Panaji, September 7, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sustained efforts since 2014 for transforming India into a rapidly growing economy, citing the country’s 7.8 per cent growth rate recorded in the first quarter of the financial year.
Addressing the 28th meeting of the Western Zonal Council in Panaji, Shah said achieving such growth amid global economic turbulence was a matter of pride for the country.
He said the Modi government had worked over the past 12 years to strengthen the principle of cooperative federalism enshrined in the Constitution.
Shah also highlighted the sharp increase in meetings of the Zonal Councils and their Standing Committees since 2014. He said only 25 such meetings were held between 2004 and 2014, while 71 meetings have taken place since 2014 — nearly three times the earlier figure.
According to Shah, the meetings have discussed 1,893 issues, of which 1,445 have been resolved. He described the nearly three-fold rise in meetings as an example of Prime Minister Modi’s concept of ‘Team India’.
Highlighting the economic importance of the Western Region, Shah said it constitutes the country’s largest economic, industrial and financial centre and has made a significant contribution to the 7.8 per cent first-quarter growth.
He described the region as the “WEST Engine” of India’s economic growth. The acronym, he said, represents W 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 more than one crore tourists visit Goa annually, including around five lakh foreign tourists, with tourism contributing 16 per cent to the state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
He said Maharashtra leads the country with 33,872 start-ups, while Dholera in Gujarat has emerged as a semiconductor hub. Gujarat’s Mundra Port handles the highest volume of cargo, while Deendayal Port in Kutch is the largest in terms of cargo volume, he said. Mumbai, meanwhile, is emerging as a major global capital hub, he added.
The meeting also discussed the implementation of Fast Track Special Courts for speedy investigation and disposal of rape cases involving women and children, along with issues related to the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112).
Other matters on the agenda included food safety standards, the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, expansion of brick-and-mortar banking facilities within the prescribed radius of villages, railway development projects and environmental clearances.
The council also deliberated on issues of national importance, including urban master planning, electricity supply, strengthening Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACSs), tackling child malnutrition through Poshan Abhiyaan, reducing school dropout rates, participation of public hospitals in the Ayushman Bharat scheme, and strengthening cybercrime prevention and digital infrastructure.
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