The Prime Minister will chair a meeting of the Council of Ministers at Bharat Mandapam during which he will review the government’s performance, schemes, infrastructure projects.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the entire Council of Ministers at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi at 5 pm on May 21. The meeting is being seen as a key midterm review of the government’s performance.
The meeting will be attended by Union Cabinet ministers, ministers of state with independent charge, and ministers of state.
The meeting will be the first gathering of the Council of Ministers this year and comes amid growing speculation over a possible Cabinet reshuffle.
All the Union ministers have been asked to remain in the national capital today as the government continues to indulge in heightened political and economic discussion, according to India Today.
The government review will focus on the implementation and progress of important government schemes and infrastructure projects, with emphasis on coordination, execution and delivery across ministries.
The meeting is expected to focus on the government’s push for reforms across sectors aimed at improving the lives of ordinary citizens.
Earlier, the Prime Minister had laid out the government’s reform agenda for the coming decade, saying the Centre’s “Reform Express” had driven systemic changes and delivered tangible benefits to the common people.
The government is also likely to assess the status of ongoing policy initiatives and flagship welfare programmes. The meeting comes days before the third Modi government’s second anniversary on June 10.
The Prime Minister generally chairs meetings of the full Council of Ministers to review governance priorities, establish targets for the ministries and sketch the government’s political and administrative roadmap for the coming months.
Will West Asia Conflict Dominate Meeting?
The ongoing conflict in West Asia and its economic impact on India are likely to be a major point of discussion in the meeting.
The government has been monitoring fuel supply disruptions, inflation and increasing oil prices amid the US-Iran war.
A high-powered informal group of ministers, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has already been constituted by the government to monitor the crisis and suggest measures to protect India from disruptions, according to India Today.
Union ministers Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and Hardeep Singh Puri are also part of the council. Recently, Rajnath Singh said that the government has been maintaining “round-the-clock monitoring” of the situation.
“Whether it is crude oil, energy, or LPG even today, we have enough stocks. There is no particular problem,” he added.