SMT. SONIA GANDHI'S ADDRESS

TO THE SPECIAL PLENARY SESSION OF THE CII ANNUAL MEETING,

28 APRIL, 1998, VIGYAN BHAWAN, NEW DELHI.

Mr. N Kumar,

Mr. Rajesh Shah,

Mr. Rahul Bajaj,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thirteen years ago, one of Rajiv Gandhi's first public engagements as Prime Minister was to address the CII, if I remember right, on exports. I am delighted to be here today among so many of his friends and well-wishers. Thank you for the honour you have done me by this invitation.

Your theme today revolves around the three Es - the economy, employment and education. Let me underline a fourth E-entrepreneurship. I believe Indian entrepreneurs are second to none. Some of our domestric entrepreneurs have already become global players.

Some of our non-resident entrepreneurs have become international giants. It is this drive, vision and spirit that will sustain India in the years to come. There is a new generation of Indian entrepreneurs-professionally skilled, self-confident, aggressive, customer-focussed and not afraid to take on competition. They deserve every support and encouragement.

I do not know how many of you have had a chance to go through the Congress manifesto prepared for the recent elections. The manifesto is a detailed document and discusses the theme of this session at some length. The Congress approach is founded on six basic principles.

First, sustained economic growth of 7 to 8% per year covering agriculture, industry and services in a balanced manner is a prerequisite for abolishing poverty and generating jobs.

Second, credible empowerment strategies and social safety nets are essential to ensure that the growth process facilitates a sustained and effective attack on poverty.

Third, for our economy to be strong and competitive, we must make full use of modern science and technology and of opportunities offered by the global system of trade, investment and finance.

Fourth, a fundamental reorientation of the nature and scope of public expenditure is necessary for fulfilling our social objectives relating to primary education and public health.

Fifth, effectiveness of public investment must be judged not just in terms of outlays but more importantly in terms of tangible outcomes.

Sixth, the administrative, legal and financial empowerment of local bodies - panchayats and nagarpalikas - is an absolute must for ensuring that programmes of social development and poverty eradication have the desired impact.

I am aware that there is growth pessimism amongst all of you. But in a way this shows how much India has changed over the past decade. A 5% rate of growth has become totally unacceptable.

It shows that there is a new aspiration and it is this aspiration that will drive change and reforms.

You will, no doubt, hear representatives from the government explain what their plans are to revive growth. As I have said earlier, the Congress Party has offered constructive cooperation to this government. If there is a broad national consensus that legislative changes can and will lead to improved business confidence then I assure you that the Congress Party will support such changes in Parliament.

While today is not the occasion for scoring political points, I cannot but refer to a sentence in the present Government's National Agenda for Governance which says that we have had jobless growth in the past. This is simply not true.

The Congress's top priority has always been employment-intensive growth. Growth without creation of jobs is socially unacceptable. At the same time, mere increase in jobs without growth and productivity is simply not sustainable.

Between 1985 and 1990, about 5 million additional employment opportunities were created every year. Between 1991 and 1996, about 7 million additional employment opportunities were estimated to have been generated every year.

This is impressive but not enough considering that about 10 million Indians enter the labour force every year. Quite clearly, we have to do better.

The question is where and how?

Continued agricultural growth will generate lakhs of additional employment opportunities. This is particularly so in the eastern and central regions of the country. This will require greater investment in rural infrastructure, greater flow of bank credit, more effective research, education and extension programmes and land reforms.

New jobs can also be created in horticulture, livestock, afforestation and agro-processing.

A greater thrust on export as well as a massive programme of housing and construction, will also create employment.

Khadi and village industries have significant potential for generating jobs in rural and semi-urban areas but for this to happen the Khadi and Village Industries Commission must become a technology-oriented, research-based and customer-focussed organization.

We must provide greater financial support to the trade, transport, service and self-employed sector and reform laws and regulations that stand in the way of faster growth of such businesses.

There is one disturbing aspect of our employment situation that calls for special attention and for a greater role on the part of the CII itself. This relates to the growing problem of the educated unemployed.

According to recent National Sample Survey data, almost three out of every five who are unemployed have been educated to a level of secondary school or higher. This points to a mismatch between the kind of job opportunities that are needed and those that are available.

While special employment generation programmes like the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana introduced by my husband need to be expanded and strengthened, there is also a need for a greater supply of skilled jobs.

It is here that CII members have a crucial contribution to make, although the Government must take the initiative.

The entire technical and vocational training and education system need to be revamped.

Private industry must be closely involved in the management of polytechnics and toolrooms.

Existing apprenticeship and entrepreneurship development schemes should be expanded. Job placement schemes run by employment exchanges must be professionalised and could well be organized in collaboration with private industry, commerce and trade.

In its manifesto, the Congress had also proposed an innovative programme Desh Ke Liye Ek Saal to mobilise the educated unemployed and use their energy and enthusiasm for a year in mission-oriented projects in areas like literacy drives, family planning programmes, social reform movements, and legal rights awareness campaigns.

And who knows, the task of starting such a programme may well fall upon our shoulders sooner rather than later!

Let me now turn to education where our slogans preach egalitarianism but where extreme inequality persists in practice.

You may recall that one of the very first initiatives taken by my husband in 1985 was the National Policy on Education. He was clear that education was the key to a new India.

I remember him spending endless days and nights working on preparing this policy, spurred by his commitment to excellence in education at all levels.

Education is beyond politics.

There can hardly be any political differences over the need to spread primary education particularly among girls and female literacy particularly among the dalits, the adivasis and the minorities.

There can hardly be any political quarrel over the need to focus our investment programmes and management efforts in the educationally backward states of U.P., Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa.

There can hardly be any political debate on the need to provide better facilities for primary education and to introduce innovative programmes like mid-day meal schemes to reduce the drop-out rates.

But while we all agree, the commitment and determination to translate these ideas into practice seems to be lacking except in a few states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This is because there is still a feeling that we can grow in spite of our educational backwardness. But will this growth be participatory if we do not expand the educational base? Will growth result in the diffusion and distribution of wealth if we do not equip all of our people with basic knowledge and skills?

Most of us would agree that we must substantially step up our investment in education from the present 3.8% of GDP to about 6% of GDP by the turn of the century. But this, by itself, is not enough. There are other more pressing issues regarding the effectiveness of public expenditure on education that we as a nation must address. Let me list some of them.

• Should primary education be made compulsory and if it is to be made compulsory, how will it be enforced so as to avoid harassment?
• How do we make teaching once again an attractive occupation, particularly for women, and ensure that primary education is not handicapped on account of poorly trained teachers or teacher absenteeism?
• How do we decentralise the implementation and monitoring of education and literacy programmes while at the same time ensuring that a perspective on basic national values is maintained?
• Can we continue to subsidise higher education to the extent that is being done now? If subsidies are to be reduced, what alternatives can be put in place so that the poor and the needy are not denied full and equal access to higher education?
• How do we trigger the renewal of our colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning and make education in the sciences and in technology once again the preferred option for our youth?
• How do we make education an integral part of social reform and political empowerment movements, particularly in North India?
• How do we mobilise modern technology, like satelite television, and deploy it to make education more interesting, entertaining and therefore more effective?

Ultimately, education is not a financial issue but one of political will. Education, specifically primary education, must come on the agenda of political parties, legislatures, trade unions, social action groups, community and religious organisations and on the agenda of all institutions of civil society. Political parties have been preoccupied with promising equality of result. What should preoccupy us is the need to ensure equality of opportunity.

In the past the Congress Party has fought for the removal of many social inequalities. These were issues which fired the imagination of a whole nation. That is the spirit we must recapture today if we want to wipe out illiteracy from our country.

Successful business is about investing for the future. To build an India, in my husband's words, "strong, independent, self-reliant and in the front rank of the nations of the world", it is imperative that we invest together in purposeful education and training of our youth.

Thank you.