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NEW DELHI: Signalling a push towards further deregulation, the Council of Ministers led by PM Narendra Modi spent over four hours on Thursday taking stock of recommendations of a high-level committee led by NITI Aayog member Rajiv Gauba and reforms by ministries.The discussions happened amid a clear message from PM Modi that govt shouldn’t interfere in people’s lives and should instead come to their help when they need it. He asked the ministers and top civil servants to focus on reforms that make people’s lives easier and reduce compliance burden.Gauba leads panels tasked with deregulation and reforms to prepare the roadmap for India’s transition to a developed nation by 2047. While some of the recommendations have been implemented, more steps are likely following Thursday’s meeting – which came hours after the PM returned from a five-nation tour.PM Modi said there was a need to forge ahead without looking back, those present in the meeting told TOI.The West Asia crisis, which has resulted in an energy shock – with prices rising and supplies, particularly of gas, shrinking – has put pressure on the rupee, which can stoke inflation in the coming days. The government is keen to not just address supply issues but also initiate measures to strengthen the economy. Further reforms are seen to be a key element of the strategy, which will help win back portfolio flows and also boost domestic manufacturing, a key element of the self-reliance plank.A person present in the meeting in Seva Teerth said that the PM suggested encouraging production of biogas at a time when several households are grappling with supply constraints for cooking gas cylinders. The issue had also come up at the last meeting of the informal Group of Ministers (iGoM) headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh.Apart from Gauba, nine ministries and departments, including agriculture, environment and forest, commerce, corporate affairs, health, power, road transport and DPIIT, made presentations on reforms undertaken by them. Cabinet secretary T V Somanthan made an overall presentation on reforms undertaken by other ministries.PM Modi also asked ministers and officers to expedite completion of all delayed works and avoid any unnecessary controversies, while instructing them to ensure that files are processed faster so that there is no delay in decision-making. It’s learnt that there was a mention of departments which reported faster processing of files.“PM said Viksit Bharat by 2047 isn’t just a slogan, but a desire. The focus of the meeting was on reforms, reforms and reforms to push economic growth, ease of living and ease of doing business. He said public good should be the top priority of reforms and governance,” said a person who attended the meeting.
