Updated June 15th, 2019 at 13:25 IST

Here is the 5-point agenda of the first NITI Aayog meet chaired by PM Modi in second term

The fifth Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog is all set to take place on Saturday, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The meeting will be attended by Chief ministers, lieutenant governors of union territories, several union ministers and senior government officials.

Reported by: Koushik Narayanan
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The fifth Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog is all set to take place on Saturday, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The meeting will be attended by Chief ministers, lieutenant governors of union territories, several union ministers and senior government officials.

Taking to Twitter, the planning body has put out a list of agendas that would be elaborately discussed during the meeting:

Primary agenda of the meeting is rain-water harvesting:

The governing council will deliberate ways to encourage the conservation of water through rainwater harvesting. Many states in India are already witnessing serious water crisis and with the onset of the monsoon, the governing council looks to find different means by which water can be conserved through rain-water harvesting. The agenda will aim to discuss means that will ensure piped water supply to every rural household by 2024 through integrated water resources management, including rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and grey wastewater reuse. The focus will also be on steps taken by the Centre to encourage rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge, good practices of rainwater harvesting, and way forward.

Focuses on the drought situations and the relief measures that can be provided to solve the crisis:

States such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra are reeling under serious drought conditions resulting from rainfall deficit and water shortage for irrigation as well as other purposes. The governing council will take up the agenda to discuss the level of economic, environmental, and social impacts the drought has on the country and possible relief measures that could be provided. 

Aspirational Districts programme:

The third agenda of the meeting will focus on the Aspirational Districts programme that was launched in January 2018. Strongly based on the present government's policy of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas', the programme ensures universal implementation of welfare schemes and inclusive growth. The governing council is expected to deliberate on finding more effective ways to make the successful implementation of the programme throughout the country. The agenda aims to address the achievements and challenges of the scheme, pertaining to transformation in health, nutrition, education, agriculture, water resource management, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure. The programme has already become a model for cooperative, competitive and collaborative federalism.

Focus on making reforms to transform agriculture:

The fourth agenda for the meeting will focus on making reforms to transform agriculture with special emphasis on Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and Essential Commodities Act, 1955. This is an important area of discussion as farmers' crisis is a major problem that remains unresolved, even as efforts have been made to waive off loans of the farmers and provide them with better facilities at subsidized rates. The agenda will aim at discussing the Government's initiatives towards achieving the target of Doubling Farmers’ Income by the year 2022. Focus will be given to ways for achieving high productivity, reducing the cost of cultivation and ensuring remunerative price on the produce. The discussion on the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, will focus on its need in the current scenario along with needed reforms and amendments in the Act. 

Security-related issues with a specific focus on the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) areas:

The fifth and the final agenda of the meeting aims to take up the security-related issues with a specific focus on the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) areas. The meeting will focus on the internal security of the country with special attention given to conflict-prone areas where left-wing extremism is largely in operation. 

READ | After West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao to skip Niti Aayog meeting. Details here

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Published June 15th, 2019 at 12:06 IST