Our people are on the march

Honourable Members,

My Government has given the highest priority to the welfare of our farmers and to the development of our rural economy. There has been a 60% increase in credit to the agricultural sector. Long term measures for the revival of cooperative credit institutions, as recommended by the Vaidyanathan Committee, are being implemented. The Central and State Governments have arrived at a consensus on a revival package for the Short Term Rural Cooperative Credit Structure involving a financial package of about Rs.14,000 crore, and linked to reforms in the cooperative sector. A revival package for the Long Term Cooperative Credit Structure is also being studied. My Government is committed to having a common market for agricultural produce so that farmers get better farmgate prices. This is being done by making warehouse receipts negotiable instruments; amending the Essential Commodities Act; working with states to amend local Agriculture Produce Marketing Acts and expanding the food supply and storage chain.

With a view to cover the risks involved in agricultural operations, the scope and coverage of the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme has been expanded. My Government is committed to doing all that is possible to protect the livelihoods of small and marginal farmers. Considering the agro-climatic variation and consequent advantage for production of different types of fruits and vegetables in the country, the Government is paying special attention towards the development of horticulture. With this objective, the Government has launched the National Horticulture Mission during 2005-06 with a total outlay of Rs. 2300 crore for the remaining period of the Tenth Five Year Plan.

Better water management holds the key to agricultural growth in the country. Water use efficiency can be greatly improved through the installation of drip, sprinkler and fertigation systems. There is also a need to address the needs of regions which are still dependent on rainfall. A National Rainfed Area Authority is being established which will look into all the dimensions of managing water resources in these areas. In addition to the one crore hectares being brought under irrigation under Bharat Nirman, my government has also begun work on elements of the interlinking of peninsular rivers, beginning with work on two such links.

My Government is in the process of setting up of a National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority which will be the nodal authority for release, import and post-release monitoring of GM crops and seeds. The quality control of GM seeds is an important issue and it is proposed to strengthen the State Seed Testing Laboratories. To promote bio-fuel, a National Bio-Diesel Programme is proposed to be launched in 2006-07.

Honourable Members,

In order to accelerate economic growth, investment in infrastructure is a necessity. Government is committed to developing world-class infrastructure to make our economy more competitive and to make every citizen feel proud. While the public sector will continue to play an important role, it is necessary to create a policy and regulatory environment that attracts long term private investment in infrastructure. The Committee on Infrastructure under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, is vigorously pursuing this objective.

My Government has set up a Special Purpose Vehicle called the India Infrastructure Finance Corporation Limited to provide long term debt funds to commercially viable projects in infrastructure sectors. This will ensure that infrastructure projects which may be rendered unviable due to long gestation periods, are not ignored due to lack of long term debt in the financial markets.

The National Highways Development Project is being implemented as a national priority. The work of four-laning of the Golden Quadrilateral is nearing completion. An Action Plan for further development of the national highways network involving a total investment of Rs.1,75,000 crore over the next seven years has been finalised. This includes four laning of an additional 10,000 kilometers of national highways carrying high volume of traffic, and six-laning of the Golden Quadrilateral. A new Model Concession Agreement has been approved by Government to facilitate public-private partnership in roads.

The President with a group of farmers from Karur District, Tamil Nadu, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in April 2004.