Congress CM's give Niti Aayog meeting a miss
Nine Congress-ruled states Chief Ministers and those of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh refrained from attending the meeting of NITI Aayog's governing council in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act were the main points of discussion at the meeting.
Modi meets with the CMs to discuss 'NITI'
On 7 December, PM Modi called a meeting of all state CMs to divulge the plans of doing away with the Planning Commission and to come up with a more adaptive body. Arun Jaitley, who moderated the meeting, said that this was to call forth "the spirit of cooperative federalism". The idea was backed by all the CMs, though Congress CMs had some reservations.
Niti Aayog-a cosmetic version of Planning Commission!
The Congress party mocked the launch of NITI Aayog calling it ''a cosmetic relabeling exercise". It highlighted that NITI Aayog is mere translation of 'Policy Commission' in Hindi.
Planning Commission gets remodeled into the NITI Aayog
The Planning Commission, the central planning agency which created India's Five-Year Plans has been remodelled as the NITI Aayog (Policy Commission). NITI Aayog will also furnish the government at the state and centre with pertinent strategic and scholarly advice across a wide array of policies. The PM will be the Chairperson of the Aayog and will work in close proximity with the CMs.
What does the Aayog aim to achieve?
The NITI Aayog aims to promote citizen engagement by providing an accessible framework. The PM said that the new body was committed to provide an egalitarian access to opportunity. Unlike the rigid planning commission, this set up would provide for a more adaptive and participative government. Moreover, the NITI Aayog would use technology while formulating credible plans at village levels.
What is NITI Aayog?
The Information Ministry said that NITI is an acronym for National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. The institution will function as the government's 'Think Tank'.
NITI Aayog launches its beta website
Arvind Panagariya, the vice chairman of NITI Aayog launched the new website of the Aayog, after five months of archiving the website of its predecessor Planning Commission. The beta version of the website provides particulars of the constitution, objectives and current exercises of the Aayog. The site features NITI Blogs, which will include 'articles, field reports, work in progress' and assessment by NITI officials.
NITI Aayog holds its very first meeting
Addressing the first NITI Aayog meeting the PM contended that 'alleviation of poverty' was its biggest challenge. The Aayog would have specialised wings called 'Team India' whose delegates will assure that every state/ministry has a visible stake. Modi warranted more funds with greater powers on their utilisation to the states and asked the states to address issues that were causing delay in projects.
Congress CM's give Niti Aayog meeting a miss
Nine Congress-ruled states Chief Ministers and those of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh refrained from attending the meeting of NITI Aayog's governing council in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act were the main points of discussion at the meeting.
Amitabh Kant appointed NITI Aayog CEO
Amitabh Kant has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NITI Aayog. He will take over his duties as CEO after his retirement as Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in February. Amitabh Kant is also known for masterminding Narendra Modi's Make in India campaign. Kant has been appointed in place of former IAS officer Sindhushree Khullar.
