PAGE-1 MIND-Q TYPING & STENO INSTITUTE JIND - 9466139002 Mr. Chairman, Sir. I must begin by expressing my very sincere thanks to you and the Deputy Chairman for the grace and wisdom with which you conducted the proceedings of this House. We are all grateful to you, sir, for the sense of fairness and fair play with which you deal with each Member of this august House. Sir, this has been a very important Session of Parliament. Not only did we discuss the Union and Railway Budgets, but we passed over a dozen other bills including the Patents (Amendment) Bill, The Right to Information Bill, the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Amendment) Bill, the Weapons of Mass Destructions and Their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Bill and the Special Economic Zones Bill. Nine important Bills were also introduced in the House including the Manipur University Bill and the Disaster management Bill. Sir, we also found time for short duration discussions on many matters of national importance such as instance of suicide by farmers, the situation arising out of the Tsunami disaster last December and the measures taken to deal with it, the reforms of our criminal justice system and the work of the newly reconstituted North-East Council. The house also heard a wide range of important policy statements made and I had the privilege of placing before the House a comprehensive statement on my meetings with important foreign dignitaries, particularly the Prime Minister of China and the President of Pakistan. Sir, by any standards of parliamentary work this is commendable business. I sincerely wish I could have stopped here after recording my appreciation of the proceedings However, Mr. Chairman Sir; once again we end the Session with a sense of regret and concern. You have expressed your sentiments. Most of the creative discussions in the budget exercise focus on Plan expenditure. If so, is it essential to wait for five year intervals to re-engage in a planning effort or can we do this on an annual basis for certain areas and on a longer basis for other? This is especially relevant as we now present medium term forecasts for the budget. Most of priority areas of government are in sectors which are the primary responsibility of states agriculture, irrigation, health, education, etc. www.mindqtyping.com PAGE-2 MIND-Q TYPING & STENO INSTITUTE JIND - 9466139002 Infrastructure areas, traditionally seen as responsibilities of the Centre, e.g. power, ports, airports and even national highways are gradually seeing increased private participation. This calls for a new focus in planning. The Planning Commission should ensure that all aspects of our policies are conducive to encouraging the private sector to play its role in infrastructure development. At the same time, there is a concern that issues relating to marginalized sections may be given a lower priority at the state level. The Planning Commission should think of ways whereby the responsibility for sectored interventions is increasingly transferred to states while the Centre retains the flexibility to support targeted programmers aimed at certain focus groups like SCs, STs, BCs, Minorities and Women. There seems to be increasing disquiet and discontent among many groups tribal communities in particular are unhappy about their lot, whether it be land rights, access to education health or access to economic opportunities. So is the case with SCs, minorities and women. The Planning Commission should consider ways whereby our policies can be restructured to give a stake in economic development to the marginalized so that we can deal with the challenge. Hon. Members, This will have to be not only in commercial activities but also in physical infrastructure, where its involvement has been limited in the past. To enable this to happen, the policy and procedural environment must be made considerably more welcoming towards private investment; and, the government will have to incentivize the private sector to enter unfamiliar areas through well designed public-private partnership models. The MTA document brings out possibilities that exist for such involvement and the required policy changes. At this point, I would like to raise a few issues which concern the overall approach to planning as a process. It is important that as a country, we learn to walk on two legs, one embracing processes of high growth and the other addressing the issue of redistribution and balanced development. The growth, we need to put in place a set of policies that tap into the vast reservoir of talent that exists in our country, policies that will create an environment which reward creativity and enterprise. www.mindqtyping.com PAGE-3 MIND-Q TYPING & STENO INSTITUTE JIND - 9466139002 The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Right Over The Lazy Dog. www.mindqtyping.com PAGE-4 MIND-Q TYPING & STENO INSTITUTE JIND - 9466139002 Mr. Chairman, Let me begin by welcoming you to the second meeting of the Full Planning Commission. The Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Five Year Plan provides a comprehensive review of the performance of the economy as a whole and of the state of play in each of the sectors. There are several positive features which are noted but, there are also signs that the economy is not on track to achieve many of the important targets of the Plan and corrective policies are therefore urgently needed. I am looking forward to a focused discussion on the challenges ahead. It appears that even with optimistic projections about the next two years the average growth rate in the Tenth Plan period is not likely to cross the 7% mark, will below the X Plan growth target of 8.1% Employment generation is also unsatisfactory so far. The corner- stone of the X Plan had been a reversal of the declining trend in the growth rate of agriculture to eventually to take it above. The actual performance of agriculture appears to have deteriorated even further and will possibly not exceed 1.5% during the first three years of the Plan. The slippages that have been recorded in the growth rate of the economy, and especially in agriculture, have wide ranging implications for other important economic variables as well. As we all know, growth of employment and reduction in poverty are both intimately linked to growth performance, especially in agriculture. Many of these problems were recognized in the National Common Minimum Programmed and Government has already initiated corrective steps in some of the critical areas. The Food for Work Programmed which is to evolve into an Employment Guarantee when the Bill is passed is a major initiative in providing income security. Parliament in the next Session, so that we can resume normal work, in accordance with the aspirations of the people we represent. I look forward to participating in the next Session of parliament, with the presence of all Members of this August House. I greatly regret the absence of the Opposition from Parliament. The Opposition has an honored place in our system of governance and their absence from the House detracts from the efficiency of our processes of governance. www.mindqtyping.com PAGE-5 MIND-Q TYPING & STENO INSTITUTE JIND - 9466139002 As I have said repeatedly, all issues which are of concern to any Member of this House can be discussed and debated on the floor of this House. It will be a sad day if our people were to lose faith in important institutions such as our Parliament. Therefore, both Government and Opposition are obliged to play their respective roles to ensure that the system of checks and balances envisioned by our founding fathers functions effectively and efficiently for the common benefit of our country. I would like to conclude by placing on record my sincere appreciation for your guidance and leadership, and also thank the Deputy Speaker, the Secretary-General and the staff of the Lok Sabha Secretariat for their commitment and hard work. Before I begin, I would like to express my sincere condolences, and my sense of shock and outrage at the terrorist violence in London yesterday. The terrorism we witnessed yesterday has proven once again that none of our societies are free from this modern day scourge. As I said earlier, all civilized societies should join hands in the war against terror, wherever it is fought. The people of India stand firm in solidarity with the people of the United Kingdom in this hour of sorrow. We are gathered together to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary.