New Delhi: The Modi government is reportedly moving ahead with major reforms to accelerate the goal of building a developed India and shield the economy from the impact of the West Asia crisis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will convene a meeting of secretaries from all ministries and departments today, where they will make presentations on their respective reform proposals. To recall, after the Iran-US war began in late February, the Cabinet Secretary constituted seven groups under the leadership of different secretaries to assess the situation and recommend measures.
These groups have now submitted their reports to the Cabinet Secretary, and their findings will be presented to the Prime Minister on Tuesday. As per the reports, all secretaries were assigned three key tasks ahead of the meeting, and these will form the core agenda.
Here are some of the key details:
- The first task is to identify the challenges and bottlenecks preventing their departments from achieving their goals or implementing projects efficiently
- The second task is to outline how secretaries can work beyond the traditional boundaries of their respective departments to improve coordination and governance.
- The third task requires each secretary to provide ideas and recommendations not only for reforms within their own department but also for improvements in other ministries.
Objective of the Secretary Groups
The main objective behind forming the groups was to strengthen inter-ministerial coordination on critical issues such as energy, supply chains, inflation, imports and exports, and defence manufacturing. Anuradha Thakur, Economic Affairs Secretary, is heading the largest group that comprises 11 members. It will advise the Prime Minister on measures to maintain macroeconomic stability and strengthen areas such as manufacturing, imports, and exports.
Groups to Present Recommendations
According to the reports, a group led by Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal will present recommendations on energy security, LNG, LPG, and petroleum products. The group also includes the CMDs of public sector oil companies.
Separate groups have also been formed under the leadership of the Foreign Secretary to focus on foreign policy strategy and the Defence Secretary to address defence-related issues.
Another group, headed by Shipping Secretary Vijay Kumar, has been tasked with preparing a roadmap for improving the country’s logistics infrastructure.
According to sources, the presentations made by the secretaries will form the basis for the next phase of the government’s reform agenda.