Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on states to prepare cities for the future and build at least one tourist destination in each state that matches global standards. Speaking at the NITI Aayog meeting on Saturday (May 24), he urged chief ministers to accelerate development efforts to make India a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (developed India) by 2047.
In a major tourism iNITIative, he announced the concept of "one state, one global destination." He said, "States should develop at least one tourist destination per state at par with global standards and by providing all facilities and infrastructure - One State: One Global Destination. It would also lead to the development of the neighbouring cities as tourist places."
All states support Operation Sindoor
The meeting marked the first gathering of PM Modi with chief ministers after the recent hostilities with Pakistan and Operation Sindoor. All chief ministers present at the meeting strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people.
All participants voiced strong backing for Operation Sindoor. NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said there was unanimous agreement across states on this iNITIative, which has become a symbol of national unity. The leaders recommitted themselves to fighting terrorism together.
PM Modi stressed, "Operation Sindoor should not be treated as a one-off iNITIative and civil defence preparedness must be institutionalised by the states." He urged modernisation of civil defence measures, noting that recent drills had sharpened focus on this crucial area.
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with leaders from Puducherry, Karnataka, and Kerala, did not attend. However, Andhra Pradesh’s N Chandrababu Naidu, Tamil Nadu’s MK Stalin, Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, Jammu & Kashmir’s Omar Abdullah, and Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Sukhu were present.
PM Modi calls for "Team India" approach
PM Modi appealed to the Centre and states to work as one united team to achieve India’s development goals. He said, "We have to increase the speed of development. If the Centre and all the states come together and work together like Team India, no goal is impossible."
He added,"India is getting rapidly urbanised. We should work towards future-ready cities... We should have the aim of making each state viksit (developed), each city viksit, each nagar palika viksit and each village viksit. If we work on these lines, we will not have to wait till 2047 to become Viksit Bharat."*
Voices from states
Arunachal Pradesh: Chief Minister Pema Khandu highlighted Arunachal Pradesh’s impressive growth over the last ten years. He affirmed the state’s commitment to contributing to a developed India by 2047 through sustainable industry, empowering youth and women, building world-class infrastructure, leading innovation, and protecting the environment.
Tamil Nadu: CM MK Stalin criticised delays in central funding for Tamil Nadu, urging release of Rs 2,200 crore under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) that was held back due to a missing agreement on the "PM Shri" scheme. He also pushed for increasing the state’s share of central taxes to 50 per cent and called for a dedicated urban transformation mission to improve cities in Tamil Nadu.
Rajasthan: Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma expressed gratitude for PM Modi’s valuable guidance during the meeting.
Uttarakhand: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the meeting tackled key development issues, reaffirming the state’s commitment to achieving ‘Viksit Rajya, Viksit Bharat 2047’.
Punjab: CM Bhagwant Mann accused the Centre of unfair treatment, calling it "step-motherly" and unwarranted. He raised urgent water issues, explaining that Punjab has no surplus water to share. Mann suggested building a Yamuna-Sutlej-Link (YSL) canal instead of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal due to water shortages in local rivers. He also requested to be included in water allocation talks related to a 1954 agreement.
Himachal Pradesh: Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stressed that hill states have unique requirements and should receive larger funds by relaxing scheme eligibility. He demanded the release of long-pending financial dues owed to Himachal Pradesh, stating that timely funds would help the state become self-sufficient. Sukhu also outlined plans to develop Himachal Pradesh as one of India’s leading tourist destinations.
Sikkim: Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang requested a world-class highway connecting Sikkim to Siliguri in West Bengal to enhance strategic and economic mobility. He also called for climate-proofing National Highway 10, which suffers from flood and landslide damage. Additionally, Tamang proposed establishing an integrated check post at Chewa Bhanjyang on the Nepal border, along with a multimodal corridor to encourage cross-border trade. He affirmed, "Sikkim stands firmly aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047 and looks forward to continued support from the Government of India."
Haryana: In a post on X, Chief Minister Nayab Saini said, "Under the guidance of Prime Minister, we all have to work together towards building a 'developed state, developed city, developed municipality and developed village' to fulfil the goal of #ViksitBharat. We are constantly formulating and implementing policies to bring about a change in the life of every family member."
Nagaland: Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio emphasised that the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 must reflect the aspirations of states like Nagaland, reaffirming his government's commitment to self-reliance and inclusive development. "Nagaland is fostering entrepreneurship through five startup incubators and Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDCs) across all districts, providing critical mentoring, infrastructure, and capacity-building support," Rio said.
Delhi: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday presented the roadmap of "Viksit Delhi" at the NITI Aayog's Governing Council meeting involving infrastructure upgrade through a 4-S formula -- Scope, Scale, Speed and Skill -- and make the capital the "most livable" city in the world by 2047.
Telangana: Chief Minister Revanth Reddy discussed various issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the meeting, pertaining to the state's metro rail phase, the regional ring road, regional ring railway, support for strengthening the state's position in India's semiconductor ecosystem, support of defence projects, for hosting DefExpo in Hyderabad and the need for fast-track approvals for defence JVs and offsets.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday sought the Centre to enhance the state's share in central taxes to 50 per cent and also underscored the necessity for a dedicated urban transformation mission in the state.
Speaking at the NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi, he demanded a rightful 50 per cent share for states in central taxes. We currently receive only 33.16 percent against the promised 41, the Chief Minister said in a post on the social media platform X.
He further said on the lines of Amrut 2.0, I stressed the need for a dedicated urban transformation mission, as Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised state in India.
Also, I urged a #CleanGanga-style project for Cauvery, Vaigai and Thamirabarani, with names in English for national coherence and regional pride, Stalin said.
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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has met European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic in Brussels, their second meeting within a month, to discuss the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), currently under negotiation between the two regions.
Goyal travelled to Brussels on May 23 from Washington, while India's chief negotiator L Satya Srinivas and his team are already at the EU headquarters for the FTA negotiations.
The Indian minister held meetings with his EU counterpart earlier this month.
"Delighted to welcome my friend and counterpart @PiyushGoyal. We continue to make progress. Let's maintain the momentum - with hard work, clear focus - and I look forward to our next meeting soon," Sefcovic said in a post on X.
In response, Goyal, in a post on the social media platform, said, "We remain committed to the shared prosperity of India and the EU. Let us keep this pace going!".
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These deliberations assume significance as India and the 27-nation European Union are looking at concluding the talks for an early harvest trade agreement by July.
The early harvest or an interim trade agreement could include issues like intellectual property rights (IPRs), government procurement, tariffs, and non-tariff barriers.
Officials of both sides recently concluded the eleventh round of talks on May 16 here in the national capital.
"We are looking for an early harvest. We are trying to do it as early as possible," an official has said recently.
The two sides have agreed to conclude the agreement in two phases on account of the uncertain global trade environment, particularly due to the US tariff actions under President Donald Trump.
India has followed the practice of negotiating trade pacts in two phases with Australia.
The early harvest pact would lead to a full-fledged free trade agreement.
Besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles and medical devices, the EU wants tax reduction in products like wines, spirits, meat, poultry and a strong intellectual property regime.
Indian goods exports to the EU, such as ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products, and electrical machinery, can become more competitive if the pact is concluded successfully.
In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement, an investment protection agreement and a pact on geographical indications (GIs) after a gap of over eight years.
The negotiations stalled in 2013 due to differences over the level of opening up of the markets.
On February 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the European Commission President agreed to seal a much-awaited free trade deal by the end of this year.
The India-EU trade pact negotiations cover 23 policy areas or chapters, including Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Investment, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Technical Barriers to Trade, Trade Remedies, Rules of Origin, Customs and Trade Facilitation, Competition, Trade Defence, Government Procurement, Dispute Settlement, Intellectual Property Rights, Geographical Indications, and Sustainable Development.
India's bilateral trade in goods with the EU was USD 137.41 billion in 2023-24 (exports worth USD 75.92 billion and imports worth USD 61.48 billion), making it the largest trading partner for goods.
The EU market accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total exports, while the EU's exports to India make up 9 per cent of its total overseas shipments.
In addition, the bilateral trade in services, in 2023, between India and the EU was estimated at USD 51.45 billion.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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A significant surplus transfer by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could help the Centre trim its fiscal deficit by 20 to 30 basis points (bps), potentially bringing it down from the budgeted 4.5 per cent to 4.2 per cent of GDP, according to a report by the State Bank of India (SBI).
In the Union Budget for 2025-26, the government had estimated a dividend income of ？2.56 trillion from the RBI and public sector financial institutions. However, following the recent record transfer by the central bank, the actual inflow is expected to surpass this target significantly.
Fiscal space for deficit reduction or higher spending
SBI observed that this additional revenue enhances the government's fiscal flexibility. "We expect fiscal deficit to ease by 20 to 30 bps from the budgeted level to 4.2 per cent of GDP. Alternatively, it will open up for additional spending," the report stated.
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Besides improving the fiscal math, the report noted that the higher-than-expected dividend would aid the government in managing the yield curve amid global economic volatility. It also contributes to strengthening the RBI’s Contingency Risk (CR) buffer, reinforcing its financial stability.
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RBI surplus driven by market operations
The report attributed the higher surplus primarily to the central bank’s liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) operations and interest earnings from domestic and foreign security holdings.
The report further said that between June 3 and December 13, 2024, the RBI operated in absorption mode under LAF, indicating excess liquidity in the banking system. This trend shifted in mid-December, when the central bank began injecting funds, a stance it maintained until March 2025.
By March 31 this year, the system had swung back to a liquidity surplus, amounting to ？1.2 trillion. During the December 16 to March 28 period, the average liquidity deficit was recorded at ？1.7 trillion.
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Surplus liquidity likely to persist in FY26
Looking ahead, SBI anticipates that durable liquidity will remain in surplus through FY26. This projection is supported by expectations of open market operation (OMO) purchases, the substantial RBI dividend payout, and a projected balance of payments (BoP) surplus of $25–30 billion.
SBI concluded that the combination of strong dividend support and a favourable liquidity environment gives the government an opportunity to accelerate fiscal consolidation or channel funds toward key developmental initiatives.
(With ANI inputs)
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