New Delhi [India], April 25 : Newly appointed Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog, Ashok Kumar Lahiri, on Saturday said he held his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after taking charge, expressing gratitude for the responsibility entrusted to him.
"After my appointment as Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog became public, I had my first meeting with Prime Minister Honourable Narendra Modi this morning. I thanked him and I must express my deep gratitude to the government and Prime Minister Modi for reposing his trust," Lahiri said.
Highlighting the role of the policy think tank, Lahiri said the Prime Minister's decision to replace the Planning Commission marked a key shift in governance. "Prime Minister Modi took the bold decision of abolishing the Planning Commission and replacing it by the Niti Aayog. What Niti Aayog does, it formulates policies, it monitors implementation and gives advice to both central and state governments," he said.
Lahiri emphasised that the functioning of the institution rests on what he described as the "three Ns". "What is important for NITI Aayog are the three Ns, NITI, Nishtha and Niyat. If we have these three Ns, we will succeed," he said, adding that there is a strong focus on "data-driven planning."
Citing government initiatives, he pointed to the Aspirational Districts Programme as an example of this approach. "Look at aspirational districts. The backward districts have been called aspirational districts. The data is being collected and their improvement in socio-economic terms is being monitored. That's a great improvement," Lahiri said.
He further underlined that the vision of a developed India goes beyond income levels. "The Prime Minister's vision of Viksit Bharat is not only income, per capita income, it's also education, health, infrastructure and general well-being. Achieving that in a country of 140 crore people is not an easy affair," he said.
Lahiri also stressed the need for a shift in mindset to achieve these goals. "What is very important is a change in mindset. Once we resolve that we will achieve it, we can do it," he said.
Calling his appointment a recognition of his academic roots, Lahiri added, "If it's an honour to be appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the Niti Aayog, it's not only an honour for me, I believe it's a recognition of the academic tradition of Bengal and particularly the tradition of economics in Bengal."
The new Niti Aayog team includes two eminent experts hailing from West Bengal - senior economist Dr Ashok Lahiri as Vice Chairperson and Scientist Dr Gobardhan Das as Member of the apex body.
NITI Aayog serves as the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India, and the nodal agency tasked with catalysing economic development and fostering cooperative federalism through the involvement of State Governments in the economic policymaking process using a bottom-up approach.