Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday set a tough target for top bureaucrats in the next five years during which India must strive to become a $5 trillion economy and asked all ministries to come up with at least one “high-impact” idea, that improves the “ease of living” for people, in the first 100 days of the government.
“(The election) mandate reflects the will and aspirations of people to change the status quo and seek a better life for themselves,” he said, adding the huge expectations of people from his government should not be viewed as a challenge but an opportunity.
This was the first interaction the prime minister had with the country's top policy makers after his government came to power for the second time last month.
Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha asked the policy makers from each ministry to come up with a five-year plan document with well-defined targets and milestones.
Modi said that every department of the government, and every district of each state has a role to play in making India a $5 trillion economy.
He touched upon the importance of the “Make in India” initiative, and the need to make tangible progress towards it.
During the interaction, various secretaries shared their vision and ideas on subjects such as administrative decision-making, agriculture, rural development and panchayati raj, IT initiatives, education reform, healthcare, industrial policy, economic growth, skill development among others.
The meeting, which came ahead of the Union Budget, was significant as the Prime Minister asked the secretaries to make people-friendly policies and suggest measures that are poor-centric.
According to sources attending the meeting, each top bureaucrat was asked about what could be his contribution towards creating a new India in which the poor can prosper.