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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NITI Aayog Come To Replace The Planning Commission; PM Would Be The Chairman

A new body has come to replace the Planning Commission of India today - NITI Aayog or the National Institution for Transforming India. 

The Prime Minister will be the Chairman of the Aayog, and it will work as the policy think-tank for the Union government and for the state Governments as well.  

As far as the composition of the NITI Aayog is concerned, its governing council will be comprising of all the CMs of the states and Lt Governors of the Union territories. In addition to that, there will be a CEO and a VP who will be picked by the PM. There will also be some full time and two part-time members, at the same time four union ministers would serve as ex-officio members.

The Aayog will work towards strengthening a co-operative federalism for providing a national agenda to center and states. 

Apart from the above mentioned parts, there would be specific regional councils, while experts and specialists from different walks of life would be there as special invitees nominated by the PM himself.

NITI Aayog will work as a think tank of the government and function as a direction and policy dynamo. It will provide the government at the center and states with strategic and expert advice on key policy matters including economic issues of national interests. 

The PM had voiced his opinion on scrapping the Planning Commission, which was established on March 15 1950, in his Independence Day speech last year.

The NITI Aayog has been set up by the government through a Cabinet Resolution.

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