Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair the 9th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog today. The session will centre on the vision of transforming India into a developed nation by 2047, according to an official statement.
The Governing Council, NITI Aayog’s apex body, includes all state chief ministers, the lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers. As chairman of NITI Aayog, Modi will oversee the discussions.
The meeting aims to promote collaborative governance between the Centre and state governments to improve the quality of life for both rural and urban populations. It will also focus on strengthening government intervention delivery mechanisms.
“The Governing Council Meeting on July 27, 2024 will discuss the Approach Paper for the Vision Document on Viksit Bharat @2047…The meeting will also see detailed deliberations on the role of states in achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat @2047,” the statement said.
Key topics will include the recommendations from the 3rd National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in December last year. These recommendations address crucial areas such as drinking water accessibility, electricity reliability, health care quality, schooling, and land/property digitization and registration. Special sessions will also cover cybersecurity, the aspirational districts and blocks program, state roles, and AI in governance.
Several chief ministers from Congress-ruled states—Siddaramaiah of Karnataka, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh, and Revanth Reddy of Telangana—have announced their boycott of the meeting, citing alleged bias in the Union Budget against their states. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, and AAP-led Punjab and Delhi governments are also skipping the meeting.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who will attend despite the boycott by most INDIA bloc leaders, has called for the abolition of NITI Aayog and the reinstatement of the Planning Commission. She emphasised the need for a unified platform for raising voices.
BJD MP Sasmit Patra has backed the opposition parties’ decision, accusing the Centre of withholding states’ due shares in the Budget. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Maji stated her party’s decision will be based on state interests. The JMM is a member of the INDIA bloc.
The upcoming vision document is part of a broader effort to make India a $30 trillion economy by 2047, marking the 100th year of its independence. In 2023, NITI Aayog was tasked with integrating various sectoral visions into a unified plan for ‘Viksit Bharat @2047’, addressing economic growth, social progress, environmental sustainability, and governance.