NEW DELHI, Aug 15 – India, where one third of its 1.2 billion population still lives below the poverty lines need to shift its policies from alleviation to eliminating poverty, India’s President Pranab Mukherjee said.
“The difference is not mere semantics: alleviation is a process; elimination is a time-defined objective.”In the last six decades, the poverty ratio has declined from over 60 percent to less than 30 per cent.
“Even then, nearly one-third of our population still lives below the poverty line. Poverty is not a mere statistic. Poverty has a face, which becomes unbearable when it scars the visage of a child,” he said in his address to the nation on the eve of India’s 68th Independence Day.
Calling poverty as a curse, he said the poor cannot, and will not, wait for yet another generation to see the very essentials of life – food, shelter,education and employment – being denied to them.
“The benefits from economic development must percolate down to the poorest of the poor,” said Mukherjee. Touching on the country’s economy, he said India’s economy grew at an average rate of 7.6 per cent per year.
“Though the growth rate was subdued at below 5 per cent during the last two years, I sense renewed vigour and optimism in the air. Signs of revival are visible. Our external sector has strengthened. Fiscal consolidation measures are beginning to show results.”
Notwithstanding occasional spurts, inflation has started moderating.However, food prices still remain a matter of serious concern, he noted.Record food grains production last year helped agriculture sector to grow at a healthy 4.7 per cent. Employment has increased by an average of about 4 per cent per year in the last decade.
“Manufacturing sector is on the rebound. The stage is now set for our economy to move on a high growth trajectory of 7 to 8 per cent, which is essential to ensure the availability of adequate resources for equitable development,” he added.
– BERNAMA
