Chintan Shivir: Council of Ministers Charts Strategy for 100% Coverage of Welfare Schemes
Ministers discuss full coverage of major welfare programmes, stronger public outreach and closer coordination among departments.
NEW DELHI, Sep 24: The two day ‘Chintan Shivir’ of the Union Council of Ministers concluded with a focus on ensuring that all eligible beneficiaries receive the benefits of major government welfare schemes.
The deliberations centred on identifying challenges, implementation gaps and priority action points within individual ministries. Discussions were organised around two key themes — ‘Swayam ka Vikas’ (Self Development) and ‘Jan Vishwas se Jan Bhagidari’ (People’s Participation through Trust), according to sources familiar with the meeting.
Ministers were asked to strengthen communication with citizens and ensure that people are adequately informed about welfare programmes and other development initiatives. The government is expected to give greater emphasis to public communication in the coming period.
For the second consecutive day, the ministers were divided into eight groups, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacting with each group as well as addressing the Council collectively. Ministers were asked to familiarise themselves with around 40-45 major government schemes and programmes and work towards ensuring their benefits reach all eligible recipients.
The meeting also stressed better coordination between ministries and departments to improve the delivery of government programmes. Ministers were advised to review recent developments and issues before communicating with the media and to share insights and experiences gathered during the deliberations.
The first day of the exercise covered governance, reforms and outreach to women and youth in connection with welfare and development programmes. The discussions also included ways to improve policy implementation, public service delivery and coordination across departments.
Other subjects included ‘Jan Vishwas Se Jan Aadhaar’, reforms across government and priorities linked to the ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’ vision. The brainstorming exercise was aimed at reviewing ongoing programmes and infrastructure projects, improving coordination, preparing the government’s future agenda and identifying areas for further action.
The ‘Viksit Bharat’ exercise has been underway since 2021, with 10 sectoral groups of secretaries working on short- and long-term roadmaps. Eight presentations and discussions on different aspects of the 2047 development vision have previously been held before the Council of Ministers.
The latest ‘Chintan Shivir’ was intended to take that process forward by bringing together discussions on governance, reforms, welfare delivery and future priorities.
