The ninth meeting of the NITI Aayog Governing Council took place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre on July 27, 2024. This gathering aimed to gather input from states and Union Territories (UTs) on formulating the ‘Vision for Viksit Bharat in 2047’.
The meeting saw the participation of chief ministers and lieutenant governors from 20 states and six UTs. However, ten state chief ministers were absent, including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who had commitments in his state. Notably, the Congress CMs of Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka, as well as Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann and Tamil Nadu’s MK Stalin, boycotted the meeting in protest of what they termed a “discriminatory” Union Budget for FY25.
The ‘approach paper’ highlighted that for India to achieve developed nation status, the economy must strive to reach $30 trillion by 2047, with a per capita income of $18,000 annually. This goal necessitates a ninefold increase in GDP from the current $3.36 trillion and an eightfold rise in per capita income from $2,392 annually.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed that states create ‘river grids’ to optimize water resource utilization. He emphasized the goal of ‘zero poverty’ as a crucial objective for Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Chief ministers suggested that planners reassess India’s demographic management, particularly given the expected decline in the working-age population in several states. Many states, especially in the south, have already achieved a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.6 and are facing the challenge of managing an aging population in the coming decades. The PM encouraged states to initiate Demographic Management Plans to address these future issues.
Highlighting the global goodwill towards India, Prime Minister Modi urged the NITI Aayog to develop an ‘investor-friendly charter’ or index to rank the investor friendliness of states. He stressed the importance of skilling and training the youth to make them employment-ready, as the world views India as a source of skilled human resources. The proposed charter would outline policies, programs, and processes to attract investments, and states would be monitored on their performance in these areas to foster healthy competition.
In a government statement, it was noted that law and order, good governance, and infrastructure are more critical for attracting investments than merely offering incentives.
