New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the third national conference of chief secretaries of states in the national capital on December 28 and 29 with a key focus on improving the 'Ease of Living', the Prime Minister's Office said on Tuesday.

The first such conference was held in June 2022 in Dharamsala, while the second was held in January 2023 in Delhi.

“Driven by the vision of the Prime Minister of putting the principle of cooperative federalism in action, National Conference of Chief Secretaries is organised to encourage participative governance and partnership between the Centre and the state governments. This time, the National Conference of Chief Secretaries will be held on December 28 and 29,” the PMO statement said.

The key focus of this year will be ‘Ease of Living’. The conference will emphasise on the evolution and implementation of a common development agenda and blueprint for cohesive action in partnership with the states.

With special emphasis on easy access to welfare schemes and quality in service delivery, five sub-themes which will be discussed in the conference are - Land & Property; Electricity; Drinking Water; Health; and Schooling.

Apart from these, special sessions will also be held on Cyber Security: Emerging Challenges; Perspectives on AI, Stories from the Ground; Aspirational Block & District Programme: Role of States; Rationalisation of Schemes & Autonomous Entities and Enhancing Capital Expenditure; AI in Governance: Challenges & Opportunities.

Besides these, focused deliberations will also be done on Drug De-addiction & Rehabilitation; Amrit Sarovar; Tourism Promotion, Branding & Role of States; and PM Vishwakarma Yojana & PM SVANidhi.

Best practices from states/ UTs under each of the themes would also be presented at the conference so that the states can replicate the success achieved in one state or manoeuvre as per their own requirements, the statement added.