The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, addressed the conference of chairpersons of district planning committees in New Delhi today. Following is the text of the Prime Minister’s remarks on the occasion:
“I am very happy to be here today to inaugurate the First Conference of Chairpersons of District Planning Committees. I am also happy to note that District Panchayat Chairpersons, Mayors of selected municipalities and Chief Executive Members of District and Regional Autonomous Councils are also present here. The distinguished audience present today represents truly the backbone of India’s Local Self Government system. I extend to each one of you a very warm welcome.
The Local Governments of India are the unsung heroes of our nation’s march forward to development and prosperity. It was Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who spearheaded moves towards evolving a national consensus on revitalizing local governments and repositioning them as vital, integral partners in local development. His efforts bore fruit with the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, which gave a new lease of life to Panchayats and Nagarpalikas.
While the progress on genuine empowerment may have been uneven, and it has been uneven, remarkable success has been achieved in deepening democratic practice by holding regular elections to local governments with reservations provided for women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. At one stroke, panchayat elections combined political empowerment with social empowerment of our people.
The UPA Government established the Ministry of Panchayati Raj at the Centre to translate this silent political and social revolution into concrete task oriented actions for the welfare and well being of our people. We have been able to take several significant steps towards strengthening and improving upon Panchayati Raj.
A national consensus on the road map for the full empowerment of Panchayats was arrived at. 22 States and Union Territories have individually agreed with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj on State and UT specific road maps aimed at empowering of Panchayats. At the Central level, we have been able to modify the guidelines of several important Centrally Sponsored Schemes, other programmes and national policies to enunciate a clear role for planning and implementation at the three levels of Panchayats.
In the last four years we have strengthened the district as the unit of planning in almost all our Centrally sponsored programmes. We have consciously structured our flagship programmes in a manner that strengthens decentralized management through local institutions.
In the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the National Rural Health Mission, District level Plans are being prepared and funded. In the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, village panchayat level plans are prepared and aggregated at the District level as a District Plan and funds released to executing agencies which happen to be largely the panchayats. Similarly in the urban areas, under JNNURM, 63 cities have evolved medium term development plans for the cities and have been supported with Central Government funds.
We need to continue this process and programmes and extend it to cover programmes like Rural Water Supply and others.
Almost every State is undertaking one or the other reform for empowerment of Panchayat. And that is a very welcome development. Some states have gone beyond the Constitutional provision to reserve up to 50% seats for women in panchayats.. Fiscal reform, such as matching of the extensive devolution of functions with adequate finances and rapid transfer of funds through electronic means, has taken place. Administrative reforms, such as placement of staff and devolving powers of control and superintendence of staff to Panchayats, have also moved forward. Several states are also engaged in the process of providing connectivity and undertaking e-governance measures at the Panchayat level.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Planning Commission have prepared a blueprint that forms the basis of the guidelines for the Backward Regions Grant Fund that now operates in 250 poorer districts and provides, as Shri Mani Shankar Aiyer mentioned, 15 crores for the development of each district in the form of untied grants. It aims at embedding the participatory planning process and provides untied funds to local governments for filling gaps in flagship programmes based on local needs. The Handbook on District Planning being released today details this process of participatory planning.
Every plan must start with a vision and it is important for us to look at what our collective vision ought to be. To my mind, the most important issues before us are to meet the challenge of reducing inequity and inequality. We should focus on meeting core development needs essential for human growth and well being. These could include combating of disease, eliminating malnutrition, particularly among our women and children, providing safe drinking water, good quality universal education, providing people with skills and employment opportunities and preserving and protecting our environment. Each one of you has a crucial role in building a thoughtful vision for your district through a participative and inclusive process.
Following the envisioning process, a plan will need to emerge from the gram Sabha at village level upwards. When these plans move to the next level of local government, such as the intermediate and district Panchayats, they in turn would add what comes within their purview of responsibility. This is also an appropriate time to fit together priorities that cut across the jurisdictions of Gram Panchayats and municipalities into larger projects. Finally, it is for the District Planning Committees to consolidate the urban and rural plans into draft development plans for the district as a whole.
The next step is to match resources with the plan. Over the past nearly 5 years, Central government transfers to Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) have increased nearly threefold from Rs.36,000 crores in 2004-05 to Rs.1,20,000 crores in 2008-09. The top 15 CSS with the NREGA at the fore front now account for nearly Rs.85,000 crores. Such massive transfers were never a part of our planning process before the last four years. Besides schemes and programmes of the States and the Centre, you could look at what local initiatives can trigger through the Panchayats and municipalities.
Given the immense resources at your command now, the pressure on local governments and administrations to perform is indeed going to be, and rightly so, very high. It is important - and I must say that we have not yet focused adequately on this - that we need to build the capacity of our elected representatives in the local institutions. They need to be equipped through training to discharge their duties effectively and efficiently and assert the authority vested in them in our democracy. For example, if NREGA is largely implemented by Panchayats, capacity building of panchayat functionaries on managing of the programme should be taken up invariably as a major task.
Of all the provisions in the 73rd and 74th Amendments, Article 243 ZD of the Constitution which provides for District Planning Committees has perhaps been the last to be implemented in full measure. Till four years back, only 12 of the 24 States to which the Panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika provisions of the Constitution applied, had constituted DPCs. I am happy to note now that 19 States have constituted these Committees and I sincerely appeal to the remaining States to adhere to these mandatory provisions of the Constitution without any further loss of time.
We are a large, young and restless nation. On the move. There is no other way to include the aspirations of all our people to guide our collective destiny other than to develop a strong local government system. Inclusive growth, which is the motto of the 11th five year plan, can be achieved only through inclusive governance. And the key to this is an effective, well functioning system of panchayats. I therefore sincerely hope that interaction of this nature between the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Urban Development becomes an annual feature. I look forward to a creative and constructive debate in this conference and await your deliberations eagerly. I wish your conference all success.”
Monday, January 19, 2009
PRI
The two-day National Conference of Chairpersons/CEOs of District Planning Committees was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi today. Speaking on the occasion Dr. Singh said, “Every plan must start with a vision and it is important for us to look at what our collective vision ought to be. To my mind, the most important issues before us are to meet the challenge of reducing inequity and inequality. Following the envisioning process, a plan will need to emerge from the Gram Sabha at village level upwards. When these plans move to the next level of local government, such as the intermediate and district Panchayats, they in turn would add what comes within their purview of responsibility. This is also an appropriate time to fit together priorities that cut across the jurisdictions of Gram Panchayats and municipalities into larger projects. Finally, it is for the District Planning Committees to consolidate the urban and rural plans into draft development plans for the district as a whole. The next step is to match resources with the plan. Over the past nearly 5 years, Central government transfers to Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) have increased nearly threefold from Rs.36,000 crores in 2004-05 to Rs.1,20,000 crores in 2008-09. The top 15 CSS with the NREGA at the fore front now account for nearly Rs.85,000 crores. Of all the provisions in the 73rd and 74th Amendments, Article 243 ZD of the Constitution which provides for District Planning Committees has perhaps been the last to be implemented in full measure. Till four years back, only 12 of the 24 States to which the Panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika provisions of the Constitution applied, had constituted DPCs. I am happy to note now that 19 States have constituted these Committees and I sincerely appeal to the remaining States to adhere to these mandatory provisions of the Constitution without any further loss of time. There is no other way to include the aspirations of all our people to guide our collective destiny other than to develop a strong local government system. Inclusive growth, which is the motto of the 11th five year plan, can be achieved only through inclusive governance.”
The Minister for Panchayati Raj, Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar laid emphasis on the fact that the District Planning Committees should take into account the plans and aspirations of people at the grassroots. A manual on Integrated District Planning was also released by the Prime Minister on this occasion.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj along with the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Urban Development has organized this National Conference of the Chairpersons of the District Planning Committees. The Chairpersons of the Zilla Parishads, Chief Executive Officers of the Zilla Parishads, representatives of the national Institutions involved in supporting the process of district planning and State Institutes of Rural Development are participating in the Conference. The Conference is also being attended by the State Secretaries in the Departments of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Planning and Urban Development. Representatives of concerned Central Ministries are also present. Overall, around 1000 persons are attending the Conference.
The two-day Conference on 16th and 17th January 2009 will see presentations on subjects related to district planning by officials and experts. Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Dr. Yoginder Alagh, Chairperson, IRMA and former Minister for Planning, Government of India and Dr. Rangarajan, former Governor of the RBI will also be addressing the delegates.
The Minister for Panchayati Raj, Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar laid emphasis on the fact that the District Planning Committees should take into account the plans and aspirations of people at the grassroots. A manual on Integrated District Planning was also released by the Prime Minister on this occasion.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj along with the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Urban Development has organized this National Conference of the Chairpersons of the District Planning Committees. The Chairpersons of the Zilla Parishads, Chief Executive Officers of the Zilla Parishads, representatives of the national Institutions involved in supporting the process of district planning and State Institutes of Rural Development are participating in the Conference. The Conference is also being attended by the State Secretaries in the Departments of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Planning and Urban Development. Representatives of concerned Central Ministries are also present. Overall, around 1000 persons are attending the Conference.
The two-day Conference on 16th and 17th January 2009 will see presentations on subjects related to district planning by officials and experts. Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Dr. Yoginder Alagh, Chairperson, IRMA and former Minister for Planning, Government of India and Dr. Rangarajan, former Governor of the RBI will also be addressing the delegates.
PM speech ET
Following is the text of the speech of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh at the award function organized by the Economic Times in Mumbai:
“This function, originally scheduled for November had to be postponed because of the terrorist attack on Mumbai in that month. Although I visited the city along with Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi, immediately after that event, I had no opportunity to speak in public on that occasion. I would, therefore, like to use this opportunity to say a few words on that painful subject.
Although that horrific event is behind us, the scars it has left remain. I was a resident of Mumbai for three happy years and I feel keenly the pain and anger of the city. To the people of Mumbai, I can only say that we will spare no effort to ensure that their city does not suffer any such attack in the future.
My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives and also those who suffered injuries. I particularly wish to salute the bravery and sacrifice of the men of the Mumbai police and the NSG who laid down their lives fighting against this attack.
Before I proceed further, I would request you to rise and observe one minute of silence as a mark of respect to the victims of the tragedy
The choice of Mumbai as the target of this barbaric attack was not without deeper intent. It was meant to be an attack on our very nationhood. Mumbai is the best-known symbol of free, pluralistic, dynamic and cosmopolitan India. That is precisely why the terrorists chose to attack it.
But the terrorists should know that the civilized world is against them. They must know that this onslaught on the founding ideals of India and on its secular, pluralistic and vibrant democracy is an onslaught on all civilized nations. They must know that this is something that no country can or will tolerate.
We have shared the evidence that we have gathered so far on the incidents with Pakistan and others. Pakistan has admitted that the arrested terrorist is their national. We expect Pakistan to take all the consequent next steps against all those who have planned, organized and executed these horrific crimes.
The Pakistani government has announced that the results of their investigations will be made public in a few days. I urge the Pakistani authorities to come out with a full and complete disclosure of all the facts surrounding the case, without attempts at denial, diversion or obfuscation.
Pakistan should act against the LeT and other terrorist groups and their sponsors - in its own interest, in the discharge of its obligations under international instruments, and to honour the bilateral commitments it has given us at the highest level. It should ensure that nothing like Mumbai, or the attack on our Embassy in Kabul ever happens again.
Apart from hundreds of innocent Indians, innocent civilians from 21 countries were either killed or injured in the attacks. We expect the international community to use its full weight to see that the investigations are pursued vigorously and brought to a speedy and logical conclusion and that terror groups operating from Pakistan are completely shut down. If Pakistan is sincere in its words, it should show through its actions that it will not tolerate these assaults on civilized norms of behaviour.
However, at the end of the day I recognize that this is a problem that we will have to tackle ourselves, with our own sources and our own determination. We need to strengthen our own ability to deal with such attacks and our intelligence capability to anticipate them. The Mumbai attacks revealed deficiencies in our systems that we are working to remedy. After the attacks, we have taken a number of steps to strengthen our ability to fight with terrorism. We have tightened our laws to deal with terrorist crimes. We have established a National Investigating Agency, which is primarily intended to coordinate investigations into terrorist offences. The flow of information from various agencies and the processing of such information for action has been improved. We have finalized details of a coastal defence system in which the Navy would play a key role while the coastal command would directly function under the Coast Guard. Steps to improve our intelligence gathering capability, including the use of more sophisticated technology, have also been initiated.
Let me now turn to the agenda of this meeting.
I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to all those receiving awards today. These awards recognize the superior performance of the recipients as individuals and companies in different fields. They, and the teams working with them which made their achievement possible, fully deserve our applause and accolades. We hope that their performance will be a beacon to others to emulate their achievements and perhaps even exceed them.
And yet, I must also point out that superior economic performance will not be easy in the year ahead. The global economic horizon is cloudier than it has been for a long time. It will be a testing time for the economy and for individual businesses in all sectors.
Before the year 2008-09 began, we knew that it was going to be a year of cyclical downturn in the industrialised world. We did not know at that time that the financial difficulties in the sub-prime mortgage lending sector in the US, which had already surfaced in 2007, would quickly snowball into a truly global financial crisis and that in turn, would lead to a severe recession which has been described by many as the worst crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The US, Europe and Japan are currently in recession and are expected to show negative growth for the year 2009 as a whole. Global financial markets remain clogged with very high levels of risk perception. Capital flows to emerging markets have been choked.
A global crisis of this magnitude was bound to affect India and it has. Export demand has contracted. The stock market has come down sharply, as it has all over the world, posing severe financing difficulties, in addition to the hardship caused to individual stock holders. Traditional sources of finance have dried up.
The governments of the industrialised world are well aware of the seriousness of the crisis and are taking an unprecedented series of proactive steps to counter the recession. Our government has also taken a number of steps to counter the global downturn. We have relaxed monetary policy in a series of steps since October 2008. We are encouraging the banks, especially the public sector banks, to lend more freely to help otherwise viable production units to cope with the temporary stress of the economic downturn. Steps have also been taken to allow a greater flow of credit to the non bank finance companies which have become an important part of our financial system.
Special efforts have been made to expand credit to small and medium industry and to sectors such as housing and automobiles which are especially hit.
These steps in monetary and credit policy have been supplemented by measures to ease restrictions on commercial borrowing abroad.
We have also taken major steps in fiscal policy to give a stimulus to the economy. Tax rates have been reduced in a number of areas. Budgetary provisions made for expenditure in a number of schemes in the current fiscal year have been substantially increased. These increases are largely for the development of much needed infrastructure in rural and urban areas.
Infrastructure development through Public Private Partnership based on competitive bidding has been an important part of our strategy. However, these projects will now face a difficult financing environment. To deal with this problem, a new mechanism for providing refinancing through the India Infrastructure Financing Company Ltd. has been announced. IIFCL will provide low cost refinancing to banks against long term loans provided by the banks for competitively bid infrastructure projects.
Exporters are another group that are directly impacted by the global downturn. We have paid special attention to their needs. Various export incentive schemes have been strengthened and export credit facilities have been enhanced.
The range of steps taken within a few weeks is unprecedented. Nevertheless, I recognise that they do not take care of all problems. This is because domestic policy action cannot completely negate the effect of a global downturn as severe as the one we face today. We can at best minimise its negative impact. There will be a full recovery to our normal economic potential, but this will take place when the global economy reaches normalcy.
Meanwhile, growth in the current year will be lower than last year. GDP grew by 7.7% in the first half of 2008-09. It will be much lower in the second half of the year. The latest estimates for the final outcome in 2008-09 vary between 6.5 and 7 percent. The exact figure is not critical. The important point is that although growth is lower it is still much higher than most other countries. Furthermore our agricultural sector is doing well. The brunt of the recession is being felt in the areas which had seen rapid growth earlier. This imposes pain, but hopefully these sectors are more able to cope with temporary difficulties.
I must also emphasise that our problems will not be over in the current year. The difficult period will continue into 2009-10. The Government will plan on continuing its efforts for a supporting environment next year also. Both monetary and fiscal policy will have to be tailored to that objective.
Fortunately, the rate of inflation has eased considerably. Inflation is now 5.2% and is expected to decline further. This gives ample flexibility for monetary policy.
On the fiscal side, our space is limited. The fiscal deficit in the current fiscal year will be much higher than originally planned. This is not something to be tolerated indefinitely. However, we will have to tolerate a high fiscal deficit for the next year to accommodate expenditure needed to stimulate the economy. This expenditure should be mainly in infrastructure development and in schemes that help support incomes of the poor.
Our business leaders in both the corporate and smaller sectors will have to cope with difficult and changing market circumstances. I am sure that they will respond to the challenge. Crises are also opportunities to reposition oneself, overcome weaknesses and be ready to resume growth as the world turns upward. The award winners of next few years will be those that have coped best with these difficult times.
Finally, let me comment on the very recent and shocking developments relating to one of the well known firms in the IT sector. The Satyam episode is a blot on our corporate image. It indicates how fraud and malfeasance in one company can inflict suffering on many and can also tarnish India’s image more broadly. The Government is determined to unravel the full nature of the fraud and to punish those involved under the due process of law.
I would also urge Indian corporate leaders, many of whom are assembled here, to look closely into their operations to ensure that their systems are fully operational and fraudulent activity is as effectively prevented as is humanly possible.
Corporate leaders and managements hold positions of trust for shareholders, workers, and other stake holders. Their actions have reputational impact much beyond the reputation of their companies. I seek your support in setting the highest standards for Indian industry so that the world can say that we emerged from the Satyam scandal stronger and more credible.
I have no doubt we can do it.
Let me end by once again congratulating the award winners and wishing all of you all the very best.”
“This function, originally scheduled for November had to be postponed because of the terrorist attack on Mumbai in that month. Although I visited the city along with Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi, immediately after that event, I had no opportunity to speak in public on that occasion. I would, therefore, like to use this opportunity to say a few words on that painful subject.
Although that horrific event is behind us, the scars it has left remain. I was a resident of Mumbai for three happy years and I feel keenly the pain and anger of the city. To the people of Mumbai, I can only say that we will spare no effort to ensure that their city does not suffer any such attack in the future.
My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives and also those who suffered injuries. I particularly wish to salute the bravery and sacrifice of the men of the Mumbai police and the NSG who laid down their lives fighting against this attack.
Before I proceed further, I would request you to rise and observe one minute of silence as a mark of respect to the victims of the tragedy
The choice of Mumbai as the target of this barbaric attack was not without deeper intent. It was meant to be an attack on our very nationhood. Mumbai is the best-known symbol of free, pluralistic, dynamic and cosmopolitan India. That is precisely why the terrorists chose to attack it.
But the terrorists should know that the civilized world is against them. They must know that this onslaught on the founding ideals of India and on its secular, pluralistic and vibrant democracy is an onslaught on all civilized nations. They must know that this is something that no country can or will tolerate.
We have shared the evidence that we have gathered so far on the incidents with Pakistan and others. Pakistan has admitted that the arrested terrorist is their national. We expect Pakistan to take all the consequent next steps against all those who have planned, organized and executed these horrific crimes.
The Pakistani government has announced that the results of their investigations will be made public in a few days. I urge the Pakistani authorities to come out with a full and complete disclosure of all the facts surrounding the case, without attempts at denial, diversion or obfuscation.
Pakistan should act against the LeT and other terrorist groups and their sponsors - in its own interest, in the discharge of its obligations under international instruments, and to honour the bilateral commitments it has given us at the highest level. It should ensure that nothing like Mumbai, or the attack on our Embassy in Kabul ever happens again.
Apart from hundreds of innocent Indians, innocent civilians from 21 countries were either killed or injured in the attacks. We expect the international community to use its full weight to see that the investigations are pursued vigorously and brought to a speedy and logical conclusion and that terror groups operating from Pakistan are completely shut down. If Pakistan is sincere in its words, it should show through its actions that it will not tolerate these assaults on civilized norms of behaviour.
However, at the end of the day I recognize that this is a problem that we will have to tackle ourselves, with our own sources and our own determination. We need to strengthen our own ability to deal with such attacks and our intelligence capability to anticipate them. The Mumbai attacks revealed deficiencies in our systems that we are working to remedy. After the attacks, we have taken a number of steps to strengthen our ability to fight with terrorism. We have tightened our laws to deal with terrorist crimes. We have established a National Investigating Agency, which is primarily intended to coordinate investigations into terrorist offences. The flow of information from various agencies and the processing of such information for action has been improved. We have finalized details of a coastal defence system in which the Navy would play a key role while the coastal command would directly function under the Coast Guard. Steps to improve our intelligence gathering capability, including the use of more sophisticated technology, have also been initiated.
Let me now turn to the agenda of this meeting.
I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to all those receiving awards today. These awards recognize the superior performance of the recipients as individuals and companies in different fields. They, and the teams working with them which made their achievement possible, fully deserve our applause and accolades. We hope that their performance will be a beacon to others to emulate their achievements and perhaps even exceed them.
And yet, I must also point out that superior economic performance will not be easy in the year ahead. The global economic horizon is cloudier than it has been for a long time. It will be a testing time for the economy and for individual businesses in all sectors.
Before the year 2008-09 began, we knew that it was going to be a year of cyclical downturn in the industrialised world. We did not know at that time that the financial difficulties in the sub-prime mortgage lending sector in the US, which had already surfaced in 2007, would quickly snowball into a truly global financial crisis and that in turn, would lead to a severe recession which has been described by many as the worst crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The US, Europe and Japan are currently in recession and are expected to show negative growth for the year 2009 as a whole. Global financial markets remain clogged with very high levels of risk perception. Capital flows to emerging markets have been choked.
A global crisis of this magnitude was bound to affect India and it has. Export demand has contracted. The stock market has come down sharply, as it has all over the world, posing severe financing difficulties, in addition to the hardship caused to individual stock holders. Traditional sources of finance have dried up.
The governments of the industrialised world are well aware of the seriousness of the crisis and are taking an unprecedented series of proactive steps to counter the recession. Our government has also taken a number of steps to counter the global downturn. We have relaxed monetary policy in a series of steps since October 2008. We are encouraging the banks, especially the public sector banks, to lend more freely to help otherwise viable production units to cope with the temporary stress of the economic downturn. Steps have also been taken to allow a greater flow of credit to the non bank finance companies which have become an important part of our financial system.
Special efforts have been made to expand credit to small and medium industry and to sectors such as housing and automobiles which are especially hit.
These steps in monetary and credit policy have been supplemented by measures to ease restrictions on commercial borrowing abroad.
We have also taken major steps in fiscal policy to give a stimulus to the economy. Tax rates have been reduced in a number of areas. Budgetary provisions made for expenditure in a number of schemes in the current fiscal year have been substantially increased. These increases are largely for the development of much needed infrastructure in rural and urban areas.
Infrastructure development through Public Private Partnership based on competitive bidding has been an important part of our strategy. However, these projects will now face a difficult financing environment. To deal with this problem, a new mechanism for providing refinancing through the India Infrastructure Financing Company Ltd. has been announced. IIFCL will provide low cost refinancing to banks against long term loans provided by the banks for competitively bid infrastructure projects.
Exporters are another group that are directly impacted by the global downturn. We have paid special attention to their needs. Various export incentive schemes have been strengthened and export credit facilities have been enhanced.
The range of steps taken within a few weeks is unprecedented. Nevertheless, I recognise that they do not take care of all problems. This is because domestic policy action cannot completely negate the effect of a global downturn as severe as the one we face today. We can at best minimise its negative impact. There will be a full recovery to our normal economic potential, but this will take place when the global economy reaches normalcy.
Meanwhile, growth in the current year will be lower than last year. GDP grew by 7.7% in the first half of 2008-09. It will be much lower in the second half of the year. The latest estimates for the final outcome in 2008-09 vary between 6.5 and 7 percent. The exact figure is not critical. The important point is that although growth is lower it is still much higher than most other countries. Furthermore our agricultural sector is doing well. The brunt of the recession is being felt in the areas which had seen rapid growth earlier. This imposes pain, but hopefully these sectors are more able to cope with temporary difficulties.
I must also emphasise that our problems will not be over in the current year. The difficult period will continue into 2009-10. The Government will plan on continuing its efforts for a supporting environment next year also. Both monetary and fiscal policy will have to be tailored to that objective.
Fortunately, the rate of inflation has eased considerably. Inflation is now 5.2% and is expected to decline further. This gives ample flexibility for monetary policy.
On the fiscal side, our space is limited. The fiscal deficit in the current fiscal year will be much higher than originally planned. This is not something to be tolerated indefinitely. However, we will have to tolerate a high fiscal deficit for the next year to accommodate expenditure needed to stimulate the economy. This expenditure should be mainly in infrastructure development and in schemes that help support incomes of the poor.
Our business leaders in both the corporate and smaller sectors will have to cope with difficult and changing market circumstances. I am sure that they will respond to the challenge. Crises are also opportunities to reposition oneself, overcome weaknesses and be ready to resume growth as the world turns upward. The award winners of next few years will be those that have coped best with these difficult times.
Finally, let me comment on the very recent and shocking developments relating to one of the well known firms in the IT sector. The Satyam episode is a blot on our corporate image. It indicates how fraud and malfeasance in one company can inflict suffering on many and can also tarnish India’s image more broadly. The Government is determined to unravel the full nature of the fraud and to punish those involved under the due process of law.
I would also urge Indian corporate leaders, many of whom are assembled here, to look closely into their operations to ensure that their systems are fully operational and fraudulent activity is as effectively prevented as is humanly possible.
Corporate leaders and managements hold positions of trust for shareholders, workers, and other stake holders. Their actions have reputational impact much beyond the reputation of their companies. I seek your support in setting the highest standards for Indian industry so that the world can say that we emerged from the Satyam scandal stronger and more credible.
I have no doubt we can do it.
Let me end by once again congratulating the award winners and wishing all of you all the very best.”
On the Doha Round of talks at WTO, the Minister said: “We cannot have a Development Round without an outcome which provides full comfort to the livelihood and food security concerns of the poor in the developing countries. These are too vital to be the subject of trade-offs. There cannot be a one size fits all approach. While developing countries have aspirations of moving from poverty to a semblance of the prosperity enjoyed by common people in countries of the North, the developed countries, quite validly have expectations from the rest of the WTO membership. The challenge that we have to grapple with is how to reconcile the legitimate aspirations of some with the understandable expectations of others. The key to finding this convergence would also be, I presume, the key to finding the convergence between globalisation and social justice”.
The current global economic crisis, which has impacted our country with a liquidity crunch that has threatened our pace of growth, calls for a response from Governments for a stimulus to demand.
The current global economic crisis, which has impacted our country with a liquidity crunch that has threatened our pace of growth, calls for a response from Governments for a stimulus to demand.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Khushwant Singh’s “INDIA,”
India 2020″ by APJ Kalam?
India in slowmotion’ by Mark Tully
“Discovery of India” by Jawaharlal nehru
Jagdish Bhagwati, India’s Economic Reforms
Khushwant (Train to Pakistan)
he Vedas, Bhagavad Gita
Raag Darbari
Everybody loves a good draught - by P. Sainath
India After Gandhi, by Ramachandra Guha (nonfiction).
Pather Panchali by Bhibhuti Bhushan Bandhopadhyay
Jostein Gaarder Sophie's World
Robert Persig Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
India 2020″ by APJ Kalam?
India in slowmotion’ by Mark Tully
“Discovery of India” by Jawaharlal nehru
Jagdish Bhagwati, India’s Economic Reforms
Khushwant (Train to Pakistan)
he Vedas, Bhagavad Gita
Raag Darbari
Everybody loves a good draught - by P. Sainath
India After Gandhi, by Ramachandra Guha (nonfiction).
Pather Panchali by Bhibhuti Bhushan Bandhopadhyay
| Anne Frank | The Diary of Anne Frank |
| Salman Rushdie | Midnight's Children |
| Stephen Hawking | A Brief History of Time |
| Stephen Hawking | A Brief History of Time |
Friday, January 16, 2009
Meetings
to running successful meetings follow:
1. Set a firm agenda.
Mayer requests a meeting agenda ahead of time that outlines what the participants want to discuss and the best way of using the allotted time. Agendas need to have flexibility, of course, but Mayer finds that agendas act as tools that force individuals to think about what they want to accomplish in meetings. It helps all those involved to focus on what they are really trying to achieve and how best to reach that goal.
2. Assign a note-taker.
A Google meeting features a lot of displays. On one wall, a projector displays the presentation, while right next to it, another projector shows the transcription of the meeting. (Yet another displays a 4-foot image of a ticking stopwatch.) Google executives are big believers in capturing an official set of notes, so inaccuracies and inconsistencies can be caught immediately.
Those who missed the meetings receive a copy of the notes. When people are trying to remember what decisions were made, in what direction the team is going, and what actions need to be taken, they can simply review the notes.
3. Carve out micro-meetings.
Mayer sets aside large blocks of time that she slices into smaller, self-contained gatherings on a particular subject or project. For example, during her weekly two-hour confab with the co-founders and CEO Eric Schmidt, she sets aside five- to 10-minute segments—or longer, depending on the subject—devoted to such specific areas as weekly reports on how the site is performing, new product launches, etc.
This method offers enough flexibility to modify the agenda just before the meeting, should anything pressing occur. It also instills discipline that keeps the meeting tightly focused. Mayer does the same with members of her teams who might need only five or 10 minutes of her time instead of 30 minutes—the shortest block of time her calendar permits. By setting aside micro-meetings within a larger block of time, she accomplishes more.
Mayer, who has a background in engineering and computer science, jokingly refers to micro-meetings as "reducing latency in the pipeline." That means if she has an employee with an issue that comes up Tuesday, he or she can schedule a 10-minute micro-meeting during Mayer's large time block, instead of waiting for her next 30-minute opening, which might not be available for two weeks.
4. Hold office hours.
Mayer brought this idea from her experience teaching computer science at Stanford, where she first met the two guys who would go on to revolutionize how the world gets its information. Beginning at 4 p.m., for 90 minutes a day, Mayer holds office hours.
Employees add their name to a board outside her office, and she sees them on a first-come, first-serve basis. Sometimes project managers need approval on a marketing campaign; sometimes staffers want a few minutes to pitch a design (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/30/06, "Inside Google's New-Product Process").
Says Mayer: "Many of our most technologically interesting products have shown up during office hours. Google News, Orkut [Google's social networking site], Google Reviews, and Google Desktop all showed up first in office hours." During office hours, Mayer can get through up to 15 meetings, averaging seven minutes per person.
5. Discourage politics, use data.
One of Mayer's "Nine Notions of Innovation" is "Don't politic, use data" (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/19/06, "9 Notions of Innovation").
This idea can and should apply to meetings in organizations in which people feel as though the boss will give the green light to a design created by the person he or she likes the best, showing favoritism for the individual instead of the idea.
Mayer believes this mindset can demoralize employees, so she goes out of her way to make the approval process a science. Google chooses designs on a clearly defined set of metrics and how well they perform against those metrics. Designs are chosen based on merit and evidence, not personal relationships.
Mayer discourages using the phrase "I like" in design meetings, such as "I like the way the screen looks." Instead, she encourages such comments as "The experimentation on the site shows that his design performed 10% better." This works for Google, because it builds a culture driven by customer feedback data, not the internal politics that pervade so many of today's corporations.
6. Stick to the clock.
To add a little pressure to keep meetings focused, Google gatherings often feature a giant timer on the wall, counting down the minutes left for a particular meeting or topic. It's literally a downloadable timer that runs off a computer and is projected 4 feet tall.
Imagine how chaotic it must look to outsiders when the wall shows several displays at once—the presentation, transcription, and a mega-timer! And yet, at Google, it makes sense, imposing structure amidst creative chaos. The timer exerts a subtle pressure to keep meetings running on schedule.
Mayer does have one caveat when it comes to the timer—maintain a healthy sense of humor about it. (The timer was counting down to the end of my interview with Mayer—but she turned it into a fun and friendly reminder instead of an abrupt end to our discussion.)
Please keep in mind that these meeting techniques work well for Google. They may or may not be appropriate for your place of business. But these six keys should give you some new ideas about how to transform your meetings from a waste of time to time well spent.
1. Set a firm agenda.
Mayer requests a meeting agenda ahead of time that outlines what the participants want to discuss and the best way of using the allotted time. Agendas need to have flexibility, of course, but Mayer finds that agendas act as tools that force individuals to think about what they want to accomplish in meetings. It helps all those involved to focus on what they are really trying to achieve and how best to reach that goal.
2. Assign a note-taker.
A Google meeting features a lot of displays. On one wall, a projector displays the presentation, while right next to it, another projector shows the transcription of the meeting. (Yet another displays a 4-foot image of a ticking stopwatch.) Google executives are big believers in capturing an official set of notes, so inaccuracies and inconsistencies can be caught immediately.
Those who missed the meetings receive a copy of the notes. When people are trying to remember what decisions were made, in what direction the team is going, and what actions need to be taken, they can simply review the notes.
3. Carve out micro-meetings.
Mayer sets aside large blocks of time that she slices into smaller, self-contained gatherings on a particular subject or project. For example, during her weekly two-hour confab with the co-founders and CEO Eric Schmidt, she sets aside five- to 10-minute segments—or longer, depending on the subject—devoted to such specific areas as weekly reports on how the site is performing, new product launches, etc.
This method offers enough flexibility to modify the agenda just before the meeting, should anything pressing occur. It also instills discipline that keeps the meeting tightly focused. Mayer does the same with members of her teams who might need only five or 10 minutes of her time instead of 30 minutes—the shortest block of time her calendar permits. By setting aside micro-meetings within a larger block of time, she accomplishes more.
Mayer, who has a background in engineering and computer science, jokingly refers to micro-meetings as "reducing latency in the pipeline." That means if she has an employee with an issue that comes up Tuesday, he or she can schedule a 10-minute micro-meeting during Mayer's large time block, instead of waiting for her next 30-minute opening, which might not be available for two weeks.
4. Hold office hours.
Mayer brought this idea from her experience teaching computer science at Stanford, where she first met the two guys who would go on to revolutionize how the world gets its information. Beginning at 4 p.m., for 90 minutes a day, Mayer holds office hours.
Employees add their name to a board outside her office, and she sees them on a first-come, first-serve basis. Sometimes project managers need approval on a marketing campaign; sometimes staffers want a few minutes to pitch a design (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/30/06, "Inside Google's New-Product Process").
Says Mayer: "Many of our most technologically interesting products have shown up during office hours. Google News, Orkut [Google's social networking site], Google Reviews, and Google Desktop all showed up first in office hours." During office hours, Mayer can get through up to 15 meetings, averaging seven minutes per person.
5. Discourage politics, use data.
One of Mayer's "Nine Notions of Innovation" is "Don't politic, use data" (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/19/06, "9 Notions of Innovation").
This idea can and should apply to meetings in organizations in which people feel as though the boss will give the green light to a design created by the person he or she likes the best, showing favoritism for the individual instead of the idea.
Mayer believes this mindset can demoralize employees, so she goes out of her way to make the approval process a science. Google chooses designs on a clearly defined set of metrics and how well they perform against those metrics. Designs are chosen based on merit and evidence, not personal relationships.
Mayer discourages using the phrase "I like" in design meetings, such as "I like the way the screen looks." Instead, she encourages such comments as "The experimentation on the site shows that his design performed 10% better." This works for Google, because it builds a culture driven by customer feedback data, not the internal politics that pervade so many of today's corporations.
6. Stick to the clock.
To add a little pressure to keep meetings focused, Google gatherings often feature a giant timer on the wall, counting down the minutes left for a particular meeting or topic. It's literally a downloadable timer that runs off a computer and is projected 4 feet tall.
Imagine how chaotic it must look to outsiders when the wall shows several displays at once—the presentation, transcription, and a mega-timer! And yet, at Google, it makes sense, imposing structure amidst creative chaos. The timer exerts a subtle pressure to keep meetings running on schedule.
Mayer does have one caveat when it comes to the timer—maintain a healthy sense of humor about it. (The timer was counting down to the end of my interview with Mayer—but she turned it into a fun and friendly reminder instead of an abrupt end to our discussion.)
Please keep in mind that these meeting techniques work well for Google. They may or may not be appropriate for your place of business. But these six keys should give you some new ideas about how to transform your meetings from a waste of time to time well spent.
Monday, January 12, 2009
PM speech
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, addressed the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the Indian National Science Academy in New Delhi today. Following is the text of the Prime Minister’s remarks on the occasion:
“It gives me great pleasure to be here at the Platinum Jubilee celebration of the Indian National Science Academy. This is indeed a major milestone, that few institutions of science have achieved in India thus far. It gives us an opportunity, both, to celebrate its role in furthering the cause of Indian science over more than seven decades and, perhaps more important, to look forward to the future, towards the looming centenary of your organisation.
When INSA was established, during the colonial period, Indian scientists had already begun to excel. Sir C. V. Raman had won the Nobel Prize for his work in Physics four years earlier. Professor Jagdish Chandra Bose had already demonstrated the power and utility of microwaves. Many others, like Srinivasa Ramanujam, P. C. Ray, S. N. Bose, and Meghnad Saha, had made their seminal contributions before India became independent. Globally, science was then primarily pursued for creation of knowledge and scholarship formed the main driving force for scientific research; India was no exception.
With Independence came rapid change and a new and different commitment to science. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister, brought to governance his abiding belief in the need to propagate a scientific temper and the spirit of rational, scientific inquiry among the people of our country. He saw a close interconnect between scientific, progressive and secular values. He was convinced of the necessity of the application of science and technology in tackling the enormous economic and social challenges facing the newly independent India.
Indeed, Indian scientists did solve many pressing national problems. Prof Vijayan mentioned the Green revolution, I add that the White and Blue revolutions, are -- along with the nuclear and space revolutions, to name just a few – significant achievements of Indian science and technology .
INSA has played a major role in this process. We value its role as an apex body advising the government and the country on issues relating to the development of science and technology.
Today, the world is moving rapidly towards knowledge-based societies and economies. The pace of scientific and technological transformation all over the world has accelerated beyond our expectations. Yet, as the frontiers of knowledge are pushed forward, new and seemingly intractable problems arise which test our creativity as well as intellect.
It is against this background that we should look at the role that the Indian scientific community in general and INSA in particular could seek to play in our national life. Our priorities must reflect the many challenges and opportunities that we face as a nation. I would like to highlight a few where Indian scientists can make a tangible contribution.
The first area that comes to mind is education. Over the years we have built many institutions of excellence and I can say with some satisfaction that since the early years of Independence, no government has done more to increase the number of institutions of excellence in the country than the present government, be they institutes of science, institutes of technology, centres for research or universities in general.
Maintaining standards in sciences and education while expanding the base at such a pace is indeed a difficult task. I would expect institutions like INSA to reflect on ways to combine expansion with excellence. At the same time it is important that we raise the standards of science teaching and research uniformly so that we are not left with islands of excellence in a vast sea of mediocrity. The centre of gravity of scientific research appears to have moved away from universities, a trend that I do have worries about. The government can help with financial support but it is the scientific community that must give scholastic substance to the infrastructure that exists or is coming into being.
It is in this context some what disturbing that, committed as we are to making science education attractive to our youth, the enrollment of students in science in universities is not going up as fast as we expect it to .We cannot expect to create a large talent pool of scientists to service a knowledge economy if this share does not pick up significantly in the years to come. We need to look into the reasons for this unsatisfactory situation and I hope that you will deliberate on this as well.
I believe that we need to examine our curriculums and our approach to teaching and to research. We must ensure that our universities and our leading institutions keep up with the very best in the world and impart education on par with them.
In this effort we should make full use of the enormous pool of Indian scientific talent resident abroad. The many distinguished scientists and engineers I meet during my visits abroad are without exception eager to contribute to the development of scientific capabilities in India.
I sincerely believe that our universities must make use of the vast talent bank that exists in our country. Today, we know where the priorities lie: the scientific community must come forward to tell us how to achieve our goals. We should strengthen the emphasis that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid on using science and technology to overcome developmental challlneges. This legacy was carried forward by his successors. Mrs Indira Gandhi’s personal interest in the green revolution ensured its success. Shri Rajiv Gandhi instituted the New Education Policy and the many technology missions that helped millions especially in our rural areas. Four years ago, apart from expanding many of these programmes, our government established the Knowledge Commission.
The two sectors that call for immediate attention are energy and the environment. Our priorities are very clear. We need greater energy efficiency. We need new and sustainable sources of commercially viable energy. We need equity in the consumption of energy. We need to reduce the human imprint on the environment. We need to establish and proliferate “best practices”. And we need to meet human needs and our development goals without threatening our planet and its limited resources.
The India of the 21st Century is going to be a force to reckon with. It derives its strength from our composite culture, from our youthful population, from our democratic way of life and from the freedom of thought and deed that are guaranteed to all our citizens by our magnificent constitution. It also derives its strength from its huge pool of talent, from its scientists and technologists, its knowledge workers and its millions aspiring to a better life through better education and better opportunity.
India’s challenge is in rendering the benefits of development equitably to all its citizens. We need an educational system that provides opportunity for all. We need research and development that delivers innovations and practical and pragmatic solutions to the social problems we face. We need our scientists to take the lead and help us create a world in which we are able to combine the advance of the knowledge society and the challenge of providing adequate food, good health care and nutrition, housing, energy and environment security to all our people.
I hope that when the time comes and INSA celebrates its centenary, it will have the satisfaction of knowing that it was able to chart new pathways and to play its part in transforming India into one of the world’s leading powers, a truly equitable, knowledge society able to fulfill the potential of its youthful, aspiring population.”
“It gives me great pleasure to be here at the Platinum Jubilee celebration of the Indian National Science Academy. This is indeed a major milestone, that few institutions of science have achieved in India thus far. It gives us an opportunity, both, to celebrate its role in furthering the cause of Indian science over more than seven decades and, perhaps more important, to look forward to the future, towards the looming centenary of your organisation.
When INSA was established, during the colonial period, Indian scientists had already begun to excel. Sir C. V. Raman had won the Nobel Prize for his work in Physics four years earlier. Professor Jagdish Chandra Bose had already demonstrated the power and utility of microwaves. Many others, like Srinivasa Ramanujam, P. C. Ray, S. N. Bose, and Meghnad Saha, had made their seminal contributions before India became independent. Globally, science was then primarily pursued for creation of knowledge and scholarship formed the main driving force for scientific research; India was no exception.
With Independence came rapid change and a new and different commitment to science. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister, brought to governance his abiding belief in the need to propagate a scientific temper and the spirit of rational, scientific inquiry among the people of our country. He saw a close interconnect between scientific, progressive and secular values. He was convinced of the necessity of the application of science and technology in tackling the enormous economic and social challenges facing the newly independent India.
Indeed, Indian scientists did solve many pressing national problems. Prof Vijayan mentioned the Green revolution, I add that the White and Blue revolutions, are -- along with the nuclear and space revolutions, to name just a few – significant achievements of Indian science and technology .
INSA has played a major role in this process. We value its role as an apex body advising the government and the country on issues relating to the development of science and technology.
Today, the world is moving rapidly towards knowledge-based societies and economies. The pace of scientific and technological transformation all over the world has accelerated beyond our expectations. Yet, as the frontiers of knowledge are pushed forward, new and seemingly intractable problems arise which test our creativity as well as intellect.
It is against this background that we should look at the role that the Indian scientific community in general and INSA in particular could seek to play in our national life. Our priorities must reflect the many challenges and opportunities that we face as a nation. I would like to highlight a few where Indian scientists can make a tangible contribution.
The first area that comes to mind is education. Over the years we have built many institutions of excellence and I can say with some satisfaction that since the early years of Independence, no government has done more to increase the number of institutions of excellence in the country than the present government, be they institutes of science, institutes of technology, centres for research or universities in general.
Maintaining standards in sciences and education while expanding the base at such a pace is indeed a difficult task. I would expect institutions like INSA to reflect on ways to combine expansion with excellence. At the same time it is important that we raise the standards of science teaching and research uniformly so that we are not left with islands of excellence in a vast sea of mediocrity. The centre of gravity of scientific research appears to have moved away from universities, a trend that I do have worries about. The government can help with financial support but it is the scientific community that must give scholastic substance to the infrastructure that exists or is coming into being.
It is in this context some what disturbing that, committed as we are to making science education attractive to our youth, the enrollment of students in science in universities is not going up as fast as we expect it to .We cannot expect to create a large talent pool of scientists to service a knowledge economy if this share does not pick up significantly in the years to come. We need to look into the reasons for this unsatisfactory situation and I hope that you will deliberate on this as well.
I believe that we need to examine our curriculums and our approach to teaching and to research. We must ensure that our universities and our leading institutions keep up with the very best in the world and impart education on par with them.
In this effort we should make full use of the enormous pool of Indian scientific talent resident abroad. The many distinguished scientists and engineers I meet during my visits abroad are without exception eager to contribute to the development of scientific capabilities in India.
I sincerely believe that our universities must make use of the vast talent bank that exists in our country. Today, we know where the priorities lie: the scientific community must come forward to tell us how to achieve our goals. We should strengthen the emphasis that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid on using science and technology to overcome developmental challlneges. This legacy was carried forward by his successors. Mrs Indira Gandhi’s personal interest in the green revolution ensured its success. Shri Rajiv Gandhi instituted the New Education Policy and the many technology missions that helped millions especially in our rural areas. Four years ago, apart from expanding many of these programmes, our government established the Knowledge Commission.
The two sectors that call for immediate attention are energy and the environment. Our priorities are very clear. We need greater energy efficiency. We need new and sustainable sources of commercially viable energy. We need equity in the consumption of energy. We need to reduce the human imprint on the environment. We need to establish and proliferate “best practices”. And we need to meet human needs and our development goals without threatening our planet and its limited resources.
The India of the 21st Century is going to be a force to reckon with. It derives its strength from our composite culture, from our youthful population, from our democratic way of life and from the freedom of thought and deed that are guaranteed to all our citizens by our magnificent constitution. It also derives its strength from its huge pool of talent, from its scientists and technologists, its knowledge workers and its millions aspiring to a better life through better education and better opportunity.
India’s challenge is in rendering the benefits of development equitably to all its citizens. We need an educational system that provides opportunity for all. We need research and development that delivers innovations and practical and pragmatic solutions to the social problems we face. We need our scientists to take the lead and help us create a world in which we are able to combine the advance of the knowledge society and the challenge of providing adequate food, good health care and nutrition, housing, energy and environment security to all our people.
I hope that when the time comes and INSA celebrates its centenary, it will have the satisfaction of knowing that it was able to chart new pathways and to play its part in transforming India into one of the world’s leading powers, a truly equitable, knowledge society able to fulfill the potential of its youthful, aspiring population.”
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