The President, Ms Pratibha Patil, has said that the Government will work on five important challenges the country is facing today. On the other hand, she hoped that the country will soon be back in the high growth trajectory of 8 to 9 per cent.
Addressing the joint session of Parliament, she described the first challenge as the livelihood security for the vast majority of population. The Government will continue to work for removal of poverty, hunger and illiteracy.
The second will be to achieve economic security through rapid and broadbased development and creation of productive job. The third is to ensure energy security for rapid growth while the fourth challenge is realising development goals without jeopardising ecological and environmental security. The fifth is guarantee for internal and external security within the framework of a just, plural, secular and inclusive democracy.
Talking about the overall economic growth scenario, she said, "The long term fundamentals of the Indian economy remain robust. India’s growth prospect arises from factors such as high domestic savings and investment rates, favaourable demographics and a stable democratic polity. My Government is confident that it will soon steer the country back to high growth trajectory of 8 to 9 per cent."
Global uncertainty has brought down the growth rate to 8.4 per cent in 2010-11 to around 7 per cent during the current year. However, the President felt that the growth number is still healthy considering current global trends.
Taking cues from number of incidences involving denying rights to disabled persons, she announced that a separate Department of Disability Affairs is proposed to be set up. This will provide greater focus on addressing issues confronting persons with disabilities. The Government is considering a new legislation for persons with disabilities to replace the existing Act.
>Full text of the President's address to the joint session of Parliament