Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's address on the occasion of distribution of the Prime Minister's Shram Awards for the Years 2005, 2006 & 2007

I am very happy to participate in this very important function to give away the Shram Awards. Let me begin by congratulating whole heartedly the award-winners. You have shown exemplary commitment and dedication to work, and have made your organisation and country proud. Your accomplishments are indeed extraordinary. I am sure your work will be a major source of inspiration for others to strive higher.

In the last six decades, our country has travelled a long distance on the path of economic development. The credit for this goes in no small measure to the millions of men and women, who have toiled to build India's physical infrastructure, our roads, ports, airports, hydroelectric projects and giant industrial complexes all over our country. It is their tireless hard work that has enabled our country to emerge as the strong economy of today. The Shram awards honour not only the work of the awardees but all workers of our country organised as well as unorganised whose effort makes life easier for others, and without whom we would not be able to move ahead as a nation. The awards remind us of the value and dignity of labour. The award winners being honoured today also symbolize the new work ethos and a new work culture that are needed to meet the new challenges that face our economy and our polity.

The recognition of the contribution of labour for individual and national growth is part of India's traditions. Our culture recognises a worker as Vishwakarma - the creator of the universe itself. Our Government is alive to the great importance of the working class and the human element in industrial & agricultural production. We believe that working men and women are the most precious and most important assets of our country. Our effort is to promote the wellbeing of all sections of workers, especially those in the unorganised sector, who comprise over ninety percent of our total workforce. We are committed to creating conditions that will encourage individual initiative, ingenuity, and acquisition of new skills.

As you all know, India's economic performance in the last few years has been truly impressive. Our country is poised to move to the trajectory of sustained high economic growth, which is so essential for fighting mass poverty, hunger and disease that still afflict millions of our people. Our aim is a growth rate of 9 to 10 percent in the medium term. But this will not happen automatically. There are deficiencies we will have to remove and strengths that we will have to acquire.

To achieve our goals and our ambitions, we will have to enhance productivity across all sectors of the economy. Our resources are limited and need to be utilized optimally. I would urge all of you present here to pay greater attention to cutting costs and boosting the quality of the products and services that our country produces.

Our work ethic as a people also needs to be greatly improved. Both managements and workers have a critical role in bringing about this much needed change. Doing a repetitive task mechanically can be draining. But the same work can become far more fulfilling when shram becomes seva; when it is infused with a meaning and a sense of purpose.

We live in an increasingly integrated world where new knowledge, information and skills have become critical determinants of economic development. We therefore as a nation need to pay much greater attention to education and skill development. Our country needs an enabling environment which encourages and rewards innovation in all walks of our economic life. We need more responsive training systems and institutions. We must also ensure that our women have equitable access to education and training opportunities so that their representation in the nation's workforce can progressively increase. Through our skill development initiatives we have been working to achieve the objective of having a skilled workforce that can meet the requirements of growing economy in the 21st Century, besides generating employment opportunities for our young people. We intend to accelerate our efforts in this direction in the future.

Let me conclude by once again congratulating all the winners of the Shram Awards for the year 2005, 2006 and 2007 and the organisations they work in. I hope and trust that they wil continue to display the qualities that have won them this highly prestigious national honour. In particular, I would urge all of you present here to resolve today to make our work-places more disciplined. With these words, I wish all of you success for the future. May your path be blessed.