Date:02/03/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/03/02/stories/2005030205401100.htm

National

Manmohan unveils Government's report card

By Our Special Correspondent

SHOWING THE ACCOUNT: The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, with the UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, and other leaders of the alliance at a function got up to release the `Report to the People-I' in New Delhi on Tuesday. — Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

NEW DELHI, MARCH 1 . The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, today unveiled the "report card" of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) that seeks to inform the nation about the steps taken by the Government to implement the commitments made in the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) and the other initiatives promised in subsequent policy statements.

Christened `Report to the People-I,' the document was released by Dr. Singh ahead of the UPA-Left coordination committee meeting here this evening.

Briefing mediapersons,the media adviser to the Prime Minister, Sanjay Baru, said Dr. Singh had undertaken this exercise to report to the people and the allies of the work done in the nine months since the UPA took charge.

On the timing of the report, Mr. Baru said it was conceived as a document to complement the budget. Henceforth, the report will be released at the end of every calendar year so that it can be used as a ready reckoner for discussions. It was also testimony to the Government's commitment to ushering in transparency in public policy.

In the report, the Government claims to have fulfilled more than half the specific promises made in the NCMP. Offering an update on its policies and programmes between May 2004 and February 2005, the report also claims that many of the other promises made were being implemented.

The report seeks to underline that "few governments have in the past ever maintained such a close watch on the pace and effectiveness of the implementation of the promises made in a manifesto as has the UPA Government.'' Acknowledging the role of the National Advisory Council in conceptualising and formulating critical development initiatives, the report card sought to explain whatever delay there might have been in keeping all the promises.

According to the report, "nine months is not a long time in the tenure of any government; moreover, the UPA Government was busy in the first two months with the presentation of the Union Budget 2004-05. With just seven full months of working time, it has been able to implement — or begin the implementation of — most of the important commitments made in the NCMP. In its second year in office, the UPA will be able to move beyond these commitments to lay the foundation for sustained long-term economic growth and development, based on a commitment to equity and efficiency and to the welfare of all sections of society, especially the weaker sections and minorities."