PM Narendra Modi to chair NITI Aayog meeting today. Who is attending and what to expect?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the 9th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog on 27 July. The meeting will concentrate on strategies and initiatives to make India a developed nation by 2047.

What are the key agenda?

Key agenda items include discussing the Approach Paper for the Vision Document on “Viksit Bharat @2047” and the role of states in achieving this goal. Additionally, the council will review recommendations from the 3rd National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in December, which covered themes such as:

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.

The meeting will also revisit discussions from special sessions on cybersecurity, the aspirational districts and blocks program, the role of states, and the use of AI in governance.

Who are the attendees?

Several chief ministers are set to attend the NITI Aayog meeting, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, and Arunachal Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein. Other attendees include Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.

Who all are boycotting the meet?

Several chief ministers of Congress-ruled states—Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy—have announced they will boycott the NITI Aayog meeting, citing perceived bias against their states in the Union Budget.

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and the Aam Aadmi Party-led governments in Punjab and Delhi also chose to

Speaking on the boycott, Stalin said, “The budget presented by the Union Finance Minister seems like a vengeful act against the states and people who boycotted the BJP. She has prepared a budget to take revenge against those who voted for the INDIA bloc. The union BJP govt is disregarding Tamil Nadu continuously.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who plans to attend despite the boycott by many INDIA bloc leaders, has criticized the Modi government’s NITI Aayog and called for the reinstatement of the Planning Commission.

Talking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for Delhi, Banerjee said she would join the meeting and use the opportunity to register her protest against a “discriminatory budget” and the “conspiracy to divide West Bengal and other opposition-ruled states”.

“I will stay at the meeting for a while. If I get an opportunity to deliver my speech at the meeting and register my protest against the discrimination and political bias against the opposition-ruled states in the budget besides the conspiracy that is being hatched to divide West Bengal and its neighbouring states, I will do so. Else, I will walk out of the meeting,” the chief minister said.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra has backed the opposition parties’ stance, accusing the Centre of neglecting states in the Budget.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji has stated that her party will make a decision regarding the NITI Aayog meeting based on what is best for the state. The JMM is a member of the INDIA bloc.

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A vision document is being developed to guide India towards becoming a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047, marking the 100th year of its independence.

In 2023, NITI Aayog was assigned the responsibility of integrating ten sectoral thematic visions into a unified vision for “Viksit Bharat @2047.” This comprehensive vision aims to address multiple dimensions of development, including economic growth, social progress, environmental sustainability, and good governance.

(With inputs from agencies)