President addresses Joint Session of Parliament

New Delhi, Feb 23 (UNI) Following is the text of President A P J Abdul Kalam's address to the Joint Session of Parliament.

Honourable Members, This is a very special year for our country. We are celebrating the 60th anniversary of our Independence. This year, we also observe the 150th anniversary of the First War of Indian Independence and the Centenary of Satyagraha. These are occasions for us to renew our commitment to building a strong, modern, inclusive, secular and dynamic India.

2. I would like to begin, by expressing my sincere condolences for the innocent victims of the das-tard-ly and cynical terrorist attack on Samjhauta Express. Our hearts go out to the families of these innocent people. We should not allow this tragic event to affect our common quest for normalization of relations between India and Pakistan.

3. We meet here today at a time of great optimism about our economic performance and prospects. The last three years have recorded an average annual rate of growth of national income of over 8%. By all estimates, we will grow by close to 9% in the current year. This augurs well for the launch of the Eleventh Five Year Plan. My Government has set a target of attaining an annual growth rate of 9% during the Eleventh Plan. Given current trends and the general policy direction, this is a feasible proposition. However, economic growth is not an end in itself. It is a means by which we hope to generate more employment, distribute incomes more equitably, across social groups and regions, and liberate the poorest of the poor from the scourge of poverty, ignorance and disease.

4. My government recognizes that keeping a check on inflation is an essential element of any strategy for inclusive growth. During the first half of 2006, my Government took a number of steps to insulate our people from the fallout of the steep increase in global oil prices and resurgence in global commodity prices. However, in recent months, the rate of inflation has shown an upward trend. As growth and investment accelerate rapidly and incomes rise, there is bound to be a rising demand for all products, particularly products of day?to?day consumption. This rise in demand has to be met by a rise in supply which takes some time to materialize. During the last eight weeks, my Government has taken a number of fiscal and monetary steps to moderate inflation. Besides, a number of steps have been taken to improve supplies of essential commodities. My Government will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that the poor, are not adversely affected by inflation. This is our solemn commitment.

5. To sustain the growth process and to fiscally empower the Government to address its commitment to inclusive growth, it is essential that our public finances are managed with prudence and wisdom. Fiscal responsibility is not an academic obsession. It is a prudent course of action aimed at ensuring the sustainability of our growth process, ensuring equity and keeping inflation under check.

6. My Government has decided that the goal of the Eleventh Plan would be to ensure that economic growth is not just faster, but also more inclusive and equitable. The Eleventh Plan strategy will aim at putting the economy on a sustainable, accelerated, growth trajectory and creating productive employment opportunities across the country in all sectors of the economy. The Approach Paper of the Eleventh Five Year Plan has identified nine major challenges facing the economy. These are: (1) regaining agricultural dynamism; (2) changing employment patterns and generating new jobs; (3) providing essential public services to the poor; (4) increasing manufacturing competitiveness; (5) developing human resources; (6) building world class infrastructure; (7) protecting the environment; (8) improving rehabilitation and resettlement practices; (9) improving governance.

By addressing these challenges, we will address the larger challenge of inclusive growth.

7. My Government is building a new architecture of inclusive growth.

This architecture consists of Bharat Nirman, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the National Rural Health Mission, the strengthened and expanded Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the universalisation of the Mid-day Meal and ICDS Programmes and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Considerable progress has been made under each of these flagship programmes of the Government. Most of the yearly targets have been met for projects undertaken through Bharat Nirman, except in a few States.

Programmes for rural roads, rural electrification, rural telephony, rural housing and rural drinking water supply are on track. States that are lagging behind, especially the less developed parts of the country, have been urged to pay greater attention to implementation issues.

8. The National Rural Health Mission aims to improve the health status of people through a partnership between the Central and State Governments, Panchayati Raj institutions and the community in the management of primary health facilities. The Mission is focused on improving public health indicators through decentralised district level planning. About 3.2 lakh village-based accredited women social health activists (ASHA) have so far been inducted in 18 demographically weaker states.

9. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission is under implementation in 63 cities. City Development Plans have already been prepared for 61 cities, charting out their vision and goals in urban governance and development. These plans also include investment plans with a focus on provision of city-wide urban infrastructure services such as water supply, sanitation, drainage, basic services and social housing to the urban poor. So far, 102 projects for slum improvement and development have been sanctioned.

Our cities desperately need major reform of urban governance and improved and democratic functioning of our municipalities. This is being encouraged and a new draft law to facilitate street vendors is being finalized in consultation with all stakeholders.

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