Prepare roadmap for India's growth: PM tells NITI Aayog

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked NITI Aayog to prepare a vision document containing a roadmap for India's development for the next 15 years to bring transformational changes. Stating that time for incremental change is long over, Modi called for a roadmap to lay the foundation for the country's growth over the 21st century.

 

Interacting with members of the NITI Aayog, he said the need of the hour is transformational change. He highlighted the importance of technology as an emerging driver of change over the last three decades and asserted that this pace of change would not slacken.

 

The government, he said, has "the courage and the ability to deliver transformational change for bettering the lives of the people".

 

Stating that policy-makers have historically lamented constraints rather than play to strengths, he said judicious and intelligent application of India's natural and human resources would be at the heart of the change.

 

He listed mineral wealth, vast untapped solar energy potential and sub-optimally used coastline as examples.

 

Modi said the partnership with states for promoting development and boosting exports is not just an element of cooperative federalism, but also the need of the hour.

 

On agriculture, he said the focus should not be just on increasing agricultural productivity alone, but also on the overall development of a vibrant rural economy. He emphasised the importance of the food processing sector, warehouse development, and technology inputs, in this sector.

 

Stressing upon the need to build capacities for good governance, he highlighted the importance of real-time data availability.

 

"Prime Minister said I am a person who does experiment and I have confidence," NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya told reporters after a meeting with Modi on Vision Document.

 

NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant said: "Prime Minister has stressed transformational changes rather than having incremental changes. He said that we need to win the war of policies and chase things according to the changing (technology) World."