Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the 1st National Conference of Chief Secretaries at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh on 16-17 June in what will be a significant step towards further strengthening the partnership between the Centre and state governments.

More than 200 people will participate in the conference, which opens on 15 June, representing the Central government, states/ UTs and domain experts.

Spread over three days, the conference will focus on the rapid and sustained economic growth in partnership with the states. Working as ”Team India”, the conference will lay the ground for collaborative action for higher growth with sustainability, creation of jobs, education, ease of living and Aatmanirbharta in agriculture. It will emphasise on evolution and implementation of a common development agenda and blueprint for cohesive action to achieve the aspirations of the people.

The concept and agenda for this conference have been curated after more than 100 rounds of deliberations spread over six months.  Three themes have been identified for detailed deliberations in the conference: (i) Implementation of the National Education Policy; (ii) Urban governance; and (iii) Crop diversification and achieving self-sufficiency in oilseeds, pulses and other agri-commodities.

Under the National Education Policy, both school and higher education shall be deliberated upon. Best practices from states/ UTs under each of the themes shall be presented at the Conference for mutual learning.

There would be a session on Aspirational Districts Programme which would deliberate upon the achievements made so far, with successful case studies including on data-based governance, presented by the young collectors in specific districts.

There would be a special session on ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav: Roadmap to 2047’ and four additional thematic sessions on Reducing Compliance Burden & Decriminalisation of Minor Offences for Ease of Doing Business; Centre-State Coordination for achieving saturation coverage of schemes and ensuring last-mile delivery; Transforming India’s infrastructure through PM Gati Shakti; and Capacity building: Implementation of iGOT – Mission Karmayogi.

The outcomes of the conference will be subsequently deliberated in the Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog, where Chief Ministers and Administrators of all states and UTs will be present so that an action plan can be finalised with a broad consensus at the highest levels.