Kalam promises a `new deal to rural India'

NEW DELHI: Promising to hold the price line to protect the real income of the poor, President A P J Abdul Kalam on Friday said the country''s economy was poised to grow at 7 per cent this year while hinting at a new deal to rural India in the budget next week. My government is committed to reining in the rate of inflation as it hurts the poor the most, he said adding the economy is once again poised to record close to seven per cent in 2004-05 despite a weaker monsoon and higher oil prices. Asserting the government''s commitment to give a new deal to rural India, Kalam said this involves, among other things, reversing declining investment in irrigation and wasteland development, creating single market for farm produce, rural health care and education and promoting rural roads and electrification. Commodities future markets needed to be set up besides insuring against risk in farming and rural business, the President said in his address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament. Another area of special attention for the government was employment, he said adding the policies aimed at increasing investment and stepping up the growth rate of agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and services will undoubtedly generate new employment opportunities. The national employment guarantee programme providing 100 days of job to one person in every poor household, will be gradually expanded to cover all rural areas. Highlighting the government''s special focus on the agriculture sector, Kalam said it has proposed to launch a new scheme to promote micro-irrigation, including drip and sprinkler irrigation, in rain-deficient areas. Public-private partnership is also crucial for the development of the agriculture sector, especially in the rural infrastructure, he said. One of the first and important steps that the UPA government took last year was to effect a steep increase in credit flow to agriculture. The entire country was deeply distressed by the misfortune of several farmers in parts of the country, some of whom were driven to desperation and suicide. As against the targeted agricultural credit flow of Rs 1,05,000 crore for the year, as much as Rs 99,240 crore had already been provided by the end of January 2005, amounting to nealy 95 per cent of the target, he pointed out. Until our citizens living in rural India, especially the farmers and the weaker sections, are economically and socially empowered, India cannot shine, Kalam said adding my government wants India to shine, but it must shine for all. Lauding the liberal policy followed in the infrastructure sector, Kalam said the benefits of pursuing a liberal policy were clear in the success of India''s telecom policy over the past decade. Kalam said the menace of naxalism was posing a threat to peace and security in many parts of the country. Each state will have to device means to deal with this threat by distinguishing between genuine demands of the downtrodden and the nefarious designs of anti-national elements. My government is committed to the welfare of all weaker sections, and will encourage a dialogue with all political forces interested in promoting the welfare of the people in a peaceful manner. However it will deal effectively with group challenging the Constititional authority of a democratically elected government and resorting to the use of arms, he said. The President said the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, had been misused and therefore repealed. This does not in any way imply weakening of our resolve to deal with elements inimical to our national security . On the foreign policy front, Kalam said India''s relations with Pakistan were of utmost importance in our endeavour to create a neighbourhood of peace, stability and prosperity . However, the process of normalisation is critically dependent of Pakistan fulfilling the assurance that it would end its support to terrorist activities, he stressed. The President said India was engaged in a serious dialogue with Pakistan and added in proposing a range of steps, including Confidence Building Measures that may be taken in the near term, leading up to longer term economic cooperation, we are responding to the felt desire of our peoples . Noting that the India-Pakistan process was recently taken significantly forward , Kalam referred to the agreement reached in Islamabad to start a bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad. The agreement in principle to start bus services between Lahore and Amritsar, including to religious places such as Nankana Sahib and early restoration of the Khokrapar-Munabao rail link were measures that would enhance people to people contacts, which have also provided palpable support to the peace process. In his speech, the President spoke of the recent tsunami tragedy that hit Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu, observing that the entire nation shared the agony of those whose lives and livelihoods were destroyed. Thanking all those who expressed their concern and generously extended their help, he said we are open to external assistance and advice in rebuilding and reconstructing the destroyed economies and ecologies of the coastal region. In pursuit of peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, Government has repeatedly expressed its willingness to talk to any group provided they abjure the path of violence, he said. Cross-border terrorism remains a potential threat both in our West and East, even though there has been a decline in the number of terrorist attacks in J and K in recent months, he said. The President said the infrastructure of terrorism has not been dismantled across the border. Government, he said, has accorded top priority to the erection of fencing on the India-Bangladesh border to contain infiltration, smuggling and other anti-india activities from across the border. He announced that Government will shortly create a National Disaster Management Authority. A Central legislation on disaster management will soon be introduced in Parliament, he said. Government, he said, was committed to an inclusive society, a caring polity and a sharing economy . Observing that all major economic indicators were looking up and investors have regained faith in this Government''s potential, he said I believe we must capture this mood of optimism combined with altruism to strengthen the foundations of our inclusive democracy . Kalam said the supersonic cruise missile Brahmos, a joint venture programme with Russia, has been successfully tested for the anti-ship role and is ready for induction . He said the main battle tank ''Arjun'' has been successfully inducted into the Army. Dwelling at length on the economic front, he said Government was committed to reining in the rate of inflation which hurts the poor the most. The Government will remain steadfast in its resolve to hold the price line and protect the real incomes of the poor, he said. Government is committed to giving a new deal to rural India and this involved reversing the declining trend in investment and agriculture, stepping up credit flow to farmers and enhancing public investment in irrigation and wasteland development. This also covers increasing funds for agricultural research and extension, creating a single market for agricultural produce, investing in rural healthcare and education, promoting rural electrification and rural roads, setting up commodities futures markets and insuring against risk in farming and rural business. He said Government proposed to launch a new scheme to promote micro irrigation, including drip and sprinkler irrigation in rain-deficient areas. In step with its policy to strengthen cooperatives by infusing professional management culture and restoring their democratic character, he said a scheme for the revitalization of the cooperative credit structure has been prepared by Nabard. He said Government was committed to the objective of providing electricity to all villages in the country by 2009. Observing that Government will pay special attention to the development of urban infrastructure and to making towns and cities more liveable, he said a proposed Mission on Urban Renewal will address this need.

Kalam promises a `new deal to rural India'

Promising to hold the price line to protect the real income of the poor, President A P J Abdul Kalam on Friday said the country's economy was poised to grow at 7 per cent.

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