The Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Committee on Rural Infrastructure and approved the proposal for "Bharat Nirman", which will entail an investment of over Rs 1,74,000 crore over a four year period (2005-2009) in six critical areas of rural infrastructure.

"Bharat Nirman" will bring an additional one crore hectares under assured irrigation; connect all villages that have a population of 1000 (or 500 in hilly/tribal areas) with a road; construct 60 lakh houses for the poor; provide drinking water to over 74,000 new habitations; reach electricity to 1,25,000 villages that still do not have electricity and offer electricity connection to 2.3 crore households; and give telephone connectivity to the remaining 66,822 villages.

The Prime Minister told the meeting that "Bharat Nirman is the most important initiative of the UPA Government this year, offering a 'New Deal to Rural India'. It will emphasise outcomes and not just outlays." He urged the implementing ministries and State Governments to improve the government's "absorptive capacity" so that the "system does not become a constraint on our ability to deliver. "Bharat Nirman should be implemented with a sense of urgency and dedication at all levels of the Government", he added.

The meeting was attended by Union ministers for Finance, Rural Development, Power, Panchayat Raj, Surface Transport, Communications & IT, Water Resources, the Deputy Chairman and Members of the Planning Commission, apart from senior officials of the Prime Minister's Office and the relevant Ministries.

A detailed presentation was made on the four year agenda for implementation of the projects under "Bharat Nirman".