Federal policy brainstorming in hills

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, June 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the first national conference of chief secretaries at the Himachal Pradesh cricket association stadium in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh during June 16-17. The conference will set the agenda for the subsequent meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog, which will work to adopt an action plan.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in an official statement on Tuesday said that the Dharamashala conference will be a significant step towards further strengthening the partnership between the Centre and the state governments.

“The national conference of chief secretaries will be held from 15th to 17th June 2022. More than 200 people will participate in the conference, representing the Central government, all states/ UTs (Union Territories) and domain experts. Spread over three days, it will focus on the rapid and sustained economic growth in partnership with the states,” said the PMO in the official statement.

The Dharamshala cricket stadium is a much sought after stay for the tourists. It’s modelled after the Lord’s cricket stadium in London. The rooms spread across in linear formation are made of wood, with Deodar and pine trees setting the backdrop.

The PMO said that the conference will be taking place on the ,ine of the government’s emphasis on “Team India” to lay the ground for collaborative action for higher growth with sustainability, creation of jobs, education, ease of living and Aatmanirbharta in agriculture.

“The Conference will emphasise on evolution and implementation of a common development agenda and blueprint for cohesive action to achieve the aspirations of the people. The concept and agenda for this conference has been curated after more than 100 rounds of deliberations spread over six months,” said the PMO.

Three themes have been identified for detailed deliberations in the Conference, namely implementation of the National Education Policy; Urban governance; and Crop diversification and achieving self-sufficiency in oilseeds, pulses and other agri-commodities.

“There would be a session on Aspirational Districts Programme which would deliberate upon the achievements made so far, with successful case studies, including on data based governance, presented by the young Collectors in specific districts,” said the PMO.

There would be a special session on ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav: Roadmap to 2047’ and four additional thematic sessions on Reducing Compliance Burden & Decriminalization of Minor Offences for Ease of Doing Business; Centre – State Coordination for achieving saturation coverage of schemes and ensuring last mile delivery; Transforming India’s infrastructure through PM Gati Shakti; and Capacity building: Implementation of iGOT – Mission Karmayogi, added the PMO in the statement.

The outcomes of the conference will be subsequently deliberated in the Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog, where Chief Ministers and Administrators of all states and UTs will be present, so that an action plan can be finalized with the broad consensus at the highest levels, said the PMO.

The first in-person meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog is likely to take place next month. The Governing Council of the NITI Aayog is a throwback to the National Council meetings which used to take place during the days of the Planning Commission, which was done away by Modi after taking charge of the government in 2014.

None of the action plans worked by the NITI Aayog so far has been adopted by any of the state governments while the think-tank is hardly accorded seriousness by the states.