THE CONGRESS PARTY'S PRIORITIES, PLANS AND PROGRAMMES

Regional Development

As always, the Congress will work for balanced regional development. India’s northeast demands and will receive special treatment with particular emphasis on roads, power, tourism, communication and handicrafts. Without the restoration of law and order and a firm approach to combating militancy, no development can be sustained in the northeast. The northeast will emerge as a gateway to East Asia with which India is building new economic relationships. The Congress also takes note of growing inter-state disparities that have led to some important states like UP and Bihar to fall behind in social development and economic growth. While state governments have the final responsibility for governance, the central government has still an important role in ensuring that the lagging states improve their performance through fiscal and other policies.

In view of the importance of state-level reforms, the Congress will set up a Systems Reforms Commission to work out, in cooperation with state governments, the details of state-level reforms that are needed to accelerate growth and improve the quality of basic social services. A structured and transparent approach to alleviate the burden of debt on states so as to enable them to increase social sector investments will be adopted.