The fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog was held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan. It was attended by 23 Chief Ministers and the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, apart from Union Ministers, who are ex-officio members and special invitees.
At the end of the day-long deliberations, the Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog as a platform to inspire cooperative federalism, stressing the need for effective center-state cooperation to advance development outcomes and achieve double-digit growth for India. He called upon States to fix growth targets for their economies as the world looks towards India soon becoming a USD 5 trillion economy. He advised the States to pay special attention to expanding their exports and attracting export oriented investment while organizing their investments summits and events.
NITI Aayog will soon invite States for consultations on how to improve the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in India and also to improve the ‘Ease of Living’ for the common man. The Prime Minister also emphasized that States may set up their own Committees to look into ‘Ease of Living’ for the common citizen, which is the need of the hour.
The Prime Minister expressed the hope that all Government buildings and street lighting across the country should be replaced with energy-efficient, economical LED lighting as soon as possible and also urged States to work towards the goal of a TB-Free India by 2025, five years prior to the global target of 2030.
The Prime Minister also took into consideration States’ concerns over the Terms of Reference of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and encouraged States to think of new ideas or a new formula, which incentivizes states for their performance. For instance, good practices such as reducing wasteful expenditure and increasing technology use. He emphasized that the Finance Commission devolution formula has to take cognizance of the relative backwardness and low per capita incomes of some states.
The Chief Ministers of the various States highlighted issues such as adaptation to climate change, the need to design and implement State-specific schemes to suit local needs. They also presented the work done by the various states in implementing the Ayushman Bharat and the Aspirational Districts Programme.
All Chief Ministers expressed their commitment to celebrating the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in a befitting manner. The Prime Minister in his closing remarks said the best manner of showing respect to the Father of the Nation would be to not only achieve a 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF) status for the country but also to make India free from dirt and squalor by October 2, 2019.
The Prime Minister called for exploring the possibility of holding simultaneous and the advantages of a common voter list for each State.
The Prime Minister thanked the Chief Ministers for their suggestions and reassured all present that the Union Government will work towards resolving all issues pending with the States.
