Resolution

RESOLUTION ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Introduced by Shri Veerappa Moily

The Background

The 82nd Plenary of the Indian National Congress is taking place at a time when the Congress-led UPA government has been in power at the Centre for almost twenty months. During this period, the government has taken major new initiatives in economic policy in keeping with the commitments made in the National Common Minimum Programme which, as the chairperson of the UPA, the Congress President has been pointing out, is virtually the Congress's own manifesto for the last Lok Sabha `elections. These initiatives have been taken with the objective of accelerating and broad-basing economic growth and of making the growth process more pro-poor and all-inclusive. The Indian National Congress categorically rejects the idea of growth accompanied by increased joblessness that marked the BJP-led NDA period. It also firmly rejects the idea of growth accompanied by increased inequalities that marked the BJP-led NDA period. Actually, the BJP-led NDA period saw a lower economic growth than during 1980-89 or during 1992-96 when the Congress was in power.
The Indian National Congress recalls that in May 2004 while growth indicators appeared healthy entirely because of the good monsoon of 2003, there were underlying factors that threatened to dampen the fundamentals of economic growth. The first among these was the decline in investment, especially in agriculture and irrigation. Overall capital investment was also on the decline. Secondly, the BJP-led NDA government did not adequately understand the risks associated with a build-up of foreign exchange reserves and allowed a trigger to high inflation to develop. Thirdly, relative to overall growth in the economy, the growth in tax revenues had tapered off and this put pressure on the fiscal deficit which the BJP-led NDA government sought to contain by restricting the much-needed capital expenditure.

The Indian National Congress congratulates the UPA government led by the Congress for the courage and wisdom with which it has addressed these issues. A value added tax (VAT) has been introduced recently, which is seen as the most ambitious tax reforms after independence. The Indian National Congress urges the Government to bring in similar reform measures in taxation and fiscal administration. The economy has been put firmly on a high growth path. Inflation, which had touched a high of 8.7% on August 28th 2004 has been reined in, and is now around 4.5%. The unprecedented oil-price shock has been managed successfully. Business confidence has been more than restored and industrial growth put on a higher trajectory. Most importantly, there has been a complete turnaround in both public and private investment and both are running at an all-time high. The year 2004-05 ended with a growth rate of 6.9%. The first half of 2005-06 had a growth rate of 8.1 percent. If the economy records the growth of 8 per cent for 2005-06, and the same rate for 2006-07, average rate for the Tenth Plan period will work out to 7.1 per cent. The attempt should be made to accelerate the pace of the economy to achieve growth rate exceeding this. Similarly, now that the economy has picked up and the last two years of the Tenth Plan are likely to see a growth rate of 8 per cent, it would be prudent to plan for even higher growth during the 11th Plan. Therefore, the AICC calls upon the government to sustain this growth and lay the foundation for achieving a growth of 10 percent during the Eleventh Plan. The Congress has always believed that growth, stability and equity are mutually reinforcing objectives. Given the resilience of the Indian economy, the Indian National Congress now feels that it is possible to mobilize resources for ambitious new programmes in areas like employment, education, health and infrastructure.

Employment

The Indian National Congress lauds the government for getting the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act passed, to be introduced in 200 districts to begin with. It recalls that this idea was first mooted at the Guwahati Conclave of Congress Chief Ministers in April 2002 and later found a prominent place in the Congress Party's manifesto for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. The Indian National Congress calls upon all Congressmen and women to get closely involved in the implementation and monitoring of this landmark legislation through mobilization of people and making them aware of their entitlements. The Indian National Congress is convinced that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act will expand rural infrastructure and provide a fillip to watershed and water management, land development, dryland and rainfed farming and afforestation as well. Government should also incorporate the skill development to support self-employment schemes in the NREG sector. While providing training for skill development special emphasis should be provided for Youth & Women.

The Indian National Congress also recognizes the challenge that we have to vastly expand employment opportunities for the educated and for upgrading the skill levels of our youth. As the women suffer from the low level scheme special programme may be launched to upgrade the scheme. Faster economic growth through a quicker pace of investments in both industry and services will enable this to happen. Investments in `Tourism' industry would have to be accelerated as it has a very high potential of employment generation. The Indian National Congress believes that it is time to have laws and regulations that accelerate employment growth in the organized sector.

Eradication of poverty

The Indian National Congress is committed in its philosophy to eradicate poverty (Garibi Hatao) and address the many problems faced by common man (aam aadmi). The Indian National Congress calls upon the Government to launch a targeted programme to lift the population below poverty line in a time bound manner. It calls upon the Government to ensure that the existing proportion of persons living below the poverty line is halved in the Eleventh Plan.

Agriculture, Rural Credit

The Indian National Congress appreciates the priority that is being placed on the expansion of rural credit. In this connection, it calls upon the government to ensure that the credit needs of small and marginal farmers particularly are met adequately and on time. It calls upon the Central government to take a leadership role in restoring to health quickly the rural cooperative credit system, in its entirety.

The Indian National Congress welcomes the great emphasis that is being placed on redressing the neglect of agriculture that marked the NDA rule resulting in series of farmers mass suicide. The Indian National Congress will emphasize to implement pragmatic and effective crop insurance schemes in the country to halt the process of instability among the farmers. The agricultural rural credit will also be relaunched with reasonable interest, to avoid chronic debt trap and also easy accessibility to credit, and also appropriate priority for rural lending devised to eliminate the menace of middle men and money lenders. It calls upon the government to implement the recommendations made by the National Commission on Farmers in a time-bound manner. The Indian National Congress calls upon the Government to usher in the Second Agricultural Revolution with a special focus on dryland agriculture and to address the needs of small and marginal farmers and also inject affordable new technology to halt degradation of soil. The approach should include capacity building among weaker sections like SCs and STs to contribute to growth in agriculture. This should also include security in land tenure as a further extension and implementation of land reforms. Our traditional emphasis on the welfare of kisans and khet mazdoors is reflected in the fact that a separate resolution will deal with their concerns. Public investment in agriculture must be stepped up substantially. Minimum support prices must be ensured in all parts of the country and the procurement machinery must have a presence in all States of the country. The government should ensure that support price/minimum prices be announced very much before the sowing season. The special concerns of the plantation sector have to be addressed meaningfully and appropriate urgent steps may be taken. New initiatives like the National Horticulture Mission must be implemented.

Bharat Nirman

A major challenge of our economic reform programme is that of balancing the growth process and bridging the various divides. One of the most significant divides in India has been between the urban and rural Indias. We have to reverse this trend. The Indian National Congress expresses its appreciation for the launch of the ambitious Rs. 1,74,000 crores Bharat Nirman programme with its six components of irrigation, roads, housing, drinking water, electricity and telecom. The programmes should also include sanitation and also maintenance of sewage system. It calls upon the government to ensure that the programme is fully funded and implemented strictly according to a publicly-declared schedule. The Indian National Congress calls upon all Congress-ruled State governments to participate fully in this programme. In non-Congress States, the Indian National Congress calls upon Congressmen and women to put maximum pressure on the respective State governments to cooperate with the Central government.

Health, Women and Children

The Indian National Congress congratulates the government for launching the National Rural Health Mission. This is a mission of the greatest significance and its focus on the creation of health infrastructure particularly in the poorer and backward regions of the country is welcome. At the same time, there is need to introduce a system of health insurance for poor families. The govt. should instruct state governments to introduce health insurance for poor families in accordance with the scheme already introduced by the UPA govt. Sanitation is the key to public health. In this connection, while the Indian National Congress notes that a total sanitation programme is presently being run by the Central government, there is need for an involvement of Party workers following the inspiring example of Gandhiji. The Indian National Congress calls upon Congressmen and women to participate actively in the Swacch Vatavaran Abhiyan announced by the Congress President last year. The Indian National Congress also underscores the great importance of an effective, time-bound plan for the elimination of manual scavenging completely and for the rehabilitation of families released from this most degrading practice. The Indian National Congress also urges the government to immediately launch comprehensive measures to prevent spread of AIDS.

India is one of the nations with lower public spending on health. It is estimated that private spending on health is as high as 78% of the total expenditure. The Indian National Congress calls upon the Government to enhance public spending from the existing about 0.9% of GDP to double that rate in the next three years.

The Indian National Congress welcomes the emphasis being placed on schemes for the welfare of women and children reflected in the very large increase in allocations for ICDS and supplementary nutrition programmes. While commending the extension of massive midday Meal programme by the UPA Government, the Indian National Congress should step up for maintaining quality & nutrition value. This programme should encompass main objective of retention of the students. The Indian National Congress calls upon Congressmen and women to familiarize themselves with these programmes and involve themselves in monitoring their implementation. Appropriate measures should be taken by the govt. for abolition of the child labour and also their rehabilitation. The INC also calls upon the govt. to evolve a policy of temperance to minimize impact of the menace of consumption of liquor with a view to ensuring the livelihood for women and children.

The Indian National Congress lauds the government for the `Prevention of Women from Domestic Violence Bill', which has been passed by both the Houses of Parliament. This path breaking legislation seeks to protect women from all forms of domestic violence. The Indian National Congress welcomes the recent amendment to the Hindu Succession Act that will confer women equal rights relating to inheritance of property. It also welcomes the passage of the Protection of Child Rights Bill and calls upon the government to implement it with great vigour. In this connection, the Indian National Congress calls upon its frontal organizations particularly to play a leadership role in raising public awareness of social legislations and in monitoring their implementation in partnership with activists and civil society groups.

Leverage Knowledge for Growth

India enjoys a competitive advantage in the global economy, by virtue of its knowledge resources in sciences, engineering and technology, information Technology and Bio technology coupled with a large base of skilled human resources. There is a unique opportunity for India to leverage these resources and accelerate growth. The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to formulate policies and adopt measures so that the country emerges as a knowledge and technology powerhouse.

Self-help Groups

The Indian National Congress considers micro-finance as a key strategy for reducing poverty in India. Today, at the All India level, less than 5% of poor rural households have access to micro finance. The access to formal credit by rural households is meagre. For over 600,000 villages there are barely 68,000 bank branches. The Indian National Congress underscores the great importance of women's self-help groups which have established themselves very well in some southern states and calls upon the government to replicate these successes in other parts of the country as well. The government should also work out marketing chain for the products self-help groups. The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to create a Microfinance Equity Fund which could be set up with contributions from commercial banks and that could be treated as part of their priority sector lending programme The differential between interest rates that women get for their deposits and at which they borrow must be reduced significantly and in this regard, the Indian National Congress appreciates measures taken by some Congress-ruled State governments.

Public Distribution

The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to ensure the availability of all essential commodities at reasonable prices and in adequate quantities all over the country. In this connection, the Indian National Congress urges the government to strengthen the public distribution system especially in the States outside peninsular India where it is weak. The special requirements of vulnerable sections of our population must be met. The Indian National Congress lauds the new system of decentralized procurement and community grain banks and believes that it must be expanded even as the present FCI-based national system is further strengthened. The Indian National Congress also feels that new arrangements for managing fair price shops—like through ex-servicemen cooperatives and women's self- help groups—must be introduced on a large scale. Indian National Congress also calls upon the government not to cut down the subsidies for the BPL families and also maintain a level of quantity of food grains supplied to them. The Indian National Congress also calls upon the government to adopt fool proof systems not to eliminate any section of the society who are eligible to be included in the BPL family groups.

Public Sector

The Indian National Congress congratulates the government for reversing the policy of indiscriminate and non-transparent privatization of the public sector put in place by the BJP-led NDA government. It calls upon the government to strengthen the navaratna companies in every way so that they become globally competitive. The Indian National Congress reiterates its position that under no circumstances should the navaratna companies be privatized. The Indian National Congress is in agreement with the view that disinvestment in other cases should be undertaken selectively, on a case-by-case basis, so as to raise resources for the National Investment Fund that has been set up by the government to augment resources for social sector programmes. It should be ensured that at no circumstances the fund from the public sector should be used for meeting the revenue expenditure. Viable public sector companies should be revived. Overall, public sector must get the necessary managerial and commercial autonomy to function in a professional manner.

Social Justice

The Indian National Congress recalls the Bangalore Resolution and urges the government to initiate a national debate on the role of the private sector in affirmative action programmes to fulfill the aspirations of young men and women belonging to the weaker sections of society. The Indian National Congress believes that such a role must be proactive and consistent with the imperatives of global competitiveness. Government policies must be tailored to give an incentive for affirmative action. The Indian National Congress calls upon the Government to evolve legislative and administrative support for implementation of policy on Affirmative Action for the weaker sections, in the private sector also. The Indian National Congress recalls that previous Congress governments had established finance and development corporations for the welfare of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs and minorities. These corporations were expected to play an important role in the development of entrepreneurship as well. The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to immediately take steps to increase the capital available to these corporations to carry out their programmes effectively.

The Indian National Congress congratulates the Congress President for her personal interest which has made possible the introduction of the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005 which will provide livelihood security to tribal families. It urges the government to work towards the quick passage of this legislation.

Regional Disparities

The Indian National Congress underscores the importance of addressing developmental imbalances and disparities both within States and between States. The Indian National Congress notes that most of the initiatives taken by the UPA government benefit the poorer and backward regions of the country. Indian National Congress calls upon the Government to evolve legislative, administrative and fiscal measures to ensure removal of inadequacies in the human and physical development of these regions and facilitate to bring inclusive development and the mainstreaming of the vulnerable areas and communities. It also urges the government to set up a special fund to correct regional imbalances immediately.

The Indian National Congress notes with satisfaction many new initiatives that have been taken for the faster economic development of the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir. While congratulating the Prime Minister for the huge financial package for Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian National Congress calls upon the Government to effectively monitor and ensure a decisive and positive impact on the lives of the people. While public expenditures have increased substantially, the Indian National Congress believes that people must begin to see the benefits of these expenditures directly and tangibly.

The Indian National Congress also urges the government to look at the economic dimensions of social conflicts more carefully and take appropriate measures to deal with them. Undoubtedly, conflict and violence must be combated through effective law-and-order machinery but in many cases, underlying socio-economic causes must also be addressed meaningfully.

Urban Development

Urban infrastructure should be accelerated even as we create rural infrastructure on a large scale. Urbanisation is both a challenge and an opportunity. The Indian National Congress appreciates the launch of the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission with a total investment of Rs. 1,00,000 crores over a period of 7 years to cover a million plus population cities, all State capitals and also several cities of religious, historical and tourist importance. It will focus on provision of basic services to the urban poor - housing, water supply, sanitation, slum improvement, community toilets and enhancing overall urban infrastructure. The special needs of urban mass transit must be kept in mind. The Indian National Congress calls upon the Government to expedite the metro rail projects for all metropolitan cities. The emphasis should be given for urban holding area for transit workers in the cities. The Indian National Congress also stresses the importance of providing sewerage and drainage facilities as part of the urban renewal mission. The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to launch a comprehensive scheme to cover housing, security of tenure and better living conditions including sanitation for the urban poor.

Integrated Energy Policy

The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to put in place an integrated energy policy with focus on meeting rural cooking and lighting energy requirements, ensuring the availability of cooking gas and kerosene at affordable prices and expanding the supply of power, on a reliable and cost-effective basis. The Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana which will cover 1.25 lakh villages within 5 years must be implemented expeditiously. All steps must be taken to improve the efficiency and productivity of public enterprises and agencies in the energy sector even as private investment is encouraged. The govt. should also work out aggressive policies on alternative energy. The Indian National Congress expresses its concern that while India has the world's fourth largest coal resources, it is now emerging as a major importer of coal. This points to the need for some new thinking on the way our coal sector is presently structured and managed.

Manufacturing Industry, SSI, KVIC, Handlooms

the Indian National Congress recalls with pride that the foundations for India's achievements in the IT sector have been laid by earlier Congress governments, going back to the establishment of the IlTs and S&T infrastructure thanks to the vision of Jawaharlal Nehru. It calls upon the government to provide all support for continued achievements in this sector and for realizing India's full potential, only a fraction of which has been harnessed so far.

The Indian National Congress welcomes the government's emphasis on the development of India's manufacturing industry as reflected in the establishment of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council. It places the highest priority to the growth of labour-intensive manufacturing industry (like textiles, leather, agro-processing) particularly, and wants all constraints on their expansion removed quickly. The Indian National Congress takes note of the fact that India is a mineral-rich country. It should be our national policy to export value-added products and discourage the export of natural resources, except in extraordinary, well-defined circumstances.

The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to pay serious attention to the special investment, technology, financial and marketing needs of the small scale industry. Banks and financial institutions must play a more positive, promotional role in this area. In this context, it welcomes the introduction of the Bill to promote the development of small and medium enterprises in the last session of the Parliament and calls upon the government to ensure that it is made into a law at the earliest. The Indian National Congress believes that the supply of venture capital for the growth of small and medium enterprises and businesses must expand substantially.

The Indian National Congress urges the government to pay special attention to the modernization of khadi and village industries In this connection, the Indian National Congress takes note of the fact that a Bill has been introduced in Parliament for the restructuring of the KVIC and calls upon the government to ensure its passage soon Legislation apart, there is need for new investment and new technology to make the KVIC more market-oriented. Making it more market-oriented will only help expand employment opportunities in rural areas. The Indjan National Congress also urges the government to launch a new programme for the upgradation of India's artisanal manufacturing industry which is the lifeline of many towns and cities. The cluster approach for the handicraft, handlooms and domestic industries should be launched.

The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to launch a time-bound programme to provide raw material and financial, marketing and technological support to the handloom weaving industry, which is one of our most important economic activities. Important centres of handloom concentration must have their infrastructure upgraded.

Unorganised Labour

The Indian National Congress is of the view that the most important labour reforms is the extension of some minimum level of social security to workers in the unorganized sector who constitute 92% of our workforce. The Indian National Congress appreciates that one of the very first measures taken by the government was the setting up of the National Commission on Unorganised, Informal Sector Enterprises. Considerable debate has already taken place and the Indian National Congress now believes that it is time for the government to announce a bold new package of social security for workers in the unorganized sector. Government should also enact a legislation for social security of the unorganized labour.

Fiscal Policy, Resource Mobilisation

The Indian National Congress calls for a fiscal policy that significantly enhances public investment in social and physical infrastructure. The Indian National Congress reiterates that the structure of public expenditure both at the Centre and in the States, must reflect pressing socio-economic concerns and challenges. The govt. should ensure outlay and outcome budget apart from introducing accrual budget system. The Indian National Congress also urges the government to expand the tax base, improve the tax administration and maintain simplicity and stability in tax rates. The Indian National Congress expresses its shock at the fact that just about 80,000 Indians reported an annual taxable income of more than Rs 10 lakhs last year. This is simply an unacceptable state of affairs which must be rectified forthwith. The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to go after tax evaders, eliminate tax loopholes and recover tax arrears with a single-minded sense of purpose. The Indian National Congress calls for the creation of an Indian Common Market at the earliest. The Indian National Congress also expresses its deep concern at the very high level of NPAs in our financial system and calls upon the government to recover these amounts at the earliest. It calls upon the government to think of innovative measures to raise more resources for anti-poverty programmes.

In the last year and a half, world oil prices have increased by an unprecedented three times. This has placed a huge burden on us since we import close to70% of our crude oil requirements. The government has had to make painful adjustments in the prices of petrol and diesel but the Indian National Congress congratulates the government for not increasing the price of kerosene at all. As far as cooking gas is concerned, the Indian National Congress notes that `prices have increased but not as much as they should have, showing that our government is indeed sensitive to popular sentiment even though that may place a heavy financial burden on the oil companies and the exchequer. Indian National Congress calls upon the govt. to put a cap against the unreasonable increase in sales tax / VAT / cess to control escalations of petroleum products.

Infrastructure

The Indian National Congress congratulates the government for giving more importance to developing highways in the country, by earmarking a sum of Rs 1,72,000 crores for the various phases of National Highway Development Project in the next seven years. It lauds the government for innovative funding mechanisms for infrastructure projects, including the establishment of a Rs 10,000 crore special purpose vehicle (SPV). The Indian National Congress also urges the government for launching the Integrated Ports and Shipping Sector Modernisation Policy. It lauds the government for the decision for opening up investment opportunities in restructuring and modernisation of airports. It also congratulates the Government for providing a legislative framework for Special Economic Zones for accelerating exports.

The Indian National Congress urges the government to pay the closest attention to the expansion of infrastructure in which both public and private investment will have to play a role. For this a clear and credible. legal and regulatory regime needs to be put in place. Public-private partnerships as, for example, has been demonstrated in also have an important contribution to make. It rejects the view that privatization is the only solution to the problems of infrastructure in our country. While private investment does have a role, the role of public investment and public institutions must be recognized. The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to extend the benefits of the telecom revolution to rural and under-served areas of the country like the North-East. The Indian National Congress calls for major new investments to upgrade and expand the railway network. It congratulates the government for introducing amendments to the Electricity Act, 2003 in the last session of the Parliament to allow rural subsidies. It calls upon the Government to ensure that these amendments get passed at the earliest.

Financial Sector

The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to grant greater managerial autonomy to public sector banks even as they are held accountable for fulfillment of target of lending to the priority sector. It calls for more effective regulation of urban cooperative banks, some of whom have collapsed in recent years causing great hardship to lakhs of small investors. It welcomes competition in the financial sector but insists on a level-playing field so that public sector institutions are not at a disadvantage. The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to take appropriate action so that in the name of consolidation the interests of the rural population are not adversely affected.

FDI

The Indian National Congress agrees that FDI has an important role to play in our economic development. FDI norms should be transparent and oriented to encouraging FDI flows into new projects, instead of mere acquisitions. The Indian National Congress lauds the Government for creating an environment which has raised the confidence index of FDI, second only to China.

Retail Trade

There are about 15 million small retailers in the country, constituting about 98% of the country's retail trade business. Their contribution to the GDP is substantial, and they provide livelihood to many. The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to strengthen the supply chain for the retail sector and take steps to make available concessional credit to the retail trade sector.

WTO

The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to sustain the momentum of export growth in agriculture, industry and services. Exports are important not just for the foreign exchange they bring that help to pay for imports but more importantly generate lakhs of jobs.

The Indian National Congress recognises that there are numerous opportunities that globalisation offers to India. These opportunities must be grasped and globalisation made to work to our advantage. At the same time, it cannot be denied that there are certain risks as well. These managed through appropriate policies and institutions. Fears and concerns existing in different sections of our society must be addressed. The Government should ensure that globalisation should be structured with a human face.

The Indian National Congress congratulates the government for its stance in the current round of WTO negotiations and for providing leadership to a group of 110 developing countries to protect and promote their interests. It categorically rejects the false propaganda that the interests of farmers have been jeopardized. Even so, the Indian National Congress reiterates the view that Indian farmers must continue to enjoy subsidies, must be protected from cheap imports and must get access to new markets. In services, unlike in agriculture, India has much to gain from liberalization and we should pursue our agenda keeping this in mind. The Indian National Congress also calls upon the government to keep the prices of essential drugs under review so that the introduction of product patents does not lead to an adverse impact on Indian consumers. The Indian National Congress also calls upon the government to aggressively protect India's unique biodiversity and genetic wealth.

Disaster Management

The Indian National Congress congratulates the government for the establishment of a statutory National Disaster Management Authority and for enactment of the National Disaster Management Authority Act. This will significantly improve our preparedness for coping with natural calamities. The Indian National Congress wishes to place on record the untiring efforts of the Congress President to ensure relief and rehabilitation to people affected by natural disasters—whether it be tsunami in South India, earthquake in J&K or floods in some states like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka etc. The Indian National Congress also commends the government of Dr. Manmohan Singh which has mobilized unprecedented amount of funds for disaster relief. The manner in which the government responded to the tsunami tragedy drew world-wide praise and appreciation. The rescue and rehabilitation for earthquake victims did not let of territorial borders influence them to reach out to suffering humanity. The Indian National Congress wishes to pay particular thanks to the Army, Navy and the Air Force, who have risen to the occasion and provided succour.

Administrative Reforms

The Indian National Congress congratulates the government for appointing the Administrative Reforms Commission The Right to Information Act 2005 is a historic step personally spearheaded by the Congress President. It calls upon the ARC to quickly prepare a comprehensive blueprint for making the administration at all levels more responsive, more citizen-friendly, more accountable arid more transparent to eliminate corruption and red-tapism, and urges the government to act upon these recommendations with a sense of urgency. The Indian National Congress also believes that the full potential for e-governance must be tapped systematically like, for instance, has happened in the case of railway reservations, that was made possible entirely because of our late leader Rajivji. The Indian National Congress calls upon its State governments and the Central government to place the highest emphasis on probity and transparency.

Environment

The Indian National Congress believes in sustainable development and in integrating environmental concerns and considerations fully in the process of economic growth. Development projects must provide for timely and effective resettlement for displaced families and the resettlement must be done in a consultative, transparent manner. The Indian National Congress calls for the greater use of clean technologies in sectors like transport and power. The Indian National Congress urges the government to have an effective plan for the cleaning of all major rivers which have defined our culture for centuries. It also calls upon the government to evolve a National Environment Policy and also a National Bio-diversity Policy immediately.

Human Capital

Even while calling for a concerted national effort for population planning particularly in the high fertility states of Northern and Eastern India as a matter of urgent priority, the Indian National Congress recognises that India's greatest asset is its people. More than that, its most valuable asset that will give it an edge in decades to come is its young population. In the coming decades India will be the youngest country. The Indian National Congress believes that we have a unique demographic opportunity that must be exploited boldly and fully. It urges the government to take full advantage of this demographic opportunity. The immediate thrust has to be on massive investment in human capital and providing a developmental environment most conducive to the growth of skilled human resources. At the same time, gender equity has also to be brought in. The creative potential of our people has to be given every opportunity to flourish. The Indian National Congress calls upon the government to put in place policies and programmes to reap the demographic dividend.

Conclusion

The time has come for India to change. Change can happen under the leadership of Congress and of Smt Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Such leadership with a difference had dawned in India with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. The change should come in the way we look, the way we think, the way we feel, the way we behave. Our foundational legacy is strong, but we need a radical break with the past. Even in areas where things are moving-telecom, automobiles, airlines, information technology-the pace needs to be quickened.

The Indian National Congress congratulates the Congress-led UPA government for giving a new direction and imparting a new momentum to the economy. It calls upon the government to consolidate and push ahead on its various initiatives. India faces both age-old problems as also confronts new challenges. The Congress's economic policy has always been a mix of public intervention and private enterprise with ingredients of that mix undergoing a change from time to time to reflect changing circumstances. What the Congress embarked on in the 1950s was imperative then. What the Congress initiated in the early 1980s and took forward in the early 1990s was essential then. The complexities of India demand a variety of pragmatic approaches and solutions. Indian entrepreneurs, scientists and professionals need liberation from the shackles of controls and need a dynamic environment to make their contributions. At the same time, the poor and the deprived and the disadvantaged require the government to be strong and purposeful. The Indian National Congress rededicates itself to the noble task of not only making India an economic superpower over the next decade but of ensuring that each and every Indian leads a life of dignity, security and equality of opportunity in all ways. Wishing India to be great is a worthwhile ambition for all of us to have but fulfilling the wants of all Indians is of basic and fundamental importance. This is the message of Hyderabad that will be taken away by all Congressmen and women.