Union Home Minister chairs 28th Western Zonal Council meeting in Panaji; says nearly three-fold rise in Zonal Council meetings since 2014
Panaji, Sep 7 (BuzzBytes): Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Monday chaired the 28th meeting of the Western Zonal Council in Panaji, Goa, describing the western region as India’s largest economic, industrial and financial centre. The meeting was attended by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Praful K Patel, besides senior officials of the Government of India and the state governments. Shah said Goa contributes much more to economic growth than its geographical size would suggest, due to advanced tourism, high per capita income and mining. He said the Indian economy recorded a growth rate of 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of financial year 2026-27 despite global economic turbulence, crediting the western region and its constituent states and Union Territories for making a significant contribution to the country’s growth. He described the western region as the “WEST Engine” of India’s economic growth, with W standing for wealth and finance, E for exports and ports, S for start-ups and semiconductors, and T for tourism and the blue economy. Shah said Goa receives more than one crore tourists annually, including around five lakh foreign visitors, with tourism contributing about 16 per cent to the state’s GSDP. He said Maharashtra has the highest number of start-ups in the country at 33,872, while Dholera in Gujarat has emerged as a semiconductor hub, and highlighted the importance of Mundra and Deendayal ports and Mumbai’s role as the country’s financial capital and an emerging global capital hub. The Home Minister said the Narendra Modi government has worked over the past 12 years to strengthen cooperative federalism and significantly increased the frequency of Zonal Council meetings. He said only 25 meetings of the Zonal Councils and their Standing Committees were held between 2004 and 2014, while 71 such meetings have been held since 2014 — nearly a three-fold increase, which he called an excellent example of the Prime Minister’s concept of Team India. According to Shah, 1,893 issues have been discussed in these meetings, of which 1,445 have been resolved. He said, “There are no longer any disputes among the states of the Western Region. This is a major achievement,” adding that Zonal Councils have increasingly become instruments for monitoring the implementation of public welfare schemes rather than merely resolving disputes, including on child malnutrition, Aadhaar penetration and Ayushman Bharat cards. Shah called upon the western states to play a leading role in implementing the new criminal laws and strengthening the fight against drugs, and highlighted progress in computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, noting Maharashtra has achieved 98 per cent coverage and Gujarat 92 per cent. On cybercrime, Shah said Prime Minister Modi is monitoring the government’s strategy through PRAGATI and stressed the need to connect urban cooperative banks with the Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (FCFRMS), MuleHunter AI and the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C). He said the Ministry of Home Affairs would move forward “very seriously” on coastal security over the next two years. Several other issues were discussed at the meeting, including implementation of Fast Track Special Courts, the Emergency Response Support System-112, food safety standards, Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, banking facilities in villages, railway development projects, environmental clearances, urban master planning, electricity supply, strengthening of PACSs, eliminating child malnutrition under Poshan Abhiyaan, reducing school dropout rates and issues related to cybercrime and digital infrastructure—(BuzzBytes)
