PM unveils 5-point strategy

PM unveils 5-point strategy
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, DEC 18: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today unveiled a 5-point strategy to make India a knowledge superpower and said a new national population policy will be announced soon to prevent dilution of economic gains by population explosion.

The 5-point strategy, aimed at achieving a quantum jump in growth, will strive to leverage existing competence in information technology, bio-technology and financial services besides establishment of global networking, Vajpayee said inaugurating Assocham's annual general meeting.

Vajpayee said vibrant government-industry-academic interaction in policy making and implementation needed to be established for this purpose so that economic and business strategic alliances are built on capabilities and opportunities.This will have to be coupled with ``periodic and timely'' corrections to achieve desired goals, he said stressing that there should be concerted efforts on education as well for developing a learning society.

Asserting only a knowledge-basedsociety will enable the country to leapfrog in finding new and innovative ways to meet challenges of 21st century, Vajpayee said there was, however, no room for complacency.

To harness the huge skill base enjoyed by India, Vajpayee said, a vibrant industry-government partnership in policy-making and implementation for knowledge management programmes needed to be established.Vajpayee, however, did not elaborate on the new population policy, but only said the basic challenge of poverty eradication and building a just and equitable social order would remain the central theme of the government's development initiative.

The key to these solutions, as always, would be the ability to apply knowledge as the primary means to secure competitive advantage and regenerate it on a continuing basis. Vajpayee also emphasised the need to ensure that the excitement and optimism generated by the ``unimagined growth'' in it was not limited to this sector alone but extended to other areas of production and services throughgreater participation of all in the growth process. He reiterated that government was committed to increasing industrial productivity, securing greater market share globally and effecting greater fiscal discipline and expenditure control. He underlined the need for developing new technologies, expending the base of players and cutting down turn-around time.

Vajpayee said key characteristics of knowledge economy were quickly changing technology bases and high degree of flexibility.