Indian PM advocates for transformation in governance to meet youth' s aspirations

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday advocated the need for transformation in governance to meet the aspirations of the country's youth, saying no government can afford to harp on the past.

"Development now depends on the quality of institutions and ideas. Thirty years ago, a country might have been able to look inward and find its solutions. Today, countries are interdependent and interconnected," Modi said at a function of Niti Aayog (formerly Planning Commission) in Delhi.

He added: "A metamorphosis is needed. The transformation of India cannot happen without a transformation of governance. We cannot march through the 21st century with the administrative systems of the 19th century."

Stressing that no country can afford any longer to develop in isolation, the prime minister said: "The younger generation in India is thinking and aspiring so differently, that the government can no longer afford to remain rooted in the past."

(APD)