Help make India a developed nation by 2047, Modi reaches out to states at Niti Aayog meet

In a major outreach to states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought their cooperation in realising the aim of making India a developed nation by 2047. He underlined the significance of foreign investment in achieving this objective.

Chairing the 10th meeting of Niti Aayog’s Governing Council, the theme of which was Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047, Modi said it was the aspiration of every Indian to see the country as developed. He said it was not the agenda of any party but the aspiration of 140 crore Indians.

He said if all states worked together towards this goal, the aim of Viksit Bharat could be achieved much before 2047.

Modi said India had emerged among the top five economies of the world and 25 crore people had escaped poverty. He emphasised that India needed to increase the speed of this transformation and encouraged states to leverage their manufacturing strengths.

The Prime Minister observed that global investors were interested in India and encouraged the states to utilise this opportunity. He cited the recent trade agreements with the UAE, the UK and Australia.

During the meeting, he cited cyber security as a challenge as well as an opportunity and highlighted that hydrogen and green energy were areas of immense potential and opportunities.

Modi said the 2023 G20 Summit held in New Delhi had helped India to be recognised as a global tourist destination and urged the states to develop at least one tourist destination of global standards. He said 25 to 30 such tourist destinations could be created across India.

The Prime Minister’s outreach to the states stands out in sharp contrast to the raging criticism the NDA government has faced in the past decade, mainly from non-BJP-ruled states, which have all along alleged that the Centre has taken decisions such as demonetisation and new criminal laws without taking the states on board.

Earlier, the meeting, which was attended by the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of 24 states and seven union territories, commenced with a minute of silence observed in memory of the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Modi said Operation Sindoor should not be treated as a one-off initiative and a long-term approach must be adopted by modernising the approach towards civil preparedness.

He said the recent mock drills had reignited attention towards how civil defence states should institutionalise their preparations.

The Chief Ministers and the Lieutenant Governors present at the meeting praised Operation Sindoor for its precision and targeted strikes, which led to the destruction of terror infrastructure.

Meanwhile, some key suggestions and best practices highlighted during the meeting were in the fields of agriculture, education and skill development, entrepreneurship, drinking water, reducing compliances, governance, digitalisation, women empowerment and cyber security.

Top News