The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : YSR impressed by Chinese model of reforms

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 03, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

YSR impressed by Chinese model of reforms

By W. Chandrakanth

HYDERABAD, FEB. 2. The Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who is currently on a six-day goodwill mission in China, has said that India can follow the Chinese example of tailoring economic reforms to suit its politico-economic realities.

Dr. Reddy said today that he was struck by the talk of economic reforms everywhere in China. "They could successfully tune the reforms process to their conditions without diverting attention from agriculture. India needs a similar approach so that the reforms benefit a larger section of people, particularly the rural folk," he added.

The Chief Minister was speaking to The Hindu in a telephonic interview from Hongshan district in Hubei province. Dr. Reddy had been invited by the Chinese Government as part of the high-level bilateral exchanges but, in tune with his Government's priorities, he said he was holding discussions in areas like agriculture, irrigation, power and rural employment.

He has so far met some key figures of the Chinese Government like the Agriculture Minister, Du Quinglin, the Vice-Chairman of the National People's Congress, Gu Xiulian, and the Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of China, Yu Zhengsheng.

A visit to the modern day wonder Three Gorges Dam on Thursday is also on the cards. "They are producing 18,000 megawatts of power. It is stunning. When will we be able to achieve such goals?" he wondered.

Community farming

Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy, who launched a programme of distributing land to the poor by giving away 1.50 lakh acres on Republic Day, said there was greater need for his Government to ensure a wide spectrum of allied activity with agriculture to sustain the economic benefit.

He said the system of community farming was yielding better returns while the practice of pruning manpower in the farm sector every year helped the Government create more mandays in China — at least 250 days of wage employment to the poor. "In India, the food assurance programme is aimed at providing only 100 days of economic activity. Despite such care, rural per capita income stands at only 26 per cent of the urban per capita," he said.

"This requires that the Andhra Pradesh Government should lay emphasis on sheep-breeding, dairying and thrift activity to make agriculture economically viable. We have fallen below the national average in several key indicators due to neglect of the rural sector by the Telugu Desam Government. "

He said he had identified a new business opportunity for State farmers in horticulture exports to China. The country was heavily dependent upon imports in this area and Andhra Pradesh farmers could benefit by making good use of this opportunity, he added.

TDP campaign assailed

Referring to the Telugu Desam leaders' campaign in New Delhi to seek his ouster in the wake of the TDP MLA, Paritala Ravi's murder, he said the TDP was going overboard politicising a faction killing. He regretted that the TDP president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, had no constructive agenda. "He never had one while in power and does not believe in it while in the opposition. Burying all democratic norms, he is demanding my dismissal. He fears that my Government's good performance will lead to his party's demise."

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