PM Modi asks states to remove policy bottlenecks, encourage investment and generate jobs

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked the states and Union Territories to remove policy bottlenecks to encourage investment and generate employment as he stressed that if the Union government and states work together like Team India, no goal is impossible.

Briefing reporters about the 10th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog, CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said that everyone present at the meeting unanimously supported Operation Sindoor, undertaken by India to destroy terror infrastructure in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Modi, he said, also urged the states to focus on agriculture, education and healthcare.

The Prime Minister said that the 10-year journey of Niti Aayog was "to prepare the nation to achieve the goal of Vikshit Bharat".

The theme of the Governing Council meeting was 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047'.

The meeting was attended by 31 states and Union Territories of a total of 36, Subrahmanyam said, adding those who could not make it had prior commitments and informed the Council.

The states which did not attend the meeting were Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar and Puducherry, he said, adding the 10th meeting of the Council saw maximum attendance.

"We have to increase the speed of development. If the Centre and all the States come together and work together like Team India, no goal is impossible," Niti Aayog said in a post on X, quoting the Prime Minister as saying.

"Viksit Bharat is the goal of every Indian. When every state is Viksit, then Bharat will be Viksit. This is the aspiration of its 140 crore citizens," Modi said.

The council, the apex body of Niti Aayog, includes all state chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers. Prime Minister Modi is the chairman of Niti Aayog.

"We should have the aim of making each state viksit, each city viksit, each Nagar Palika viksit and each village viksit. If we work on these lines, we will not have to wait till 2047 to become Viksit Bharat," Modi said.

The prime minister also suggested that states should develop at least one tourist destination per state at par with global standards and provide all facilities and infrastructure.

"One State: One Global Destination. It would also lead to the development of the neighbouring cities as tourist places," he said.

Noting that India is getting rapidly urbanised, Modi said, "We should work towards future-ready cities".

Growth, innovation and sustainability should be the engine for the development of India's cities, he added.

Modi also emphasised the need to work towards the inclusion of women in the workforce.

"We must make laws and policies so that they can be respectfully integrated into the workforce," he said.

It is the first major meeting of the prime minister with the chief ministers of all states and the lieutenant governors of Union Territories after Operation Sindoor.