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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday emphasised the need to accelerate the pace of economic growth in less developed regions such as Uttar Pradesh, which "desperately needs forward-looking and modern leadership."

" The people of Uttar Pradesh need a government that will invest in their future. They need a leadership that is thinking about the future. In recent years, Uttar Pradesh has been held back by a leadership that only thinks about the past," Dr. Singh said at a function to present the Laxmipat Singhania-Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow awards, 2006, here.

Quoting a study prepared by Bibek Debroy, he said if the present trends continued, by 2020 Punjab would be where Germany is today, while Uttar Pradesh would be where Punjab is today. This could not be an acceptable outcome. The stark inter-regional imbalances in development must not be allowed to continue and must be corrected.

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan needed pragmatic and focused strategies to accelerate development.

The northern region could cooperate in many areas to provide a superior resource and infrastructure base.

Referring to the region's poor human development indicators, Dr. Singh emphasised the need to invest in the people.

He also stressed the need for committed political leadership. Institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management must analyse the reasons for the backwardness of some regions and come forward with pragmatic and focused strategies to accelerate development, both rural and urban. Management institutes must engage the region's political leadership and help them understand the imperatives of development.

He hoped that IIM-Lucknow would pay special attention to the development potential of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and improve the quality of management in both private and public sectors.

Awardees, who had been selected after careful scrutiny could inspire managers to follow their example and strive harder for excellence.

While the Central Government was willing to provide a supportive policy environment, the State Governments had to do much more to capitalise on the emerging knowledge economy, Dr. Singh said.

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