New Delhi, September 02: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the effects of the global meltdown
had begun to wear out and asserted that UPA II was in a commanding position to tackle drought.
Terming the pessimism about the economy unwarranted, Dr. Singh, chairing the first full-fledged meeting of
the Planning Commission in his second tenure here, said: “We are in a very strong position to manage the
consequence of drought. Our food stocks in particular are very high. We should not be over-pessimistic.” The
country had a buffer stock of 50 million tonnes of foodgrains, enough to meet the requirements of the Public
Distribution System for 13 months.
Underlying strengths
While the economy had to deal with the lingering effects of the global slowdown and the impact of drought, it
also had underlying strengths built over the years. The government’s focus now was on drought management
including protecting the kharif crop and ensuring a normal rabi crop.
“The government is giving focussed attention to all aspects of drought management, including relief
measures. The NREGA [National Rural Employment Guarantee Act] gives us a very important instrument for
supporting incomes of those most in need. We must make all efforts to converge NREGA and other agricultural
and rural schemes to minimise the impact of drought during 2009-10.”
Indicating a recasting of public-private partnership norms, especially in infrastructure, to revive investment,
Dr. Singh said: “The progress in the implementation of PPP projects has been less than what we would have
wanted. We are taking steps to streamline the process so that PPP projects can move faster.” He also
underlined the need for expanding the scope of PPP to include projects in the social sectors such as health,
education and urban development.
Dr. Singh suggested that the Planning Commission interact with the Ministries concerned to exploit the
opportunity for PPP but, he cautioned, any initiative must not weaken the commitment to inclusiveness. “We
have to ensure that the momentum of planned development is maintained in the next two years [of the 11th
Plan] and that our flagship programmes are fully funded.”
The global meltdown had constrained resource mobilisation and capital flows to developing economies, hitting
investments — key to economic growth. As a result, India’s economic growth slipped to 6.7 per cent in
2008-09 from about nine per cent the previous fiscal. The Commission expected that it would fall to 6.3 per
cent in 2009-10. “We have been through a difficult year because of the global economic downturn which is
only now coming to an end with a slow return to normalcy in the months that lie ahead,” Dr. Singh said.
On the Integrated Energy Policy, the Prime Minister said rational energy policies were also critical for rational
responses to the threat of climate change. “This is a new compulsion and we need to assess whether we are
on track in critical aspects of our energy policies.”
–Agencies