PM to chair conference of chief secretaries in Delhi on Thursday-Friday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the third National Conference of Chief Secretaries here in the national capital on Thursday and Friday.

This is the third such conference; the first was held in June 2022 in Dharamshala and the second in January 2023 in Delhi.

Such conferences of Chief Secretaries are organised to encourage participative governance and partnership between the Centre and the state governments. This year, the National Conference of Chief Secretaries will be held starting today.

The three-day conference will witness the participation of more than 200 people, comprising representatives of the central government, chief secretaries and other senior officials of all states and Union territories.

"It will lay the groundwork for collaborative action to achieve a better quality of life for both rural and urban populations by strengthening the delivery mechanisms of government interventions," the Prime Minister's Office said in a press release.

The key focus of the National Conference of Chief Secretaries this year will be 'Ease of Living'. The conference will emphasise the evolution and implementation of a common development agenda and blueprint for cohesive action in partnership with the States.

With special emphasis on easy access to welfare schemes and quality in service delivery, the five sub-themes that will be discussed in the conference are land and property; electricity; drinking water; health; and schooling.

Apart from these, special sessions will also be held on cyber security: emerging challenges; perspectives on AI, stories from the ground: aspirational block and district programmes; the role of states: rationalisation of schemes and autonomous entities and enhancing capital expenditure; AI in governance: challenges and opportunities.

Besides these, focused deliberations will also be done on drug de-addiction and rehabilitation; amrit sarovar; tourism promotion, branding and role of states; and PM Vishwakarma Yojana and PM SVANidhi.

"Best practices from States/ UTs under each of the themes would also be presented at the conference so that the States can replicate the success achieved in one state or manoeuvre as per their own requirements," the Prime Minister's Office said.