NITI Aayog’s Governing Council Meeting

The seventh Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, which was presided over by the Honorable Prime Minister, just ended in New Delhi.

Highlight

The major issues were discussed by the Governing Council:

• Achieving self-sufficiency in pulses, oilseeds, and other agricultural commodities through crop diversification;
• National Education Policy (NEP) implementation in school education, NEP implementation in higher education, and NEP implementation in urban governance;

Crop diversification:

• At the meeting, this topic, in particular, received a lot of attention.

• At the discussion, it was also discussed how India may reduce its current 50 percent reliance on imported edible oils to 25 percent or less in the future years.
• It was also considered how to produce some pulses more abundantly.
• There is a shortage of masoor and arhar in India despite its much-reduced import dependence on pulses (approximately 7-8%).
• Given the acute water stress in several of the states, the subject of agricultural diversification is important.

Agriculture:

• In order to become self-sufficient and a leader in the agriculture industry on a global scale, India must concentrate on modernized agriculture, animal husbandry, and food processing.

Reducing imports:

• In order to lessen their reliance on imports, states were encouraged to concentrate on boosting their trade, tourism, and technology.

Urbanization:

• According to the Hon. PM, India's rapid urbanization may be turned into a strength rather than a vulnerability by using technology to make life easier, assure transparent service delivery, and raise the quality of life for all urban Indians

G20:

• For the first time in the organization's history, India will host G20 summits throughout the year, not just in Delhi but also in each of its other states and union territories.
• States are instructed to form specialized G-20 teams in order to get the most out of the effort.
• Concerns were voiced by several states regarding the minimum support price (MSP) for farmers, the shortage of IAS officials, the review of the GST, increased funding for the states, and other issues.

National Conference of Chief Secretaries:

• The National Conference of Chief Secretaries, which served as the culmination of a six-month-long, strenuous effort by the Centre and States, was conducted in Dharamshala in June 2022 as part of preparations for this gathering.

About NITI AAYOG

• It was created in 2015 to take the position of the Planning Commission.
• It is an executive organization that serves as a think tank and advisory body. Its goal is to continuously promote cooperative and competitive federalism through structured support activities.

Members of NITI Aayog:

• India's Prime Minister serves as the chair.
• Chief Ministers of all Indian States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories make up the governing council.
• The top body responsible for developing a common understanding of national goals and strategies with the assistance of the States and Union Territories is the NITI Aayog's governing council.
• It offers a forum for talking about cross-sectoral, cross-departmental, and national topics.

Regional Councils:

• It is established to handle specific problems and opportunities that could touch many states.

• The PM will convene these and form them for a predetermined period.
• The NITI Aayog Chairman or a representative of him shall preside over these.
• Special invitees: Eminent experts and specialists with appropriate domain knowledge will be invited as special guests; the prime minister will make the nominations.

Permanent organizational structure

• Chaired by the Prime Minister:
• Vice-Chairperson (appointed by the Prime Minister)

Members:

• Full-time
• Rotating members who work part-time: Maximum of two ex-officio members from prestigious universities, top research institutions, and other cutting-edge organizations

Ex Officio members:

• Maximum of 4 members of the Council of Ministers which is to be nominated by the Prime Minister.

Chief Executive Officer:

• The CEO will be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure. He will be in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

Key Initiatives

• Aspirational Districts Scheme.

• 3 Documents: 3-year action agenda, 7-year medium-term strategy paper, and 15-year vision document.
• Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) program in India
• Promoted Zero Budget Natural Farming.
• Promoting ‘Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati’ programme under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
• Village Storage Scheme