission. It was later replaced by the Special Central Assistance (SCA) for the most LWE affected districts, which was approved on September 27, 2017, as an alternate scheme. The IAP was part of a broader multi-pronged strategy that also included security-related measures like the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme.