Headlines
Poverty India's biggest challenge: Modi
New Delhi, Feb 8
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Sunday called for states to forge a model of "cooperative federalism" to
resolve differences even as he flagged poverty as India's biggest
challenge.
Chairing the first meeting of the governing council of
NITI Aayog, he said India cannot advance without all its states
advancing in tandem, according to an official release here.
Modi
added that he envisioned different states competing with each other in
promoting governance initiatives in a spirit of "cooperative,
competitive federalism".
NITI Aayog or 'National Institution for
Transforming India' Aayog is a policy think-tank which has replaced the
Planning Commission and aims to involve the states in economic
policy-making.
The prime minister asked chief ministers to work
with the central government to forge a model of cooperative federalism,
whereby the centre and the states can come together to resolve
differences and chart a common course to progress and prosperity, the
release added.
Modi said that the world has started looking at
India differently, but "our biggest challenge still is how to eliminate
poverty." Observing jobs cannot be created, and poverty cannot be
removed without growth, he said: "First and foremost we should aim at a
high rate of growth."
Noting that projects are often held up for
want of timely decisions, Modi asked chief ministers to give personal
attention to such factors which slow down projects.
The prime
minister emphasized that the central government wished to empower the
states with finances, with technology and knowledge so that they are
able to plan better and execute even better.
"For federalism to work well, states must also fulfill their role in promoting the shared national objectives," he said.
Reflecting
on the role of NITI Aayog as a think-tank, the prime minister said he
sees great scope for states to learn from each other, work together
among themselves and with the central government.
He also
expressed hope that through the mechanism of the NITI Aayog, India could
move away from "one size fits all" schemes, and forge a better match
between the schemes and the needs of the states.
Modi said the governing council of NITI Aayog would help advance the national cause "as we jointly define it".
The interaction between the chief ministers was coordinated by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the opening r