Date:01/03/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/03/01/stories/2006030100721600.htm

Back Redeeming `Aam Aadmi'

Our success this year is due to our unrelenting emphasis on fiscal prudence through enhanced revenues and expenditure control, monetary stability and management of the external debt. However, our success should not tempt us to stray from this path, and we shall not do so.

One of the important National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) obligations was to focus on agriculture: we have done so, and the output of foodgrains is expected to be 209.3 million tonnes, which is about 5 million tonnes more than in the previous year.

The NCMP mandates the Government to promote employment: while creating permanent and quality jobs in the productive sectors, for providing immediate relief to the poor, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was launched on February 2.

In the current year, under a clutch of schemes including the Food for Work programme, a sum of Rs 11,700 crore is expected to be spent on rural employment.

The NCMP mandates the Government to enhance investment: the investment rate has increased steadily from 25.3 per cent in 2002-03 to 30.1 per cent in 2004-05.

Several indicators point to continued buoyancy of capital formation in the economy.

Work is on at full steam on the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) and the North-South, East-West Corridors.

As against 1.86 km per day completed prior to May 2004, the schemes are progressing at the rate of 4.48 km per day. 96 per cent of the GQ will be completed by June 2006 and the Corridors will be completed by 2008-end.

There is also substantial and visible progress in improving our ports, airports and rural roads.

As the year draws to a close, I look back with satisfaction that the promises we made to the common citizen - the aam aadmi - have been substantially redeemed.