The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has decided to focus on six priority areas.The UPA wants to limit its focus, with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, provision of nutritious mid-day meals and food-for-work programmes getting high importance. In addition, it will focus on drinking water, rural connectivity and sanitation. It is not possible for the government to deliver all goods and services to the people. Only a fixed number can be supplied by the government and alternative delivery systems have to be found for the rest, said senior government officials.A good way to do this would be to transfer most centrally-sponsored schemes to states and to allow the local administration to have direct control over services that directly affect the lives of the people, they added. The five focus areas of the National Democratic Alliance regime were fairly broadbased-enhanced employment and eradication of poverty, a second green revolution in agriculture, infrastructural development, fiscal consolidation and greater manufacturing sector efficiency. "The point is to focus on specific areas and not divert attention from them. This will enable the government to achieve concrete results," said senior government officials. Also, these are basic problems which the country faces. If we take care of the quality of drinking water and of sanitation, a majority of health problems seen in rural areas will be taken care of, they added.While implementing schemes in these focus areas, the Centre should ensure that best practices are picked and implemented across the states. Currently, each state spends time trying to develop the best way to implement schemes which results in wastage of time.
