Taking its cue from the NITI Aayog at the Centre, the state government has issued an order to set up the State Institute for Transformation of Karnataka (SITK) in place of the state Policy and Planning Commission, officials said. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the institute has been set up to realise the mission of building a new Karnataka for a new India. The state government will provide an annual amount of Rs 150 crore to enable the SITK to function effectively and achieve its goals, he said. It would have eight domain experts representing the fields of planning, economics, social welfare, rural development, education, health, agriculture, science and technology, skills development, employment and clean energy as advisers. The additional secretary in the department of planning, programme implementation and statistics would function as the chief executive officer and adviser of the SITK, the chief minister’s office said. Domain experts in poverty alleviation, revenue, food and nutrition, simplification of services, clean energy, resources management, gender equality, industry and infrastructure, innovation and skills development would also be appointed, it added. The vice-chairperson of the SITK, who would be an expert in government planning and other issues, will also be appointed soon. The state government will nominate 14 renowned government and non-government organisations, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) and the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), as stakeholders in the institute, the chief minister’s office said.
