On I-day, PM makes tryst with aam admi

Education, social security to be focus of the remaining tenure of UPA govt.

Underlining the UPA government's renewed thrust on social and human development for the remaining part of its tenure, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced major initiatives on education and social security fronts.

These include setting up 6,000 high-quality schools, one in each block of the country, an extensive programme for universalising secondary education, helping states set up colleges in 370 low-enrolment districts, 30 new central universities, five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, eight Indian Institutes of Technology, seven Indian Institutes of Management and 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology.

The prime minister, in his Independence Day address to the nation, said these initiatives would generate new educational opportunities for the country's youth and ensure that at least a fifth of children go to college as compared with one-tenth at present.

The prime minister said the government would soon launch a vocational education mission (which he spoke about last year) under which 1,600 industrial training institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics, 10,000 vocational schools and 50,000 skill development centres would be set up.

"We will ensure that annually, over 10 million students get vocational training, which is a four-fold increase from today's level." Singh said the government would seek "active help" of the private sector so that the initiative led to job creation as well.

Promising more scholarships for the needy, Singh said he was keen that a "major revolution in the field of modern education" occurs in the next few years.

Singh's speech, which was devoid of any significant reference to the India-US nuclear agreement or the country's relationship with Pakistan, mentioned that in the coming years, the government's main emphasis would be agriculture, employment generation and industrialisation.

Significantly, the prime minister announced that the national old-age pension scheme, which covers 8.7 million people above the age of 65 but is restricted to the destitute, would be expanded.

The scheme provides Rs 400 per month to each beneficiary. By expanding the scheme to cover all those above 65 years old, the scheme would cover double the present number "� 15.7 million people. The estimated cost of this proposal is Rs 3,768 crore per annum.

Similarly, on giving life and disability cover to the heads of all poor families, the finance ministry is already working on a new "Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana" for the rural landless.

The coverage is similar to another scheme "� Rs 30,000 for natural death and Rs 75,000 for accidental death. Health insurance for the poor, to be launched shortly, is expected to cost around Rs 2,000 crore every year.

Details of the all the schemes are being finalised.

---

GETTING THE FOCUS RIGHT

Setting up of 6,000 high-quality schools, one in every block

National old-age pension scheme to double coverage

Health insurance for the poor.

Helping states set up colleges in 370 low-enrolment districts

A vocational education mission under which 1,600 industrial training institutes and polytechnics, 10,000 vocational schools and 50,000 skill development centres will be set up

Five new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, eight IITs, seven IIMs and 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology

A national policy for rehabilitation of people displaced by industry