Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the seventh Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog at Rashtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre in New Delhi today (August 7).
The meeting would be the first in-person meeting of the Governing Council after July 2019.
#WATCH | PM Narendra Modi chairs the 7th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog at Rashtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre. pic.twitter.com/6EJyyYFwMd
— ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2022
The agenda of the Niti Aayog meeting includes achieving self-sufficiency in oilseeds and pulses and agri-communities, National Education Policy and crop diversification, including other things.
The Niti Aayog’s Governing Council comprises all chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories and several Union ministers. The PM’s office had earlier said that the meeting will pave the way for a new era of collaboration between the Centre and the states.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, on Saturday, announced that he will not attend the Niti Aayog meeting on Sunday. He said that the Centre's think tank and its meetings serve "no constructive purpose" and that participating chief ministers are given "hardly a few minutes" to express their views.
Responding to KCR's letter to PM Modi, Niti Aayog, in a statement, said that the institution has already taken a number of measures to work closely with the states.
It also stated that KCR did not respond to repeated requests for a meeting from the Niti Aayog delegation.
Niti Aayog also highlighted the Centre's financial assistance to Telangana and claimed that KCR's allegations were false.
Meanwhile, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is present at the meeting along with Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel was also present during NITI Aayog's Governing Council meeting. He demanded that MGNREGA should be implemented in rural areas located near cities and in cities with a population of less than 20,000. He also raised the issue of GST compensation in the meeting.
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel during NITI Aayog's Governing Council meeting demanded that MGNREGA should be implemented in rural areas located near cities& in cities with a population of less than 20,000: CMO
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) August 7, 2022
He also raised the issue of GST compensation in the meeting. pic.twitter.com/t9g2Q8yD53
The meeting is scheduled to conclude at 4 pm. A press briefing by the VC and CEO of NITI Aayog will be held around 5 pm today.
.