New Delhi: India cannot be built from Delhi alone, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Friday.
"The future of our country depends therefore a great deal on the quality of political leadership and of government at the state and at local levels," he said. Singh was speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
Overcome burden of history, PM tells neighbouring nations
The Prime Minister said that the Union government has an important developmental role, apart from its Central role in providing national security. But with the growth of the market economy and with individual talent and enterprise being unleashed, no agenda for building a new India can any longer be imposed from Delhi. "India lives in the states," he said.
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Social disparities is India's biggest challenge and it strives to ensure the economic and social upliftment of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, less privileged sections of society and religious and linguistic minorities.
"We need pro-active and creative leadership at the State and district level. We need a more active civil society and media focus on the quality of governance at the State and district levels. Urban governance has to vastly improve to make our cities and towns meet the needs of a burgeoning urban population. We need a creative entrepreneurial class that can compete both at home and abroad without artificial props," Singh said.
PM asks for states' support to enforce law and order
"For us this challenge is compounded by the fact that our less developed regions are also the more populated ones. This has contributed to the persistence of poverty and to the problem of internal migration and it is also driven by sometimes law and order problems," said the PM.
"We need an active civil society. We need a professional middle class. We need a combination of all these participants to transform our less developed regions and take them forward on the road to sustained development," he added.
The PM said India's primary target n the next decade will be to sustain high rates of economic growth, to ensure that the growth process remains equitable, to invest in the education and health of every child and adult, to generate gainful employment, to build modern, efficient and environment-friendly infrastructure and to ensure that government and public services are efficient and responsive to our people’s needs and function transparently.
Shun violence for peace talks, says Indian PM
"We should aim to sustain annual growth rates of 9 to 10% per annum," he said.
"We have to increase investments in physical and social infrastructure, paying particular attention to the needs of our agriculture and the transformation of our rural economy. The fact that our savings rate is as high as 35% of our GDP suggests that what I am saying, is a realizable goal. The challenge for political leadership, at the national, at the state and local levels, will lie in ensuring the realization of this outcome," he said.
Taking on the environment issue, Singh said, "As responsible global citizens we wish to be partners of all nations in humanity’s struggle for the preservation and protection of the environment and in giving meaning and substance to the notion of sustainable development."
Shun violence for peace talks, says Indian PM
"We will fulfill our obligations to nature and to humanity consistent with our commitment to the welfare and well-being of our people, and the poor of the world. Equally, we expect the developed nations, and those who have so far drawn unduly on nature’s bounty to bear their due share of the burdens as well," he added.
The Prime Minister said that India seeks a neighborhoods of peace and progress. "India is always happy to extend a helpful and supportive hand to all our neighbours. We wish to see democracy take deep roots in all these countries so that the people of South Asia are truly empowered to take their destiny into their own hands," he added.
"We need pro-active and creative leadership at the State and district level. We need a more active civil society and media focus on the quality of governance at the State and district levels. Urban governance has to vastly improve to make our cities and towns meet the needs of a burgeoning urban population. We need a creative entrepreneurial class that can compete both at home and abroad without artificial props," Singh said.
PM asks for states' support to enforce law and order
"For us this challenge is compounded by the fact that our less developed regions are also the more populated ones. This has contributed to the persistence of poverty and to the problem of internal migration and it is also driven by sometimes law and order problems," said the PM.
"We need an active civil society. We need a professional middle class. We need a combination of all these participants to transform our less developed regions and take them forward on the road to sustained development," he added.
The PM said India's primary target n the next decade will be to sustain high rates of economic growth, to ensure that the growth process remains equitable, to invest in the education and health of every child and adult, to generate gainful employment, to build modern, efficient and environment-friendly infrastructure and to ensure that government and public services are efficient and responsive to our people’s needs and function transparently.
Shun violence for peace talks, says Indian PM
"We should aim to sustain annual growth rates of 9 to 10% per annum," he said.
"We have to increase investments in physical and social infrastructure, paying particular attention to the needs of our agriculture and the transformation of our rural economy. The fact that our savings rate is as high as 35% of our GDP suggests that what I am saying, is a realizable goal. The challenge for political leadership, at the national, at the state and local levels, will lie in ensuring the realization of this outcome," he said.
Taking on the environment issue, Singh said, "As responsible global citizens we wish to be partners of all nations in humanity’s struggle for the preservation and protection of the environment and in giving meaning and substance to the notion of sustainable development."
Shun violence for peace talks, says Indian PM
"We will fulfill our obligations to nature and to humanity consistent with our commitment to the welfare and well-being of our people, and the poor of the world. Equally, we expect the developed nations, and those who have so far drawn unduly on nature’s bounty to bear their due share of the burdens as well," he added.
The Prime Minister said that India seeks a neighborhoods of peace and progress. "India is always happy to extend a helpful and supportive hand to all our neighbours. We wish to see democracy take deep roots in all these countries so that the people of South Asia are truly empowered to take their destiny into their own hands," he added.
