At a high-profile conclave in Dehradun on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami laid out the clearest picture yet of his government's core agenda — youth employment, women's legal rights, zero-tolerance on corruption, and a booming pilgrimage economy. The platform was the 'Uttarakhand Uday Conclave' organised by HNN News Channel, and Dhami used it to take pointed questions and deliver direct answers.

35,000 government jobs and a strict no-cheating law

Dhami led with numbers on youth employment, declaring that more than 35,000 government jobs have been provided to young people in the state over the past five years. He framed this as a direct outcome of a reformed, transparent recruitment process — one anchored by a strict anti-cheating law enacted in 2023 that was among the toughest in the country at the time.

'The government's clear resolve is that youth in the state get employment opportunities on the basis of their hard work and merit,' Dhami said. The anti-cheating legislation was a direct response to a string of paper-leak scandals that had rattled competitive exam aspirants across the state, and it signalled a deliberate shift toward accountability in hiring.

Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code: a first for India

On women's rights, Dhami was emphatic: Uttarakhand became the first state in India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), a distinction the Chief Minister described as 'a decisive step toward women's empowerment and equal rights.' The UCC, enacted in 2024, replaces religion-specific personal laws with a single civil framework governing marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption.

Dhami added that his government is also working to make women economically self-reliant — connecting them with employment, self-employment schemes, and livelihood programmes. The pairing of legal reform with economic initiative signals a two-track strategy rather than symbolic legislation alone.

Helpline 1064 and the zero-tolerance anti-corruption pledge

The Chief Minister called corruption 'non-negotiable,' reiterating a zero-tolerance policy and pointing to a concrete mechanism: toll-free helpline number 1064, through which any citizen can lodge a corruption complaint directly. 'No person involved in corruption will be spared,' he said, placing transparency and accountability at the centre of his governance pitch.

The helpline represents an attempt to decentralise anti-corruption vigilance — moving it from top-down departmental audits toward citizen-driven reporting, a model that several state governments have experimented with in recent years.

59 lakh pilgrims and the Char Dham infrastructure push

On tourism and religion, Dhami cited a striking headline figure: more than 59 lakh (5.9 million) devotees have already reached the Char Dham shrines this year. He attributed the surge to growing public faith in Uttarakhand and to sustained investment in road, health, traffic, and security facilities along the pilgrimage routes.

The Char Dham circuit — connecting Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath — is the state's single biggest driver of seasonal revenue and local employment. Dhami signalled that the government intends to extend this model to other religious and tourist sites, generating fresh livelihood opportunities for residents in remote hill districts.

PM Modi's mantra and the push to reach 'the last person'

Dhami closed his address by situating Uttarakhand's agenda within Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national framework — 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas aur Sabka Prayas' ('Together with all, development for all, trust of all, and effort by all'). He said development schemes must reach 'the person standing at the last end of society,' prioritising education, health, and basic infrastructure alongside jobs and tourism.

With youth employment, UCC implementation, anti-corruption tools, and record pilgrimage numbers all cited in a single sitting, the conclave served as a comprehensive mid-term report card — and a clear signal of the themes Dhami's government intends to campaign on.