Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's speech at the Conference of Congress Chief Ministers

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to Soniaji and to each one of you for this interaction. We are here to take stock of the implementation of some key promises we made to the people while seeking their mandate. We were returned to power, at the Centre, not just on a wave of resentment against the NDA but equally on a wave of hope and faith in our ability to provide a Government that cares. It was a positive vote for a secular and a liberal Government. A forward-looking and modernising Government. An inclusive and transparent Government.

I am pleased to report that in the 16 months that the Government of the United Progressive Alliance has been in office, we have implemented nearly three-fourths of the commitments undertaken in the National Common Minimum Programme.

The most important contribution of our Party in Government has been to bring the Nation back to the politics of moderation and the economics of equity and development. The weaker sections of society - the marginalized, the depressed, the Minorities - feel a new sense of belonging and ownership in the destiny of our Nation.

We have taken several steps to empower Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Minorities, Women, children, the disabled, senior citizens, and people living in the far reaches of this vast land. A Bill to provide for reservation of posts in civil services has been introduced.

We have taken several steps to ensure that commitments already made in respect of the empowerment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are fulfilled in a time-bound manner. A Group of Ministers on Dalit Affairs is monitoring our efforts to promote the welfare of Scheduled Castes. The Department of Personnel is closely monitoring fulfillment of quotas in Government jobs at the Centre. I urge State Governments to also pay special attention to fulfillment of commitments to dalits and tribals at the State level. The Central Government will make sure that at least 80% of the vacancies in SC/ST reservation quota jobs in Government will be filled on a time-bound basis. Scholarships for higher education for SC/ ST students have been significantly increased.

A High Level Committee is putting together information on the social and economic status of the Minorities in India. We have also taken steps to economically and socially empower the Minorities and widen education and employment opportunities for SCs, STs and Minorities in the private sector. We propose to come forward with a New 15-Point Programme for the welfare of Minorities, with specific timelines and targets. State Governments must be pro-active in ensuring the implementation of the proposed welfare schemes.

A path-breaking legislation to protect the land rights of tribals is on the anvil. We have brought legislation to prevent domestic violence against women and to secure their property rights. There can be no better way of empowering the weaker sections of our society than investing in their capabilities and this is what we are doing. We have set up a National Disaster Management Authority to prepare effectively for handling calamities.

The good news is that the economy is on the move. We are witnessing unprecedented sustained growth of the economy at the rate of over 7% per annum for three years in a row. In the last quarter the growth rate touched 8 %. The rate of inflation is under control despite enormous pressures on the energy front. The rate of investment is rising and business expectations are bullish.

Some infrastructure sectors like telecom, railways and aviation are showing rapid improvement. Through adoption of VAT by most states, the tax system has improved vastly. India has become the third most attractive investment destination after US and China. Our efforts towards creating a more peaceful neighbourhood have been noted and we are making steady improvement. On the whole both the polity and the economy are fairly healthy and robust. The progress in our relations with major powers has also boosted confidence in the economy.

If nothing untoward happens we should be able to sustain this momentum. However, it also requires hard work from all of us. There are three specific areas of concern.

First, we need a massive infusion of investment in the infrastructure sector. We have taken important steps to accelerate this process, but much more needs to be done, without delay.

Second, we must improve the fiscal health of the Central and State Governments. The fiscal deficit remains at unacceptably high levels. While revenues are rising, so is expenditure and we are in danger of sliding back on our commitment to fiscal responsibility. State Governments have an especially important task at hand to improve their finances and deploy them more productively.

Third, there has been an alarming decline in agricultural growth in the Ninth and Tenth Plan period. This must be reversed. Without stepping up the rate of growth of income and investment in agriculture it will not be possible for us to step up the overall rate of growth of the economy and generate employment opportunities. This is an area where the state governments have a critical role to play.

Sustained high economic growth is essential to meet the several commitments that we have made to increase spending in areas like employment, education, and health. It is also essential that we improve the quality of governance, at all levels, and implement some of the key initiatives we have taken to redeem our pledge to our people.

Employment Guarantee Act

A key commitment we had made was to end the era of "jobless growth" and revive employment. "Rozgar Badhao" was our solemn pledge. I am happy that the Parliament passed the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. I must express the gratitude of the Government to Soniaji for her unwavering commitment in seeing this historic legislation through Parliament. For the first time, through this Act, we have recognized the right to work as a fundamental legal right. It entitles the rural poor to guaranteed employment for hundred days. The Act provides for a phased roll out with 200 backward districts covering a third of the country being taken up initially. This will be expanded to cover the entire country over the next five years. Under guidelines of the Centre, states are expected to craft locally relevant schemes to generate employment and create productive assets. It is up to the states to make this a creative agenda for rural transformation utilizing the large resources that will flow under this programme.

The NREGA must be a transparent, people's programme. Therefore, methods of estimation and measurement of works and rates of payment for each task should be made transparent. The labour that seeks work must understand what is offered, on what terms and demand its full entitlement. Similarly, there should be complete transparency in maintenance of muster rolls and payment of wages.

Every aspect of implementation will be covered by the Right to Information Act, which is another historical legislation enacted by our Government. People will have general access to public records and information pertaining to the Employment Guarantee Act. Our state governments must take the lead in evolving best practices in the implementation of the Act. I request Chief Ministers to commit their best civil service talent for its implementation. Please use this programme to also strengthen decentralization and panchayati raj in your states. Make this a laboratory for right to information and enhancing transparency and accountability. The Congress Governments must lead the way and set an example for all.

Bharat Nirman

To upgrade rural infrastructure, our government has conceived a time-bound business plan under Bharat Nirman. It is flagship programme for our Government. We are committing over Rs. 1,74,000 crores to it. Bharat Nirman should unleash the growth potential of our villages. In the next 4 years we need to ensure that every habitation has potable drinking water. Every village of over 1000 population, or over 500 in hilly and tribal areas, must have an asphalted road. Every village must have electricity and telephone connectivity. We must ensure that over one crore hectares of land is irrigated. We have to ensure that atleast 60 lakh rural houses are built.

Bharat Nirman will be our legacy. Like the rural employment guarantee Act, its success too will depend critically on your commitment and active support at the State level. Bharat Nirman must build on our commitment to rural employment. I am asking the entire Bharat Nirman programme to be web-enabled so that citizens can monitor progress. Congress governments must lead the effort in Bharat Nirman. It is an agenda that addresses the basic needs of our people in rural areas. I request each Chief Minister to set up his own monitoring system to ensure Bharat Nirman is achieved ahead of schedule in Congress states.

Education

Our investment in education through Sarva Siksha Abhiyan for universal elementary education has been backed by resources and the cess created for it. Funds under Prathmik Shiksha Kosh will be non-lapsable and receipts from the education cess will be available on a rollover basis for financing elementary education and the mid-day meal scheme. Our Government has revised the mid-day meal scheme with higher scales of assistance. It has introduced assistance for cooking a mid-day meal scheme programme for Government-run and Government-aided primary schools. Over 11 crore children will benefit. It has also made provision for mid-day meals during summers in drought-affected areas. Funds for this have been doubled. Funds will not be a constraint if the programme is implemented with commitment. We have also increased scholarship assistance to students specially for students belonging to SC/ ST and Minority communities.

We are committed to widen access and pursue excellence in education and provide humane and affordable health care. The increased financial allocations to Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, the modernization and reform of school and higher education and proposed scholarship programmes will address this challenge. I hope Chief Ministers will pay special attention to education. We have constituted a Knowledge Commission and I urge you to pay close attention to the Commission's work and recommendations.

Health

Health is a priority area for us. I am concerned that in the past decade India has lagged behind in recording an improvement in our health indicators. The Infant Mortality Rate is reducing very slowly and Maternal Mortality Rate is almost static. The state of our health care system and of public health are directly responsible for this state of affairs. We have strengthened the incentives for it through universal cooked mid day meal. Expansion of the Integrated Child Development Scheme should take care of nutrition of preschool children. The National Rural Health Mission is an important initiative. The Mission seeks to provide each village with a health care provider, improve sub health centers with untied grants, improve rural hospitals and implement an inter-sectoral District Plan. I seek your active guidance for this Mission.

It is up to the State Government to ensure that these resources are effectively utilized. Congress states should be role models in this regard. These incentives must lead to improvements in quality. Services like education and health will not improve without accountability to the user. You need to think of ways of doing this. Panchayats should be made to report on record of educational attainments at the gram sabha level. State level reports could also be prepared.

Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare

The growth in agriculture has not been at the required pace in recent years. We have taken a number of steps to alleviate the problems of our farmers, such as improving and enhancing the flow of agricultural credit, increasing investment opportunities and storage facilities, launching a National Horticulture Mission to increase the output and trade in fruits and vegetables, and promoting research and training in agriculture. By 2007 we should have a Krishi Vigyan Kendra in every district, to spread the benefits of advanced research and training to farmers. Large parts of our country are still dependent on rainfall and we will focus on removing the problems of farmers in dry land areas.

The development programmes undertaken under Bharat Nirman will improve rural infrastructure. We have taken several measures to address directly the requirements of rural credit. As against the announced target of Rs 104,500 crore credit disbursement during fiscal 2004-05 to agriculture and allied activities was Rs.115,243 crore. We are committed to the reform and revitalization of rural cooperatives. I was happy to note that the Chief Ministers' Conference endorsed the recommendations of the Vaidyanathan Committee Report. We need commitment of states to put in place the plan to revamp the cooperative credit system to make rural credit cheap for the farmer.

The water agenda is most critical to our agrarian economy. We now have opportunities to undertake a massive Peoples' Mission for Water Conservation. The Ministry of Panchayat Raj is working on a Mission that will orient panchayats and citizens to invest on a water agenda. Over 50 % of NREGA funds are to be spent by the panchayats. A National Rain-fed Areas Authority is being set up to focus on solutions for dry-land agriculture. While the lower end of agriculture in the rain-fed areas can be improved through such an intervention, the higher end needs to diversify. To diversify agriculture we have started the Horticulture Mission. We need to give freedom to our farmers to get the best prices. The Ministry of Agriculture has been trying to persuade states to amend the Agriculture Produce Marketing Laws. I would request Chief Ministers of Congress states to complete this at the earliest.

Urban Renewal

The time has come for us to recognise that with increasing urbanization, urban renewal is also a major development challenge. Basic facilities like drinking water, sanitation, public spaces and public utilities, public transport are not available in most of our towns and cities. State Governments have to grapple with this challenge in an imaginative manner, given the constraint of resources. We are launching an Urban Renewal Mission on Pandit Nehru's birthday on 14 November through which funds can be made available, provided certain urban reform measures are undertaken. We should adopt a humane and development-oriented approach to dealing with slum improvement and clearance. People's rights and needs must be recognized and forward-looking policy options considered to make our urban areas liveable.

Right to Information

The Right to Information is a powerful tool to empower the citizen. Congress governments must realize its creative potential and use this new law effectively to create accountability in governance. The Right to Information Bill approved by Parliament imposes obligations on Government agencies to disclose information on their own. This will reduce cost of access to information and can be a powerful instrument for good governance.

Each state must figure out the best way to improve its delivery system. Improvements in delivery are critically dependent on the extent of citizen empowerment and decentralization. The 73rd & 74th amendments were conceived by Rajivji and introduced by the Congress government. We have advanced quite a bit on the panchayat raj front but urban decentralization is a non starter in most states. Panchayat and urban local body empowerment must be an article of faith for Congress Chief Ministers. They should lead the way and show how the power of the people can be used to improve governance.

Internal Security

I have repeatedly emphasized my concern with the manner in which we are dealing with internal security challenges facing the country. I draw your attention to my address to the Conference of Chief Ministers on internal security and the conference of DGPs and Superintendents of Police. All our plans for economic development will amount to nothing if we cannot ensure the rule of law. Precisely for this reason, those who wish to place hurdles in our path will fish in troubled waters, and pro-actively muddy the waters. We must be alert to such threats and conspiracies, and respond intelligently and creatively. Often innocent and law-abiding citizens become victims of propaganda and circumstance. Often it is their extreme deprivation and a sense of hopelessness that drives them into the arms of anti-social and anti-national groups.

We must also sensitize the police and security forces to ensure that they function in a humane, but firm, manner. No Government can ever accept violence against any section of society. It is not just our duty. It is a mark of our culture. How can we allow the unacceptably high incidence of violence against women in our country? How can we accept attacks on dalits? How can we accept attacks on Minorities, in any part of the country? This politics of hatred goes counter to our civilisational ethos. Our management of law and order, of internal security, must reflect our civilisational values.

The Congress Party and our State Governments must set an example in dealing with such complex challenges to our society, our Constitution, our culture and values.

Governance

If we look around, what is the happiness index of the average citizen vis a vis the government? My own surmise is that there is considerable dissatisfaction with governance and the agents of governance. Tolerance of dissent, respect for minority opinion and compassion to the weak are virtues for any government. Congress has historically a tradition of promoting these values. We should strive to create and sustain a political culture that embraces these values. Austerity in public life should be the distinguishing feature of the Congress leadership. It can never be an outdated virtue in this country that values sacrifice and not opulence.

The people of our country are impatient for a better quality life, impatient for new opportunities. As I have said before, on many occasions, we will be failing them if we do not think innovatively and act with courage. We must recognize the challenges and the opportunities we face. We have set up an Administrative Reforms Commission which we hope will make practical suggestions for improving governance.

Bold initiatives are called for on the economic front. I would like to see an improvement in our public finances at all levels of Government, especially State Governments. We must reduce subsidies for the rich and divert these resources into investment and employment generation. There is an urgent need for the re-structuring of public expenditure. If we want to generate resources for investment and employment generation then we must make bold to generate revenues and, equally importantly, alter the profile of expenditure.

The cutting edge of governance is in the States. The Central Government can at best offer funds and propose policies. The cutting edge of Government, the delivery of public services, the interface between Government and the people, is at the State level. The citizen's confidence in our governance systems is shaped by how you, at the State level, at the village level, manage the affairs of the State. Our Congress Chief Ministers must show the way and set an example for others to follow. Our response must be adequate to the challenge at hand. Both in terms of protecting law-abiding citizens and in ensuring their welfare and well-being.

On the one hand, the economy is moving at a good pace and there is an air of optimism. On the other hand, there is persistent cynicism about Governments and about governance. We cannot ignore the growing desire of an increasingly informed people for better governance, for higher standards of morality and for courage in dealing with the challenges at hand. Populism and populist gimmicks no longer impress people. Hard work does. Promises like free electricity and other promises that cannot be sustained will not fetch results. Actual performance does make a difference.

I urge our Congress Chief Ministers to make that difference. I also urge our Party to provide the interface between Government and the People more actively. The Party must explain our policies to the people. The Party must alert the Government to its mistakes and faults. It is a vital two-way role that the Party must play.

I do sincerely believe that the Party must educate the people about the limitations under which a Government functions so that false expectations are not generated. Our people are patriotic. They understand what is in the best interests of the country. But this must be explained to them. Be it our economic policy, or our foreign policy, or our national security policy. The Party must explain what our thinking in Government is to the people. It must ensure that false expectations are not generated. It must also ensure that deliberate disinformation by vested interests is countered. The people of India will never question the patriotism of the Congress Party. Let no one question our intentions and motivations, even if they disagree with our policies. We have only one intention and one motivation. To build an India that is strong, that is prosperous, that is liberal and caring, that is inclusive and secular. The India that our great leaders, almost all of them lifelong Congressmen and women, fought for and died for. The future of India is safe in the caring hand of the Congress.

Jai Hind.