PRIME Minister Narendra Modi chaired the national conference of Chief Secretaries focused on achieving rapid and sustained economic growth in partnership with the States, in the national capital on Friday.

The three-day conference began on Thursday. The idea behind this conference is that Cooperative Federalism, through Central Ministries and departments working together with States in seamless coordination, is an essential pillar for the development and progress of New India. With this vision in mind, PM Modi conceptualised this conference, which was held for the first time in June 2022 in Dharamshala.

This year, the National Conference of Chief Secretaries is being held from January 5 and will conclude on January 7. More than 200 bureaucrats comprising representatives of the Central Government, Chief Secretaries and other senior officials of all States/Union Territories and domain experts, are participating in the conference, said the statement from Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

This is not an isolated example of when PM Modi has tried to leverage Cooperative Federalism to usher in efficiency and synergy in order to respond to many of India’s intractable challenges. In the last 8 years, PM Modi has worked to make the process of policy-making and implementation more collaborative and consultative, thus making India more federally governed.