Prime Minister Narendra Modi today heralded the collective efforts of all the States in the spirit of cooperative federalism as the force that helped India emerge from the Covid pandemic. Addressing the seventh meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog at Rashtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre, New Delhi, the Prime Minister said that every State played a crucial role according to its strength and contributed to India’s fight against Covid-19. He said, this led to India emerging as an example for the developing nations to look up to as a global leader.
In his inaugural address, the Prime Minister said India’s federal structure and cooperative federalism emerged as a model for the world during the Covid crisis. He said , India had sent a powerful message to the developing nations of the world-that it is possible to overcome challenges with resilience despite resource limitations. The Prime Minister said that the credit for this goes to the State Governments, which focused on grassroots delivery of public services to the people through cooperation across political lines. The Governing Council discussed the agenda items whiche included crop diversification and achieving self-sufficiency in oilseeds, pulses and agri-commodities, implementation of the National Education Policy and urban governance.
The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of all of these issues especially the need for India to focus on modernized agriculture, animal husbandry, and food processing to become self-sufficient and a global leader in the agriculture sector.
The Prime Minister also spoke about India’s G20 presidency in 2023 and called it a unique opportunity to show the world that India is not just Delhi-it is every State and Union Territory of the country. Mr Modi said we should develop a mass movement around G20. This will allow us to identify the best talent available in the country. He also said there should be a dedicated team for G20 in the States to derive the maximum possible benefit from this initiative.
In his closing remarks, the Prime Minister said that each state should focus on promoting its 3Ts, Trade, Tourism, Technology, through every Indian Mission around the world. He emphasised that the States must focus on reducing imports, increasing exports and identifying opportunities for the same in every state. He added that we should encourage people to use local goods wherever possible as Vocal for local’ is not the agenda of an individual political party but a common goal, The Prime Minister added that said even though GST collection has improved and increasing GST collection requires collective action by the Centre and States. He added that it is crucial for strengthening our economic position and becoming a 5 trillion US dollar economy. Speaking on the National Education Policy, Mr Modi said the NEP has been formulated after considerable deliberations and we should involve all stakeholders in its implementation and develop a clear, timebound roadmap for the same.
The Prime Minister said that the issues discussed during this meeting will define the national priorities for the next 25 years, adding that the seeds we sow today will define the fruits reaped by India in 2047.
This was the first physical meeting of the Governing Council since the onset of the pandemic, with the 2021 meeting held via video conferencing. The meeting was attended by 23 Chief Ministers, 3 Lieutenant Governors and 2 Administrators and Union Ministers. The meeting was moderated by Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh.
Later briefing reporters NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery said that during his opening remarks, the Prime Minister spoke about India post covid and the year ahead. Mr Modi said that the way Centre and the States have cooperated during Covid-19 and the decision made by the team India has resulted the country in emerging as a role model for other countries. Mr Bery said that the Prime Minister also called upon the States to work with a vision where Indian should reach when it will celebrate 100 years of its independence in 2047.
NITI Aayog CEO Parameswaran Iyer said that during the meeting, the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors presented best practices from their States on these four agenda items and other matters which are important for the States. Mr Iyer also informed that during the Governing Council meeting, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan made presentation on National Education Policy-2020 and while External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar spoke about the importance of G-20 for the States and Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal talked about the importance of exports and encouraged the States to step up their efforts in growth of exports.
