The government is set to renew its push for reforms amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, aiming to accelerate the agenda of reducing the compliance burden and simplifying rules and procedures for ease of doing business and ease of living.
Meeting Scheduled for May 21
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting of the Council of Ministers on May 21 for this purpose. Secretaries from nearly a dozen departments, including DPIIT, agriculture, commerce, health, power, environment and forest, labour, road transport, and atomic energy, are likely to make presentations at the meeting.
Focus on People-Centric Reforms
The focus is expected to be on people-centric reforms in laws, policies, notifications, rules, and regulations that each ministry has undertaken in the third term of the Modi-led NDA government. Simplification and deregulation will be the overriding theme, officials indicated.
The last meeting of the Council of Ministers was held on June 4, 2025. The Prime Minister had announced that the government was on a “reforms express” and asked departments to move ahead on that path, a direction evident in the Budget as well.
Reforms Agenda Overtaken by West Asia Crisis
However, the reform agenda was overtaken by the West Asia war, prompting key ministries to shift into firefighting mode to combat the adverse impact of the conflict. Experts have underlined the need to pursue reforms alongside handling challenges posed by the crisis. They argue that just as the government used the COVID-19 pandemic to push through much-needed reforms, it should not let go of this opportunity.
People aware of the developments said that the presentations aim to make the Council of Ministers aware of reforms undertaken in the past two years while discussing the way forward. Some issues flagged by two high-level committees led by Niti Aayog member Rajiv Gauba are also expected to be taken up.
Earlier, each ministry had submitted details of “major reforms” undertaken from June 2024, along with their benefits and impacts, to advance the government's reform agenda.
