Our people are on the march
My Government intends to create world class airports in India. A
comprehensive Civil Aviation Policy is on the anvil. The process of
modernisation and expansion of the Delhi and Mumbai airports through
public-private partnership has already commenced. Greenfield International
Airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad have been approved. Plans are being made
for the modernization and development of Kolkata and Chennai airports. A
comprehensive plan for the planned development of other regional airports is
under finalisation.
Port infrastructure is critical to economic growth. It is essential to
attract massive private investment for upgradation and modernisation of
ports. The programme for allocation of berths at major Indian ports for
construction through the public-private partnership route is being expanded.
A Model Concession Agreement is being formulated for this purpose.
Our Railways have once again become a source of great pride with a
perceptible improvement in their performance. Government has decided to
build two dedicated high capacity freight corridors - the Eastern Corridor
from Ludhiana to Sonnagar and the Western Corridor from Jawaharlal Nehru
Port Trust to Dadri - with an investment of over Rs.20,000 crores.
Preliminary work will commence on these projects within one year. Keeping in
view the increasing demand for movement of cargo through containers, it has
been decided that this sector, which was the monopoly of the public sector,
will be thrown open to competition and the private sector would be eligible
for running container trains.
My Government places special emphasis on improving the power situation in
the country. The Dabhol Power Project is being revived and is expected to
start generating power this year. The Ministry of Power is facilitating the
setting up of five Ultra Mega Power Projects with a capacity of 4000 MW each
through tariff based competitive bidding, three plants at coastal sites
based on imported coal and the remaining two at pit head sites. More such
power projects will be taken up to bridge the demand-supply gap.
The telecommunications and information technology revolution is one of
the success stories in our reform programme. Owing to the effect of
competition, telecom tariffs have continuously come down, and today we have
among the lowest tariffs in the world. A milestone in this has been the
announcement of the One India Plan by the public sector telecom service
providers BSNL and MTNL recently. Keeping in view the problem of inadequate
availability of spectrum for commercial use, Government proposes to put in
place a mechanism for vacation of spectrum by existing users in Government
to make it available for commercial use in a time bound manner. My
Government will ensure that manufacturing of electronic and telecom hardware
in the country is given a big thrust. New initiatives are being taken to
bring semi-conductor manufacturing to India and build a manufacturing hub.
The Special Economic Zones Act was notified in June, 2005. My government
will ensure creation of required infrastructure and an appropriate framework
to facilitate rapid development of export oriented manufacturing and
services in the country. Drawing on the ideas put forward by a group of
dedicated Non-Resident Indians, Government has constituted a Task Force on
Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Regions. This Task Force
will evolve a policy framework for development of sector specific investment
regions involving world class developers which can attract investment upto
$10 billion in each location.
To attain rapid economic growth, it is essential that we step up
investment in various sectors of the economy. My Government intends
launching a Ten Year National Manufacturing Initiative to make the
manufacturing sector the prime driving force for employment and economic
growth. Emphasis will be placed on labour-intensive sectors such as textiles
& garments, leather & leather goods, food processing, IT hardware &
electronics and auto components. Focused attention will be given to the
growth of our dynamic services sector including software, outsourcing,
tourism, education and healthcare so as to create large employment
opportunities. We will also create a policy framework that attracts Foreign
Direct Investment keeping in view our overall national interest. My
government has taken appropriate decisions to rationalize the FDI policy
with a view to removing unnecessary hurdles and outdated restrictions.
A question being posed to the President during an interaction with the grassroot sanitation workers at the Environmental Santiation Institute at Ahmedabad on 05.01.2005.