Ease of living must be top priority, PM Modi tells chief ministers at conclave in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a meeting with the chief ministers of BJP-ruled states in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, during his two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency.A member from the party said an extensive deliberation in the "Mukhyamantri Parishad" (chief ministers' conclave) was held. BJP president J P Nadda, chief ministers and deputy chief ministers belonging to the party and its other senior leaders attended the meeting which focused on sharing good governance practices for the betterment of citizens.Chief ministers and deputy chief ministers made presentations and highlighted key welfare schemes of their respective states. They elaborated on innovative governance practices they have ushered in their states.Speaking at the meet, Modi asked the chief ministers to carve a niche for their governments in some or other sector of governance and called for giving topmost priority to "ease of living" of people. He asked them to work on "One District, One Product" as a means to boost economic opportunities and strengthen the quest for India to become "aatmanirbhar" (self-reliance), the party said.Once this initiative gains currency in states, they must also look at exporting their products overseas and creating a global market for the products, he said, stressing the need for states besides the Centre to work for quality and brand creation for promoting exports of locally-produced goods, he added.Highlighting the importance of technology in governance, the prime minister called for governance to be data driven to ensure last mile delivery, speed and transparency.Underlining the importance of youth development and women empowerment as priority sectors for every government, Modi mentioned the need to strengthen nutrition campaign and fight the menace of malnutrition. He also called for popularising culture of sports and fitness among the youth.Reiterating his emphasis on "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance", Modi urged states to remove laws that have become archaic and reduce compliance burdens. He later tweeted:Some of the key best practices that were discussed at the meet included climate resilient infra projects, issuance of family identity cards, schemes for promotion of natural farming, rural livelihood programmes with Self Help Groups at its centre among others.Meanwhile, in his opening remarks, Nadda lauded Modi's success as he completes two decades as head of a government, including 13 years as Gujarat chief minister.The BJP president said the party and good governance have become "synonymous" and it is the only party that seeks popular mandate on the basis of its performance.At the end of the meeting, Nadda along with all chief ministers and deputy chief ministers also visited Gobardhan Project of Varanasi Development Authority, Deendayal Upadhyay Smriti Sthal and Sarnath, the party said.Following the conclave many of the attendee chief ministers took to twitter to speak about the conclave.Himanta Biswa Sarma, CM AssamManohar Lal Khattar, HaryanaPramod Sawant, GoaShivraj Singh Chouhan, Madhya PradeshBasavaraj S Bommai, KarnatakaWith input from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.