NEW DELHI: Skiim Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay participated in the 8th Meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog in New Delhi.
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, NITI Aayog vice chairman Dr Suman K Bery, union ministers, Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors, and NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subramanyam.
Highlighting the views and concerns regarding Sikkim, the Chief Minister informed the gathering that the State has achieved the highest per capita income in the country and added that the first India multi-dimensional poverty index report published by NITI Aayog declared that Sikkim with 3.82 per cent has the third lowest percentage of the population who are multi-dimensionally poor in India.
“We are keen to accomplish the dream of ‘Vikasit Bharat’ by 2047, founded on four pillars of infrastructure, investment, innovation, and inclusion so eloquently propounded by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the second National Conference of chief secretaries held in Delhi in January 2023,” stated the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister also expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for providing Sikkim the rare opportunity to successfully host two prestigious G-20 and B-20 Engagement Group meetings.
Further, he added that the meetings held very important discussions on the various avenues for investment in the State especially in the areas of tourism, organic farming, and start-ups.
While speaking about the MSME, the Chief Minister added that most of the MSMEs in the state are based on mountain agriculture heritage and services like tourism, health, education, energy, and traditional crafts.
In this regard, he requested the NITI Aayog to establish an export-oriented, industry-empowered Organic Food Park-cum-Free Trade Warehousing Zone in the State.
Underlining the advice of the Prime Minister during the national conference of chief secretaries held in Dharamshala in June 2022, regarding the use of drone transportation of fruits and other perishable products from interior areas to markets, the Chief Minister sought the support of the union government to explore the possibility to address one of the major concerns of marketing.
While speaking on the topic of climate change, the Chief Minister stated that the Government of Sikkim is setting up both short-term and long-term measures to deal with it, solely focusing on the importance of national security and human security dynamics.