Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet with all Central secretaries on Tuesday to discuss the government’s push for deregulation and other reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and the ease of living. This meeting marks PM Modi’s second major institutional interaction with the top bureaucracy in less than two months. His previous meeting was on May 21, where he chaired a joint meeting of the Union Council of Ministers and Central Secretaries to develop regulatory roadmaps for a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India).
The discussion on Tuesday is expected to focus on promoting ‘Atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) in addition to deregulation and other reforms. Each secretary has been allotted a strict three-minute window to brief PM Modi on their progress and suggestions for implementing the deregulation and reform agenda.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has been actively pushing for deregulation and reforms at both the Centre and state levels. To advance this agenda, separate committees have been established, including the High-Level Committee on Non-Financial Regulatory Reforms (HLC-NFRR) chaired by former Cabinet secretary and NITI Aayog member Rajiv Gauba.
The HLC-NFRR was constituted on August 19, 2025, with the mandate to review existing non-financial sector regulations and develop a modern, flexible, people-friendly, and trust-based regulatory framework suited to the needs of the 21st century. The committee has been sharing its recommendations with the concerned departments.
Another committee, the Task Force on Deregulation and Compliance Reduction, is led by Bihar-cadre IAS officer KK Pathak, who is currently posted as Special Secretary at the Cabinet Secretariat. This committee was also constituted last year to push deregulation at the state level. The Cabinet Secretariat has assigned selected secretaries to some states to further this agenda.
