NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the three-day national Conference of Chief Secretaries on Sunday, called upon states and Union Territories to promote manufacturing, enhance the ease of doing business, and strengthen the services sector. Speaking on the final day of the conference, themed “Human Capital for Viksit Bharat”, the Prime Minister emphasised collective efforts to make India Atmanirbhar, empower citizens, and realise the vision of a developed India.

Highlighting India’s agricultural potential, PM Modi said, “India has the potential to become the world’s food basket. We must move towards high-value agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairying, and fisheries. This is how India can become a major food exporter.” He also urged states and UTs to work towards making India a global services powerhouse.

The Prime Minister noted that the conference coincided with a period of next-generation reforms. “India has boarded the Reforms Express, and the primary engine of this Reforms Express is our youth, our demography. That is why it is our endeavour to empower this demographic,” he said.

Stressing the importance of quality across sectors, PM Modi underlined the need for quality governance, service delivery, and manufacturing. Advocating the wider promotion of the Make in India initiative, he said, “Let us work towards making the label ‘Made in India’ synonymous with excellence, and strengthen our commitment to ‘Zero Effect, Zero Defect’.”

He highlighted steps taken to foster a new work culture in governance and service delivery and spoke at length about integrating technology to bring positive change to citizens’ lives. Discussions during the conference covered skill development, higher education, youth empowerment, sports, and related areas.