On
behalf of the Government of India, I extend a very cordial welcome to the Chief
Ministers and other representatives20 from the States and Union Territories who
made it convenient to attend this important meeting at short notice. There40
has been a steep increase in the prices of certain essential commodities in the
last few months. This has affected all60 sections of society, but particularly the
poor and middle class families. At the outset, I would like to state that this
conference expresses its empathy and concern for the people who have suffered
hardships because of this problem. The problem100 of price rise in
India cannot be isolated from the problems in agriculture markets, consumer
markets and the administration. It120 is a problem that simultaneously affects
both the housewife and the farmer. Whenever there is a steep price rise, it140
makes a hole in the expenditure budget of the consumer family and the income
expectations of the producer family. Rising160 prices is a national problem. It needs to
be tackled by both the Centre and the State Government separately as well as
jointly. While an objective analysis200 of the problem is no doubt necessary for
its proper comprehension and resolution, politicization of the issue should be
avoided.220
The spirit of cooperation and sharing of responsibility alone can help us
evolve effective long-term, medium-term and immediate240 strategies to
stabilize and reduce prices of essential commodities. I am sure, we will
conduct the proceedings of this conference in this constructive spirit.
My
Government has accorded the highest priority to ensuring adequate supplies of
essential commodities as well280 as keeping their prices within
reasonable limits. Towards this end, a series of meeting has been held.
Recently, the Cabinet300 Secretary had convened a meeting of the
Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories to review the price situation
and320
also to evolve an Action Plan for curbing the rise in the prices of essential
commodities as well as increasing the340 supplies of these commodities in
different parts of the country The plan has already been sent to you for further360
action. I am sure that the State Government and Union Territory Administrations
have come prepared to discuss the implementation of380 the plan. The main
reason for the recent spurt in prices was the weather.
I
welcome all of you to400 the first meeting of the Parliamentary
Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Communications. We are in the midst
of an420
information and communication revolution. This revolution is bringing about fundamental
changes in every aspect of life at the national and international levels. It
has also opened the prospect of India emerging as an Information Technology
superpower. This prospect will become a reality only if we create a modern,
nationwide telecommunications infrastructure at the earliest.
Telecommunications is also, by itself, an480 accelerator of economic growth. The
telephone is no longer a luxury, but an indispensable tool in every conceivable
economic activity.500 For example, the large network of telephone
booths established by the Department of Telecommunications in a short span has
immensely benefited small entrepreneurs and the common person. We can see these
booths even in small towns today. Experts have calculated that one per cent
increase in telephone density results in a three per cent increase in GDP. This560
information and communication revolution has, unfortunately, bypassed rural
India.
The
National Telecom policy of 1994 had envisaged universal access and availability
of basic telecom services on demand. We are way behind achievement of this
objective. The failure is600 most glaring in meeting the target of at
least one Village Public Telephone for each of the six lakh villages in the
country. More than half of these six lakh villages still do not have even a
single telephone, not640 to mention other sophisticated forms of
communications. Moreover, the telephone density in such of the villages, which
do have a connection, is very low. This should be matter of concern for all of
us.
My
Government will not allow the rural-urban divide to get further widened because
of failures in policy and implementation to meet our goal in rural700
telephony. My vision is to see every Indian village connected with the Global
Village that is being created by the720 information and communication
revolution. The failure in the area of rural telephony cannot be seen in
isolation from the flaws in the National Telecom Policy of 1994 and its
implementation. Today everybody recognizes that the reforms in the telecom
sector, particularly relating to investment in basic and cellular services by
private operators, have failed.
I
am pleased to be here at the inaugural session of the India Economic Summit
organized by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation800 of Indian Industry.
Your conference is taking place at an extraordinary moment in India's
democratic history. Whatever is happening now is a sign of the vibrancy of
Indian democracy. However, I would like to assure you that volatility in Indian840
politics will have no fundamental Impact on the process of economic reforms
in the country. The reform process has become irreversible, and my Government
has depoliticized the economic agenda. Your summits in the past have fostered
constructive interactions between foreign and Indian business and with the Government.
They have also facilitated foreign business becoming familiar with India's
efforts, both to900 carry out internal liberalization and to
integrate itself with the global economy. Since you met here a year ago, a
number of new and decisive steps have been taken by my Government to strengthen
our economic fundamentals and to improve the productive efficiency of our
system. In the schedule of your meetings over the next few days, you would be960
interacting with some members of my Cabinet, some distinguished businessmen,
economists and senior Government functionaries. They would outline for you980
not only what has been achieved during this period but also share their vision
of the economic agenda for the1000 coming months. In the last nine months,
my Government has taken important initiatives over a wide gamut of economic
issues which cover insurance, capital markets, information technology, housing
and infrastructure, to mention a few. The reform process initiated is wider and
deeper than any comparable programme earlier. Its multiplier effect would have
long term beneficial impact on the economic and social development of India. We
also take some pride and satisfaction that given the turmoil in the rest of
Asia1080
and many other parts of the world, our macro-economic fundamentals continue to
be strong. They create new opportunities for private1100 investment, both
domestic and foreign. A GDP growth of well over 5 per cent, inflation below the
double-digit1120 number, comfortable foreign exchange reserves,
positive growth in agriculture, stable exchange rate management coupled with
sectoral initiatives have reaffirmed the Government to a policy of liberalization
with suitable checks and balances. I have said so earlier and would reiterate
today that there is no panacea to bring about high rates of economic growth
here.
Sir,
unfortunately for most of us, what is decided by the highest judicial authority
in our country is that the Directive Principles are not as important1200
as Fundamental Rights. It is most unfortunate. I do not mean any criticism
against any individual judge. I mean criticism from the point of view of the
principle adopted to decide the cases. The Directive Principles are not only
the duties cast upon the State, they are a sort of rights available to the
citizens as a whole in the1260 country, to the society as a
whole. We consider the right available to an individual and we do not consider1280
the right available to so many individuals in the country. We are committing a mistake
somewhere. They have decided that because Directive Principles are not
justiciable, fundamental rights are more important and when a law is made to implement
the Directive Principles and it goes against the Fundamental Rights, it has to
be struck down. That is most unfortunate.
There
is a decided case in which a student of Scheduled Caste was admitted in a
medical college, since a law was made for that purpose. The case went to the
High Court in Madras and it decided that equality before law is not available
under that Act because all students should be treated equal and so the
admission was cancelled.1400 That was most unfortunate. It is a
different thing that the judgement was reversed and so many other steps were
taken and we have now in our country students from Scheduled Castes and Tribes
getting admission to medical colleges on1440 priority. It is all there but that is a
different thing. I do not mean disrespect to the Hon'ble Members who pleaded
the cause in the most beautiful, most effective manner. Only few days back, in
this House itself, there was a law brought before this House which said that in
order to protect the skull and brain of an individual, he should wear helmet.
Then, because of the prevailing religious and other social circumstances,
certain citizens were given exemption from this, He said, if you do this,
somebody will go to the court and get an injunction against this because there
is discrimination between women in this country. What was the result? The
result was that the hon. Minister had to say that the ladies would be exempted.1569
