The Hindu : Front Page : Budget will address the needs of common man, says Sonia Gandhi

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Thursday, Feb 21, 2008
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Budget will address the needs of common man, says Sonia Gandhi

Atiq Khan

Hopes that needs, particularly those of women and farmers, will be kept in mind

RAE BARELI: United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday indicated that the Union budget would address the needs of the common man.

Addressing Bank of Baroda’s “gramotsav” at the Feroze Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology here, she pointed to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who was present on the dais, and said that she was hopeful that the common man’s needs and problems, particularly those of women and farmers, would be kept in mind.

Rapid strides

Ms. Gandhi said the world was looking at the rapid strides made by India in economic development. Though several problems were to be tackled, the 9 per cent growth rate, despite these constraints, was no mean achievement.

“However, a permanency can be restored in economic development only when the common man’s problems are reduced, particularly in the education and health sectors,” she pointed out.

Launches 1,000 SHGs

Ms. Gandhi inaugurated 1,000 self-help groups (SHGs) in the Rae Bareli and Amethi parliamentary constituencies. She also opened 151 farmers clubs. Banks, she said, should not use force while recovering loans. At the same time, the loanees must ensure that the repayment was made in time. Around one lakh women had become SHG members under the Rajiv Gandhi Women’s Development Scheme in Rae Bareli and Sultanpur districts.

Expressing happiness at the gathering of a large number of women, the Finance Minister said women were among the best borrowers as “the money comes back to the bank almost 100 per cent.”

Lending was not a favour done by banks. In fact, they were discharging their duties towards those who have put their money in banks, he said.

Mr. Chidambaram directed Bank of Baroda, the lead bank in the district, to increase the lending rate from 35 per cent to at least 50 per cent in the next 12 months.

Amethi Member of Parliament and Congress general secretary, Rahul Gandhi, said the main benefits of the SHG programme accrued to the poor, Dalits and backward classes. This was why emphasis was laid on its success.

Mr. Gandhi said the self-help groups were a success in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The SHGs had infused self-confidence among the women in Amethi and Rae Bareli in five years. The success of the programme could be emulated in other parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Later, addressing a public meeting after laying the foundation for a Rs. 695-crore Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology at Jais (Amethi parliamentary constituency), Ms. Gandhi emphasised that education was the bedrock of progress and development.

Underlying the importance of higher education, she said new techniques needed to be imbibed. She mentioned the steps taken by the government for promoting technical education. It should be expanded at the micro level.

Stating that the builders of India had maintained a balance between democracy and development, she stressed on removing the shortcomings in the development schemes.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said the government had taken several initiatives to encourage foreign investment in oil exploration and production. This was evident from the growing interest in exploration of Indian basins with the private and multi-national companies joining in.

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