The Hindu Business Line : Special NDC meet on agriculture during Budget recess

The Government intends to convene a special meeting of the National Development Council during the budget recess next year to deal exclusively with the issues pertaining to food and agriculture as admitted by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, during the concluding session of the NDC here, the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said on Monday. Addressing a news conference to discuss the outcome of the daylong NDC meeting held here on December 9, Mr Ahulwalia said that most of the Chief Ministers drew attention to problems plaguing the farm sector, growth of quality employment and creation of non-farm employment.

On the reported protests by States in the funding pattern of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) from 75 per cent to 50 per cent in the NDC, Mr Ahluwalia said, "total resource are fixed. The SSA has achieved remarkable success at the enrolment stage but now the focus must shift to secondary education. How much start we can achieve in secondary education would depend on resources".

Approach Paper

He made it clear that the Approach Paper did not look at disinvestments as a means to raise resources for funding the Plan. Mr Ahluwalia also dismissed the contention that the States lacked resources for social sector investment. "As per the recent data by the RBI, the States have invested Rs 45,000 crore in Treasury Bills".

He said while the Government would take a lead in building and operating social sector, substantial private investments could be taken up in infrastructure either through public-private partnership or directly by private sector for which model concession agreements had been evolved. He said that against the 10th Plan achievement of 30,000 mw of new addition in power sector, the 11th Plan proposes 70,000 mw, which could not be through budgetary resources alone.

Power needs

The power sector needs Rs 5 lakh crore in the next five years and for this the sector should be viable enough to attract investment. He said the transmission and distribution losses should be brought down to 15 per cent from the extant 40 per cent, which could be feasible as was demonstrated, by Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, which had brought down T&D losses to 18 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. In reply to another query, Mr Ahluwalia said the country could absorb three to four times the current level of foreign direct investments (FDI), a substantial portion of which could be on the infrastructure sector.

Mr Ahulwalia said that the NDC approved the report of the sub-committee on debt outstandings of the States against the National Small Savings Fund. He said that on the cooperative credit system, the Prime Minister has said the government accepted the recommendations of the Vaidyanathan Committee entailing a huge cost.

The Asian Development Bank, he said, has approved an agreement with the Union Government to give a loan of $ one billion. The programme would be implemented in States that would come forward to sign an MoU with the Centre and NABARD to implement the recommendations of the Vaidyanathan Committee.

Mr Ahluwalia said that in his concluding remarks the Prime Minister has assured the States that if some issues have not received the attention in the Approach Paper, the Plan panel was obliged to consider those issues afresh before the fresh draft of the 11th Plan is prepared.

He said the Plan panel would prepare the 11th Plan on the basis of directions given in the draft document as well as suggestions made in the NDC meeting so as to place the 11th Plan document before the next NDC meeting at the earliest.