Namaskar!
I welcome all of you to the Governing Council of NITI Aayog. The essence of the country's progress is that the Centre and the states work together and move in a definite direction. We have to make cooperative federalism more meaningful and try to take the competitive cooperative federalism down to the state and district level so that the competition for development continues and development remains a prime agenda. We have brainstormed many times before on how to increase competition to take the country to a new height and even today it is natural that it will be emphasized in this summit. We have seen how the entire country succeeded and a positive image about India was generated in the world when the state and the central governments worked together during the Corona period.
Friends,
Now, when the country is going to complete 75 years of its independence, the meeting of this Governing Council assumes more importance. I would also urge the states to create committees at district level by linking all the people of the society in their states for 75 years of independence. A short while ago, there was a mention of points to be discussed in this meeting. These agenda points have been selected taking into account the country's top priorities. A new exercise was carried out to give adequate time of preparedness to the states before seeking suggestions from them on these agenda points. This time a healthy workshop between Niti Aayog and all the principal officials of the states was held. We have tried to include all those points in that workshop in today’s meeting. Therefore, there is a lot of improvement in the agenda as it has been made keeping in view the requirements of the states. This time the agenda points of the Governing Council are very specific because of this process and will make our discussion more substantial.
Friends,
In the last few years, we have seen that the opening of bank accounts towards empowering the poor of our country, increasing vaccination, increasing health care facilities, free electricity connections, free gas connections and free toilet construction schemes are showing an unprecedented change in their lives, especially in the lives of the poor. The campaign to provide pucca roofs to every poor in the country is also progressing at a rapid pace. Some states are performing very well whereas some states also need to pick up momentum. Since 2014, construction of more than 2.40 crore houses in villages and cities has been completed. You know that a campaign is underway to build houses with modern technology in six cities of the country. Within a month, the new technology will create new models in six cities of the country to build rapid and good quality houses. That too is going to be useful to every state in this endeavor. Similarly, we are working on a mission mode to ensure that water scarcity and water-borne diseases don’t hamper the development of the people and don’t accentuate the malnutrition problems. More than 3.5 crore rural households have been connected with piped water supply in the last 18 months since the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission. The Bharat Net Scheme is becoming a major source of transformation for Internet connectivity in villages. When the central and state governments will work together in all such schemes, the pace of work will also pick up and their benefits to the last person will also be ensured.
Friends,
The positive response to this year’s budget has created an atmosphere of new hope all around and has expressed the mood of the nation. The country has made up its mind. The country wants to progress fast; the country does not want to waste time now. The youth of the country are playing a major role in making the mind of the country and therefore a new interest has developed towards the change. We are also seeing how the private sector of the country is coming forward with more enthusiasm in this development journey of the country. As a government, we have to honour this enthusiasm, the energy of the private sector and also provide it opportunities for the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign. Atmanirbhar Bharat is a move towards a new India where every person, every institution and every enterprise has the opportunity to move beyond its full potential.
Friends,
The Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign is the way to develop an India that produces not only for its own needs but also for the world and this production also stands the test of the world. And, therefore, I always emphasize Zero Defect, Zero Effect. Keeping in mind the aspirations of a young country like India, we have to build modern infrastructure, promote innovation, use maximum use of technology and provide better opportunities for education and skills.
Friends,
We need to strengthen our businesses, MSMEs and start-ups. Each of our states has its own strong points; every district in every state has its own qualities, its own specialties. If we look at closely, there are several potentials. The government is short-listing and promoting products of hundreds of districts of the country for marketing and export. It has led to a healthy competition among the states, but it needs to be carried forward. Which state exports the most, exports many types of products, exports to the maximum countries, exports costly products. Then there should be competition among districts and how each district and state can emphasize exports. We have to take this experiment down to the district and block levels. We have to make full use of the resources of the states. We should earnestly take account of the exports from the states every month and increase it.
Policy framework and better coordination between the Centre and the states is also very important. For example, we have unlimited opportunities to promote the fishing industry and the blue economy of the coastal states and export fish. There should be special initiatives for our coastal states. You see, it can boost the economy as well as our fishermen. I would like you to be aware that the Central Government has introduced PLI schemes for various sectors. This is a great opportunity to increase manufacturing in the country. The states should also take full advantage of the scheme and attract more and more investment. The states should also take maximum advantage of reduction in corporate tax rates. You should contact such companies so that your state can take advantage of one of the lowest tax rates in the world.
Friends,
The funds provided for infrastructure in this year’s budget is being largely talked about. The expenditure on infrastructure will work to advance the economy of the country at many levels, creating a lot of employment opportunities. It has a multiple effect. The share of states in the National Infrastructure Pipeline is 40 per cent and, therefore, it is imperative that states and the Centre jointly synergize their budgets, make plans and set priorities. Now, the Indian government has preponed its budget a month earlier. There are three to four weeks between the state budget and the Union Budget. If the budget of the states is formed in the light of the budget of the Centre, then together they can move in one direction. I would like to see the budget of the states discussed in this direction. The states, whose budget is yet to come, can do this work on priority. Along with the Union Budget, the state budget is equally important in speeding up development and making the states self-sufficient.
Friends,
There is going to be a major rise in the economic resources of local bodies in the 15th Finance Commission. Improvement of governance at the local level forms the basis of people's quality of life and their confidence. Technology as well as public participation is also very essential in these reforms. I think time has also come to make the elected representatives of the Panchayati Raj system and civic bodies responsible for this convergence and outcomes. If the districts, states and the Centre work together to effect changes at the local level, the results are very positive and we have the example of the aspirational districts before us. The experimentation of aspirational districts is showing good results. But the required speed is not there in the recent past due to Corona. But, we can intensify that once again.
Friends,
Agriculture has immense capabilities. But we need to accept some realities. Despite being called an agricultural country, today, we import edible oil worth about 65-70 thousand crore rupees. We can stop this. Money can go to our farmers’ accounts. Our farmer is entitled to this money. But for this, we need to make our plans accordingly. Recently, we experimented with pulses and it was successful. The import bill of pulses has reduced considerably. There are several such products, food items which are there on our table unnecessarily. The farmers of our country should have no difficulty in producing such products, they need a little guidance. And, therefore, there are many agricultural products that our farmers can produce not only for the country but can also supply to the world. It is necessary for all the states to strategize their agro-climatic regional planning and help their farmers accordingly.
Friends,
In the last few years, a holistic approach has been adopted from agriculture to animal husbandry and fisheries. The result is that even during the corona period, agricultural exports in the country have increased considerably. But our potential is many times more than that. Storage and processing also need to be taken care of to minimize the wastage of our products and we need to tap as much potential for investment. We know that India exports raw fish to South East Asia. What I said at the beginning is that the fish is processed there and sold as processed products with huge profits. Can't we export processed fish products directly on a large scale? Can't all our coastal states create their own influence on this whole global market by taking their own initiative? Similar is the situation with many more fields and products. Reforms are very important to make sure our farmers get the necessary economic resources, better infrastructure and modern technology.
Friends,
Recently, a number of reforms have been introduced that reduce regulation and government interference. I have noticed that there are thousands of compliance requirements that now apply to common people, which can be eliminated. For example, we abolished such 1500 archaic laws recently. I would like to request the states to constitute a small team regarding this. We have technology. There is no need for asking people to furnish the same things time and again. Let us remove this compliance burden on the people. The states should come forward. I have also told the Indian government and our cabinet secretary is following up on it. The compliance requirements need to be reduced to the minimum. It is also important for ease of living.
Similarly, we have to give opportunity to our youth so that they can showcase their potential blatantly. You may have seen that some important decisions have been taken a few months back. Though it is not discussed widely, its consequences are huge. OSP regulations were reformed. It has given the youth the flexibility to work from anywhere. Our tech sector has benefited a lot due to this.
Recently, I was talking to some people associated with the IT sector. Several of them told me that 95 per cent of their employees were now working from home and their work was going well. Now you see how big a change this is. We need to emphasize these things. We should abolish all the restrictions that are prevalent. We have abolished a lot recently through reforms. You must have seen that a few days back we have made a very important decision. The rules associated with geospatial data have also been liberalized. Had we done this 10 years ago, perhaps apps like Google could have been developed in India and not outside. The talent of our people is behind such apps, but the product is not ours. This decision has helped our start-ups and tech sector immensely. I think this decision will help improve the ease of living of the common man of the country.
And, friends, I would urge two things. Today, we have got an opportunity in the world. In order to mobilize that opportunity, we should focus on ease of doing business and our efforts for the citizens of India should be ease of living. Ease of doing business is important to gain opportunities and positioning India globally and for this we will have to improve our laws and systems. We need to stress ease of living to meet the expectations of the citizens of the country and to simplify their lives.
Friends,
I look forward to hearing your experiences and suggestions now. Today, we are going to sit for the day. We will take a short break but we will talk about all the topics. I am sure this time also I will hear constructive and positive proposals from all of you which will be very helpful in taking the country forward. Let both the Centre and the states put as much power as we can in the same direction so that we won’t let go off this opportunity which has been created for India in the world. With this expectation, I once again welcome you in this important summit. I await your suggestions. Many thanks.
