New Delhi: Niti Aayog is going to conduct its fifth Governing Council meeting on Saturday. The meeting will be Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This will be the first governing council meeting under the new dispensation.
The council, the apex body of Niti Aayog, includes all chief ministers, lieutenant governors of union territories, several union ministers and senior government officials.
Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs and YS Jagan Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh would be attending the meeting for the first time. Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal will also attend the meeting.
On the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee won't be attending the meeting. In a letter to PM Modi, she said that it is "fruitless" as the body has no financial powers to support state plans.
As per the sources, K Chandrashekhar Rao, Chief Minister of Telangana and Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab will also not attend the meeting.
Read more:PM to chair NITI Aayog's Governing Council meet today
The Governing Council is expected to discuss important subjects, including major issues concerning water management, agriculture, and aspirational district programme, according to official sources.
Besides, the council will also deliberate on security issues in districts impacted by left-wing extremism in states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
The National Institution for Transforming India, also called NITI Aayog, was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015. The Government of India, in keeping with its reform agenda, constituted the NITI Aayog to replace the Planning Commission instituted in 1950.
While designing strategic and long term policies and programmes for the Government of India, NITI Aayog also provides relevant technical advice to the centre and states.
Headed by the Prime Minister, the Governing Council meets regularly, and its first meeting took place on February 8, 2015.
