The Hindu : Front Page : Create jobs for 76 million: Kalam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Create jobs for 76 million: Kalam

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 25. Unveiling an "Action Plan for Employment Generation," the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has called for finding "gainful employment for around 76 million people" over the next five years so that India could become "a developed country before 2020."

Speaking to the nation on the eve of the 56th Republic Day, the President devoted his entire customary address to the theme of employment. Even though the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill, 2004 had been introduced, concerted and sustained efforts would be needed to achieve the objectives of the proposed law, he said.

In particular, he emphasised the importance of PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) to avoid migration from the rural to the urban areas. Pointing out that the percentage of people employed in agriculture had come down from 64 to 54 between 1979 and 2004, Mr. Kalam said that "displacement of 10 per cent people from the agriculture sector has to be facilitated through skill enabling for undertaking value added tasks in rural enterprises so that migration to the urban areas is reduced."

Generating jobs

The President shared with the nation his views on how employment could be generated. He underlined the employment potential in areas such as bio-fuel generation, wasteland development, water harvesting and recycling, bamboo plantations, and converting fly ash as a wealth generator, textile industry, health care, and village knowledge centres.

Having identified the areas of possible employment generation, the President discussed the "role of different constituents of our society in implementing various programmes leading to creation of employment opportunities and wealth generation."

First, "the education system should proactively build entrepreneurial and vocational capacities in students" so that they could start small enterprises after graduation.

Rural development

Second, "rural development has to be a mission mode operation through the PURA programme which will enable the provision of maximum benefits to villagers in a cost effective way."

Third, the banks should provide easy access to credit and loans to "rural enterprises and those who have creation ideas." In particular, agriculture and related credits should increase.

Fourth, in the post-tsunami reconstruction, "it is important to take the task as an integrated PURA complex for promoting the prosperity of the coastal region." This could include infrastructure for fish storage and chilling plants, seafood processing and marketing centres, boat and fishing net maintenance centres, etc.

Fifth, building on the successful experience of "mission mode projects" in the field of defence, space, nuclear, agriculture and metro railway, "major programmes of the country should use this mission mode management for employment generation schemes."

Sixth, given the broadband fibre connectivity, "this is the time for all our information technology, R&D and CT industrial establishments to reach out to rural areas."

Seventh, technological up-grading of small-scale industries.

Role for media

Eighth, the media should "reach out to [the] six hundred thousand villages of the country and be active partners in rural development."

Ninth, "the youth have to create a movement of making their own homes righteous, make their environment clean and excel in their studies and their tasks."

And, last, the national parliamentary system should become "the role model for the nation in legislative performance; in clean and progressive administration and nobility and speedy judiciary."

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