Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the 4th National Conference of Chief Secretaries in Delhi on December 14 and 15. This conference is a significant initiative aimed at strengthening the partnership between the central and state governments. It is being organized to reinforce the Prime Minister’s vision of cooperative federalism and to enhance coordination between the center and the states for accelerated progress.
This conference, held regularly over the past three years, began in June 2022 in Dharamshala. The second and third conferences were subsequently held in January 2023 and December 2023 in New Delhi. This year’s conference will span three days, from December 13 to 15, with the primary goal of formulating and implementing a shared development agenda in collaboration with the states.
The theme for this year’s conference is *”Promoting Entrepreneurship, Employment, and Skills: Leveraging the Demographic Dividend”*, and it will focus on sharing the best practices and strategies for states and Union Territories. This theme has been chosen after extensive deliberation with central ministries, departments, NITI Aayog, states, and domain experts.
The conference will specifically discuss six areas: manufacturing, services, rural non-agriculture, urban development, renewable energy, and the circular economy. Additionally, special sessions will be held on topics such as the use of frontier technologies for a developed India, developing cities as centers of economic growth, economic reforms to attract investments in states, and capacity building under Mission Karmayogi.
Other key issues to be deliberated upon during the conference include self-reliance in agriculture, focusing on the production of food oils and pulses; the care economy for an aging population; implementation of the Prime Minister’s Solar Rooftop Scheme; and Indian knowledge traditions.
The conference will also provide a platform to share the best practices of states and Union Territories to encourage mutual learning among various states. It will be attended by Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories, senior officials, domain experts, and other dignitaries.
