NITI Aayog meeting: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog today (July 27) which was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre in the national capital. This year's theme is 'Viksit Bharat@2047', with a central focus on making India a developed nation.
"Viksit Bharat @ 2047 is the ambition of every Indian. States can play an active role to achieve this aim as they are directly connected with the people,", said PM Modi at the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre to attend the NITI Aayog meet. The Chief Ministers of various BJP-ruled states participated in the meeting while several Opposition CMs boycotted. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee was present at the meeting but later she left the conference in the middle alleging that she was not allowed to speak.
Mamata Banerjee leaves meeting midway
On NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said, "I said you (central government) should not discriminate against state governments. I wanted to speak but I was allowed to speak only for 5 minutes. People before me spoke for 10-20 minutes. I was the only one from the opposition who was participating but still, I was not allowed to speak. This is insulting."
The Governing Council Meeting will discuss the Approach Paper for the Vision Document on Viksit Bharat @2047. The meeting aims to foster participative governance and collaboration between the Centre and State Governments, enhancing the quality of life for both rural and urban populations by strengthening the delivery mechanisms of government interventions.
Roadmap for Viksit Bharat 2047
The meeting will also see detailed deliberations on the role of states in achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat @2047.India is on track to become the world's third-largest economy with GDP crossing USD 5 trillion and aspirations to reach a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047. Achieving the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047 will require a collaborative approach between the Centre and State governments. The 9th Governing Council Meeting aims to create a roadmap for this vision.
Focus of NITI Aayog meeting
The governing council of NITI Aayog will also focus on the recommendations of the 3rd National Conference of Chief Secretaries held during December 27-29, 2023. Additionally, special sessions were also held to deliberate on cyber security, the aspirational districts and blocks programme, the role of states, and AI in governance which were also discussed during the 3rd National Conference of Chief Secretaries.
In preparation for NITI Aayog's 9th Governing Council meeting, the 3rd Chief Secretaries Conference was held at the end of December 2023, during which extensive discussions were held on key themes.
The Prime Minister is the Chairperson of the NITI Aayog. Other Attendees will include Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of States and Union Territories, Union Ministers as Ex-officio Members and Special Invitees, and the Vice Chairman and Members of NITI Aayog.
During the conference, recommendations were made on five key themes:
- Drinking Water: Access, Quantity, and Quality
- Electricity: Quality, Efficiency, and Reliability
- Health: Accessibility, Affordability, and Quality of Care
- Schooling: Access and Quality
- Land and Property: Accessibility, Digitization, Registration, and Mutation
Special sessions were also held to deliberate on cyber security, aspirational districts and blocks programme, role of states, and AI in governance which were also discussed during the National Conference of Chief Secretaries.
Who will not attend NITI Aayog meeting today?
Meanwhile, chief ministers of three Congress-ruled states- Karnataka's Siddaramaiah, Himachal Pradesh's Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Telangana's Revanth Reddy- have announced they will not attend the NITI Aayog meeting over alleged bias against their states in the Union Budget.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader MK Stalin, Kerala's CM and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan as well as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab and Delhi governments have also boycotted the meeting.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the government think tank brought by the Modi government should be scrapped and the Planning Commission restored. Banerjee, who is set to attend the NITI Aayog meeting even as most INDIA bloc chief ministers have decided to give it a miss, said she felt their voices should be raised on a common platform.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra has supported the decision taken by opposition parties, and accused the Centre of denying states their share in the Budget.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji has said her party will take a decision based on the interests of the state. JMM is a I.N.D.I.A bloc constituent.
A vision document is being prepared to help India become a developed economy of USD 30 trillion by 2047, the 100th year of its independence. In 2023, NITI Aayog was entrusted with the task of consolidating the 10 sectoral thematic visions into a combined vision for Viksit Bharat @2047. The vision encompasses various aspects of development, including economic growth, social progress, environmental sustainability, and good governance, among others.
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