Govt focussed towards enhancing capacity of rural poor -- PM

Govt focussed towards enhancing capacity of rural poor -- PM
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

ANAND, APRIL 12: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said the Union Government was committed to eradicating poverty and enhancing the capacity of rural poor through establishment of self-help groups for acting as facilitators of development.

"The government is committed to realise Mahatma Gandhi's dream of making rural India progress and to achieve this, we have launched many rural development schemes with objective of eradicating poverty from the country," Vajpayee said.

He was addressing the gathering after giving certificates to 53 graduating students at the convocation of Institute for Rural Management, Anand (IRMA).

The Prime Minister said the government has simplified rural development mission and made it easily comprehensible to the masses and launched various schemes which sought to develop rural infrastructure and create employment.

Priority has been accorded towards providing shelter to the rural homeless, Vajpayee said, adding the government has also made available unprecedented resources to help rehabilitate those affected by natural disasters.

The importance of rural India in the overall development plan for the country cannot be overemphasised, he said, pointing out this was because more than 70 percent of India's population lived in 6 lakh villages and two-third of the country's work force was engaged in agriculture and allied activities, contributing 26 percent of its gross domestic product.

Vajpayee said no strategy of socio-economic development that bypasses rural sector -- its people, natural resources, problems and potential -- can succeed. In fact, rural development lies at the core of India's overall progress, he said.

The Prime Minister said the percentage of persons living below the poverty line was still unacceptably high and as a result, the average life expectancy and per capita income remained low and so also the human development index.

Several structural and operational reforms introduced as part of overall economic reforms in the country have had their impact on rural development and agriculture, the Prime Minister said.

Vajpayee said, "It is a collective challenge for all of us to set right the distortion in our development process and overcome the challenges of the new global economy."

"The changes in national and international economic environment offer many opportunities. We need to take a fresh look at existing laws and regulations that have a direct bearing on the rural development," the Prime Minister said.

"In an era of liberalisation and globalisation, we need to re-examine the role of genuine rural producers cooperatives and free them from unnecessary interferences for corporatisation of cooperatives," he said.

IRMA Chairman Dr V Kurien said the dairy industry has emerged as the single largest rural employment programme. It was the largest contributor to the agricultural GDP and provided subsidiary income to millions of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers, Kurien, who is also known for launching White Revolution in the country, added.

He said India has 70,000 village milk producers cooperative societies, federated into 170 district milk producers unions.

IRMA Director Dr Kata Singh pointed that besides admitting 70 to 80 students every year for its two-year post graduate rural management programme, the institute regularly undertook research and consultancy projects.