CONTEXT:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the fifth Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog on 15th of this month at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
• The meeting will be attended by Defence Minister, Home Minister, Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, Agriculture Minister, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister as ex-officio members.
• The agenda before the Meeting include rain-water harvesting, drought situation and relief measures, aspirational districts programme, transforming agriculture, and security-related issues with a specific focus on Left Wing Extremism districts.
• The Governing Council reviews the action taken on the agenda items of the previous meeting and deliberates upon the future developmental priorities.
• So far, four meetings of the Governing Council have been held under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors of the states and union territories and other members of NITI Aayog.
• The first meeting was held on 8 February, 2015, at which the Prime Minister laid down the key mandates of NITI Aayog such as fostering cooperative federalism and addressing national issues through active participation of the states.