Aiming to herald a period of “healing” after the “fractured policies of previous years,” the Narendra Modi Government on Monday unveiled its vision for changing the face of the country through high economic growth, elimination of poverty, lowering of inflation and creation of infrastructure.
laying down the future course of the BJP Government in his address to a joint-session of the two Houses in the central hall, President Pranab Mukherjee assured of “pukka housing” with 24x7 power and water connection to all citizens in the next one-decade. The Government also said it would practice a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and crack down on corruption.
The President said bringing the economy “back on track” would be one of the top priorities of the Government. He said the Government would rationalise and simplify the tax regime, which is conducive for growth and investment and implement a Goods and Services Tax regime.
The President said the Government would take action against hoarding and black marketing and make all efforts to bring back black money stashed abroad.
The Government promised to make all minority communities equal partners in the country’s progress as it regretted their poor status even after over six-decades of Independence and announced that it would spread modern and technical education among them and launch a National Madrasa Modernisation Programme. “My Government is committed to making all minorities equal partners in India’s progress,” he said.
“A national plan will be chalked out in consultation with State Gover-nments to effectively curb incidents of communal violence and the challenges posed by left-wing extremism,” he said.
The President’s speech lasted 50 minutes, parts of which were later read out in Hindi by Vice-President Hamid Ansari.
Asserting that the Government will adopt a policy of “zero tolerance” towards terrorism, the President said: “The Government will maintain utmost vigil in the area of internal security. A policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism, extremism, riots and crime will be pursued. The States will be assisted in modernising police infrastructure and equipment to tackle new forms of terrorism including narco terrorism and cyber threats.”
“The Government will take steps to equip security forces with latest technology and to improve their working conditions,” he further said.like terrorism, the Government said it would also adopt a similar stand on crime against women and pledged 33 per cent reservation for women in lok Sabha and State Assemblies. The President also gave the slogan of “Beti bachao, beti padao.”
Noting that this was the first election in 30 years to give a clear verdict in favour of a single party, the President said he applauded the wisdom of the people for having voted for strong leadership, stability, honesty and development in a resurgent India in which corruption will have no place.
He said the Government will revive ‘Brand India’, riding on its strengths of five ‘T’s, three Ds and three Ss. The five Ts are Tradition, Talent, Tourism, Trade and Technology while the three Ds are Democracy, Demography and Demand and the three Ss are Skill, Speed and Scale. India will also pursue foreign policy on the basis of “enlightened nationalism” and mutually beneficial relationships.
The BJP Government committed itself to “directly engaging people in governance” by making use of social media. The Government promised cooperative-federalism and sought friendly and constructive cooperation with States.
The promise of rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits back in Kashmir Valley and cleaning of the Ganga River, was hailed with loud thumping of desks from the audience that included MPs of all political parties.
The Government also promised to initiate a new style of working by creating Wi-Fi zones in critical areas, “digital India,” “e-engineering” and setting up of broadband in rural areas. It said it would have IITs and IIMs in each State. A total of 50 tourist circuits with focus on pilgrimage tourism is also planned.Modernisation and reform in Railways is the top priority, with the focus on hill States, the North-East and diamond quadrilateral project of high speed trains.
“lack of robust infrastructure is one of India’s major impediments. The Government will chalk out an ambitious infrastructure development programme to be implemented in the next ten years,” the President said.A “fast track, investment-friendly and predictable” public private partnership mechanism would be put in place for this purpose, with modernisation and revamping of the Railways being on top of the infrastructure agenda.
The President said low cost airports would be developed to promote air connectivity to smaller towns.It would also attempt to bridge the urban-rural divide in the country. Under the Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana for tribals, the Government would provide electricity to tribal hamlets and connect them with roads, Mukherjee said.
The Government would be proactive in bringing reforms in the criminal justice system, bring more efficiency and double the number of judges in lower courts, modernize them and focus on reducing high pendency of cases.
Committed to giving high priority to water security, Mukherjee said: “There is a need for seriously considering all options, including linking of rivers, where feasible, for ensuring optimal use of our water resources to prevent the recurrence of floods and drought.”
The Government will nurture water conservation and ground water recharge by harnessing rain water through ‘Jal Sanchay’ and ‘Jal Sinchan’. Micro-irrigation will be popularised to ensure ‘per drop-more crop’.
Expressing concern over suicides by farmer, Mukherjee said: “Agriculture is the source of livelihood for majority of our people. In the recent past, our farmers have been under severe stress with hopelessness driving some of them to suicide. My Government is committed to reversing this unfortunate trend.”
The Government will increase investment in agriculture, both public and private, especially in agri-infrastructure. Steps will also be taken to convert farming into a profitable venture through scientific practices and agro-technology, he said.
The Government will also adopt a ‘National land Use Policy’ to facilitate scientific identification of non-cultivable land and its strategic development, he added.Small-scale industries and handicraft sectors will be encouraged by providing them enhanced technological, marketing and investment support.
“Export potential of this sector will be encouraged. My Government will make every effort to improve the working conditions of our weavers in particular. It will also set up a task force to review and revive our MSME sector,” he said.
Mukherjee emphasised on the need to transform India into a globally competitive manufacturing hub powered by skill, scale and speed.”To this end, the Government will set up world class investment and industrial regions, particularly along the Dedicated Freight Corridors and Industrial Corridors spanning the country,” he said.
On the foreign policy, the President said while the Government was committed to building a peaceful, stable and economically inter-linked neighbourhood, “we will never shy away from raising issues of concern to us on a bilateral level. We emphasise that the future of shared prosperity can only be built on the foundation of stability in the region, which requires sensitivity to security concerns and an end to export of terrorism to neighbours.”