NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked states to tap into India’s 70-crore youth population and convert this unique demographic dividend into a development dividend for the country’s progress.
“Creating the right ecosystem for our youth through quality education, demand-driven skilling, and employment opportunities must remain a priority. Empowered youth will be the driving force behind our journey forward,” he said while chairing the 11th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog, attended by chief ministers, lieutenant governors, and administrators representing 28 states and five Union Territories.
This was the first time chief ministers of all 28 states participated in the governing council meeting of NITI Aayog. The meeting primarily focused on human development index and creating alternative energy sources In India.
During the meeting, governing council members extensively debated pushing rooftop solar energy across residential buildings, schools, hospitals, and government properties to reduce household dependence on grid electricity and make the state power subsidy burden more manageable.
Several members voiced strong support for expanding nuclear energy, noting that technological evolutions have made modern nuclear power remarkably safe.
In a key administrative push toward localised tracking, the prime minister urged all states to develop gross domestic product (GDP) estimation at the district level within the coming months.
Go for FDI, PM tells states
The PM asked states to aggressively court foreign investments from nations with which India has signed FTAs
MSMES, defence
States were also told to leverage MSMEs and capture emerging opportunities in defence manufacturing