Modi to discuss development agenda with chief ministers on Saturday

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will discuss his pledge to make India a developed nation over the next quarter of a century, with state chief ministers on Saturday, an official statement said.

The vision for making India a developed nation will be discussed at the ninth meeting of federal policy think tank NITI Aayog’s governing council, to be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, the statement said. Modi is the chairperson of NITI Aayog Governing Council.

This year's meeting's central focus is on making India a developed nation, the statement said. 

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The governing council meeting will discuss an approach paper for the vision document. NITI Aayog and different central ministries have extensively worked on the vision document with inputs from various agencies including think tanks and the public.

Crentre-state relations

The meeting aims to foster collaboration between the Centre and state governments and enhance the quality of life for both rural and urban populations. Strengthening the delivery of government interventions will be discussed. The role of states in achieving the goal of a developed India will be discussed in detail, the statement said.

India is on track to become the world's third-largest economy with GDP crossing $5 trillion and has aspirations to become a $30 trillion economy by 2047, the statement said.

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Becoming a rich country will require a the Centre and state governments to work together and the meeting aims to create a roadmap for this vision, the statement said.

The meeting is also expected to look into issues like access and quality of drinking water, quality and reliability of electricity, accessibility, affordability and quality of healthcare, access and quality of schooling and issues relating to land and property. 

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Chief secretaries of states who had met in December to discuss these issues, have made recommendations. They had also discussed issues around cyber security, artificial intelligence governance and the drive to improve conditions in the most backward districts. 

Besides the Prime Minister, chief ministers and lieutenant governors of states and Union territories, Union ministers and the vice chairperson and members of NITI Aayog will attend the meeting.