PM Narendra Modi chairs first NITI Aayog's meeting in his second term. LIVE updates here

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs the 5th meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog.

Prime Minister Modi chairing the meeting said that the goal is to make India a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024

PM Modi said that the country is now moving towards a system of governance that is embodied by performance, transparency, and delivery. Further adding that the on-ground implementation of schemes is crucial

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will Saturday chair the fifth meeting of the Niti Aayog's Governing Council which will focus on issues like the drought situation, farm distress, rain-water harvesting and preparedness for Kharif crops.

The planning body has laid down five crucial agendas that will be essentially discussed in the meeting

Rain-water harvesting

The governing council will deliberate ways to encourage the conservation of water through rainwater 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.

Drought situation and relief measures to solve crisis

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 program

The third agenda of the meeting will focus on the Aspirational Districts programme that was launched in January 2018. 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.

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.

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  final agenda of the meeting aims to take up the security-related issues with a specific focus on the Naxalites.

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.

This will be the first governing council meeting under the new Modi government.

Headed by the Prime Minister, the Governing Council includes ministers of Finance, Home, Defence, Agriculture, Commerce and Rural Development, besides state chief ministers and Niti Aayog vice chairman, CEO and members.

So far, four meetings of the Governing Council have been held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.

Leaders to skip the meeting- 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao

Andhra Pradesh's new Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy

A BJP ally, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar 

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh

(With PTI inputs) 

The Niti Aayog meeting is now underway