By IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday expressed concern over “mounting subsidies” in food, fertilisers and petroleum and wanted them “restructured” so that only the really needy and poor benefited from it.
He also said the country was on a high-growth trajectory and a target of 9-10 percent growth for 2007-2011 should be set by the country’s Planning Commission.
“We need to address the problem of mounting subsidies in food, fertilizers and now, in petroleum which is a recent phenomenon. Over Rs.1 lakh crores (Rs 1 trillion/$2.5 billion) are going to be spent this year alone on these three items,” Singh said at the full Planning Commission meeting to approve the draft 11th Five Year Plan here.
“It is important that we restructure subsidies so that only the really needy and the poor benefit from them and all leakages are plugged,” he added.
Highlighting special emphasis on “inclusiveness” the prime minister said: “There are legitimate concerns on inclusiveness. The Plan does bring out the fact that the reduction in poverty and the quality of employment created up to 2004-05 is inadequate.”
He also said the country is on a very high growth trajectory and hence the 11th Five Year Plan should set a target of achieving 9-10 percent growth during the period 11th Plan period of 2007-2011.
“We must also ensure that growth is inclusive in the broadest sense of the term. This requires revival of agriculture, full encouragement of the manufacturing sector with special emphasis on expansion of industrial enterprises of all sizes, and a strong effort in promoting programmes that deliver essential services to the common man and also provide livelihood support,” he said.
“I would like to emphasize that this investment will pay off with a time lag, but it will pay off handsomely. However, this payoff will happen only if all initiatives in education are well thought out, well designed and grounded properly,” Singh said stressing on the need to put in greater investments in the country’s education sector that is imperative for inclusive growth.
“There are concerns that some regions of our country are falling behind in their educational attainments and this gap must be bridged by the end of the 11th plan,” he added.
The prime minister also underscored the importance of quality in higher education institutions to achieve growth in all sectors.
“Agriculture must be a central focus for the government given the importance of the rural population. The plan points out that some improvement in performance is evident. Agricultural growth averaged four percent in the last two years and is likely to be four percent this year as well. We must ensure that this dynamism is maintained and indeed enhanced,” Singh said.
He also referred to the government’s initiatives in enhancing the agriculture sector such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and the Food Security Mission.
“Global trends in food production and prices and our own demand patterns of consumption are going to put increasing pressure on both the availability and prices of basic food stuffs,” he averred.
“If we have to manage these pressures, we need to ensure that the agriculture sector not only performs as per our expectations but also that our food planning adjusts to the emerging market realities,” he added.
He also drew attention to the critical issue of in infrastructure development in the country.
“Infrastructure development is critical for nine percent growth. Public sector investment in infrastructure will increase substantially based on increases in Internal or Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) in the public sector. A large private investment is also planned through the PPP (public-private-partnership) mode,” he said.
“Given our resource constraints this is the only option available. We must make it succeed,” he added.