[Reader-list] Highlights of PM’s Independence Day speech - 198

[Rakesh Iyer]

Dear Kshamendra (and all)

My 2nd post of the day (excluding RTF). (for all those who wish to count)

I was intrigued at how you arrived at those figures (as well as what nominal
rates mean), so what I did is take all those figures you gave as values of
what can be the values of $2 in PPP terms (Rs. 29.19, Rs 40, Rs 48 and Rs.
35), and compared them with Rs. 20. Now the Sengupta report says that 77% of
the people earn less than Rs. 20 per day. Going by that logic, they
obviously earn less than either of all the figures you have stated.
Therefore, I didn't see any reason as to why the Sengupta report would be
wrong.

And for the exchange rate, there's something called a market exchange rate,
so I got confused between what you mentioned and what I got on the Internet.


So right, culpable again for doing the wrong thing. Won't repeat it next
time, is all I can say. And what I still don't understand is that why can
the Sengupta report be doubted on this count, even after the explanations
you gave. The NCEUS doesn't declare that $2 (PPP) = Rs. 20, but says that
77% Indians live earning less than that per day, (Rs. 20).

Therefore, I still didn't get why you consider it as wrong or incorrect.
Would be nice if you were to send that in a personal mail. And yes, any
replies on this I would send on your personal id, hoping it's not an issue
with you.

By the way, here's the PM's speech for all those who want to read it in a
proper way:

Link: http://www.hindu.com/nic/pmaddress.htm

PM's speech:

“Dear countrymen, brothers and sisters,

I consider myself fortunate to once again have the opportunity to address
you on this sacred day of 15th August. On this auspicious occasion, I extend
my hearty greetings to all of you.

Today is most certainly a day of happiness and pride for us. We are proud of
our freedom. We are proud of our democracy. We are proud of our values and
ideals. But we should also remember that it has taken the sacrifices of
lakhs of Indians to bring us where we are today. Our well being and progress
have been built upon the foundation of the hard work and sacrifices of our
freedom fighters, the brave jawans of our armed forces, our farmers, our
workers and our scientists.

Today, we remember all those martyrs who laid down their lives for the
freedom and security of our country. The best way of paying homage to those
brave sons of our country will be to resolve today that we will always stay
committed to strengthening the unity and integrity of our nation. Let us all
together take a vow that we will spare no effort to take India to greater
heights.

The elections held a few months back have strengthened our nation and our
democracy. In these elections, the people of India have favoured a politics
that integrates our country and our society. You have chosen a political
arrangement which is secular and which includes many varied strands of
thought. You have voted for a democratic way of life which provides for
resolution of differences through debate and discussion. I am of the view
that we have received a mandate for starting a new era of cooperation and
harmony in our national life.

We accept with humility the great responsibility you have entrusted to us. I
wish to assure you on this sacred day that we will work with sincerity and
dedication to fulfil the expectation of each and every citizen of India. It
will be our effort to ensure that every citizen of India is prosperous and
secure and is able to lead a life of dignity and self respect. We will
derive inspiration in our work from the ideals of service and sacrifice
bequeathed to us by the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Our Government
will follow the path shown by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Shrimati Indira
Gandhi, Shri Rajiv Gandhi and other great leaders of our country. It will be
our endeavour to carry everyone with us and to lead the country ahead on the
path of development by creating an environment of consensus and cooperation.


We know that India's progress can be real only when every citizen of our
country benefits from it. Every Indian has a right over our national
resources. The policies and schemes of our Government in the last 5 years
have been based on this paradigm. It has been our endeavour to ensure that
the benefit of development reaches all sections of the society and all
regions and citizens of the country. Our efforts have succeeded to some
extent. But our work is still incomplete. We will carry it forward with firm
determination and sincerity.

As you know, our economy grew at a rate of about 9% from the year 2004-05 to
the year 2007-08. This growth rate came down to 6.7% in 2008-09 due to the
global economic crisis. It is only a result of our policies that the global
crisis has affected us to a lesser extent than many other countries.
Restoring our growth rate to 9% is the greatest challenge we face. We will
make every necessary effort to meet this challenge¬¬¬ -- whether it is for
increasing capital flows into the country, or for encouraging exports or for
increasing public investment and expenditure. We expect that there will be
an improvement in the situation by the end of this year, but till that time
we will all have to bear with the fall out of the global economic slow down.
I appeal to all businessmen and industrialists to join us in our effort to
tackle this difficult situation and to fulfill their social obligations
fully.

I have always believed that India's prosperity is not possible without the
prosperity of our farmers. This is the reason why our Government had waived
bank loans of lakhs of farmers. We have increased the support prices for
agricultural products by far more than ever before. This year there has been
deficiency in the monsoons. This would definitely have some adverse impact
on our crops. But, I am sure we will be able to meet the situation quite
well. We will provide all possible assistance to our farmers to deal with
the drought. In view of the deficiency in the monsoons, we have postponed
the date for repayment of bank loans of our farmers. We are also giving
additional support to farmers for payment of interest on short term crop
loans.

We have adequate stocks of foodgrains. All efforts will be made to control
the rising prices of foodgrains, pulses and other goods of daily use. I
appeal to all State governments to exercise their statutory powers to
prevent hoarding and black marketing of essential commodities.

We will have to adopt modern means to be successful in agriculture. We will
have to make more efficient use of our scarce land and water resources. Our
scientists must devise new techniques to increase the productivity of our
small and marginal farmers. More attention will have to be paid to the needs
of those farmers who do not have means for irrigation. The country needs
another Green Revolution and we will try our best to make it possible. Our
goal is 4% annual growth in agriculture and I am confident that we will be
able to achieve this target in the next 5 years.

It is our ardent desire that not even a single citizen of India should ever
go hungry. This is the reason why we have promised a food security law under
which every family living below the poverty line will get a fixed amount of
foodgrains every month at concessional rates. It is also our national
resolve to root out malnutrition from our country. In this effort, special
care will be taken of the needs of women and children. We will endeavour to
extend the benefit of ICDS to every child below the age of six years in the
country by March 2012.

The first UPA government had given the right to 100 days of employment in a
year to every rural family through the National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act. In the last 4 years, this programme has been expanded to cover the
whole country. The programme has been able to fulfil the expectations from
it to a large extent. In the year 2008-09, it benefited about 4 crore
families. It has also contributed to improvement in rural infrastructure. In
the coming days we will improve the programme to bring more transparency and
accountability into it. New types of works will be added to the works that
can be taken up under the programme.

We know that good education is not only desirable in itself but is also
essential for the empowerment of our people. We have recently enacted the
Right to Education Act. This law provides to each child of our country the
right to elementary education. I wish to make it clear that funds will not
be a constraint as far as education is concerned. We will give special
attention to the needs of disabled children. As a result of our efforts in
the last few years, almost every child in our country has access to primary
education today. Now we also need to pay greater attention to secondary
education. Secondary education will be expanded through a programme that
will ensure that every child in the country gets its benefit. We will
endeavour to provide bank loans and scholarships to the maximum possible
number of students to support their education.

A new scheme will be started to help students from economically weaker
sections of society by way of reduced interest rate on their education
loans. This will benefit about 5 lakh students in getting technical and
professional education.

Good health is one of our basic needs. The National Rural Health Mission
that we have started aims at strengthening the infrastructure for rural
public health services. We will expand the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana so
as to cover each family below the poverty line. In our journey on the road
of development we will pay special attention to the needs of our differently
abled brothers and sisters. We will increase facilities available for them.

While touching upon issues related to health, I would also like to make a
mention of the flu that is spreading due to the H1N1 virus. As you all know,
some parts of our country have been affected by this illness. The Central
Government and the State Governments will together continue to make all
necessary efforts to control the spread of this infection. I also want to
assure you that the situation does not warrant a disruption of our daily
lives because of fear and anxiety.

The special programmes that our government had started for the development
of rural and urban areas will be accelerated. We have been successful to
some extent in improving the infrastructure in rural areas through Bharat
Nirman. But there is still a wide disparity between the development of rural
and urban areas. To this end, the allocations under Bharat Nirman have been
increased substantially this year. We will set more ambitious targets for
schemes for house construction and telecommunications in rural areas.

We will accelerate our efforts to improve physical infrastructure in the
country. The Road Transport and National Highways Department has initiated
action for construction of 20 Km of National Highways every day. Similarly,
Railways have started work on the Dedicated Freight Corridors. We are giving
careful attention to the problems of Air India and will resolve them soon.
The schemes of roads, railways and civil aviation being implemented in Jammu
& Kashmir and the States of the North East will be especially monitored.

We had started the Jawaharalal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission for the
urban areas. We will accelerate this programme also. Today, lakhs of our
citizens live in slums which lack basic amenities. We wish to make our
country slum free as early as possible. In the next five years, we will
provide better housing facilities to slum dwellers through a new scheme,
Rajiv Awas Yojana.

Climate change has become an issue of global concern in recent years. If we
don't take the necessary steps in time, our glaciers will melt and our
rivers will go dry. The problems of droughts and floods will grow in
seriousness. We also need to prevent air pollution. India wishes to tackle
the problem of climate change in partnership with other countries of the
world. We have taken a decision to constitute 8 National Missions. We are
committed to meet the challenge of climate change through these 8 Missions.
To increase the use of solar energy and to make it affordable, we will
launch the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission on 14th November of this
year.

The sacred Ganga is the life source for crores of Indians. It is our duty to
keep the river clean. We have constituted the National Ganga Authority in
which the Central and State Governments will jointly work towards this end.
The cooperation of the public is also needed in this effort.

Our natural resources are limited. We must use them more efficiently. We
need a new culture of energy conservation. We also need to prevent the
misuse of water. We will pay more attention to programmes for water
collection and storage. "Save Water" should be one of our national slogans.

If we work united, we can meet all challenges that confront us. Our citizens
have the right to express dissent and anger. I also maintain that every
government should be sensitive to people's complaints and dissatisfaction.
But nothing is achieved by destroying public property and indulging in
violence against one's fellow citizens. Our democracy has no place for those
who resort to violence to express their disagreement, and the government
will deal firmly with such people.

Terrorism has emerged as a threat to peace and harmony in all parts of the
world. After the horrific terror attacks in Mumbai in last November, our
government has taken many steps against terrorism. To root out terrorist
activities, our security forces and intelligence agencies are being
constantly upgraded. I am sure that with cooperation from all sections of
our society, we will be successful in eliminating terrorism from our
country.

Some parts of our country continue to be affected by the Naxalite menace. It
is the constitutional obligation of the government to protect the life and
liberty of our citizens. Those who think that they can seize power by
recourse to the gun do not understand the strength of our democracy. The
Central Government will redouble its efforts to deal with Naxalite
activities. We will extend all help to the State Governments to make their
police forces more effective. Central forces will be provided wherever they
are needed. We will also do more to ensure better coordination among States.


I would also like to state here that we will endeavour to remove those
causes of social and economic dissatisfaction which give rise to problems
like Naxalism. We believe in a development process which will remove
backwardness, unemployment and reduce disparities in income and wealth. We
seek active partnership of our brothers and sisters of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes in our development processes.

We do not subscribe to the view that to take special care of the deprived
sections of the society amounts to appeasement. In fact, we believe that it
is our solemn duty to do so. Our government will give its full attention to
the well being of our brothers and sisters belonging to the minority
communities. We have started many schemes for the welfare of the minorities.
These programmes will be taken forward. The funds for the special schemes
taken up for the development of minority concentration districts have been
enhanced quite substantially this year. Similarly, we have allocated
increased funds for scholarship schemes for minorities that the first UPA
government had started. A Bill to prevent communal violence has been
introduced in Parliament and efforts will be made to convert it into a law
as soon as possible.

The practice of female foeticide regrettably persists in our society. This
is a shame for all of us. We must eliminate it as early as possible. Our
progress will be incomplete till women become equal partners in all areas of
our life and in our nation's progress. Our government is committed to the
early passage of the Women's Reservation Bill. This legislation will provide
one-third reservation for women in Parliament and the State Assemblies. We
are also working on a legislation to provide 50% reservation for women in
rural and urban local bodies. In fact, we should find ways and means to
increase the participation of women in all democratic institutions. Our
government will make sustained efforts for social and economic empowerment
of women. We have decided to launch a National Female Literacy Mission,
through which female illiteracy will be reduced by half in the next three
years.

We are proud of our brave soldiers. It is our duty to ensure that
ex-servicemen are able to lead a life of comfort. We have accepted the
recommendations of the committee constituted to examine the issue of pension
of ex-servicemen. This will lead to increased pension for about 12 lakh
retired jawans and Junior Commissioned Officers.

In our journey of development, we should not only pay special attention to
some sections of our society, but must also take care of the special needs
of the backward regions of our country. We will redouble our efforts to
remove regional imbalances in the level of development. Here I would like to
make a special mention of our States of the North-East. Our government will
constantly endeavour to make the States of the North East equal partners in
the country's progress. Imphal or Kohima may be physically far away from
Delhi, but the welfare of our brothers and sisters of the North East is
always close to our heart. We know that without their well-being the country
cannot move forward.

There have been two elections in Jammu & Kashmir since I addressed you on
the last Independence Day. The first one was for the State Legislative
Assembly and the second for the Lok Sabha. People of all areas of the State
have participated vigorously in both the elections. This is a proof that
there is no place for separatist thought in Jammu & Kashmir.

Our Government will continue assisting the State Government in improving
governance in all parts of Jammu & Kashmir. It will be our endeavour to
ensure that human rights are respected in the State and all its citizens are
able to lead a life of peace and dignity in an environment of safety and
security. We respect the special assurances and concessions provided to
Jammu & Kashmir in our Constitution. We will continue to honour these
special provisions.

Today's world is becoming smaller in many respects. Whether it is the
international economic crisis or terrorism or climate change - what happens
in one part of the world has an effect on other parts also. The
international economic and political order is changing. Questions are being
raised on the functioning and continued effectiveness of the multilateral
institutions established in the 20th Century.

Our foreign policy should be able to cater to India's interests in these
constantly changing circumstances. I am happy that we have been successful
in doing this to a large extent.

We have good relations with the United States, Russia, China, Japan and
Europe. There is a tremendous amount of goodwill for India and its people in
the countries of South East Asia, Central Asia, West Asia and the Gulf. We
have further strengthened our traditional ties with Africa. We are looking
for new opportunities in Latin America.

As far our neighbours are concerned, we want to live with them in peace and
harmony. We will make every possible effort to create an environment
conducive to the social and economic development of the whole of South Asia.


However good our programmes and schemes might be, their benefit will not
reach the public till the government machinery is not free of corruption and
till it is not effective in their implementation. I would like our public
administration to be more efficient so that programmes for public good can
be implemented faster. We need to improve our delivery systems to provide
basic services to our citizens. We will act with speed on the
recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission to strengthen
governance. Renewed efforts will be made to decentralize public
administration through the Panchayati Raj Institutions and to ensure greater
involvement of people in it. Initiative will be taken for a new partnership
between the civil society and the government so that tax payers' money is
better spent. We have enacted the Right to Information Act to enhance
accountability and transparency in public life. This law will be improved so
that it is more effective.

We have to make special efforts to strengthen the administrative machinery
for our rural programmes. Those who live in villages and semi-urban areas
should get services similar to the residents of urban areas. Communication
and Information Technology can go a long way in achieving this objective.
Recently, we have set up the Unique Identification Authority of India. This
is a historic step to link up the whole country through a high quality
administrative arrangement. We expect the first set of identity numbers to
be available in the next one to one and a half years.

Today, as I stand before you I can feel the energy of more than 100 crore
Indians marching ahead on the path of progress. Some people question whether
India will ever be able to attain its true potential. I have no doubt about
this. We are rapidly moving forward. We have faith in ourselves. We have
political stability. Our democracy is an example for the whole world. We are
gaining in economic strength. And most importantly, we have full confidence
in our youth. They are our future. I am sure that they will take our country
to a new glory.

Let us all commit ourselves today to working for a golden future. On this
sacred occasion let us resolve that nation building will be our highest
duty.

Jai HindJai HindJai Hind.”