Published: [November 06, 2026]
StartupFeed Quick Take
- Modi met the NITI Aayog leadership in New Delhi on November 5, 2026, in a session of about two hours.
- Nine officials attended: Vice Chairman Ashok Lahiri, CEO Anurag Jain and seven full-time members.
- Those priorities feed into the 2027-28 Union Budget, which the government has begun shaping.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met NITI Aayog’s new leadership in New Delhi on November 5, 2026, and asked the team to put jobs first.
The published report of the meeting put the session at about two hours. Modi chairs NITI Aayog. He normally sees the full body only at the Governing Council, which last sat on June 11, 2026, with chief ministers present.
What he set as priorities now feeds the 2027-28 Union Budget. Work on that budget has started.
What Modi Told the NITI Aayog Team to Work On
Four work areas came out of the meeting: creating jobs, building domestic manufacturing, better infrastructure and tech-led sectors. Jobs came first on his list.
The jobs push is meant to use India’s young population, what the government calls the demographic dividend.
He also asked for ideas to improve ease of living, especially for people at the bottom. The focus is the Aspirational Districts and Blocks programmes, and poorer groups.
The Aspirational Districts Programme covers 112 districts. Its sister scheme, the Aspirational Blocks Programme, covers 513 blocks across 331 districts in 27 states and four union territories.
He wants senior officials to go out and check conditions on the ground themselves. Another ask was closer work with research bodies and universities.
Modi set out the job of NITI Aayog when he rebuilt it in April 2026.
“NITI Aayog has emerged as a vital pillar in India’s policy-making architecture”
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister and Chairman, NITI Aayog. From his post on X, April 25, 2026.
Why the 2027-28 Budget Timing Matters
NITI Aayog is a think tank, not a funding body. The advice it writes is what budget lines follow. Set up on January 1, 2015, it replaced the Planning Commission.
Nine of NITI Aayog’s top officials were in the room. Vice Chairman Ashok Lahiri and CEO Anurag Jain led the team. The seven full-time members were Rajiv Gauba, R Balasubramaniam, Joram Aniya, K V Raju, M Srinivas, Gobardhan Das and Abhay Karandikar.
The government rebuilt NITI Aayog between April and July 2026. Ashok Lahiri took charge as Vice Chairman on May 8, 2026, replacing Suman Bery. Anurag Jain, a 1989-batch IAS officer, became CEO in July 2026.
Lahiri was a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, which set how tax money is split between the Centre and the states. He was also Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India.
What this means for you: If you run a manufacturing, deep-tech or skilling startup, the 2027-28 Budget asks are being framed at NITI Aayog right now. Put your jobs numbers into your industry body’s pre-Budget note now, not after the draft is set.
Have a tip? Write to us at editorial@startupfeed.in.
Liked this story? Follow StartupFeed on Google so our reporting reaches you first.
