Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma attended the eighth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit venue at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi today.
At the meeting, the Chief Minister said that the State is committed to contribute and be an integral part in enabling the country to achieve a $40 trillion economy by 2047. He spoke about how Meghalaya aspires to emerge as a robust $10 billion economy by 2028 and presented the state’s “identified growth engines” to achieve its vision.
Sangma said these engines include leveraging Meghalaya’s climatic resources, building growth centers along strategic corridors, transforming Shillong into an urban growth engine, and positioning the state as a high-value tourism destination.
He further highlighted the potential of tourism to drive the state’s economy and shared plans to increase the tourism contribution from 4 per cent to at least 10 per cent of the state’s GSDP in the next five years.
In his address, he emphasized the progress made by Meghalaya across various sectors and identified key growth engines for the state’s economic development as well as the state’s focus on youth engagement and farmers.
Sangma also urged the centre to withdraw the ceiling limits and substantially enhance the investment window available for special category states like Meghalaya. “Curtailing this investment window would hinder the state’s development efforts and adversely impact the growth trajectory,” he said.
The Governing Council, headed by the Prime Minister, is the apex decision-making body of the NITI Aayog, the government’s think tank. All chief ministers of states and Union Territories having legislative assemblies, the lieutenant governor of other UTs and several Union ministers, including the minister of finance and commerce, are members of the council.
The eighth meeting of the council is held to discuss the issue of making the country a developed nation by 2047. Besides, issues like thrust on MSMEs, infrastructure and investments, minimising compliances, women empowerment, health and nutrition, skill development, and Gati Shakti for area development and social infrastructure are the agendas.
