The 11th inter-state council meet on was held on SaturdAy, first time in the last 10 years.
Addressing chief ministers of 31 states and union territories during the first inter-state council meet in a decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Centre and the states need to walk shoulder-to-shoulder for successful implementation of schemes and that a consensus needs to be forged on vital issues to strengthen cooperative federalism.
Modi invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said that, "In a democracy as big and diverse as ours, debate, deliberation and discussion help evolve policy that relates to the ground reality. More importantly, they enable the effective implementation of such policies."
PM Modi also appreciated the efforts of his cabinet colleague and Union home minister Rajnath Singh for initiating the process for organising the meeting. "Over the last one year, he has convened meetings of five zonal councils. The increased dialogue and connect has culminated in this gathering today," PM Modi said.
The 11th inter-state council meet on Saturday was the first since 2006 and on the agenda were issues pertaining to Aadhaar and strengthening of Direct-Benefit Transfer scheme that provides for subsidies and public services.
The PM along with his cabinet colleagues also discussed issues related to internal security, development projects, recommendations of the Punchhi commission on Centre-State relations, school education. Chief Ministers of all states presented their achievements on Aadhaar coverage and even on the crucial Goods and Services Tax Bill.
On internal security, PM Modi said that, "We have to discuss the internal security challenges confronting the country, the solutions to these challenges, and mutual cooperation in this regard." He urged the states to focus on intelligence-sharing to ensure greater coordination among agencies as well as to equip police with modern technology and approach.
Following the presentations of all chief ministers, the prime minister, in his concluding remarks said that deliberations on the Punchhi commission's recommendations marked a good beginning and that as consensus evolves, implementation will follow. On Direct Benefit Transfer and Aadhaar, the prime minister expressed happiness at the near-total acceptance of Aadhaar as a tool to promote good governance and transparency.
He said that there have been significant savings to the exchequer as a result of Aadhaar. He asked senior officials of the Union Government to collect data from states on the extent of savings achieved
On law and order and internal security, PM Modi emphasised that both the Union and the state governments in India cannot ignore what is happening across the world today and urged all concerned to keep politics aside and make national security paramount.
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