President outlines road map for next five years

New Delhi, June 4 (PTI) The Indian Government Thursday
declared that it will pursue a policy of "zero-tolerance"
towards terrorism from whatever source it originates and seek
to reshape relationship with Pakistan which should confront
terror groups inimical to India.

Outlining 10 broad areas of priority for the next five
years, India's President Pratibha Patil said in her address to
the joint session of Parliament that internal security and
preservation of communal harmony and stepping up of economic
growth and agriculture, manufacturing and services would be
among those.

In the address, which is mandatory after the general
elections, she said the Government had in 2004 set before the
country a vision of an inclusive society and an economy and
worked for it.

"My Government sees the overwhelming mandate it has
received as a vindication of the policy architecture of
inclusion that it put in place. It is a mandate for inclusive
growth, equitable development and a secular and plural India.
My Government is determined to work harder and better to
realize these goals," she said.

Other priority areas would be concerted action for
disadvantage sections including women, (Schedule Castes) SCs,
(Schedule Tribes) STs and (Other Backward Castes) OBCs,
governance reforms, creation and modernisation of
infrastructure and capacity addition in key sectors, prudent
fiscal management, energy security and environment protection,
constructive and creative management with world and promotion
of a culture of enterprise and innovations.

Maintaining that the Government will keep utmost vigil
in the area of internal security, the President said a policy
of zero-tolerance towards terrorism from whatever source it
emanates will be pursued.

"Stern measures to handle insurgency and left wing
extremism will be taken. Government has already prepared a
detailed plan to address internal security challenges to be
implemented in a time-bound manner," she said.

Among other things, Patil said Multi-Agency Centre will
be strengthened to ensure effective intelligence sharing,
complete operationalisation of National Investigation Agency
to handle terror-related offences and expansion of Central and
State police forces and intelligence agencies besides making
them equipped with the best technology.

"A national counter-terrorism centre will be established
to take pro-active anti-terrorism measures. Special Forces and
Quick Response Teams will be raised and deployed in vulnerable
areas," she said.

Patil also promised that the Government would continue
to "constructively engage" with all groups that abjure
violence in Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of
the country.

She said her Government would seek to re-shape
relationship with Pakistan depending on the sincerity of its
actions to confront groups who launch terrorist attacks
against India from its territory.

The President said communal harmony shall be preserved
at all costs. "The mandate my Government received was
unmistakable in that the people wanted the country's secular
fabric to be protected. With this objective, my Government
will seek early approval of the bill introduced in Parliament
for the prevention of communal violence."

On economy, the Government said the current financial
year is expected to see a slowing down of growth on account of
global recession.

Recalling the three stimulus packages to counter the
effects of global recession, Patil said "our immediate
priority must be on to focus on management of the economy that
will be counter the effect of global slow down by a
combination of sectoral and macro-level policies."

This, she said, must be accompanied by measures to
achieve a counter-cyclical expansion in public investment in
infrastructure sectors.

With the Government no longer dependent on the Left
parties, she also unveiled plans for reforms for the financial
sector.

The President said high-growth was necessary to provide
the Government the capacity to expand opportunities for
employment and to provide resources to increase outlays in
education, health care and infrastructure to meet the needs of
all regions and people.

Implementing a Congress election promise, the President
said the government would formulate the national Food Security
Act under which every family below poverty line would get 25
kg of rice or wheat per month at Rs 3 a kg.

The President's address said the three flagship
programmes of the government -- rural employment guarantee
scheme, rural health mission and sarba siksha abhiyan - which
were inclusive would be continued further.

On the foreign policy front, Patil said the improvement
of relations with major powers would be maintained.

"The transformation of our partnership with the United
States of America will be taken forward. Our strategic
partnerships with Russia has grown over the years and we will
seek to further consolidate it."

She said the government will continue the sustained
diplomatic efforts which produce qualitative changes in the
relations since 2004. The multifaceted partnership with China
will be expanded.

On Sri Lanka, Patil said India would support initiative
which can lead to a permanent political solutions of the
conflict there and ensure that all Sri Lankan communities
especially Tamils feel secured and enjoy equal rights so that
they can lead a life of dignity and self respect. PTI
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