NITI Aayog: PM Calls for Higher Growth, States Demand More Fund Allocation

First meeting of the Governing Council of NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog chaired by PM Modi at his official residence at the 7 Race Course Road was dominated by the demands of greater allocation of funds to the non-NDA governed states. 

Chief Ministers like O. Panneerselvam of TN and Akhilesh Yadav of UP suggested that the success of the central schemes will only be achieved if the states' share is decreased drastically and funds are provided by the center, especially in cases of economically weaker states. 

PM said that the country will not advance if all the states are not advancing in tandem. He further said that he envisions different states competing against one another in a spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism. The world has started to look at the country, and the biggest challenge for the nation is to eliminate poverty. Job creation and poverty elimination can never be achieved without sustainable growth. “First and foremost we should aim at a high rate of growth, “the PM said, according to the officially released statement.

Talking to the media the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “States emphasized greater financial devolution from the Centre and greater flexibility in use of funds.” 

The FM further said that NITI Aayog would comprise of three sub-groups of Chief Ministers. First group would take care of the 66 centrally sponsored schemes which should be continued, transferred to States, or shelved all together. The second group would oversee skill development within the states. And the third group would be there for developing the institutional mechanisms needed for attaining success for the Swachh Bharat Mission - the PM's dream project.  

The PM urged the states to try and provide all the school within their territories with toilets so that day-to-day cleanliness can be achieved. He also suggested that a portion of funds under the MPLAD and MLALAD schemes should be devoted towards cleanliness-related activities.

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