AMN
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today stressed that centre and states should work together and make cooperative federalism more meaningful. He also urged to bring competitive, cooperative federalism not only among states but also among districts.
In his opening remarks at the sixth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, Mr Modi said, India has made up its mind to progress rapidly and doesn’t want to lose time. He said, the positive response received for this year’s Budget has expressed the mood of the nation and the youth is playing a pivotal role in setting the mood.
Mr Modi said AatmaNirbhar Bharat campaign is the way to build an India that produces not only for its own needs but also for the world. He said, country’s private sector is also coming forward with energy. Prime minister said, the fund allocated for infrastructure in the current budget is highly appreciated and it will generate employment for thousands.
Mr Modi said, since 2014, over 2.4 crore houses have been built in rural and urban India. He said, another innovative initiative is going on in which houses are being built by modern technology in six cities. In the last 18 months since Jal Jeevan Mission came into existence, Mr Modi highlighted, over 3.5 crore rural households have been connected with piped water connections. He said, BharatNet scheme has also become a major game changing feature to give internet connectivity to remote villages across the nation.
Prime Minister said the Central Government has introduced Production Linked Incentive, PLI schemes for various sectors. He said, this is an excellent opportunity to increase manufacturing in the country and States should also take full advantage of this scheme and attract more and more investment. He said, policy framework and cooperation between Centre and state is also very important.
Mr Modi said, a holistic approach has been adopted over the years, from agriculture to animal husbandry to fisheries. He said, as a result, the country’s agricultural exports have increased significantly even during Corona. Prime Minister said, ease of living and ease of doing business will go hand in hand. Laws and regulations have to be amended for brighter future of the nation.
Prime Minister stressed on the need to promote innovation and use technology as much as possible.PM said, every state and every district in the country has a speciality and potential and government is shortlisting and value-adding to these thousands of products hailing from different districts through marketing for exports.
Mr. Modi highlighted in past few years, that opening of bank accounts, increase in vaccination and health facilities, free electricity connection, free gas connection to empower the poor has reflected a phenomenal change in their lives.
Prime minister expressed happiness that during the COVID period people saw how centre and states worked together. Mr. Modi stressed that when India is going to complete 75 years of independence, this Governing Council meet becomes even more significant.
The Prime Minister urged to focus on storage and processing of agricultural products to reduce wastage. He stressed on the need to export processed foods rather than raw foods to increase profits. Mr Modi said reforms are very important for our farmers to get the necessary economic resources, better infrastructure and modern technology.
The agenda of the meeting includes deliberations on agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing, human resource development, service delivery at grassroots level, health and nutrition.
The Governing Council presents a platform to discuss inter-sectoral, inter-departmental and federal issues. It comprises of Prime Minister Modi, Chief Ministers of States and Union Territories with Legislators and Lieutenant Governors of other UTs.
The sixth meeting will witness the entry of Ladakh for the first time, in addition to the participation of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory.
This time, other UTs headed by administrators have also been invited to join. The meeting will also be attended by the ex-officio members of the Governing Council, Union Ministers, Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar, Members and CEO of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant, and other senior officials of the Union Government.