The Hindu Business Line : PM for development strategy to ensure high economic growth

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, with the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, at the meeting of the full Planning Commission in the Capital on Thursday. — Kamal Narang

New Delhi , Sept. 9

THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Thursday underlined the urgent need for a development strategy that puts in place corrective measures to achieve a sustained high economic growth rate.

In his opening remarks at the full meeting of the Plan panel, which he heads as the Chairman, Dr Singh said this would accommodate a greater degree of inclusiveness and lessen the sense of alienation among people who felt left out of the reform process. He said the Government would pay greater attention to agriculture and rural development and to reduce regional imbalances in the process of development. Basic social services, such as education and health, would also require sharper focus, he said.

Later, briefing mediapersons on the deliberations of the full meeting, the Deputy Chairman, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said on the allocation of Rs 10,000-crore block provision in the Union Budget made to the Plan panel, it was decided that Rs 4,725 crore, amounting to 40.13 per cent of this amount, would be allocated to the states. A major new initiative was the allocation of an additional Rs 1,232 crore to the Mid-day Meal Programme, which in future would be part of the states' share of Central assistance.

Other state programmes receiving sizable additional allocations include the Accelerated Irrigation Programme (AIBP), the National Social Assistance Programme (NASP), the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (RSVY) and the National Slum Development Programme.

Going by Thursday's decision, the education sector has been provided the highest increase of nearly 85 per cent over the Budget estimate for 2003-04, at Rs 5,057.08 crore for the current fiscal. The farm sector, too, has been given a nearly 50 per cent increase, primarily for the National Horticulture Mission and Animal Husbandry. A new Food-for-Work Scheme is to be launched in the poorest 150 districts by the Ministry of Rural Development, as announced in the Budget, for which a sum of Rs 2,020 crore has been made. The Railways would receive an increase of nearly 43 per cent over the budgeted, at Rs 8,056 crore, while drinking water supply would get Rs 3,548 crore for the current fiscal.

A beginning has also been made for a new scheme such as the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas for water harvesting and restoration of water tables, upgradation of 100 ITIs, desalination of seawater and the Sethu Samudram Project.

Dr Ahluwalia said it was decided to reconstitute four sub-committees on creating an investor-friendly climate, removing barriers to internal trade, empowering panchayi raj institutions and governance reforms. As a measure of his commitment, the Prime Minister himself would chair two of them as part of their reconstitution, Dr Ahluwalia said.

On the transfer of Centrally sponsored scheme to the states, a Committee of NDC had gone into the issue, but it has been decided to revise its report by the new government, which would submit it to the NDC after finalising its views.

On the approach to the Mid-Term Appraisal of the 10th Plan, Dr Ahluwalia said the experience of the first two years of the Plan warranted a review of the Plan targets, not only in terms of growth but also of social objectives. It was noted that the interventions proposed in the Plan for high and stable growth of agriculture had not made headway; neither had those proposed for food and nutrition security.