Following is the full text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech at the Governors' Conference in New Delhi on Wednesday:
"I am delighted to greet and welcome the Hon. Governors and Lt. Governors who have gathered here today.
This is an important conference of extremely important Constitutional functionaries. I wish to begin by emphasizing the importance of these deliberations. Each one of you has been charged with great responsibility at a critical time in the evolution of our democracy, and in the development of our polity and our economy.
India stands today on the threshold of a new beginning. There is unprecedented self-confidence in our people that we can overcome the constraints on our development. I have often said that the world wants India to do well, and our challenges are mainly at home. With each passing day this is becoming clearer. The recent decision of a diverse group of 45 countries belonging to the Nuclear Suppliers Group to extend to India special and exclusive treatment in the field of nuclear energy is proof again of this benign global environment.
India's emergence as a modern, secular, plural, democracy is being welcomed the world over. Our successes in reducing poverty, ignorance and disease within the framework of an open society and an open economy, with Constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights and the application of the Rule of Law are viewed with respect and admiration all over the world.
In the past four years we have witnessed an unprecedented upsurge in the creativity and enterprise of our people. Our economy has grown at an average annual rate of 9 per cent during the last four years. In the current fiscal year, growth prospects may be affected by the global economic slowdown, the steep rise in international prices of petroleum products and other primary commodities. Even then, the overall growth rate of the economy will still exceed 8 per cent, making India the world's second fastest growing economy.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our effort has been to make our growth process more inclusive, both socially and regionally. Good performance in agriculture is especially necessary for this to happen. We have taken a number of initiatives in the agricultural sector and I am happy to say that our efforts are showing good results. After a decade of stagnation, the agriculture sector is reviving. The rate of growth of this sector has averaged 3.5 per cent in the last four years as compared to the growth rate of 2 per cent in the six years of the previous government. We have launched the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and the National Food Security Mission. The latter is especially targeted to attaining food security. Agricultural loans of about Rs. 70,000 crore have been waived to help our farmers. There has been a record procurement of about 225 lakh tonnes of wheat in Rabi season 2007-08. The procurement of rice in the kharif season 2007-08 has also risen sharply from 246 lakh tonnes to 267 lakh tonnes. Available indicators suggest that we are entering a decade of rising commodity prices, particularly in the case of foodgrains. It is therefore highly important that India should pay adequate attention to self sufficiency in foodgrains.
In the current fiscal year, inflation has emerged as an important concern of public policy. The reasons for the sharp increase in prices are to be found in the steep increase in import prices of petroleum products and other commodity prices. Government has adopted several measures to control inflation and to protect the poorer sections against the adverse effects of rising prices. Despite a significant increase in procurement prices, we have kept the issue price of wheat and rice unchanged under the Targeted Public Distribution System. This is to protect the vulnerable sections of our society against inflation. We have also kept the price of kerosene unchanged with the same end in view. I would urge Governors to advise their Chief Ministers on the importance of streamlining the Public Distribution System, especially for the poorer sections of our society.
I am aware that for the common man, inflation is a major problem. We are doing our best to control the inflationary trend, and especially to protect the poor from its adverse impacts. There are signs of moderation in the high inflation that we have witnessed recently. We are confident that the situation will improve further in the coming months because of the measures that we have taken. State Governments can assist in the control of inflation by keeping a strict watch on the activities of hoarders and unscrupulous traders.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If the world wishes to work with India, cooperate with India, trust India and invest in India, it is because the world recognizes that the people of India are on the move. But there is much that we have to do. In the past four years, it has been the effort of our Government to increase investments in the capabilities of our people - in their education and skill building, in their health and well-being, in the infrastructure of a modern economy, in the future of our young people.
This is the objective of the programmes we have launched. Like Bharat Nirman, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan the National Rural Health Mission, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, the extended Mid-Day Meal Programme, and so on.
Our "New Deal for Rural India" is unleashing a new phase of rural development in our country. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme which now covers all the rural districts of India will help to soften considerably the harsh edges of extreme poverty. I urge Governors to take special interest in the effective implementation of this programme.
We have stepped up investment in infrastructure in roads, railways, power, irrigation, telecommunications and civil aviation.
Each of these programmes and each of these initiatives needs to be implemented well to be successful. Their effectiveness depends a great deal on the capacity and energy of the State Governments. The ability of the State Governments to maintain law and order, to deal firmly with terrorism and communalisation of our polity and pay adequate attention to delivery system for basic social services like education and health will be a crucial determinant of the degree of success achieved by our development programmes.
Unless we improve the efficiency of administration at the State and District level, unless State Governments can stand and deliver, our plans and our financial allocations will remain paper allocations. This challenge is altogether more severe in the less developed States, in the States of the North-East region, in our island UTs and in Jammu & Kashmir.
As a representative of the Union in the State and UTs, each one of you can make a difference. You can encourage our State and UT Governments to improve the quality of governance, the efficiency of administration and the vitality of the Panchayati Raj institutions at the grassroot level.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There are new challenges that we face today. The challenge of climate change is one of them. There is now global consensus on the need for a comprehensive response to this challenge. India, on its part is committed that it will not increase its per capita emissions of Green House Gases beyond that of developed countries. We have formulated a National Action Plan so that our response can be focused and coordinated at the national level. It is important to recognize that addressing the problem should be one of our highest priorities. We will implement our National Action Plan through 8 missions which would cover the areas of solar energy, energy efficiency, sustainable habitat, water, the Himalayan eco-system, green India, sustainable agriculture and strategic knowledge for climate change. It is expected that the missions will become operational within a year. Their success will depend greatly on the ability of Central and State Governments to coordinate their activities.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Governor in our scheme of things is also the Chancellor of many Universities at the State level. This is an important function of the Governor and an area of responsibility in which you can truly make a difference. Our Government has launched a series of initiatives in the field of higher education, for increasing opportunities in the field of higher education and for improving its quality. Quantitative expansion is easier to handle, though here too we face hurdles such as availability of teachers. Qualitative development is more difficult to ensure.
I would like our Governors to pay particular attention to the qualitative development of our Universities. I would like every one of our Universities to aspire to global best standards, in terms of students, teachers and infrastructure. University administrations have to be reformed, and university systems modernized. A mere increase in outlays will not ensure better outcomes without good leadership. That is where you can play an important role. I urge you to do so.
Ladies and Gentleman,
The President of our country has given a clarion call to make female literacy the touch stone of our efforts towards gender equality. We have made progress in this area though performance across States is quite uneven. I would urge Governors to persuade the State Governments to give this area their priority attention. We have already heard the Minister of Women and Child Development about the initiatives taken by the Central Government for the empowerment of women and for combating social evils like child marriage, female foeticide etc. These initiatives need to be taken forward. India has the largest number of women elected leaders in the world. There are about 12 lakh women who have been enabled by the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments to move out of the confines of their homes into the public sphere. We should take advantage of this welcome development. I would request Governors to inspire this new leadership to play a catalytic role in improving the status of women and empowering them.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Naxalism and Left Wing Extremism continue to pose a challenge to development and the social and economic uplift of people in some of the most backward regions of our country. The States of Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Orissa figure prominently in the list of areas that are affected. What is especially disturbing is the extent to which these extremists have improved techniques and the kind of improvisations that they have succeeded in making. Left wing extremists also appear to have a ready-made pool of disaffected elements, mainly from the tribal and