The government will unveil a major initiative in the next 10 days to address the problems in the agriculture sector, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here today. Speaking at a function to mark the completion of three years of the UPA government, he said the government needed to resolve the problem posed by the relatively poor performance by the agriculture sector in the 1990s.

“In the next 10 days, we will be unveiling a major initiative which will not only enhance the total public investment in agriculture but will also enable states to resolve problems of agriculture through comprehensive localised plans,” Dr Singh said.

Referring to concerns over inflation, the Prime Minister said growth processes unleashed by the government had put “some pressure” on prices.

Credible steps
He said the government had taken “credible steps” to control inflation and would continue to be “vigilant” on this front so that the “poor and vulnerable sections of the society do not suffer unduly”.

Addressing the function attended by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and leaders of coalition allies, the Prime Minister said inflation has become a cause for concern as there has been a galloping demand for many products along with shortfall of production in these commodities. “We have made arrangements to augment supplies wherever feasible and hope to keep prices in check,” Singh said, adding that “all reasonable measures will be adopted to accelerate the tempo of agricultural production and to strengthen the public distribution system”.
While sustaining higher rates of economic growth, the main objective of the government during the past three years has been to ensure that improved performance of the economy contributes to employment generation, poverty reduction and human development, he said.

Growth rate
He said the country had witnessed the economic growth rate of over 8.5 per cent for the fifth year in succession, which was a matter of satisfaction in the 60th year of Independence.

The recent acceleration of growth to 9 per cent has been made possible by an unprecedented increase in the rate of investment which is at an all-time high of around 35 per cent of national income, the Prime Minister said.
Higher rates of investment and growth have helped generate employment and reduce poverty, Mr Singh said at the function at his residence which was also attended MP Rahul Gandhi.

“However, we recognise that high national income growth alone does not address the challenge of employment promotion, poverty reduction and balanced regional development,” he said.