NITI Aayog’s three-year action agenda to be finalised on Thursday

NITI Aayog’s three-year action agenda will be finalised on Thursday when Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet state chief ministers.  The draft of the agenda was circulated at NITI Aayog’s third Governing Council meeting in April. “Several chief ministers have already submitted their comments on the draft framework to the policy think-tank,” a newspaper quoted a senior official.
 
Once finalised by the NITI Aayog after taking inputs from the chief ministers, it will be referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the organisation’s chairman. The draft paper had suggested a host of reforms in taxation, agriculture and energy sectors, with the objective of accelerating growth and increasing employment opportunities.
 
The three-year agenda (2017-18 to 2019-20) calls for steps to check tax evasion, expand the tax base, and simplify the taxation system through reforms. There is also a suggestion that the government should consider consolidating existing customs duty rates to a unified one.