Kalam for raising GDP to 10% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
President A P J Abdul Kalam has said that the country's overall GDP has to be raised to 10 per cent from eight per cent to uplift 220 million people living below poverty.
"If we have to uplift the people living below poverty and provide improved quality of life, we have to ensure that the overall GDP has to be increased to 10 per cent and maintained for a decade," he said.
The President was addressing the First Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference here on Housing and Human Settlements.
He said there was a need to lift up the economic conditions and lifestyle of over 220 million people out of the one billion plus population as a large part of the growth comes from manufacturing and services sector.
"For this, employment generation, particularly in the rural areas, is very essential. This necessitates the spread of development process to the rural sector," he said.
Rural sector
Kalam said 'Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA)' programme could be a vehicle of sustainable development.
He explained that the aim is to make sustainable development using the core competence of the rural sector.
Observing that development of rural sector was very important, Kalam said government, private and public sectors have been taking up rural development in parts.
However, PURA envisages an integrated development plan with employment generation as the focus, he said.
The President said it was very rare that the country was simultaneously witnessing an ascending economic trajectory, continuously rising foreign exchange reserve, reduced rate of inflation and global recognition of technological competence.
He said the distinction between the public and the private sectors and the "illusory primacy" of one over the other was vanishing.
He also said Foreign Institutional Investors were finding investing in India attractive.
Referring to the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), he said it was effectively addressing the need for in-situ development of existing slums so that existing and future cities cater to the needs of the poor and improve their quality of life.
He suggested that while executing JNNURM care should be taken to see that the habitats are of high quality.
Water resources
On diminishing water resources, he said water during monsoon went unutilised in the absence of storage facilities in the urban and rural areas.
Kalam also stressed on the need to implement local water harvesting and recycling systems in each habitat.
Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Selja, added that the Centre will soon earmark specific role to various stakeholders through its National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy to address housing issues in a time bound manner.
:tea:
President A P J Abdul Kalam has said that the country's overall GDP has to be raised to 10 per cent from eight per cent to uplift 220 million people living below poverty.
"If we have to uplift the people living below poverty and provide improved quality of life, we have to ensure that the overall GDP has to be increased to 10 per cent and maintained for a decade," he said.
The President was addressing the First Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference here on Housing and Human Settlements.
He said there was a need to lift up the economic conditions and lifestyle of over 220 million people out of the one billion plus population as a large part of the growth comes from manufacturing and services sector.
"For this, employment generation, particularly in the rural areas, is very essential. This necessitates the spread of development process to the rural sector," he said.
Rural sector
Kalam said 'Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA)' programme could be a vehicle of sustainable development.
He explained that the aim is to make sustainable development using the core competence of the rural sector.
Observing that development of rural sector was very important, Kalam said government, private and public sectors have been taking up rural development in parts.
However, PURA envisages an integrated development plan with employment generation as the focus, he said.
The President said it was very rare that the country was simultaneously witnessing an ascending economic trajectory, continuously rising foreign exchange reserve, reduced rate of inflation and global recognition of technological competence.
He said the distinction between the public and the private sectors and the "illusory primacy" of one over the other was vanishing.
He also said Foreign Institutional Investors were finding investing in India attractive.
Referring to the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), he said it was effectively addressing the need for in-situ development of existing slums so that existing and future cities cater to the needs of the poor and improve their quality of life.
He suggested that while executing JNNURM care should be taken to see that the habitats are of high quality.
Water resources
On diminishing water resources, he said water during monsoon went unutilised in the absence of storage facilities in the urban and rural areas.
Kalam also stressed on the need to implement local water harvesting and recycling systems in each habitat.
Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Selja, added that the Centre will soon earmark specific role to various stakeholders through its National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy to address housing issues in a time bound manner.
:tea: