NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has finally planned to consult states on those initiatives which are near and dear to him. The discussions on Startup India and Atal Innovation Mission at NITI Aayog’s governing council meeting will probably be held this month.
All the chief ministers and key Cabinet ministers are an integral part of the governing council that will be chaired by the PM, and the plan involves states to ensure faster process of the government’s key schemes.
The government plans on redoing of the Startup India initiative to improve participation and views of states would be deemed very important, a top government source said.
The CMs will also be kept in close contact about the progress of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) as Niti Aayog has already begun the implementation process of setting up 500 ‘tinkering labs’ in schools and 100 incubation centres across the country under the mission to strengthen innovation.
It is noteworthy that paying special attention to handover, substantial improvement to the innovation ecosystem and to form the entrepreneurial spirit in the country, finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech had announced about the government’s intention to establish the AIM as a part of NITI Aayog with an initial sum of Rs 500 crore.
The high-level meeting will also reconsider the initiatives taken by NITI Aayog in the last year, along with discussions on key issues such as doubling agricultural income and model land leasing law after a brief presentation by Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand, who is looking after the agriculture sector.
