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Govt committed to new deal for rural India: Kalam

     New Delhi: Placing on record the nation's appreciation of the rescue, relief and rehabilitation work undertaken by the Centre, various state and local governments, the armed forces and NGOs to counter the impact of the devastating Boxing Day 2004 tsunami tragedy, President APJ Abdul Kalam on Thursday endorsed the Manmohan Singh government's decision not to avail of external assistance, but at the same expressed New Delhi's gratitude and concern to those countries that had come forward to do so intially. Addressing a joint session of Parliament ahead of its Budget session and becoming the first Indian President to use the help of a laptop to convey the address, Kalam said that the need of the hour was for Indians to convert "this tragedy into an opportunity by modernizing the maritime economy and protecting the coastal ecology."

     "The generous response of the people of our country to the tsunami tragedy showed once again that there has been a paradigm shift in our political and social melieu," Kalam opined in his 24 page address, adding this was a heartening developement for people used to a system or a trend of "personal aggrandisement and a political trend towards the politics of exclusion." Reiterating the government's commitment to promoting "an inclusive society, a caring polity and a sharing economy," Kalam said that this was the essence of the ruling United Progressive Alliance's (UPA's) National Common Minimum Programme, which advocated a return to the "mainstream political values of pluralism, secularism and economic growth with equity and social justice, the core values of our Nationhood".

     Praising the government for getting the people of the country to refocus their energies on economic development and social progress, the president said that there was a sense of optimism now pervading in the country that could now result in a year of "improved economic performance". "All major economic indicators are looking up and investors have regained their faith in our potential. I believe we must capture this mood of optimism, combined with altruism, to strengthen the foundations of our inclusive democracy," Kalam said. He said that the present government believed that it had a responsibility for ensuring that the deprived sections of society are given a fair deal, both in terms of education and economic empowerment, besides guaranteeing protection of their human rights. That it was serious on this score was reflected by the fact that a Commission for the welfare of the socially and economically backward sections of society had been constituted and that a plan for preparing a White Paper on the status of minority communities in India is in the pipeline. The government, Kalam said, has also activated a process to recast the 15-point programme for the welfare of the minorities, adding that this was an absolute imperative both in the short and the long-term.

     Acknowledging that the rate of inflation had gone up since the middle of last year, Kalam said this was due to a weak monsoon and a steep increase in international energy prices. He said that the government had been able to neutralise this adverse impact to a certain extent by "a judicious mix of economic policies and administrative intervention." It was heartening to note that inflation levels had come down to five percent from a high of eight percent. "The control of inflation forms a reassuring backdrop to the revival of investment and business activity in the economy. All macro-economic indicators are looking up. The revival of investment activity and an increase in the rate of capital formation have contributed to annual growth in 2004-05 of 8.9 percent in manufacturing output and 8.9 percent in services sector incomes," Kalam said. Food prices too, he said, had been kept under check despite a modest 1.1 percent growth in agricultural production. Foreign trade too was growing, with exports rising by 25.6 percent and imports by 34.7 percent in US dollar terms between April 2004 and January 2005. Investments, both domestic and foreign, was also on the rise, but Kalam said there was a need to accelerate the "removal of policy and operational constraints."

     The UPA's Common Minimum Programme had seven core and priority areas namely -- Agriculture, Education, Employment, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Urban Renewal and Water, Kalam said, adding that the government is "committed to giving a `New Deal to Rural India'". Dwelling specifically on the problem of water availability and utilization, Kalam said that water being a national resource, required the government of the day and the people to take an integrated view of national water resources "our needs, our policies and our water utilization practices." In short, there was a need to take a holistic view to manage and conserve the country's water resources. For its part, Kalam said that the government has proposed to promote water conservation and water harvesting through a people's movement. "Current programmes for dry land farming and artificial recharge would provide technical support for such a mission, while the investment that is proposed under the wage employment programmes would provide the funds for a citizen and community-led movement for water conservation," Kalam said.

       Employment was another area of priority, Kalam said, adding that the government has come forward with a National Employment Guarantee Bill, which aimed to provide legal guarantee for at least 100 days of employment to at least one person in every poor household initially in some of the most backward districts of the country. It was a matter of pride that 50 lakh additional families had been given Antyodaya Cards, taking the total up to 2 crore families. On the question of energy security, Kalam said that the government has taken several steps, both economic and diplomatic, to enhance it. Public sector institutions too were playing a key role to stave off competitive challenges and it was imperative that Oil PSUs "leverage their strengths in areas of core competence to optimally fulfil the key role in promoting the national objectives of energy security," the president added.

      While reiterating that economic development, welfare and the socio-economic empowerment of the people as being the government's top-most priorities, Kalam said that the nation was equally aware about the internal and external challenges to national security. "The three main areas of challenge to our national security have been identified as cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgency in the North East region and Naxalite violence in some states. We need a multi-faceted approach to meet this challenge. The machinery for the enforcement of law and order has to be made more effective. We must also deal with the underlying causes that give rise to a feeling of alienation among a section of the people, the large majority of whom wish to live in peace and security,"Kalam said. The government, he also said, remained firmly committed to promoting communal harmony through the National Integration Council. On India's relations with its immediate neighbours, Kalam said that it was the government's earnest desire to work to create a neighbourhood of shared prosperity and peace, based on the conviction and principle of enhanced cooperation and removal of perceived barriers and inhibitions.

      In this context, Kalam referred to India's relations with Pakistan as being of utmost importance. "We are engaged in a serious dialogue with Pakistan and have taken several initiatives in furtherance of that. However, the process of normalisation is critically dependent on Pakistan fulfilling its assurances that it would end its support to terrorist activities," Kalam said. He further said that the recent agreement to start the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarbad from April 7, 2005 and to consider a similar bus service between Amritsar and Lahore, besides a rail service between Munnabao and Khokhrapar were reflective of the two countries desire to enhance people-to- people contacts. Relations with Nepal and Bangladesh, though slightly strained at the moment, would continue to receive the government's attention and concern, the president said. As far as Indo-US ties were concerned, Kalam said it was on a steady course and that "We will continue to build upon the convergences in this relationship, strengthening our bilateral economic interface and the vibrant people-to-people contacts". India's Look East policy, Kalam said had also taken on a new dimension and it was hoped that this would eventually realise its potential.

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