Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya has written letters to chief ministers of states seeking their views on the 15-year vision document that the think tank is preparing as a part of its proposal to replace the five-year plan regime. Panagariya writing letters to chief ministers marks the beginning of the consultation process. “To further promote cooperative federalism, NITI Aayog seeks your vision as to where you would like to see your state and India in 2030. Your crisp and focused response would help us in formulation of the vision document for the country for the period up to end of 2030. Notably, the aforesaid vision formulation is envisaged to go beyond the traditional areas and also cover aspects of internal security, defence, etc,” Panagariya has said in his letter. [related-post] The Aayog, as part of its appraisal for the 12th five-year plan, has suggested that a vision document for 15 years for the period up to 2030 be prepared. This vision document, or perspective plan, will be formulated with a central objective of eradicating poverty. According to a senior Niti Aayog official said that it would be co-terminus with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to which India has committed. As part of the consultation process, Panagariya will chair three sets of meetings in June with economists, senior newspaper editors, and representatives of government and academic institutions. To convert the long-term vision into implementable policies, the Niti Aayog has proposed a seven-year National Development Agenda (NDA) that will be in place till 2023-24. To take stock of the implementation of the vision, the official said, a mid-term review will be done during the year ending March 2020. This review will coincide with the next scheduled general elections in 2019.
