NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday said the sacred ties between the tiller and the land could not broken, and any attempt to do so was bound to face opposition. The remarks come close on the heels of the ongoing controversy over the acquisition of farmland for industrial purposes at Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal.

Speaking at the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas celebrations, Mr. Chidambaram said: "Respecting the sacred tie between the tiller and the land, some instruments must be employed in agriculture as were employed in industry and services to bring about a dramatic change in the growth rate in agriculture." The same instruments — investment and knowledge — had to be applied to modernise agriculture, he said.

Mr. Chidambaram advocated the need for putting in large sums of money into irrigation, restoring agricultural infrastructure, recharging ground water, water harvesting, new fertilizers, new harvesting technology and new post-harvesting technologies.

Expressing confidence that the year would end with a close to 9 per cent growth rate, the Minister said the Government aimed at sustaining the high growth rate of the economy. "There is a huge opportunity for private enterprises in agriculture," he said.

The two tools that would enable India to sustain the high growth rate are investment and knowledge, he said, asking non-resident Indians (NRIs) not to limit their remittances for short periods.

"There is no limited horizon of three years. Captains of industry have unfolded plans for 10 to 20 years. For the first time, you find Indian industry acquiring businesses abroad. NRIs should also expand their horizon," he said.

Replying to a question, Mr. Chidambaram said whatever political parties might say in opposition, reforms had never been reversed in India, which should give NRIs confidence enough to put their money for a longer duration in India.

Speaking at another session, Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia called upon experts in Indian diaspora to form a working group and give inputs for finalising the 11th Five Year Plan. He said India's planning process could benefit from such inputs.

"There are many experts in Indian diaspora from whom we can get ideas. If there are good ideas in any part of the world, we are ready to take them," he said.

Mr. Ahluwalia said that to make India's growth experience all-inclusive, the approach paper to the 11th Plan had identified four major areas of focus — agriculture, infrastructure, health and education.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail