PM wants India to become self-sufficient, global leader in farm sector

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a strong case for modernising the farm sector by using technology so that India can become self-sufficient and a global leader in the agriculture sector.

Addressing the meeting of the Governing Council of the Niti Aayog, he said the rapid urbanisation can become India's strength instead of weakness by leveraging technology to ensure ease of living, transparent service delivery, and improvement in the quality of life.

He said that India should become self-sufficient in the production of edible oil.

The Prime Minister also spoke about the upcoming India's presidency of the G-20 in 2023. G-20 is a grouping of developed and developing nations.

He asked the states to set up dedicated teams for G-20 with a view to deriving maximum possible benefit from the initiative.

This was the first physical meeting of the Governing Council since the onset of the pandemic, with the 2021 meeting held via video conferencing.

The meeting was attended by 23 chief ministers, 3 Lieutenant Governors and 2 Administrators and Union ministers.

The Governing Council discussed four key agenda items -crop diversification and achieving self-sufficiency in pulses, oilseeds and other agri-commodities; implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) in school education; implementation of NEP in higher education; and urban governance.