Narendra Modi to chair Inter-State Council meeting

New Delhi, July 16: A meeting of the Inter-State Council, convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will deliberate on issues of internal security, economic and social planning, and inter-state relations among other issues on Saturday.

The meeting is expected to be attended by all chief ministers. Convened after a gap of 10 years, the Inter-State Council meeting will see Modi, along with 17 Union ministers, for the first time interacting with all chief ministers on a single platform ever since he assumed charge two years ago.

Issues that will figure in the conference include recommendations of the Punchhi commission on centre-state relations, use of Aadhaar as an identifier and use of direct benefit transfer for providing subsidies, benefits and public services, improving quality of school education with focus on improving learning outcomes, incentivizing better performance, and internal security.

The meeting comes amid the ongoing turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir, where at least 36 people have lost their lives following violent protests after Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter last week.

The last meeting of the Inter-State Council was held in 2006. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had convened only two meetings in its 10-year tenure.

The Modi government has revived the Inter-State Council structure after assuming office in May 2014.

Home minister Rajnath Singh had chaired the meetings of all the five zonal councils over the last one year in various parts of the country in which chief ministers of states of the respective zones took part.

PTI