Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired the fifth meeting of Niti Aayog's Governing Council on Saturday, 15 June, said “our goal to make India a USD 5 trillion economy by 2024 is challenging, but achievable.”
The meeting began at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, with the main agenda being deliberations regarding droughts, farm distress and security concerns over Naxal-affected districts.
Niti Aayog has a key role to play in fulfilling the mantra of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas', the PM asserted.
PM For Governance System Characterised by ‘Performance, Transparency & Delivery’
Recalling the recent general elections as the world's largest democratic exercise, the prime minister said that it is now time for everyone to work for the development of India.
He spoke of a collective fight against poverty, unemployment, drought, flood, pollution, corruption and violence.
The newly created Jal Shakti Ministry will help in providing an integrated approach to water conservation, PM Modi said as he called for effective steps to tackle drought.
Urging the members of Governing Council to help create a government setup which has the people’s trust, Modi said “We are now moving towards a governance system characterised by performance, transparency and delivery.”
On-ground implementation of schemes is vital, he said.
It was the first governing council meeting under the new Modi government.
Union ministers Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and Rajnath Singh, among others, attended the meet.
The five-point agenda for the meeting also included aspirational districts programme, transforming agriculture and security-related issues with special focus on left wing extremism (LWE) districts, an official statement said, reported PTI.
Mamata, KCR and Amarinder Skip the Meet
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her counterparts from Telangana and Punjab – K Chandrashekhar Rao and Amarinder Singh – were not part of the meeting.
Banerjee refused to attend the meeting, saying it is "fruitless" as the NITI Aayog has no financial powers to support state plans. In a three-page letter written to Modi, she had said it was "useless" to attend the meet as the agenda had been fixed by the Centre without consulting the states.
KCR was also not part of the meet as he was involved in preparations to inaugurate an irrigation project in Telangana, reported NDTV.
Banerjee and Rao had also skipped PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony on 23 May.
Amarinder Singh, who skipped a meeting of the chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states headed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also gave the Niti Aayog meet a miss, due to poor health, according to IANS.
Headed by the Prime Minister, the Governing Council includes ministers of Finance, Home, Defence, Agriculture, Commerce and Rural Development, besides state chief ministers and NITI Aayog vice-chairman, CEO and members.
The Governing Council reviews the action taken on the agenda items of the previous meeting and deliberates upon the future developmental priorities.
What Happened at Previous Meetings?
So far, four meetings of the Governing Council have been held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.
The first meeting of the Governing Council was held on 8 February 2015, at which the Prime Minister laid down the key mandates of NITI Aayog, such as fostering cooperative federalism and addressing national issues through active participation of the states.
The second meeting on 15 July 2015 reviewed the progress made by the three sub-groups of chief ministers and the two task forces.
In the third meeting on 23 April 2017, Modi had pitched for conducting simultaneous elections of the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies, and shifting to a January-December fiscal year.
The fourth meeting of the council on 17 June 2018 deliberated upon measures taken to double farmers' income and the progress of the government's flagship schemes.
(With inputs from PTI, IANS and NDTV.)
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