Amit Shah Chairs 31st Southern Zonal Council Meeting in Mahabalipuram

21 August 2026National

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, who serves as Chairman of India's Zonal Councils, chaired the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council on 20 August 2026 at Kovalam near Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. The meeting was attended by Chief Ministers and senior representatives of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, along with the Lieutenant Governors of Puducherry and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the Administrator of Lakshadweep. Discussions focused on strengthening cooperative federalism across healthcare funding, infrastructure development, environmental protection and regional security coordination among the southern States and Union Territories. The Zonal Councils, alongside bodies such as NITI Aayog's Governing Council, form part of India's institutional architecture for Centre-State and inter-State coordination on shared developmental priorities.

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India has 5 Zonal Councils: Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern | Zonal Councils were created under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 on the recommendation of the States Reorganisation Commission | Each Zonal Council's Vice-Chairman is a Chief Minister of a member state, on a rotational basis

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