Karnataka set up its own think tank on lines of Niti Aayog

The body, called the State Institute for Transformation of Karnataka (SITK). It will replace the Karnataka State Policy and Planning Commission.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will chair the institution, which will have an annual budget of Rs 150 crore, according to a tweet from the CM. The government will appoint a vice chairperson soon.

The organisation will consist of renowned experts from industry, technology, innovation, skill development, clean energy, employment, infrastructure, gender equality, planning, economics, social welfare, rural development, education, health and agriculture.

Additional Chief Secretary to the Planning & Programme Implementation department will be the chief executive officer, and advisor to the SITK.

Karnataka Startup Vision Group chairman Prashanth Prakash welcomed the government’s decision to set up a state-level Niti Aayog. He suggested that the body depart from the conventional approach and look at the broader role played by startups in society to achieve inclusive growth. The government anyway is the repository of institutional knowledge, the new body can complement it with ideas from the world of startups, which are poised to bring about major transformation in the days to come.

The SITK will have experts drawn from 14 renowned government and non-government institutions including IISc, IIMB, National Law School of India University (NLSIU) as stakeholders, the notification said.

Just like Niti Aayog helps the Union Government set national development priorities, and acts as a resource centre to help the government with strategic policy vision, SITK will evolve sector-specific priorities in the state, sources said.