Attacked for not acting against corruption suo moto, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to defend his government against the charge of governance deficit and promise a corrective measure to prevent a recurrence of scams, in his speech on the occasion of completion of two years of the UPA regime in its second stint.
As a slew of political bigwigs and corporate honchos are behind bars on scam charges, the prime minister is also expected to assure the countrymen that those involved in scams would not be spared and back a free press and the institutional oversight in the system to expose the corrupt.
As the economy is expected to repeat the economic performance of 8.6 per cent this financial year as well, the prime minister is also likely to assure the nation of a high economic growth with equity. He is also likely to promise safety in nuclear plants, following a disaster in Japan.
In his report to the people, on the second anniversary of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's second term, Singh will showcase the economic achievements of the government against a stark and gloomy background of global economic setback.
The PM will say that from 2004-05 to 2010-11, the Indian economy enjoyed an unprecedented 8.5per cent growth, despite the fact that this was a period that saw a severe global crisis.
"The crisis slowed us down to 6.8 per cent in 2008-09, but the economy has rebounded with a robust growth of 8.6 per cent in 2010-11. This was composed of 5.4 per cent growth in agriculture, 8.1 per cent in industry and 9.6 per cent in services. The performance in agriculture has been particularly satisfying, with our farmers producing more than 235 million tonnes of food grains, the highest since independence" the foreword will assert.
The report will emphasise that not only has livelihood been secure but also, the UPA has sought to build a rights basis framework in several critical areas.
"We had earlier implemented, the Right to Information, Act, and the right to rural employment. In the year 2010-11, we moved further in this direction by operationalising the Right to Education with effect from April 1, 2010. We now propose to introduce a legislation giving our citizens the right to food", the report will say.
Expansion and strengthening of the education system at all levels will be cited as the government's big idea in the two years.
The government's strengths will be recounted in education: A significant reduction in the number of out-of-school children at the elementary level. Mid-day meals coverage for over 11 crore children; significant progress in closing the numbers gap between boys and girls, and SC and ST children; establishment and management of girls' hostels and ICT in schools; sixteen new Central Universities; three new Indian Institute of Managements at Rohtak, Ranchi and Raipur and 10 new National Institute of Technologies, the report will say.
The report will also talk about the National Rural Health Mission and will recount the progress in AIDS control with the annual new HIV infections in India having declined by more than 50 per cent in the last decade. Construction of six new AIIMS-like institutions is in full swing.
In the infra sector, the PM will refer to the highest-ever capacity addition in power in a single year in the last six decades and the highest ever capacity addition from renewable energy sources in any one year, at 3157 Mw.
The PM will refer to the good growth in freight and passenger traffic in Indian Railways. He will describe how the ADHAR project will transform society by helping targeted delivery of benefits. Interestingly, the PM will refer to the setting up of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) and fully operationalizing the National Investigation Agency. The Home Ministry believes NATGRID still needs attention. Left-wing extremism will be flagged as a major problem.
