The two-day Conference of Governors concluded at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday with President Droupadi Murmu expressing confidence that cooperative federalism and mutual coordination among central institutions will be promoted as per suggestions given by groups of Governors.
Lauding the efforts of the Governors to have comprehensive discussions in the spirit of mutual learning, she said the Governors are the link between the Centre and the States in the federal system of India.
The President said that smooth functioning of all institutions is very important for public welfare and overall development. Discussions took place at the conference with the aim of creating better coordination among the various institutions.
In her closing remarks, she appreciated that various groups of Governors came out with their valuable ideas and suggestions to improve the functioning of their office as well as for the welfare of people, and expressed the confidence that these suggestions will be implemented.
The second day of the conference began with the six groups of Governors making presentations based on their deliberations and suggesting a future roadmap before the President.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah also addressed the concluding session.
The Vice President said that the conference had left an indelible imprint on the minds of all participants who discussed important issues in great detail. He said that the Governors should not hesitate in seeking information and maintaining sustained communication with the respective state governments for effective functioning.
The Prime Minister urged the Governors to evolve an ideal model of governance in Raj Bhavans. He said that there should be a consistent attempt to train the staff for the effective functioning of the Raj Bhavans.
Mr Modi urged the Governors to embrace technology in their functioning and promote digitisation. The Prime Minister particularly called for tapping the strength of alumni networks of educational institutions and appealed to them to develop a mass campaign to make educational campuses free of drugs.
He referred to natural farming as suggested by the Governor of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, and urged the other Governors to emulate the model of natural farming in the other Raj Bhavans and make their premises free of chemicals. The Raj Bhavans should become a source of motivation and inspiration for others, he said.
After the perusal of all the reports presented by the groups of Governors, the Home Minister praised their efforts and pointed out that all actionable points would be taken up to make the functioning of the Governors and the Raj Bhavans more effective.
The President said that the development of the country depends on the inclusive and accelerated development of the states. All states must move forward by learning from each other’s best practices and experiences.
She said that in order to ensure that no eligible citizen is left out of public welfare programmes, the government has laid great emphasis on last-mile delivery. This has improved the lives of common citizens.
She asked the Governors to ensure that the benefits of all public welfare programmes reach every eligible person so that the goal of inclusive development can be achieved in the true sense.
She said that women’s participation is of utmost importance for meaningful and holistic social inclusion. Women empowerment can be strengthened by encouraging women self-help groups.
Also, the path to ‘women-led development’ can be paved by promoting women-led start-ups. She advised the Governors to interact with such active women entrepreneurs and representatives of institutions working for women empowerment from time to time and guide them.
The President said that by further promoting the participation of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in the process of development of the country, the Governors can contribute in fulfilling the national resolve of inclusive development.
She highlighted the suggestion of a sub-group of Governors for the proper utilisation of resources allocated for the welfare of tribal communities and expressed hope that all Governors would give priority to this suggestion.
The President said that the ambience of the Raj Bhavans should reflect the Indian ethos. The Governors should endeavour to increase the connection of common people with the Raj Bhavans.
People should have a feeling of affinity with the Raj Bhavan as their own Bhavan. She noted that many Raj Bhavans are open for public visits and others can also follow the practice. She said that the Raj Bhavans can increase public engagement by organising social and cultural events.
The President said that the digital initiatives are being appreciated all over the world. The use of the digital medium in the functioning of the Raj Bhavans will set a good example.