The last meeting of the Council of Ministers of the current Lok Sabha, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, chaired a brainstorming session on the vision document for ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan. “Go and win. See you soon,” Modi told in the last meeting of the Council of Ministers of the current term.
Confident of returning to power post the General Elections in the next couple of months, Modi and his Ministers worked out a 100-day agenda for “immediate steps for quick implementation after the formation of the new Government in May”.
Government sources said the Ministers discussed a detailed action plan for the next five years. The meeting came a day after the BJP released the first list of its candidates on 195 seats across 16 States, with the next set of lists due in the next couple of days. Several Ministries articulated their ideas in the meeting, which was called after an initiative by the PM personally to understand the vision of his council of Ministers based on which he is to form the next team if voted back, Government sources said.
The roadmap for Viksit Bharat is the result of more than two years of intensive preparation by all the Central Government Ministries and departments.
“It involved a whole of Government approach involving all Ministries and wide-ranging consultations with State Governments, academia, industry bodies, civil society, scientific organisations, and mobilisation of youth for seeking their ideas, suggestions, and inputs. More than 2,700 meetings, workshops, and seminars were held at various levels. Suggestions of more than 20 lakh youth were received,” Government officials said.
The roadmap for Viksit Bharat has a comprehensive blueprint with clearly articulated national vision, aspirations, goals, and action points. Its goals include areas like economic growth, SDGs, ease of living, ease of doing business, infrastructure, social welfare, etc,” the sources said.
Several Ministries articulated their ideas in the meeting, which is likely to be the last such get-together before the Lok Sabha polls are announced.
The Prime Minister has been convening meetings of the entire Council of Ministers periodically to discuss key policy and governance issues. However, this particular meeting has assumed political significance in light of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, expected to be held in April-May.
While the Election Commission is intensively preparing for the polls, likely to be announced early next week, Modi has a tightly packed schedule. He is expected to attend 29 programmes spread across 12 States and Union Territories over the next 10 days.
Government officials said the PM will visit Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and launch projects in Delhi as well.
On Monday, he will unveil multiple development projects in Adilabad, Telangana, and later visit the Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. He will address public meetings in Adilabad as well as Chennai. A five-tier security arrangement has been made for Modi’s visit to Chennai on March 4.
Modi will launch several projects in Sangareddy, Telangana, on March 5 and address an event before traveling to Odisha, where he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of numerous development initiatives. He will then address a public meeting in Chandikhole, Odisha, before traveling to West Bengal.
On March 6, he will unveil development projects in Kolkata and address a public meeting in Barasat. He will then travel to Bihar and inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of multiple development projects in Bettiah.
The Prime Minister will be in Jammu and Kashmir on March 7 and attend a media event in Delhi in the evening.
On March 8, he will participate in the first-ever National Creator’s Award in Delhi and then leave for Assam in the evening. Modi will inaugurate the Sela tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng and then unveil multiple development projects in Itanagar.
Later, he will unveil a statue of legendary Ahom army commander Lachit Borphukan in Jorhat, Assam. Thereafter, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of multiple development projects in Jorhat, the officials said. He will also visit West Bengal and launch development projects in Siliguri and address a public meeting there.
On March 10, Modi will be in Uttar Pradesh and will dedicate to the nation various projects in Azamgarh, they said.
He will attend an event in Delhi the next day related to ‘Namo Drone Didi’ and ‘Lakhpati Didi’ programmes. Then, he will inaugurate the Haryana section of the Dwarka Expressway. In the evening, he will attend a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) programme. On March 12, he will visit Sabarmati in Gujarat and Pokhran in Rajasthan and then lay the foundation stones of three important semiconductor projects in Gujarat and Assam via video conferencing on March 13.
He is also scheduled to attend an outreach programme for disadvantaged sections of society via video conferencing, they said. The Prime Minister has been unveiling a slew of development projects running into lakhs of crores of rupees at various places as he turns the spotlight on his government’s development and welfare agenda in the run-up to the general elections expected to be held in April-May.
