K Rosaiah all praise for Jayalalalithaa government's initiatives

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah today lauded Chief Minister J Jayalalalithaa for her government's efforts to bring socio-economic upliftment of rural people and patted her flagship schemes like providing free milch cows to the poor.

In his address at the 35th foundation day of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) here, Rosaiah said Jayalalithaa's "initiative to bring about socio-economic upliftment of the people in rural areas deserves a special mention."

"Chief Minister's Solar Powered Green House Scheme for the people below poverty line in rural areas, distribution of milch cows to poor families in rural areas and distribution of land to poor landless farmers free of cost bear testimony to it," he said.

Agriculture sector was the 'largest' employer in Indian economy, he said while adding that Tamil Nadu had a rural population of 51.5 per cent, with majority of them depending on agriculture for livelihood.

"Sustaining growth in agricultural sector and improving the farmers' income is the need of the hour. It is a daunting task as farmers have to meet the challenges and grapple with monsoon, moneylenders and markets," Rosaiah said.

Appreciating NABARD, he said the agency "has transformed itself from just a refinancing institution to a nationally important development bank with fundamentally life altering interventions."