India self-sufficient in agricultural production: Sahu

Hyderabad, Aug 4 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Rural Development Chandra Sekhar Sahu today said India had become self-sufficient in agricultural production and was the tenth industralised country in the world and the sixth nation to have gone into outer space to conquer nature for the benefit of people.

Inaugurating a one-year Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Development Management (PGDRDM) course of the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) here, he said the entire world was keenly observing with rapt attention the rapid economic growth of the country.

Mr Sahu, however, said the benefits of the upsurge of the economy had not reached all sections of the society and more so the rural people of the country. ''This is a matter of concern to the planners, as well as the agencies invovled in rural development and the inclusive growth would be the dominant themes that would drive the policies for the Eleventh Plan period,'' he added.

Stating that 50 per cent of the villages had poor socio-economic conditons, the minister said rural development as an integrated concept of growth and poverty elimination had been of paramount concern in all the consequent five year plans.

He said policies and programmes had been designed to alleviate rural poverty, which had been one of the primary objectives of planned development in the country.

The Minister said the NIRD, which was an autonomous organisation, had been contributing largely for the socio-economic well-being of the rural people in India.

NIRD Director General B K Sinha said the PGDRDM offers a range of courses that addresses key policy and management issues in rural development management. The course also provides insights on development and management issues and imparts analytical skills of planning and management of rural development programmes, Mr Sinha added.

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