Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed 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.
The Governing Council discussed the agenda items which 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.
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.