Niti Aayog official says India should increase efforts for good governance

Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar said Friday that the government think tank wants states to compete on good governance.

Kumar further said that the country has started deriving benefits of India's demographic dividend.

"There cannot be any modern civilization based on a market economy where we can't take care of people who are most disadvantaged in the society," the Niti Aayog vice chairman said while speaking at an event here.

At the same event, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India Yuri Afanasiev said, India will continue to grow at 7-9 percent in the coming decades.

Afanasiev also pointed out that India is progressing very quickly in reducing multi-dimensional poverty.

"We have witnessed that multi-dimensional poverty reduction in backward states like Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh is quicker than India's national average," he said.

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said India is growing at 7.5 percent and the country's ambition is to grow at an even higher rate in the next three decade.

"Our ambition is that in the next three decade, India must remain the fastest growing major economy," Kant said.

He also pointed out that India is among the top three countries which received the highest foreign direct investment (FDI) last year.

India and United Nations Friday signed a Sustainable Development framework for five years to work on poverty and urbanization, health, water and sanitation, and climate change.