The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the steps towards holistic development of islands.

The Prime Minister was given a presentation on the vision for holistic development, which involved inputs from the NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and other senior officials.

India has a total of 1382 offshore islands, out of which officials have initially proposed 26, which could be considered for holistic development. These 26 islands are located along different parts of India’s coastline, including some in the Andamans and Lakshadweep. Officials informed the Prime Minister that developmental activities shall be centred around basic infrastructure, tourism, agriculture (including organic agriculture and fisheries), and carbon-neutral energy generation.

Emphasizing the strategic importance of India’s island wealth, the Prime Minister stressed the potential for tourism in these areas. Urging the officials to speedily firm up plans for island development, the Prime Minister said solar energy should be used extensively in this exercise.