The Hindu Business Line : Economic benefits not reaching the needy

New Delhi, Jan. 25 The President, Ms Pratibha Patil, has admitted that the benefits of the current upsurge in the Indian economy are not reaching all sections of the country’s population.

“Our economy is growing at unprecedented rates and we can be confident that we will be able to achieve the growth targets we have set for ourselves. This century will belong to Asia and India will be one of the main driving forces…The benefits (of this), however, have not reached all sections of our population,” she said in her Republic Day-eve address to the nation here on Friday.

Ms Patil noted that one cannot look at the future without first addressing the under-privileged and disadvantaged sections of society. “We must ensure that they too should find a place to enjoy the sunshine of the country’s growth and development,” she added. Towards this goal, the Government has launched several flagship programmes such as Bharat Nirman, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, the Rural Health Mission, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan.

But the problem in these lies in their implementation and effective delivery mechanisms, which can be guaranteed only through the involvement of local self-government bodies. Moreover, there is a lack of awareness among the beneficiaries themselves about schemes meant for their welfare and development. “This means that they are unable to avail themselves of the benefits meant for them. This situation needs to be rectified through awareness programmes. We need a band of committed social workers and civil society members to spread awareness and to share the onus of implementation by joining hands with the Government,” the President suggested.

The President also expressed concern over the slow growth in the agriculture sector and the incidence of farmers committing suicide

“The Green Revolution showed that we could through our efforts become self-sufficient in food production and later we replicated this success in milk production as well. Today, once again we need to give agriculture an impetus, to enhance productivity and to make our rural areas, centres of agro-processing and other related industries,” she added.