By IANS,
Mumbai : The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), in its manifesto released here Friday, has promised to protect the interests of millions of people rendered jobless in the global economic crisis and provide housing to all the poor in the next five years.
In its poll manifesto, released by party chief Sharad Pawar, the NCP has said the global economic crisis has led to retrenchment of millions working in various sectors of the economy worldwide.
Though the magnitude of the impact is contained, it is having an effect on the Indian economy with tens of thousands of Indians have laid off in foreign countries returning home.
Calling for a ‘human face’ to economic reforms, the NCP – part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government – said it will help the skilled but jobless workers by providing them with liberal loans at concessional rates to set up personal, small and medium scale enterprises.
Calling for appropriate schemes to tackle the 35 percent population which lives below the poverty line (BPL), the NCP said it will ensure that concerted efforts are initiated to tackle the issue.
It would continue massive resources allocation for beneficiary oriented asset creation and income generating programmes and other poverty alleviation programmes for the purpose.
Towards this end, the NCP has promised to ensure housing for all poor slumdwellers in urban areas within the next five years.
Dwelling on the crucial agriculture sector on which 65 percent of the people depend for a livelihood, the NCP said it will bring more land under cultivation, increase budgetary allocation for this sector, provide ways and means to boost agro-production, special facilities for developing and strengthening dairy products and fishing industries.
The party will ensure that the Indian industry is geared to meet the growing world market competition, organise technological and managerial training to domestic industries to enable them modernise and diversify, and arrange for financial and marketing assistance for export-oriented industries.
Besides, the NCP will provide various sops and reservations in academic and job sectors to students, women, youth and people under different disadvantaged sections of society, the social and economically backward classes and the unemployed youth, reservations in jobs and education to Marathas and Muslims.
The NCP has urged the development of thorium, which is available in abundance in India, for harnessing nuclear power in place of uranium to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign countries and make it self-sufficient in the power sector, and harnessing alternative sources of power, like wind energy.