The 11th meeting of Inter-State Council in the national capital was chaired by the Prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. "The Inter-State Council will not just enshrine the values of cooperative federalism, but will ensure a better future for our citizens," he said. The meeting assumes significance in wake of the BJP-led NDA regime's efforts to ensure the passage of the Good and Services Tax (GST) Bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning Monday. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley earlier had a number of rounds of discussions with the Chief Ministers of various states with regard to the GST.

The proposed tax reform, India's biggest revenue shake-up since independence, seeks to replace a slew of federal and state levies, transforming the nation into a Customs Union. The meeting today is the first in ten years of India's Inter-State Council. Set up in 1990, the group brings together the PM, six of his cabinet ministers, and all Chief Ministers and administrators of union territories to discuss the coordination of schemes and policies. Karnataka Congress led government's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav were missing during the meeting and the reason for the same is not known yet.