Singh not likely to promise big on I-Day

For all those looking out for announcements of grand schemes in the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Independence Day address from the rampart of the Red Fort on August 15, the wait will be long.

According to sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Singh in his low-key style will not be announcing any grand schemes destined to remain paper-bound.

"Instead, the address will be a vision statement of the Congress government, which has come back to power after a long time," said a PMO official.

Concomitant with his first address to the nation, the Prime Minister will be talking about "new deal for rural India" the Hindi translation for which has been more or less settled as "Grameen Bharat ke liye Naya Daur." This could include plans for streamlining the rural credit system and the 100 days of guaranteed employment promised in the common minimum programme (CMP).

According to sources, the Prime Minister in his brief on the speech said he wanted "not to promise more and deliver less, but promise less and deliver more." An elaboration of his "rural development dream" is being given in the speech.

"Till now the Prime Minister has not asked for the inclusion of any announcement of a scheme or grand plan, if he does, it will be a last minute inclusion," the official said. Only finishing touches need to be put to the speech, written out in English and Hindi before being finalised.

"The Prime Minister's speech will also talk of his political vision apart from," he said.

The economic programmes that he is more comfortable with," said the PMO official.

"The speech will be true to the Singh's style, low-key, thick with workable solutions," the official added.