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PM's five-point plan to accelerate growth

A Special Correspondent

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has promulgated a five-point "developmental action plan" which will be incorporated in the 1998-'99 Budget.

The highlights of the plan are: top priority for the science and technology sector with special emphasis on software development; emphasis on doubling farm production within the next decade; higher priorities for health care, drinking water, education and sanitation; higher allocations for infrastructural development including roads, ports, airports, power and telecom sectors, and equitable distribution of water resources.

The list has been circulated by the PMO to all ministries and government departments.

Vajpayee's stated goal, in the infotech arena, is to make India the global leader in software production. In this connection, an additional Rs 75 billion will be provided for specific programmes, with overall plan investment in the sector being upped from the existing level of Rs 990 billion to Rs 1,330 billion.

The pet project will be overseen by no less than Jaswant Singh, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.

In a personal note to all concerned ministries and departments, the prime minister has called for faster clearances, greater government stakes and higher allocations to be ensured for the quicker implementation of all five points in his developmental action plan.

Simultaneously, the plan stresses the development of social infrastructure, with special emphasis on education, health, family planning, sanitation, drinking water and such -- the stated goal being to ensure that all the above are available to every single citizen five years down the road, at the outside.

In order to ensure smooth implementation of his programmes, the prime minister has specificially instructed central ministries and departments to work in close coordination with the respective state governments, cutting through bureaucratic red tape and ensuring speedy implementation at all levels.