Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh chaired two meetings today to review the Government's efforts to improve the economic status of the farming and weavers' communities.

The Prime Minister met members of the Planning Commission and reviewed the present state of Indian agriculture and the problems facing farmers. The Prime Minister expressed concern that not enough was being done to address all the problems of the farming community. Dr Abhijit Sen, Member, Planning Commission made a detailed presentation on various initiatives of the Government, including Bharat Nirman, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, National Rainfed Area Authority. He also referred to the steep increase in agricultural credit, the reduction in rate of interest on farm loans, and investment in irrigation. The Prime Minister expressed concern about state of agricultural research and extension services for farmers. The meeting emphasized the importance of revitalizing Krishi Vigyan Kendras. A full meeting of the Planning Commission will be convened to discuss the state of agriculture and issues pertaining to farmers' welfare and well-being.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, all the members of the Commission and the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Later, the Prime Minister also chaired a meeting to review implementation of programmes for the handloom sector and for handloom weavers. The Union textiles ministry was asked to speedily implement initiatives announced in the Union budget and focus on the development of 230 major handloom clusters across the country. The Prime Minister said that the Government is committed to improving the economic status of weavers and to modernizing the handloom sector.

The meeting was attended by Union ministers for finance, commerce and industry and textiles and senior officials of these ministries and the Prime Minister's Office.