Time to fight graft,says PM

The suggestion came at the 43rd conference of Governors,which concluded at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday.

President Pratibha Patil has suggested that a committee of Governors be set up to evolve mutually beneficial models for a farmer-industry partnership,focusing on rain-fed area farming. The suggestion came at the 43rd conference of Governors,which concluded at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday.

The committee would make suitable recommendations and formulate a concept paper to bring about an evergreen revolution to harness the full potential of the agriculture sector,the President said.

Speaking at the conference,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said,Our efforts for rapid progress and development can have their full impact only if we curb corruption in public life and improve the processes of governance.

He said it was the right time to move decisively in this direction. The UPA government,he declared,will do its utmost to improve transparency and accountability in the work of public authorities. We are committed to take all possible measures to curb corruption in administration and deliver good governance to our citizens, he said,adding that we are working for enacting a law to bring more transparency and accountability into our procurement systems. He called upon state governments to act similarly.

The immediate challenge before us is how to sustain a high growth path,while keeping inflation in check, the Prime Minister said. Over the last seven-and-a-half years or so,our government has striven for high economic growth along with inclusion… we have been reasonably successful in our efforts,despite at times facing an adverse international environment, he said and added,The global economic slowdown of 2008-09 did affect us but not as much as other countries.

Describing food price inflation as a particular cause for worry, he said the key to tackling rising food prices lies in increasing agricultural production. However,he said,we should guard against a mood of negativism.

Regarding Left wing extremism,he said,it had both external and internal dimensions. As many as 17 states had international land borders,besides a long coastline,shared by nine states and four Union Territories.

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Infiltration by terrorists,illegal migration and smuggling are the main problems we face along our borders, he said.

The Prime Minister listed steps for dealing with the threat to internal security,but made it clear that the the extent of success we achieve through these measures depends critically on coordination between the Centre and states and between different states.

Those who spoke at the two-day conference included Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,Home Minister P Chidambaram,Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar,Defence Minister A K Antony and Law Minister Salman Khurshid.