Leverage FTAs, remove obsolete laws, PM Modi tells states in NITI meeting

At a press briefing later in the evening, BVR Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog, said, “During his address to the Chief Ministers, the Prime Minister told state governments that they need to focus on sectors like manufacturing and services, and also work towards removing obsolete laws and create an investor-friendly environment.” States must also find a way to leverage the Free Trade Agreements India is signing with several countries, Prime Minister Modi told the attendees, the PM told the attendees.

Subrahmanyam said the biggest takeaway from the meeting was the complete, absolute unanimity on Operation Sindoor, and regret and anger for what happened in Pahalgam. “There was a unanimous expression of solidarity. Everybody commended the role of the defence forces… That was uniform, irrespective of ideology or party affiliation,” he said.

According to a government statement on the meeting, Modi told attendees that Operation Sindoor “must not be treated as a one-off initiative” and that India “must modernise our approach to civil preparedness”. “He said that the recent mock drills have reignited our attention to civil defence (and) states should institutionalise civil defence preparedness,” the statement said.

While West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress) and Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah (Congress) skipped the meeting held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, CMs of other Opposition-ruled states including MK Stalin of Tamil Nadu, Bhagwant Mann of Punjab, Omar Abdullah of Jammu and Kashmir, and Hemant Soren on Jharkhand attended the 10th Governing Council meeting. Subrahmanyam said with 31 out of 36 CMs and LGs attending the meeting, this was the “highest ever participation”, he said. Last year, 20 CMs and six LGs had attended the NITI meeting.

Amongst other things, Prime Minister Modi said each state should develop at least one tourist destination “at par with global standards and by providing all facilities and infrastructure”, according to NITI Aayog. “One State: One Global Destination. It would also lead to development of the neighbouring cities as tourist places,” he said.

In light of rapid urbanisation, Modi also emphasised developing future-ready cities, with a focus on innovation and sustainability. In the meeting, he said the country needs to focus on increasing the participation of women in the workforce. “We must work towards the inclusion of women in our workforce. We must make laws, policies so that they can be respectfully integrated in the workforce,” he said.

Taking the example of Bihar’s work on linking the Kosi and Mechi rivers, Modi encouraged other states to take up similar river linking projects to “battle water scarcity as well as floods”, the statement said.

The previous Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog in July 2024 was boycotted by most Opposition CMs, except West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, in protest against what they called a “discriminatory” Union Budget presented days earlier. Banerjee, the lone Opposition attendee, had walked out mid-meeting, alleging she wasn’t given enough time to speak.