Congress Sandesh : A Monthly Journal  
A Monthly Journal in Hindi & English

Minorities

25. The Congress (I) will continue to safeguard educational, religious and cultural rights of the minorities. The Congress (I) has assured the minority character of the Aligarh Muslim University by law. It reiterates its policy of non-interference with the personal law of the minorities. It has undertaken legislation for protecting WaQf properties and further suggestions will be sympathetically considered.

26. The Congress (I) will expand opportunities for productive employment for the minorities. It will ensure their adequate representation in government services including the law and order and security forces. A separate cell has been created in the Ministry of Home Affairs to look after the problems of minorities. This cell will be further strengthened and charged with the responsibility for they're all round development.

27. In 1980 the Congress (I) promised that Urdu would be recognized in some States as a second language. Urdu has already been accorded second language status in Bihar. Similar action will be taken in other states. The congress (I) stands committed to the promotion of this great and beautiful language, which has enriched our composite culture.

Administration

28. The Congress (I) will:

  • - Ensure prompt, courteous and efficient service from government and quasi-government agencies.
  • - Take all possible measures to speed up decision-making.
  • - Modernise the collection and processing of information.
  • - Institute an effective mechanism for redressing the grievances of the people.
  • - Curb unhealthy politicization of government services.
  • - Make merit and performance important criteria for advancement.

Corruption in public life

29. The Congress (I) will provide a clean government. It WILL FIGHT corruption in all spheres of public life. To this end it will:

  • - Build a consensus on the financing of political parties and translate it into legislation.
  • - Take strong measures against tax evasion, smuggling and other economic offences.
  • - Review and strengthen existing procedures and mechanisms for detecting and punishing corrupt practices.
  • - Promote an ethic of austerity and simplicity.

30. The Congress (I) reiterates its commitment to socialism and planning. The key objectives of the planning process are: -

  • - Speedy removal of poverty. - Development of agriculture and industry on scientific lines.
  • - Expansion and modernization of the infrastructure for higher rate of growth.
  • - Productive employment for all citizens.
  • - Adequate provision of health and educational facilities.
  • - Special programmes for the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, backward classes and other disadvantaged sections of our society; and
  • - Balanced regional development.

Employment

31. Employment will be the major concern of government policy. The Congress (I) will expand employment by:

  • - Increasing agricultural productivity in areas with low yields, especially in the eastern region.
  • - Expanding the rural employment programmes. The National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) will aim at a minimum of 450 million mandays of employment per year. It will be oriented to creation of durable assets in the countryside.
  • - Providing adequate financial support for the Rural Landless labour Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) that aims at guaranteeing employment to at least one member of every family of landless agricultural labour.
  • - Improving the implementation of the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP).
  • - Implementing a massive national plan for urban development and housing.
  • - Expanding education, health, drinking water supply and the rural road network to meet the minimum needs of the people. - Stepping up industrial growth.

Agriculture

32. The Congress (I) will:

  • - Increase agriculture production by 4% and food production by 5% per annum to ensure self-sufficiency in food grains at higher levels of consumption.
  • - Implement a special programme for improving rice productivity, especially in the eastern region, which has scope for tremendous improvement.
  • - Step up production of edible oils and pulses to improve nutritional standards and to save a large volume of foreign exchange.
  • - Expand irrigation potential by at least 14-15 million hectares
  • . - Ensure remunerative prices to the kisans.
  • - Extend price support operations to oilseeds and pulses.
  • - Give special attention to dryland and wasteland agriculture. - Introduce a comprehensive scheme of crop insurance
  • - Provide adequate incentives for the development of sericulture and fisheries.

Industry

33. The process of industrilisation has to be accelerated. The Congress (I) will emphasise:

  • - Modernisation.
  • - Upgradation of technology.
  • - Improvement in productivity.
  • - Maximum utilization of capacity.
  • - Significant enhancement of the capabilities of our management systems.

Public Sector

34. The Congress (I) will:

  • - Continue the strategy of regarding the public sector as our main instrument for stepping up the rate of industrilisation and for reducing concentration of wealth and power.
  • - Modernise the public sector to increase its efficiency and productivity
  • - Bring the public sector into new areas of sophisticated technology.
  • - Use the public sector to meet more effectively the demand for mass consumption goods at reasonable prices.

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