Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], September 12 (ANI): Prince Rahim Aga Khan V, Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), paid a courtesy visit to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar on Saturday.
During the meeting, they discussed opportunities for grassroots-level collaboration with the State Government for the State’s holistic and sustainable development, as well as the Aga Khan Development Network’s development-focused initiatives.
Prince Rahim Aga Khan V is the 50th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and the Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network. He has made significant contributions to environmental conservation, climate change mitigation, education, skill development, entrepreneurship, and improving the quality of life of underprivileged and vulnerable communities.
Welcoming Prince Rahim Aga Khan V to Gujarat, the Chief Minister said the Aga Khan Development Network’s (AKDN) focus on sustainable development, education, skill development, enterprise promotion, and empowering underprivileged and vulnerable communities aligns with Gujarat’s development philosophy.
Describing water conservation as an important part of Gujarat’s sustainable development, the CM highlighted the State’s large-scale efforts in water conservation, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, and rejuvenation of water bodies. He also stated that water conservation has become a people’s movement across the State.
During discussions on Gujarat’s contribution to millets and natural farming, the Chief Minister stated that the State has undertaken various initiatives to promote the production, processing, and value addition of millets.
He also highlighted the ‘Millet Development Scheme’ implemented by the State Government to expand millet cultivation, raise awareness about the health benefits of millets, and encourage farmers to take up millet processing.
According to the Gujarat CMO, possibilities for collaboration in solar energy and solar pumps were also discussed. Gujarat’s installed solar capacity has reached 34,880 MW. Under the ‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana’, the State has set a target of installing 10 lakh rooftop solar systems, with more than 8.39 lakh systems installed so far.
Discussing Gujarat’s successful and extensive cooperative model, the Chief Minister stated that more than 87,000 cooperative societies are functioning in the State. He noted that efforts are underway across the country to further strengthen the cooperative sector with the mantra of ‘Sahkar Se Samriddhi’.
Through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS), the cooperative system has reached the grassroots level in rural areas. Discussions were also held on further strengthening the rural economy and developing PACS as ‘small corporate companies’ providing a range of services at the rural level.
Gujarat’s initiatives in women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship were also discussed. Under the women’s self-reliance ecosystem, thousands of women are provided with awareness and enterprise development training, enabling them to establish micro-enterprises and become economically self-reliant.
In this regard, Prince Rahim Aga Khan V expressed his willingness to further strengthen grassroots-level collaboration with the State Government. Both sides also expressed a positive approach towards deepening cooperation by leveraging their complementary strengths and working together for sustainable, holistic and people-centric development.
Additional Chief Secretary, Industries Department, Mamta Verma, and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Sanjeev Kumar, were also present on the occasion. (ANI)