Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, who is known for his tech savviness across the country, will now act as the convenor of a 13-member committee announced by the Union government to promote cashless transactions in India. The committee, headed by Naidu, will five other chief ministers, NITI Aayog members, academia and other experts.

Key points

• The committee will identify and examine the global best practices for implementing an economy primarily based on digital payment, identify and outline measures for rapid expansion and adoption of the system of digital payments and prepare an action plan to create awareness among public to switchover to digital economy.

• Apart from Chandrababu Naidu, CMs of Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry and Sikkim Devendra Fadnavis, Naveen Patnaik, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, V Narayanasamy and Pawan Kumar Chamling will be present as members. While NITI Aayog’s vice chairman Arvind Panagariya will act as a member, its CEO Amitabh Kant will be member secretary.

NITI Aayog:

NITI Aayog or the National Institution for Transforming India is a Government of India policy think-tank established by the Narendra Modi government to replace the Planning Commission.

• The stated aim for NITI Aayog’s creation is to foster involvement and participation in the economic policy-making process by the State Governments of India.

•  The Union Government of India announced the formation of NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015, and the first meeting was held on 8 February 2015. The rime Minister serves as the Ex-officio chairman.