NITI Aayog organized a conference at Vigyan Bhawan on November 30, 2015, with the representatives of the State Governments on the evolving role of NITI and its engagement with the State Governments.

Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya, Members Bibek Debroy and Ramesh Chandra, Chief Executive Officer Sindhushree Khullar, Chief Secretaries of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Mizoram were among the dignitaries who attended the deliberations. Planning and Finance Secretaries of States and officials of NITI Aayog also participated in the meeting.

NITI Aayog with its mandate of cooperative federalism has been regularly engaging with States, particularly during the meetings of the Sub group of Chief Ministers constituted specifically with themes such as Rationalization of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), Skill Development and Swacch Bharat Abhiyan in addition to Task Forces on Agriculture and Poverty Elimination led by the Vice Chairman with similar bodies having been set up in each State.

However, a need was felt for a broad based consultation on the States' expectation of the role NITI should play in the future. Three broad thematic areas that were taken up for discussion. These include :

(i) Role of NITI Aayog to foster cooperative federalism

(ii) Rationalization of CSS and its implications for the States

(iii) Challenges in the Budgeting Exercise for the FY 2015-16 and planning for FY 2016-17

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