Although goods and services (GST) collections have improved, there’s potential for this to be stepped up further, Modi said at the seventh meeting of the Niti Aayog’s governing council on Sunday. India’s upcoming G20 presidency in 2023 is a unique opportunity to show that the country is not just Delhi but every state and UT as well, Modi said. He called on states to set up dedicated G20 teams to derive the maximum possible benefit from the presidency.
India’s merchandise trade deficit hit a record high of $31 billion in July, stretching the overall difference between exports and imports to over $100 billion in the first four months of the fiscal from $42 billion a year ago.
The PM said states must focus on reducing imports, increasing exports and identifying opportunities for this, according to the statement isued by the Niti Aayog.
“We should encourage people to use local goods wherever possible,” he said. Vocal for local is not the agenda of one political party but a common goal, the PM told the states, according to the statement.
He added that each state should focus on promoting the three Ts – trade, tourism, technology – through Indian missions abroad.
Modi said India needs to focus on modernised agriculture, animal husbandry, and food processing to become self-sufficient and a global leader in the agriculture sector. He asked states to focus on making India self-sufficient in edible oil production. India remains the world’s largest importer of edible oil and is heavily dependent on imports. This, along with petroleum crude and gold, is among the country’s biggest import items.
“The Centre is targeting to reduce its edible oil import by half in the next five years,” Niti Aayog member VK Paul said, briefing the media after the meeting. The states demanded an increase in the minimum support price for pulses and oil seeds to promote their cultivation at the meeting, he said.
Modi said GST can yield more after the monthly collection touched the second highest ever at Rs 1.49 lakh crore in July.
“Increasing GST collection requires collective action by the Centre and states,” he said. “It is crucial for strengthening our economic position and becoming a $5 trillion economy.”
The first physical meeting of the council since the onset of the pandemic was attended by 23 chief ministers, three lieutenant governors, two administrators and Union ministers. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao did not attend.
Cooperative federalism
Modi heralded cooperative federalism as the force that helped India cope with the Covid pandemic.
“Every state played a crucial role according to its strength and contributed to India’s fight against Covid,” he said. “This led to India emerging as an example for the developing nations to look up to as a global leader.”
Rapid urbanisation can become India’s strength instead of weakness by leveraging technology to ensure ease of living, transparent service delivery, and improvement in the quality of life for every citizen of urban India, he said, according to the Niti Aayog statement.
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