PM asks states to work with Centre as team, remove policy bottlenecks to attract global investors

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that global investors are hugely interested in India and the states should utilise this opportunity to attract investments by removing policy bottlenecks, as he stressed that if the Union government and states work together like Team India, no goal is impossible.

Addressing the 10th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog, Modi said India has signed trade agreements with the United Kingdom, UAE and Australia, and states should utilise the opportunity to the optimum.

Briefing reporters about the meeting, Niti Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam said the meeting was attended by 31 states and Union Territories of a total of 36, 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.

Subrahmanyam further said that everyone present at the meeting unanimously supported Operation Sindoor, undertaken by India to destroy terror infrastructure in Pakistan.

"Prime Minister mentioned that 'Operation Sindoor should not be treated as a one-off initiative and we must adopt a long-term approach," said a Niti Aayog statement.

"Prime Minister mentioned that we must modernise our approach to civil preparedness," it added.

The statement said the prime minister observed that global investors are hugely interested in India.

"Citing recent trade agreements with UAE, UK and Australia, the prime minister encouraged the states to utilise this opportunity and make it easy for investments," it added.

Quoting Modi, the Niti Aayog CEO said states are places where action is, therefore states need to focus on expanding services and manufacturing sector to create jobs.

"They (states) need to reduce policy bottlenecks, removes obsolete laws, create investor friendly environment...remove unnecessary regulation at state level," Subrahmanyam said, quoting the prime minister.

Modi urged states to develop at least one global-standard tourist destination each to attract international visitors and boost local economy.

"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.

The prime minister, Subrahmanyam said, also urged the states to focus on agriculture, education and healthcare.

The statement said Modi asked NITI Aayog to prepare an 'Investment-friendly Charter' for attracting investments.

According to the statement, the prime minister encouraged creation of River Grids at state level for effective utilisation of water resources.

The prime minister also called for sustainable urban growth, planned urban planning in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

"The prime minister emphasised skilling and training of youth towards Emerging Sectors to make them employment ready," the statement said.

Modi cited cyber security as a challenge as well as an opportunity.

"Hydrogen and Green Energy were emphasised by him as arenas of immense potential and opportunities," the statement said.

According to the statement, the prime minister emphasised on the need to focus on health services delivery.

"He (Modi) said that we must check for oxygen plants and preparations to be ready for any Covid related challenges," the statement said.

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'.

"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.

"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 on 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.

Subrahmanyam said taking cue from the Union government, five states have already released their vision documents, and 12 states are on verge of releasing their vision documents.

According to the official statement, the stat chief ministers and lieutenant governors of Union Territories also praised the efforts towards Aatmanirbharta in the defence sector, which have strengthened the defence forces and bolstered confidence in our capabilities.

"Chief Minister/Lt. Governors gave various suggestions for the vision of Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @ 2047 and also discussed steps being taken in their States," it said.