25,000-crore investment for agriculture: PM

PRIME MINISTER, Manmohan Singh, said that the government would pursue major industrialisation policies and unveil Rs 25,000-crore investment plan for agriculture to create jobs and remove poverty. Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, Singh said, "Poverty eradication is now a feasible goal, which would require creating new job opportunities outside agriculture."

He added, however, that the government's main emphasis would be on agriculture, for which a special Rs 25,000-crore investment programme to enhance food production and livelihood of farmers will be launched. "We will also focus on the needs of our farmers in dry and drought prone regions. I am touring to few states personally to review the agricultural situation across the country," he said.

Singh pointed out that there was no "magic wand" for removing poverty, which can only be done through sustained economic growth and development. It was essential to create new employment opportunities for which industrialisation was critical. "Remember, there is no developed country anywhere in the world that is not an industrial economy. Industrialisation is critical for progress," he said.

The prime minister promised that it would be the responsibility of his government to ensure that any displacement on account of industrialisation did not lead to impoverishment. He said that the government would ensure that those who had lost land did not lose livelihood and those who had lost employment got better opportunities.

A national policy for rehabilitation and resettlement is being given final shape involving launch of major projects for those displaced by industrialisation. The prime minister said that if employment generation was necessary for poverty removal then industrialisation was the most effective means to create new jobs.