Mumbai, March 8 (Agency) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged state governments to prepare developmental policies before April 1 to derive maximum benefit from the Union Budget. Addressing a post-Budget webinar attended by Ministers and Secretaries of different states besides experts in the finance and infrastructure sectors, Modi said efforts have been taken by the government to engage with all stakeholders before and after the announcement of the Budget. “This time’s Budget has been praised by all. But I don’t want to stop at that. I want your proactive role. I will urge the state governments to prepare their policies before April 1. The sooner you (state governments) come into the market (with the policies), the more companies will come to your state (for investment),” Modi said. He urged the states to compete among themselves on deriving the maximum benefits of the Budget. “We want to develop a progressive ecosystem,” Modi added.
The Prime Minister also urged the financial institutions to give priority to agriculture and healthcare sectors. Stating that India’s aspirations are aligned to natural and organic farming, Modi said that if some entrepreneur comes forward to work in the agri-related areas like food processing, warehousing and agri-logistics, then the financial institutions should help such people. “In the health sector too, a lot of work is being done. The government is heavily investing in health infrastructure. To overcome the challenges related to medical education, there is a need to have more medical institutions. Financial institutions and banks can prioritise these sectors as well,” he added. Modi further said that since global warming is an important issue, environment friendly projects and green financing were the need of the hour.