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Thursday, Apr 08, 2004

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Congress expands reforms agenda

By Our Special Correspondent

Senior Congress leaders Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee releasing the party's agenda for economic growth at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Wednesday. — Photo: R.V. Moorthy

NEW DELHI, APRIL 7. The Congress today announced a `fine-tuned' version of its 1991 economic reforms policies with an expanded agenda to include the goals of a just society, abolition of illiteracy and freedom from hunger and unemployment. The overall direction of the economic policies remains unchanged but the party prioritised its task to focus on employment generation, revival of agriculture and revitalising the investment climate.

Releasing the `Congress Agenda for Economic Growth' to the media here today, its two leaders, Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh, clarified the party position on some contentious issues. It was made clear, for instance, that the Congress was not opposed to disinvestment of the public sector but would like to retain those units which could ensure `sustained profitability in a competitive environment.' Mr. Mukherjee also clarified that there would not be any dogmatic positions on disinvestment and matters would be reviewed as situations evolved. "But there would be absolute transparency. For instance, while the security aspect would definitely be kept in mind, it would not be used to obfuscate matters," he said.

About reservation of jobs in the private sector, the Congress favoured a `dialogue and consensus' approach with the ultimate objective of creating more job opportunities. On the issue of free power to farmers, its first emphasis would be availability of quality power on a regular basis but was not averse to providing cheaper power to the deserving underprivileged for which resources would be raised. On declining interest rates on bank deposits, the party maintained that deposit rates had reached near-inflation levels at present and this issue needed to be reviewed.

Dr. Singh was also critical of the NDA Government's `hype' about the high growth rates registered in two quarters of 2003-04 and said the claim of sustaining this high growth rate had very few takers as was evident from the international rating agency, Moody's statement that growth in 2004-05 would be around 6.5 per cent. The Congress, on the other hand, would endeavour to revive the past capacity to grow at 8 per cent, not just for two quarters of a year but for a long period and work for the realisation of a 10 per cent economic growth in the next few years. It would also ensure that this growth was regionally balanced and benefited all sections of society, Dr. Singh said. The two Congress leaders came down heavily on the `fiscal indiscipline' of the NDA Government and pointed to the combined public debt of the Centre and the States at 8.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

They also said that despite the `hype' of the last few months about the `feel good' factors, there was little evidence of any response from the private sector in terms of raising its rate of investment. On the contrary, there had been a significant decline in both public and private investment expressed as a percentage of the GDP. "The record of the NDA Government will not do. India deserves a better deal," they said.

Spelling out its agenda, the Congress said it wanted the middle class to genuinely prosper with greater access to the amenities of life and wanted the corporate sector to grow as fast as it could, but after bearing some responsibility of helping the less privileged to enrich themselves. The corporate sector was also promised a new form of development rebate in corporate taxes if they undertook expansion of business through ancillarisation, helping smaller units, employing more labour per unit of capital and if business was set up in backward regions.

The party also promised a favourable climate for foreign investment and said it would eliminate all bureaucratic and administrative hurdles so as to encourage private investment in the economy.

Minimum regulation and control would be in place to cover a short list of defence-sensitive industries, protect the environment and exhaustible natural resources and to control the creation of monopolies.

The Congress has also committed itself to a comprehensive rural employment guarantee scheme, a comprehensive national strategy to get rid of the scourge of hunger in the next five years and a cess on all Central taxes to finance the universalisation of elementary education.

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