The Maharashtra government has appointed Ajay Ashar, a real estate leader from Mumbai, and Rajesh Kshirsagar, a politician from Kolhapur, as the vice-chairmen of Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), a Niti Aayog-like think tank. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be the chairman of the regulatory board of the think tank while Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis will be co-chairman.
 
As per a government notification issued on Thursday, Ashar is experienced in real estate, social, civil and health sectors. Kshirsagar shares the position with Ashar by way of his experience of working as the vice-chairman of the state planning commission in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. He is a former MLA and Shinde Sena member. The Centre had asked all states to establish a Niti Aayog-like planning body as part of an idea for transforming the country into a developed nation by 2047. The target is to make India a 5-trillion dollar economy by 2025-26 and the country planners, accordingly, have the aim of achieving goals of sustainable development by 2030. Meanwhile, the state has focused on a one-trillion dollar economy goal by 2027 and will go for a 3.5-trillion dollar economy by 2047. Maharashtra is the biggest economy in the country and contributes 15 per cent to the country’s GDP.

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