The NITI Aayog follows a bottom-up strategy, unlike the top-down approach of the erstwhile Planning Commission it has replaced, says Rajiv Kumar, the Vice-Chairman.

To put India on a higher growth trajectory, a development-oriented rather than a soft state approach is necessary and trainee civil servants should be prepared to contribute their best towards it, he said while addressing the All India Services and Central Services Officers attending the 92nd Foundation Course.

The focus was on `New India @ 2022' and was organised at the Dr MCR HRD Institute of Telangana. The Government has launched a slew of innovative measures to provide greater momentum to achieve this goal, which will ensure that the country is free from poverty, dirt & squalor, corruption, terrorism, caste and communalism, he added.

Rajiv Kumar said attention was being given to the 200 most backward districts to ensure their multifaceted development which, in turn, would improve the overall performance of the country in terms of economic and social indicators. Greater focus on the amelioration of 10 per cent of the population with the lowest per capita income would bring in its wake a number of beneficial outcomes.

He felt that a big boost to road and Internet connectivity will be greatly instrumental in empowering people to get access to public services and grow out of the shadow of poverty. The only way to double farmers' income is to make them beneficiaries at each stage of the value chain, he urged.

The Vice-Chairman advised the officers to pay attention to improving infrastructure for health and education. Later, Kumar also met the state Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao.

S Niranjan Reddy, Vice-Chairman, Telangana State Planning Board, senior officers, A. K. Goel, G.R. Reddy, A.K. Jain and the DG of the Institute, B.P. Acharya, also participated in the meeting.

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