PM Narendra Modi to chair fourth meeting of NITI Aayog's governing council today

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the fourth meeting of NITI Aayog’s Governing Council on Sunday to discuss various issues, including measures taken to double farmers’ income and progress of flagship schemes. Besides, development agenda for ‘New India 2022’ is expected to be approved in the meeting. The council, apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all chief ministers, lieutenant governors of union territories, several union ministers and senior government officials. The Governing Council, according to an official statement, is expected to discuss important subjects, including measures taken to double farmers’ income; progress of flagship schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, National Nutrition Mission and Mission Indradhanush; development of aspirational districts; and celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. [caption id=“attachment_4481121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AP.[/caption] NITI Aayog has been working on the strategy document or development agenda for ‘New India 2022’ for a while. Earlier, it had planned to come out with three documents - a three-year action agenda, seven-year medium term strategy paper and a 15-year vision document. The Aayog, in a presentation last year, had said the foundation for freedom from six problems poverty, dirt, corruption, terrorism, casteism and communalism will be laid by 2022 when India celebrates 75 years of independence. At the Council’s first meeting on 8 February, 2015, the prime minister had laid down the key mandates of NITI Aayog such as fostering cooperative federalism by addressing national issues through mutual cooperation and monitoring of important schemes and programmes. It was also decided that the Aayog will act as the “think tank” of the government and work as a bridge between the centre and the states. Later, sub-groups of chief ministers and two task forces, one on elimination of Poverty in India and other on Agriculture Development were set up. The second meeting of council on 15 July, 2015 reviewed the progress made by the three sub-groups of chief ministers and the two task forces. In the third meeting of council on 23 April, 2017, Modi had pitched for conducting simultaneous elections of the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies and shifting to a January-December fiscal year.