|
 |
| M A I
N N E W S |
Tough road ahead: PM
Seeks support of states in attaining 9 pc growth
S. Satyanarayanan
Tribune News Service
|
Minorities must have ‘first claim’ on resourcesPlans for minorities, particularly Muslims, must have the “first claim” on resources so that benefits of development reach them equitably, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here today. “We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably the fruits of development. These must have the first claim on resources,” Dr Singh said in his NDC address here. |
New Delhi, December 9
Listing agriculture, irrigation, infrastructure, water resources and education as priority areas, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today sought states support for “difficult” policy changes for attaining ambitious albeit feasible 9 per cent growth during the 11th Five Year Plan. “There are major constraints we have to overcome, many of which require difficult policy changes by the Central and state governments,” Dr Singh said inaugurating the 52nd meeting of the National Development Council for approval of the Draft Approach Paper to the 11th plan. “A critical issue we have to face relates to the sharing of responsibility between the Centre and states. We cannot escape from the fact that the Centre’s resources will be stretched in the immediate future and an increasing share of the responsibility will have to be shouldered by the states,” the Prime Minister told Chief Ministers and policy planners of various states. Lauding the performance of the economy during the 10th plan, where growth in the past four years, would be over 8 per cent taking India firmly among front ranks of fast-growing developing countries, Dr Singh said: “The world has a very favourable assessment of our prospects and this is reflected in the fact that FDI flows are buoyant.” Conceding that inflation had presented a problem, he said: “We are determined to control it within the 5 per cent level”, and added that “the plan must give top priority to redressing the weaknesses in the agriculture sector.... We cannot expect inclusive growth if we do not revitalise agriculture.” “Agriculture as a whole is in crisis. Growth in the agriculture sector, on which half of the rural population is dependent, has been less than 2 per cent per annum since the middle of the 1990s,” Dr Singh said adding “we should, therefore, focus on achieving higher productivity and incomes for all farmers in both crop and non-crop agriculture”. “We are not spending enough on irrigation and what we have is not being utilised efficiently. Projects take far too long to complete and resources are spread thinly. Existing irrigation systems are also not being maintained well,” he said, calling upon the chief ministers to give high priority to ensuring efficient use of resources in this area. He also laid stress on focussed research in specific crops,
with effective marking solutions and completing the unfinished agenda of land reforms.” Detailing the road map for the average annual 9 per cent growth during 2007-12, Dr Singh said private sector investment would have to be stepped up for infrastructure sector, which the approach paper has identified as a “major constraint” on achieving the double digit growth.Stating that roads, railways, ports and airports and the power sector all needed massive expansion and quality improvement, the Prime Minister said: “Investment requirement of such expansion are massive and cannot be met from the public sector alone”. He pointed out that public-private participation “cannot be a solution if the power sector is financially unviable”, and added that the public investment would be used to develop infrastructure in areas where the private sector was reluctant to enter. “Much of the investment needed for rapid growth will come from the private sector and this calls for maintenance of a sound macro-economic framework, an investor-friendly environment and a strong and innovative financial sector capable of responding to the needs of new entrepreneurs.” Dr Singh, however, cautioned that gross
budgetary support should not come at the “cost of fiscal prudence and stability”. He said 2.5 per cent point increase in the GBS, both by the states and the Centre, was perhaps the “smallest increase that will accommodate ambitious agenda we have for public investment in agriculture, infrastructure and the social sector”. In this context, he said over a period of time, much of the Centre’s resources had been going to areas, which are the primary responsibility of states. “Such programmes must involve a significant state contribution to total costs. This would enhance a sense of ownership and efficiency in implementation.” On its part, the Centre should give flexibility to the states in designing and implementation of Centrally-sponsored schemes, he said pointing out that the resource position of states made it possible to mark credible efforts in this direction.
|
