• The Prime Minister addressed the Seventh meeting of the NITI Aayog Governing Council.
• This is the first in-person meeting of the Governing Council since July 2019.

NITI Aayog :

• NITI Aayog has been constituted to actualise the important goal of cooperative federalism and to enable good governance in India.
• NITI Aayog acts as the typical example for the Government of India by bringing States together as ‘Team India’ to work towards the national development agenda.
• Number of steps have been taken by NITI Aayog to foster cooperative federalism.
• These include meetings between the Prime Minister/Cabinet Ministers and all Chief Ministers; subgroups of Chief Ministers on subjects of national importance;
• sharing of best practices; policy support and capacity development of State/UT functionaries;
• launching of the Aspirational Districts Programme for development of backward districts;
• Theme-based extensive engagements in various sectors; framing model laws for land leasing and agriculture marketing reforms;
• Area-specific interventions for the North-Eastern and Himalayan States and island development.
• Providing relevant technical advice to the Centre, States and UTs.
• NITI has also established models and programmes for the development of infrastructure and to reignite and establish private-public partnership, such as the Centre-state partnership model Development Support Services to States and Union Territories (DSSS); and the Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital (SATH) programme.

NITI Aayog’s Governing Council :

• NITI Aayog’s Governing Council is the premier body tasked with evolving a shared vision of national priorities and strategies with the active involvement of States and Union Territories.
• The Governing Council presents a platform to discuss inter-sectoral, inter-departmental and federal issues.
• It comprises the Prime Minister of India; Chief Ministers of all the states and union territories with legislature; Lt Governors of other UTs; Ex-Officio Members (Maximum four from Union council of ministers to be nominated by Prime minister); Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Full-Time Members, NITI Aayog; and Union Ministers as Special Invitees.
• It provides one of the most important forum for deliberations between the Centre and States and identifying key strategies for cohesive action with a whole-of-Government approach.
• The Governing Council discussed four key agenda items:

1. crop diversification and achieving self-sufficiency in pulses, oilseeds and other agri-commodities;
2. implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) in school education;
3. implementation of National Education Policy in higher education; and
4. urban governance.

Prelims Model Question

Q. With reference to the NITI Aayog, consider the following statements :

1. It is a constitutional body created with the goal of boosting cooperative federalism.
2. Finance Minister is the head of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog.

Which of the statements given above is /are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer : D

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