Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair the ninth governing council meeting of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) today, Saturday, July 27.
The apex body of NITI Aayog, chaired by PM Modi, includes all state chief ministers, lieutenant governors of union territories, and several union ministers.
Attendance from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states is expected to be high.
Notable attendees include Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Arunachal Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, 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.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will also attend the meeting, planning to address the Centre's alleged “step-motherly attitude” towards opposition-ruled states in the Union Budget 2024-25.
"Before the budget, I said I would attend the meeting. A copy of my written speech was also sent to NITI Aayog as per their requirement. When the budget was placed, I found how states ruled by opposition parties had been neglected. They had been shown a stepmotherly attitude. I want to speak about this. If they allow me to speak, it’s fine. If they don’t, I will protest and leave," Banerjee stated to the media before departing for Delhi.
However, several chief ministers from opposition parties have opted to boycott the event.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy have all confirmed their absence.
Additionally, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, an NDA ally, has yet to confirm his attendance, while Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren remains uncertain.
The agenda of the NITI Aayog meeting focuses on fostering participative governance and collaboration between the Centre and state governments, aiming to enhance the quality of life for both rural and urban populations through strengthened delivery mechanisms of government interventions.
The ninth governing council meeting will deliberate on the ‘Approach Paper’ for the vision document on Viksit Bharat @2047, with detailed discussions on the role of states in achieving this ambitious goal.
Another critical area of focus will be the recommendations from the third National Conference of Chief Secretaries, held in December last year.
During this conference, five key themes were highlighted: drinking water access, quantity, and quality; electricity quality, efficiency, and reliability; health accessibility, affordability, and quality of care; schooling access and quality; and land and property accessibility, digitisation, registration, and mutation.
Additionally, special sessions will address topics such as cyber security, the aspirational districts and blocks programme, the role of states, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in governance, all of which were discussed during the National Conference of Chief Secretaries.
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