NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the welfare of citizens must remain at the centre of reforms and stressed the need to strengthen governance processes to meet the demands of a changing environment while accelerating India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation.
Chairing a meeting at his residence to review progress in rural development, agriculture, social welfare and allied sectors towards the goals of Viksit Bharat, Modi said reforms should be designed around people’s needs and deliver meaningful transformation.
He said reforms were not meant only to improve the functioning of the government but also to speed up India’s progress towards becoming a developed country.
The prime minister said governance systems must continuously adapt to changing requirements and called for a comprehensive assessment of emerging needs across ministries and departments to ensure they remain responsive to national development goals.
Modi reiterated that the vision of Viksit Bharat should become a Jan Andolan, with young people playing a central role in realising the goal. The PM also underlined the need for a whole-of-government approach to achieving development objectives and called for greater coordination among ministries.
Drawing attention to drug abuse among youth, he called for an institutional mechanism to break departmental silos and improve convergence in youth-focused initiatives.
On sports, Modi stressed the need for an integrated approach to sports development and said sports tourism was emerging as an important opportunity. He said India should aim to host major international sporting events to establish itself as a global sporting hub.
The PM also emphasised the promotion of technology and innovation through start-ups in the sports sector. On agriculture, Modi said wider adoption of initiatives such as the PM KUSUM Scheme by farmers had the potential to bring transformative change to the sector.
During the meeting, secretaries shared their experiences on implementing various initiatives and outlined challenges in their respective sectors. Modi offered suggestions and presented his vision for the way forward. The meeting included discussions on implementation, convergence and measures to accelerate progress towards Viksit Bharat. It was attended by the cabinet secretary, secretaries from key ministries and PMO officials.
