KASHIRAM RANA TAKES UP RURAL DEVELOPMENT ISSUE AT UN ECONOMIC
& SOCIAL COUNCIL
Shri Kashiram Rana,
Union Minister for Rural Development urged upon international
community to promote international trading financial and monetary
systems that fully take into account the needs and concerns of
developing countries, including through their participation in
the global economic decision-making and norm-setting processess.
Besides extending financial, technical and technological support
to developing countries, a conducive international climate is
imperative for sustainable rural development. While addressing
a session of the Economic And Social Council in Geneva today Shri
Rana highlighted that a paradigm shift in India's development
policy and strategy has taken place in the last few years with
a major thrust on economic reforms with the human face.
Listing out initiatives
and pro-active role taken by the Rural Development Ministry Shri
Rana highlighted that more than Rs.100 billion per annum are spend
on programmes which generate approximately 720 million mandays
of additional employment. This provides food security to the rural
poor, besides also creating productive assets. About 1.34 million
self help groups have been formed, through the process of social
mobilisation.
The Rural Development
Minister informed that decentralised local governance and development
through peoples' institutions in rural areas has been a major
policy thrust in delivery of benefits to the poorer sections of
the society. These local bodies have 3.4 million elected representatives,
of which one-third are women. Shri Rana highlighted that this
is the world's largest single representative-base and also the
world's largest experiment in local-democracy.
Underlining the need
to provide basic infrastructural facilities in rural areas the
Minister told that the Prime Minister's Rural Roads Programme
initiated two years ago is to provide road connectivity to 0.16
million unconnected habitations in the rural areas by the year
2007. This connectivity programme has created substantial road
network, adding to all around economic activities prosperity,
Shri Rana raised
the concerns of developing countries regarding marker access for
products and service sectors of export interest to them. He emphasised
that without addressing rural poverty and without significant
increases in rural incomes and opportunities, sustainable development
would not be possible. Shri Rana suggested that this can only
be possible if developed countries fulfil speedily the commitment
made by them.
