Manifesto 1999


I. Preamble - A Time To Start Afresh 
 

The time has come for making a fresh covenant, a new tryst with the people of India.

The Congress wants the people to make an informed choice in the elections to the 13th Lok Sabha. This Manifesto of the Indian National Congress provides the people this opportunity.

The Congress is not Just a political party. It encompasses the diverse interests of every section of India’s polity.

That is how it was born.
That is how it will continue.

Our legacy brought us freedom. The Congress is proud of its martyrs who, with unflinching zeal and supreme sacrifices, worked for the independence and integrity of India.

The legacy of the Congress -its commitment to an India that is secular, that is strong and self-reliant and that is wedded to political democracy, social justice and economic growth-was symbolised in the thoughts and deeds of its leaders through the years.

The Congress has governed India for 45 years. In that period, the Congress gave to the country five Prime Ministers. In contrast, in just seven years, non-Congress Governments have given seven Prime Ministers.

The recent experiment of an 18-party coalition Government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, has not only demonstrated the essence of unprincipled and opportunistic politics but also created doubts in the minds of the people whether such a formation can serve the best interests of the country.

Experience has shown that coalitions have never worked at the centre.

The choice now is between a coalition that has failed miserably and a cohesive Congress alternative.

This coalition experiment, led by the BJP, was bereft of ideology. In recent weeks, the so-called NDA-the National Democratic Alliance of the BJP and its allies-has become a mockery and is more appropriately called the National Disaster Alliance. All principles and ideologies have been abandoned in the quest of new partners.

The BJP was, only for public consumption, willing to sacrifice, in the short-term, its sectarian and divisive ideology in the pursuit of political power. But the hidden agenda remained. The experiment was an unprincipled compromise for political power.

Each day of its rule demonstrated this.

Cabinet positions were negotiated. The importance of coalition partners was directly proportional to their ability to bring down the Government. We saw, in a short 13- month stint, a Government that spent more time at pleasing coalition partners than with the task of governance.

This was not, as claimed, a Government with a difference. This was a Government riddled with intra-party and inter-party differences.

It was condemned by the very logic of its formation to devote its energies to resolving these differences. There were as many power centres in the BJP-led coalition, as there were coalition partners. The Government tried to resolve a crisis a day.

The hope of the people was once again belied.

The urgent issues of poverty alleviation, employment generation, faster economic growth, greater fiscal discipline and enhanced social justice and giving to the people a secure and stable India were neglected.

The BJP was intent on exploding the nuclear bomb, without adequate preparation or study of its consequences. Instead of keeping a vigil on the border, It let down Its guard. It said it would give us a review of our security environment. All we have got are Pakistani intruders. In the name of peace and bus rides, over 400 parents have lost their sons, wives their husbands, children their fathers, sisters their brothers. Kargil was a tragedy nation brought about by the cavalier functioning of the BJP government and its criminal negligence.

The BJP has cost the nation heavily.

Our borders are insecure.

The Armed Forces experienced unprecedented crisis In their morale because of the actions of the government Instead of developing a consensus on foreign policy, the BJP fractured the existing consensus.

We witnessed, for the first time, the concept of a “roll back” Government.

Unprecedented and unapologetic minorities’ bashing was seen in Gujarat and Orissa.

Blatant attempts were made to tinker with the tested secular education curriculum.

Where was the national interest in all this? At a time when stability was of the essence, we have got instability. At a time when social harmony was of the essence, we have just got social strife.

The Congress pledges to provide to India a stable government an able government, an experienced government.

It is time to start afresh.


II. THE CONGRESS BELIEFS
  

The Congress Party has been a central part of Indian life for the past 114 years. It is well known to each and every Indian. But at this critical juncture, it is necessary to reiterate the essence of the Congress philosophy, the basics of the Congress worldview, the core of the Congress beliefs.

Political Stability

The Congress has in its 45 years of governance, by demonstrating its abiding commitment to parliamentary democracy and sensitive federalism, imparted cohesiveness to the nation political stability.

Political stability is the biggest challenge that India faces. Neither numbers nor individuals alone can provide stabifity. What is more fundamental is stability of ideas, stability of policies and stability of programs. The Congress, because of its history, its basic character, its performance and, above all, its long years of administrative experience, understands stability best. It works for stability best.

The most urgent need today is for a stable government, for a government that completes its full term in office. Every Congress Government in the last fifty tow years has given the country five Prime ministers. In just five years, non-congress governments have given seven Prime ministers.

To the Congress, stability is not related to governments alone but more fundamentally to the stability of ideas, of policies and programmes. To the Congress, stability is not an end in Itself, however desirable that may be. It is, actually, a means to an end. And that end is a stable, harmonious and prosperous nation based on economic justice faster growth, more extensive human development and more enduring social harmony.

Stability comes not just from numbers. It comes from clarity of vision, dedication to national goals, experience and the ability to meet challenges as they arise. Congress governments always have had a clear agenda, an agenda that is not set by remote control or that is the lowest common denominator but that is based on a clear understanding of what people need and should have. The last fifty-two years have shown that stability is born out of the knowledge of and expertise in running a government.

It is hoped that the people will give a mandate which will help the Congress to provide stability, for the people want it and know that the Congress alone can give it.

Secularism

Secularism Is an article of faith for every Congress worker. Two of the greatest stalwarts of the Congress have sacrificed their lives at the altar of the secular ideal, have given up their lives in order that India’s secular heritage is preserved and protected. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders like him struggled hard through out their lives, to see that India remained secular for they knew that without secularism the country would not remain united and strong.

Secularism does not mean being anti-religion or taking a negative or passive attitude to religion. In our country, secularism can only mean equal respect for all religions and the clear separation of politics from and religion. Religion is a private matter for individuals. Politics is all about activities in the public arena.

Religion cannot be used as an instrument of mobilisation, to whip up passions and sentiments. The Congress vehemently rejects the use of religion for political ends. It rejects the mobilisation of people by stirring up religious passions.

The Congress regards all citizens as equal. Yet, it recognises minorities of several kinds because of the some disadvantages and handicaps they suffer and the special help they may need. This is the imperative of history and tradition, this is the tradition of following the provisions of the Constitution.

The debate on secularism is, at its very core, a debate on the very nature of Indian philosophy, on the very essence of the Indian culture. It is a debate between those who see Indian civilisation as what it is - a most tolerant and liberal way of life-and those who seek to distort it by their bigotry, narrow mindedness and intolerance.

Secularism is thus a fight for the very soul of India and for rescuing it from the merchants of hate, from those who claim to understand Indian culture and speak on its behalf but who actually are insulting all that it has stood for through the centuries.


Social Harmony

There is a new ferment and a new yearning among the underprivileged and deprived sections and communities of our society. The Congress has always been sensitive to their growing aspirations for voice, for full representation in the institutions of governance, for social acceptance and the direct exercise of political power.

The Congress is fully aware that increasingly, the demand is for parity, not for charity, t1 desire is not for benevolence but for participation. The Congress has always championed the cause of equal opportunity. It has consistently believed that equal and full access to education, employment and health Is the foundation of a truly egalitarian society that is enshrined in our Constitution

But the scars of centuries of discrimination cannot be overcome by education and health alone. There Is need for affirmative action In the form of reservation also. It Is the Congress that enshrined reservation for dailts and adivasis In the Constitution.

In the last fifty years, Congress governments have successfully implemented reservations for backward classes in several Congress-ruled states in the southern and the western regions of the country.

It was the Congress that built the consensus over the Mandal Commission report. It was under a Congress government that 27% reservation for OBC government and public sector employment was made Into a practical reality. There has been no violence, no backlash. This reflects the sensitivity and maturity of the Congress.

Unity through Diversity

India Is an old civilisation but a young nation.

The Indian nation-state that came Into being on August 15th, 1947 Is a noble experiment, a splendid project in nurturing and sustaining political unity among peoples who have always been united culturally and spiritually,

India is one nation but comprises of diversity and plural culture.

India, the land of multiple identities and of multiple diversities faces many challenges to her political unity.

But It is the Congress’s abiding commitment to parliamentary democracy and sensitive federalism that has kept the nation together.

India is one and many at the same time.

That oneness has to be preserved and strengthened.

At the same time the variety has to be recognised, nurtured and given every opportunity for full expression. We have survived because diversity of all kinds has been allowed to flourish.

It is only the Congress because of its history, its basic character and long years of administrative experience that can understand these nuances.

The Congress is a national party that has always been responsive to regional sentiments. As long ago as In the 1920s, it organised Itself on a linguistic basis. Regional parties are born and fade away. They are unable to sustain themselves because they are either single-individual or single-Issue parties.


Rajniti to Lokniti

The Congress sees public life not just in terms of politics but more importantly in terms of the exercise of power by the people themselves.

Ultimately, people themselves guide the government. The government derives its support from the people and the ultimate goal of development must be to build-up the self-help capacities of people and communities.

The Congress believes in a strong Centre, in strong states and in strong panchayats and nagarpalikas. Each of these builds on and draws sustenance from each other.

Panchayats and nagarpalikas are not the third tier of development, as they are often perceived. They are in fact, the first tier of our vast democracy. Panchayati Raj, in the Congress view, must lead to the establishment of vibrant institutions of participatory self-governance and not to passive agencies for the execution of government instructions emanating from the state or national capital.

It is the Congress that amended the Constitution to give greater administrative, legal and financial powers to local elected bodies. A silent resolution is taking place in our villages and towns as a result of this initiative.

There are about 4500 MPs and MLAs representing a population of 95 crore. With panchayats and nagarpalikas m place, 30 lakh representatives at the grassroots- 10 lakh of whom are women will now emerge as the true voices of the people. These are the leaders who will transform the face of the country.

The Congress is waging a relentless crusade for strengthening self-government institutions in rural and urban India. This will bring government closer to the people and make it more responsive and accountable.

Economic Growth

The Congress’s thrust has always been towards vikaas, development, growth. Growth by itself is not sufficient for addressing the complex challenges that the country faces. But in the absence of higher growth and sustained economic expansion, these challenges just cannot be confronted effectively.

The goal of all the Congress’s economic policies at all points of time has been the abolition of poverty, as we have known it for centuries.

Every time there has been a non-Congress Government in Delhi, the first and the most immediate casualty has been the economy.

It is time for rebuilding and reconstruction once again.

The Congress has done this twice in the past two decades. Only it can do so a third time. It can do so because only it has the experience and the expertise, because only

it knows both what It is to be done and how that is to be done.

The Congress reiterates its firm commitment to faster economic reforms with a human face. Higher growth is possible only If we invest more and invest more productively in physical and social Infrastructure and only if the pattern of public expenditures at all levels reflects pressing socio economic priorities and needs of the poor, the unemployed, the deprived, the malnourished and the disadvantaged of India.


Self-reliance

During the Freedom movement the Congress adopted Swadeshi. Following Independence, Panditji gave us the goal of self-reliance that was needed to create our own industrial base, encourage our own scientists and technologists and mobilise our own resources for development projects.

Self-reliance has served India well. It has made India the fifth largest economy In the world. India has changed. So has the world. Self-reliance must remain our objective but In the changing times, it must be given contemporary meaning.

Today, our enemy is poverty, unemployment and deprivation.

Today, our enemy is low Investment, poor productivity and lagging physical and social infrastructure.

Today, the challenge is to accelerate growth In all sectors of the economy, growth that will generate employment, remove poverty and create prosperity.

We will be truly self-reliant when we are able to eradicate poverty and provide full employment. That is possible with faster growth in agriculture and industry.

We will be truly self-reliant when we are able to invest more in primary education, in agriculture, in Irrigation, in public health, in water supply and sanitation, which will be possible, only if we have the right priorities in public expenditures.

There is no double-speak in the Congress’s approach to self-reliance unlike the BJP’s approach to Swadeshi. There is not hypocrisy in the Congress’s practise of self reliance unlike the BJP’s practice of Swadeshi.


 IlI CHALLENGES AHEAD

Much has been achieved in the last fifty years. There is much we can feel proud of. But the job is half-done. There is a vast unfinished agenda. India faces a multitude of challenges - political, social, economic - as she stands on the threshold of the 21St century and of the fourth or fifth millennium of here ancient civilisation.

At this crucial juncture of our history, the most urgent task is to have a government in New Delhi that will last the full five years. But there is something more. The government must have a coherent and clear vision of what needs to be done and must have the ability to get it done.

India’s foremost economic challenge is to accelerate investment and economic growth so that we can abolish poverty in the next decade or so. This growth will come from agriculture, industry and other sectors. This growth will come from new investments, from new technologies, from productivity and competitiveness.

India’s foremost political challenge is to have a responsive, responsible and representative government at all levels. The bonds of unity in this diverse and variegated land have to be strengthened while at the same time being sensitive to and accommodative of local sentiments and aspirations.

India’s foremost social challenge is to preserve and enrich her secular heritage and maintain and promote harmony among the different religions, communities, linguistic groups and regions that make up its kaleidoscopic culture. Equality of opportunity in terms education and health for all our people must be assured with redoubled vigour and determination. 

The Congress has a vision of India.

A vision of an India that is economically resurgent and that is creating at least 1 crore jobs every year.

A vision of an India which has abolished poverty, as we have known it for centuries, in the next fifteen years. A vision of an India where all its citizens, but particularly its girls and women belonging to the dalit, adivasi, other backward class and minority communities have access to the best education and health facilities by, at most, the end of the next decade.

A vision of an India that has provided basic amenities to all its citizens in tangible measure and her citizen leads a life of dignity.

A vision of India which has extended food and social security to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged sections of her society.

A vision of an India rooted in her tradition but at the same time having the self-confidence and the strength to imbibe what the world has to offer.

A vision of an India at peace with itself, of an India driven by the spirit of tolerance, liberalism and mutual acceptance.

The Congress can do no better than recall the immortal lines of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore written over eighty years ago but that resonate even today.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free; 

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depths of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;

Into that Heaven of freedom, my father

Let my country awake.


IV THE CONGRESS WORKPLAN

The Congress places before the people this Programme of Action, which is not a just an expression of hope or pious statements of intentions but Plans that will be operationalised after the Congress is mandated to assume the reins of office:


Creating More Jobs

Accelerated employment creation will be the cornerstone of all the Congress’s economic policies and programmes. Jobless growth is socially unacceptable. At the same time, mere increases in jobs without corresponding augmentation in growth and productivity cannot be sustained economically. There is need to review and revamp such laws and regulations as stand in the way of faster employment generation.

We have to create a hundred lakh jobs a year and aim at every family having at least one of its members in regular employment.

When the Congress was in power during 1991-96, an estimated 70 lakh jobs were generated annually. Since then, the rate of employment generation has fallen sharply since economic growth itself has fallen steeply.

The priority requirement for accelerated employment generation is to revive economic growth and sustain it in a broad-based manner at 7%-8% per year for a decade and beyond.

The single largest generator of employment is agriculture. Continued growth in agriculture will generate additional employment opportunities. This is particularly so in regions, which are well endowed but have not realised their full potential on account of institutional, infrastructural and technological constraints. A special programme for accelerating agricultural growth in these regions will be launched.

New jobs will also be created in other areas of rural development like horticulture, aquaculture, afforestation, livestock and agro-processing. These need new investment, credit, marketing and technology inputs.

The rural, non-farm sector has emerged as a major source of employment in recent years. In large part this is due to farm growth itself. This sector will receive investment and technology support.

A stable, long-term policy on exports of agricultural products and commodities will be adopted. Apart from increasing incomes for farmers this will also generate new employment.

The Congress will impart a whole new look to the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) that has significant potential for generating employment in rural and semi-urban areas. KVIC will be transformed into a modern, research-based, technology-oriented, customer- focussed organisation. New programmes for the development and modernisation of the coir industry, handlooms, powerlooms, handicrafts, food processing, sericulture, wool development, etc. - all of which have a high employment potential - will be launched.

A greater thrust on labour-intensive exports of textiles, handicrafts, gems and jewellery, leather, software, light engineering and consumer goods manufacturing will also significantly boost employment. These industries have considerable export potential, which will be taped.

Small-scale industry is a major source of employment generation. It will be made more technology-driven, market oriented and competitive and its problems relating to the timely supply of adequate working capital, access

to technology and marketing will be overcome. Small industry will be particularly encouraged in states and regions where the potential for large or heavy industry is limited.

A cluster approach to the development of small-scale industry will be adopted and the investment ceilings will reflect the need for small-scale industry to invest in new technology and to undertake modernisation. Venture capital funds, Indian and foreign, will be given fiscal encouragement.

Tourism is yet another major employment generator, apart from being a low-cost way of earning foreign exchange. Considering what we have to offer the world, we must aim at no less than doubling international tourist traffic into India in the next four to five years and facilitating an exponential increase in domestic tourist traffic.

Moreover, domestic tourism has a crucial role to play in promoting national integration. Special infrastructure facilities for substantially expanding international and domestic tourism, and thus realising the full employment potential of this sector, will be given high priority.

The services sector, as a whole is another major employment generator. So is the self-employed sector. Both will be expanded and encouraged with the easy availability of finance and reforms of laws and regulations that stand in the way of their growth.

The entire technical and vocational training and education system in the country will be vastly expanded and thoroughly modernised. Private industry will be closely involved in the management of Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Industrial Training Institutes, polytechnics, and tool rooms. Job placement schemes run by employment exchanges will be significantly expanded and professionalised. 

The educated unemployed will receive special attention. Existing apprentice schemes will be expanded and made more effective. A new national service scheme will be started to involve fresh graduates in key nation-building activities.

In addition to generating employment through accelerated economic growth, anti-poverty programmes aimed at wage- employment and employment assurance for both the rural and urban poor will be given full financial support. Existing programmes will be consolidated to give higher social returns per unit of financial outlay; efficiency, transparency and beneficiary-orientation will be ensured by involving the panchayats and nagarpalikas in implementation. There will also be a special employment generation programme including self-employment through well-funded micro- enterprises, for the educated unemployed in urban areas.


Agriculture

All possible measures will be taken to step up the momentum of public investment in agriculture, especially in the backward and poorer regions. This investment should cover irrigation, electrification, godowns, marketing, research and extension.

The flow of agricultural credit, particularly to small and marginal farmers, will be doubled in the next three years. The rural credit system, comprising co-operative banks, land development banks, commercial banks, regional rural banks and institutions like NABARD, will be strengthened and put on a sounder financial footing. Group loan schemes will be encouraged. Micro-credit programmes will be expanded.

High priority will be accorded to the timely supply of electricity and water to farmers in accordance with the requirements of agriculture. 

A special technology and extension programme for dryland farming will be introduced. An intensive agricultural development programme for the 100 districts in the arid and semi-arid areas will be introduced with emphasis on watershed schemes.

A time-bound programme for restoring all public tubewells to good working condition wherever required will be started. The pace of construction of new irrigation wells in the poorer districts of the country will be expedited.

The Congress government launched the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) in 1995. The RIDF will be expanded. New godowns, storage facilities, cold storage networks and access roads will get priority.

The agro-processing industry and other agriculture-related activities like livestock, aquaculture, fisheries, horticulture, sericulture and dairy development will receive fresh investment and technology inputs.

The Congress will continue to lay great stress on land reforms, particularly in those states where it has been lagging, to promote security of tenure to the tiller, land consolidation, distribution of excess vacant land over and above prescribed ceilings, registration of all tenancies through Operation Barga-type campaigns and maintenance of up-to-date land records. The Congress will make land reforms an issue for mobilisation and campaign.

The Congress recognises the increasingly acute problem of fragmentation of existing land holdings and the need to consolidate them with a view to ensuring economic viability.

Special programmes to restore the productivity of land that have become barren because of salinity or alkalinity or for some other reason will be implemented. 

A renewed emphasis will be placed on wasteland development and afforestation. Industry will be involved in the regeneration of degraded forestlands with the full co-operation of local communities through the Panchayati Raj institutions.

Controls on the free movement of agricultural commodities and the processing of agricultural products will be reviewed with a view to benefiting the farmer.

Measures will be taken to increase profitability in agriculture and to ensure fair and remunerative prices for their produce.

The terms of trade will always be kept in favour of agriculture. While remunerative procurement and support prices constitute a key element of this strategy, it is essential to sustain favourable terms of trade through productivity gains and marketing support.

Organisations that supply inputs to farmers will be converted into farmer managed and controlled organisations. This will ensure better accountability.

A viable crop insurance scheme for farmers, particularly in vulnerable regions, will be introduced.


Irrigation

The Congress will evolve a national consensus on the sharing of water of inter-state rivers. A permanent solution to all inter-state disputes will be found and implemented.

While the use of new technology will undoubtedly lead to a periodic revision of our ultimate irrigation potential, it will be the Congress objective to prepare a perspective plan for the full development of currently assessed potential by the year 2015 at the latest. 

This will involve an addition of at least 2 million hectares per year to the country’s irrigation capacity. This will require Special attention will be paid to drought-prone areas, including the enhancement of the Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) and dovetailing this into an overall programme for their accelerated development.

Special attention will be paid to drought-prone areas, including the enhancement of the Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) and dovetailing this into an overall programme for their accelerated development.

Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development

The eradication of poverty is the single most important objective of national development.

The Congress commits itself to doubling the expenditure on poverty alleviation and social development programmes over the next five years. At the same time, it will take radical steps to improve the effectiveness of such expenditures by involving the communities, groups and individuals living In poverty and destitution towards which these programmes are targeted.

A sustained 4-5% annual rate of growth in agriculture is the essential pre-requisite for the time-bound eradication of rural poverty.

This must be reinforced by other programmes for the development and diversification of the rural economy. Moreover, programmes of agricultural and rural growth must be reinforced by special programmes and schemes directed at specific target groups below the poverty line.

As the rural landless constitute the hard core of poverty, the eradication of their poverty will be central to all anti poverty programmes. 

There is at present a plethora of anti-poverty programmes relating to asset-creation and wage-employment in rural areas. This multiplicity of schemes needlessly adds to overheads, fractionates and sometimes duplicates the effort, and significantly reduces the share of anti-poverty funds actually reaching the intended beneficiaries. Therefore, the Congress will consolidate and rationalise existing poverty alleviation programmes to reduce administrative costs and substantially enhance the funding of anti-poverty and rural development programmes.

To ensure that a much larger proportion of the funds set aside for this purpose reach intended beneficiaries and identified projects at the village level, the implementation of such programmes will be undertaken through the tram panchayats and in consultation with the gram sabhas. This will also ensure transparency and the people’s involvement, both essential conditions for the success of these programmes.

All central funds for poverty alleviation and rural development will be credited directly to the funds of elected Panchayati Raj institutions.

It will be ensured that financial institutions play a more significant and dynamic role in the implementation of beneficiary-oriented asset-creation programmes.

The nation-wide employment guarantee scheme will have a special focus on the most vulnerable districts of the country.

The Congress will spearhead a massive programme of organising the rural poor for participation in poverty alleviation and rural development programmes. 


Panchayati Raj

The Congress is deeply concerned at the level of general stagnation and lack of meaningful forward movement in the implementation of the scheme of Panchayati Raj envisaged in the Constitution. Panchayati Raj, conceived as development through democracy at the grassroots and aimed at Power to the people, is the single most important institutional reform to transform rural India and involve people in their own development. The Congress pledges to build on the fundamental significance accorded to the Panchayati Raj by Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru with a view to realising the aims and objectives of the Constitution amendments brought by Shri Rajiv Gandhi.

Specifically, the Congress undertakes to implement and encourage the implementation of the following measures to enable panchayats and nagarpalikas to fulfil their Constitutional role as units of local self-government:

• The effective devolution, within the next five years, to the Panchayati Raj institutions of all subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule and to the nagarpalikas of subjects listed in the Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution. Since devolution requires the decentralisation of functions, functionaries and finances, it will be ensured that budgets, staff, other resources and corresponding authority are integrated into the devolution package;

• The discouragement or prohibition of the establishment of parallel bodies to undertake functions entrusted to the panchayats by the Constitution or state legislation;

• The empowerment of the Gram Sabha as the foundation of the Panchayati Raj system by being statutorily required to give their approval for proposals prepared by panchayats, examine and pass accounts and authorise the issue of utilisation certificates; 

• The vesting of sole authority with the Gram Sabha to identify beneficiaries for poverty-alleviation programmes and to determine community-oriented asset creation projects under such schemes;

• The election of District Planning Committees, in accordance with Constitutional and legislative requirements, to integrate into district plans the plans for their respective areas prepared by the panchayats and nagarpalikas;

• The functionaries of the panchayats and nagarpalikas will be brought under the disciplinary control of the elected authorities to facilitate their Constitutional responsibility for the implementation• of programmes for economic development and social justice;

• The direct transfer to panchayats and nagarpalikas of their share of central revenues as determined by the central Finance Commissions and expeditious action on the recommendations of state finance commissions;

• The direct crediting to panchayat funds and to the accounts of municipalities of central funds for rural development and anti-poverty programmes.

• The establishment of appropriate audit systems to ensure sound financial administration.

• The promotion of free, fair and representative elections to the local bodies, the expeditious resolution of legal suits which have delayed elections in some states, and the implementation of court directives in this regard;

• Ensuring the utmost respect for elected women members and women office-bearers of the panchayats and nagarpalikas;

• Implementation of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 passed by Parliament in accordance with the Constitutional directive in this regard;

• The establishment of a composite Ministry of Panchayats and Nagarpalikas to establish a healthy and mutually reinforcing relationship between rural and urban development.

• Panchayati Raj institutions will not be allowed to be used against the weaker sections of the society.


Co-operatives

Along with political democracy through the panchayats, it is essential to promote economic democracy through the co-operatives.

Co-operatives must be liberated from undue political and bureaucratic interference, and the co-operative movement freed of personal aggrandisement, corruption and misuse for political purposes.

To this end, the Congress will bring forward legislation designed to ensure Constitutional protection for co operatives to function as democratic, autonomous and voluntary associations.

Elections must be held regularly in accordance with the articles of association.

Particular attention will be paid to ensuring the financial viability and creditworthiness of the co-operatives.


Population Policy

According to present demographic trends, India is expected to reach the critical transition point of a total fertility rate of 2.1 by the year 2026. A generation after

this is reached, around 2050, the population would stabilise. There are, however, major state-level variations which must be taken into account in formulating population policy. Thus, Rajasthan is expected to reach the transition point in 2048, Bihar in 2039, Madhya Pradesh beyond 2060 and Uttar Pradesh beyond 2100. The objective of population policy will be to advance the date for the transition point for the country as a whole to 2015.

The Congress believes that the spread of female literacy, the empowerment of women, the provision of nutrition, the expansion of primary health facilities and an innovative communications campaign constitute the key components of a strategy aimed at drastically reducing the growth in our population - which Is the most serious challenge with which we as a nation are confronted.

A more vigorous and determined effort will be launched in north India and in the 150 or so districts of the country where fertility decline is taking place very slowly.

Non-governmental organisations and community organisations will be involved intimately. Sustained political support will be provided to these programmes.

States which perform well in family planning will not stand to lose in any way in any future delimitation exercise for assemblies and Parliament.


Education

The Congress reiterates its commitment to investing at least 6% of the nation’s GDP in education and earmarking 50% of this expenditure on elementary education. We will strive to attain this target by the end of the Ninth Five-Year Plan. 

A time-bound programme for universalising access to elementary education for all children upto the age of 14 by the year 2003 will be implemented and resources found for making this happen. Over a period of time, we must move towards making primary and secondary education compulsory as well. There are practical problems with making school education compulsory in India as it is in other countries but these problems have to be addressed in a systematic manner. The Congress recognises that panchayati raj institutions and municipalities are the most effective agencies for providing compulsory elementary education.

The National Mid-Day Meal Programme launched by the Congress in 1995 will be a key instrument for achieving increasing and retaining school enrolment, for improving the nutritional status of school-going children and for providing employment to women. The programme will be based on cooked food and will be implemented with determination particularly in the educationally backward states.

The New Policy on Education devised by Shri Rajiv Gandhi will be implemented with renewed vigour. Government schools suffer from lack of basic infrastructure. An intensive programme to fill these gaps in a time-bound manner will be launched. Operation Blackboard will be galvanised. The functioning of Navodaya Vidyalayas will be strengthened with a view to ensuring equity in access to quality education for all talented children.

The use of modern space and satellite technology can revolutiomse the education system in the country, including the promotion of distant education in schools which is likely to be the most cost-effective way of reaching quality education to poor children in both urban and rural areas. The Congress will work towards harnessing the potential of this technology in the quickest possible time.

Special attention will be paid to the education of the girl child. Free education and maintenance scholarships for girls belonging to scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, backward class and minority communities will be provided from the primary to university levels.

Tuition fees and maintenance allowance to every Schedule Cast and Schedule Tribe student admitted to any university will be guaranteed for a maximum period of six years.

Education is a right, not a privilege. The right to primary education will be made a fundamental right. The Education Guarantee Scheme of Madhya Pradesh that is based on a partnership between local communities and the government will be replicated elsewhere, especially in educationally backward areas.

Literacy programmes run by voluntary groups will be given every encouragement. The National Literacy Mission has been an outstanding success and its work will be consolidated and expanded.

Special incentives to enhance the economic and social status of schoolteachers will be provided.

A special scheme for the modernisation of universities linked to organisational and financial reforms will be introduced. The development of centres of excellence in specific areas in different universities will be supported.

Needy and poor students will be given liberal scholarships and provided with educational loan facilities.

Universities will not be allowed to be politicised and will be encouraged to be run completely on professional basis. 


Health

By the year 2010, all of India must reach the quality of life indicators already achieved in some southern states of the country. It will be the objective to reach Kerala’s level of infant mortality especially by the end of the next decade for the country as a whole.

Morbidity due to communicable diseases continues to be high. One of the main reasons for this is the absence of proper urban and rural sanitation and poor liquid and solid waste management. India’s public health problems are largely hygiene and sanitation-linked. A new national movement for sanitation and hygiene, along the lines launched by Gandhiji during the Freedom movement, will now be started and spearheaded by the Congress. Effective technologies for sanitation and waste disposal will be deployed in towns and cities. The panchayats and nagarpalikas will be fully involved in this exercise. This is a scheme that will receive the highest priority.

The national programmes for the containment and control of communicable diseases, particularly malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, AIDS and kala azar will be completely reinvigorated. Other national programmes like for the control of blindness and diarrhoea through simple, cost-effective techniques will also be given renewed investment and management focus. In keeping with Shn Rajiv Gandhi’s commitment to eradicate polio, the Congress will ensure that polio is fully eradicated in the first decade of the 21st century.

An epidemiological surveillance system will be set up all over the country to facilitate early detection and prompt response for the rapid containment and control of the outbreak of disease.

A network, of super-speciality hospitals will be set up all over the country with the assistance of all sectors. Every district hospital will be upgraded to a minimum level of standards and facilities.

While the existing health infrastructure comprising of sub-centres, primary health centres and community health centres will be expanded, strengthened and made more effective, new and more innovative delivery mechanisms like mobile health services will also be deployed. Health for All is feasible only with the total involvement of the panchayats and nagarpalikas.

An Education Commission in Health Sciences along the lines of the UGC will be set up to provide the requisite financial and technical support for professional and para-professional education in health sciences. One University for Health Sciences will be set up in each state to be the implementing arm of the Education Commission.

Indigenous systems of medicine will be encouraged in every respect.


Drinking Water

Top priority will be given to supplying drinking water to the people in the villages, towns and cities.

In the next five years, universal coverage of drinking water supply will be assured in villages and habitations that presently have no safe sources, or are only partially covered or face special water quality problems. The approach will be habitation-driven.

A safe water source within a kilometre of each habitation will be provided. All technologies to locate and develop new water sources and improve the quality of water supplied will be mobilised and put into use. The mission mode for this purpose, deployed in conjunction with Panchayati Raj institutions, which has yielded impressive results in Madhya Pradesh, will be replicated elsewhere. 

In order to supplement water availability and recharge the country’s groundwater reserves, a local community- based National Rainwater Harvesting Programme will be launched with the objective of capturing at least an additional 1% of India’s rain resources or about 4 million hectare-metres of water every year.


Housing

The Indira Awas Yojana launched by earlier Congress governments to build houses for the poor and the disadvantaged has been a great success. This scheme will be expanded and consolidated. The scheme to provide free house sites to the rural poor will be continued.

High priority will be accorded to innovative schemes for the housing of the urban poor and the slum dwellers. Social housing schemes will be launched. Technologies to promote low-cost housing and effective shelter to the urban poor, like prefab will be deployed. Slums will be converted into livable habitations with access to basic facilities of water supply and sanitation

Further fiscal incentives to promote house-building and rental housing will be considered. Mortgage foreclosure laws will be enacted and all legal hurdles that stand in the way of accelerating housing and construction activity will be removed.


Public Distribution System

Price stability, especially in regard to items of consumption of the poor, is a major Congress priority. The Congress is deeply committed to insuring the poor from the ravages of increases in the prices of essential consumer requirements. To this end, the Public Distribution System will be substantially strengthened and deficiencies in its functioning removed so as to ensure that essential  commodities reach families below the poverty line at the subsidised prices. This is in keeping with the Congress view that subsidies should be focussed on the really poor and truly needy.

The PDS is particularly weak in the north Indian states. A special effort will be made in these states through the involvement of the respective state governments, local bodies, and women’s organisations. A beginning will be made to hand over the PDS to elected panchayats and nagarpalikas.

The efficiency of FCI’s procurement, storage and distribution operations will be enhanced substantially


Social Security

In August 1995, the Congress government had launched a comprehensive National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), with focus on the aged, the elderly, and the disabled and for those in the unorganised sector. NSAP has three components-a National Old Age Pension Scheme, a National Family Benefit Scheme and a National Maternity Benefit Scheme, all of which are targeted at people living below the poverty line.

The funding for NSAP is now at about one-third the needed level. In the next two to three years, the Congress will make the NSAP fully funded.

A health insurance policy for the poor will be instituted. Social insurance schemes for workers and producers in the informal sector will be introduced and implemented in close collaboration with non-governmental organisations and co-operatives.

Special schemes for providing economic security in old age will be launched.

 A National Senior Citizens Fund will be set up to encourage catalyse and complement all private sector efforts for the betterment of life of senior citizens of the country. The initial corpus for this fund will be provided by the government. Existing provident fund schemes will be expanded both in terms of coverage as well as revamped to deliver better yields consistent with the need for ensuring secure returns and assuring a steady stream of adequate annuities after retirement.

A new fully funded contributory pension scheme for workers in the unorganised and self-employed sector will be started.


Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs

A separate, statutory National Commission for Scheduled Tribes will be set up. This Commission and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes will be equipped with administrative, judicial and financial powers.

State governments will be urged to make legislation for conferring ownership rights in respect of minor forest produce on dalits, adivasis and OBCs who work in the forests.

The policy of reservations in public employment for dalits, adivasis and OBCs will continue and be implemented vigorously. All reservation quotas, including those relating to promotions, will be sought to be filled on a time-bound basis.

Special recruitment drives particularly in relation to Class I and Class II vacancies will be launched.

Special coaching facilities for SC/ST/OBC students at all levels will be expanded. Educational facilities for these students will be expanded.

The implementation of existing reservations for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes is subject to numerous administrative circulars and interpretations. This has caused both unease and confusion. Clarity will be provided by having a separate Reservation Act.

Special courts will be set up under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to ensure quick justice to victims of atrocities.

Land reforms in areas where dalits are in confrontation with other sections of society will be expedited. A comprehensive national programme for minor irrigation of all lands held by dalits and adivasis will be launched. This will have a major impact both on the economic and social status of these communities. Landless rural dalit and adivasi family will be endowed with some land through the proper implementation of land ceiling and land redistribution legislation.

The finance and development corporations set up for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and backward classes, as also for safal karamcharis, will be strengthened and made more effective instruments of providing financial and technical assistance. The Congress will strictly implement the identification, release and rehabilitation programme for bonded labour.


Minorities

The Congress will vigorously pursue the seven-point Intensified Programme for the Protection and Promotion of the Minorities announced on Martyrs’ Day 1999 by the Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, to ensure the reinvigoration of Indiraji’s historic 15-point programme and the monitoring mechanism devised by Shri Rajiv Gandhi.

Measures will be taken to increase the representation of minorities in all public, police and para-miitary services both in the central and in state governments. The Congress

commits itself to constitute a Commission to examine, consistent with the relevant provision of the Constitution relating to the minorities, the question of the backwardness of the minorities. It will implement the recommendations of this Commission in the context of the various relevant provisions of the Constitution, in particular Articles 15 (4) and 16(4)

The Constitution will be amended to establish a Commission for Minority Educational Institutions and to provide direct affiliation for minority professional institutions to central universities.

New middle-level technical institutes in clusters where, for example, weavers and artisans are concentrated will be started. The National Minorities Development Corporation and the State Minorities Development Corporations will be made direct-lending institutions.

The corpus of the Maulana Azad Education Foundation will be immediately doubled to spread education and literacy among the minorities. The spread of modern and technical education among the minorities, especially amongst women, is the most important step that any government can take to integrate the minorities into the national mainstream. A Central Madarsa Education Board will be established to promote modern and scientific education, along with the traditional curriculum in all madarsas.

Consistent with Article 347 of the Constitution, the Congress will examine demands to declare Urdu as an official language in states where a substantial proportion of the population speaks that language. The Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad will be given all support to emerge as a centre of excellence.

Special social security and insurance schemes for weavers, handloom workers, fishermen, toddy tappers, leather workers and plantation labour will be introduced.

The Protection of Places Worship Act of 1991 will be strictly enforced.

Substantial legislation will be introduced for the effective implementation of the rights conferred on minorities under Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution.

All pending litigation involving wakf boards and properties will be resolved on a time-bound basis. The practice of superseding elected wakf boards and keeping them under indefinite suspension will be actively discouraged. The Wakf Act, 1995 will be reviewed for its effective implementation and where necessary, will be amended to protect Wakf properties.

The Congress will not initiate and support amendments in the personal laws of the minorities.

Special courts will be established to expeditiously try cases arising out of communal disturbances.


Women

The Constitution will be amended to provide for one- third reservations for women in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Vidhan Sabhas and Vidhan Parishads.

The Congress also proposes to increase, across the board, the number of women in government services.

A concerted drive will be launched to increase the representation of women in primary schools as teachers, in the police force and in the judiciary at all levels.

Special courts dealing with women-related issues will be established all over the country.

A massive political campaign will be launched for ending discrimination and atrocities against women and girls and social evils through a process of education, empowerment and provision of legal rights.

The Indira Mahila Yojana will be recast in terms of the framework prepared by Shri Rajiv Gandhi on the eve of the 1989 Lok Sabha elections and launched throughout the country. The IMY is based on mahila sabhas, comprising the entire adult female population of a gram panchayat area, and provides the women of the village with a forum to present their concerns to the panchayats through the women members of the panchayat, as also to select from among themselves saathins who will interact with the administration to ensure that programes targetted to women and children are oriented towards the priorities determined by the mahila sabha.

Special social security schemes for women working in the unorganised and informal sectors will be launched. The economic and social needs of female agricultural labour will receive the highest priority.

Schemes for distributing assets like house sites and land jointly or singly in the name of women will be introduced.

Special credit and micro-finance programmes for women will be introduced. Women will be given a central role in all anti-poverty programmes and in all watershed development and forestry projects. Women-headed households will be covered under special programmes.

The Congress is acutely aware of the growing population of widows in the country. They suffer from social and cultural prejudices and also suffer from many legal disadvantages. A programme for their social, economic and legal emancipation and empowerment will be introduced.

The name of the mother will be made acceptable in all forms and applications.

Laws to combat sexual harassment at the workplace will be made and strictly enforced.

More hostels facilities for working women and students in cities and towns will be provided.


Children and Youth

Membership of NCC will be encouraged among students

The Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS), through which nutrition is assured for children, pregnant mothers and lactating mothers, will be expanded to cover all the community development blocks in the country.

The National Mid-day Meal Programme will be consolidated and based everywhere on hot, cooked meals in all elementary schools in the country, with particular emphasis on the poorer states.

Laws against child labour will be strictly enforced and special educational facilities will be created in areas where child labour prevails. The Congress is committed to the rapid elimination of all forms of child labour.

The Congress believes that the sight of street children in our cities is a challenge to our collective social conscience. A special programme will be launched to end the tragedy of street children. The Congress will involve different sections of society to ensure that street children are placed in special schools, training centres, or rehabilitation centres or in social welfare homes.

Strict measures will be taken against female infanticide and foeticide.

Special Insurance and social security schemes for the girl child among the weaker sections will be launched.

A special national programme will be launched for involving school-leaving and college-leaving youth in key national tasks like literacy, rural development, legal awareness and social reforms will be launched on the fiftieth anniversary of our republic on January 26th, 2000.

Sports

India’s performance in sports at an international level has been dismal and does not do justice to our potential. In recent years, cricket has become very popular in the country. But athletics, football, hockey and other games continue to languish and do not generate the same interest and enthusiasm.

It will also tap natural talent, particularly in tribal areas. Infrastructure for sports in every district will be upgraded, specific-sporting academies will be set up at the national and state levels and world-class training facilities will be provided with easy access. A Benevolent Fund to look after the welfare and well being of outstanding sports persons will also be established.

Fiscal Discipline

India just cannot sustain the present levels of the revenue deficit and fiscal deficit of both the Centre and the states. It is both the quantity and the quality of the deficits that are coming in the way of faster growth and eroding the capacity of governments to enhance social investments in a significant manner. The revenue deficit will be phased out over the next three to four years and the combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and the states will be stabilised at a level below 4% of GDP.

The feasibility of a Constitutional ceiling on the growth of public debt will be actively explored. A Fiscal Responsibility Act to introduce and sustain fiscal discipline in a transparent manner will be introduced. Fiscal discipline will not be at the cost of investment in essential social and physical infrastructure.

Expenditure management will receive the highest priority and a high-level Expenditure Management Commission will be set up to bring about a national consensus on the scope, nature, level and growth of public expenditures, including implicit and explicit subsidies that are now at an unsustainable level of around 14-15% of GDP. The Congress believes that the structure of government expenditure at both the Central and state levels has to undergo a fundamental reorientation in order to enhance investments in education, health, nutrition, irrigation, agriculture and other essential sectors.

Tax reforms will be continued. The tax-GDP ratio must be brought up to at least 18% over the next five years. Measures will be taken to enlarge the tax base. Strict action will be taken against tax evaders. A new and simplified Direct Taxes Act will be made public for discussion before its introduction. There will be stability in direct tax rates.

The Congress will work closely with states to bring about fiscal reorientation. Incentives will be built into the system of fiscal transfers so as to encourage restructuring of state finances in favour of investment in the social and physical infrastructure sectors.

India is one giant common market and must function as one. Unfortunately, there are still many fiscal and other barriers, which are preventing the emergence of a truly national common market. These barriers will be eliminated in consultation with state governments. The objective will be to move towards a system of value-added taxation (VAT) and uniform rules for the treatment of

interstate trade. VAT will be accompanied by a major simplification of the rate structure. The Congress is fully committed to the introduction of a VAT in the next four to five years and for this purpose it will continue to work in a spirit of constructive co-operation with all states.

Price Stability

The Congress believes that in a country like India, the most effective anti-poverty measure that any government can and must take is to control inflation and also to tame inflationary expectations. Anti-inflationary strategies will be the cornerstone of the Congress’s economic policies.

The Congress pledges to keep the consumer prices of all essential commodities under control at all times. 1998 witnessed the most unprecedented increase in the prices of essential food items due to the totally insensitive policies of the BJP government. Strict action will be taken against black-marketers, speculators and hoarders. Changes will be brought about in the Essential Commodities Act to make it a more effective instrument of price control. A Cabinet Committee on Inflation Control will be set up and this would monitor the price situation on at least a weekly basis.


Industry

Industry has to be growing on a sustained basis at a minimum of 10-12% per year if overall economic growth and employment objectives are to be achieved.

This performance had been seen during the mid- 1990s when the Congress was in power. A special effort is now required to revive the Indian manufacturing industry in particular through new investments and new technologies. A broad-based National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council will be set up to provide a focus for such an endeavour and to provide an institutional mechanism

for a policy dialogue on issues of particular concern to the manufacturing sector.

A new, modern forward-looking Companies Act and a new Foreign Exchange Management Act will be brought into force. Immediate steps will be taken to restore the health of the capital markets so that Indian companies can raise equity capital. Incentives to boost private investment will be introduced and all measures to bring down real rates of interest in the neighbourhood of 3- 5% will be taken.

A new competition law will be enacted to ensure that competition is free and fair and restrictive, unfair, monopolistic trade and business practices are kept in complete check.

While trade liberalisation will continue, the anti-dumping machinery will be made more effective and timely. Industry will be supported to cope effectively with the challenges posed by different V/TO agreements. This is particularly the case in the textile and pharmaceutical industries. The textile industry, in particular, has to be geared up for the abolition of quantitative restrictions on imports by India by the year 2003 and for the abolition of all import quotas in the developed countries by the year 2005.

The agro-processing industry will be given a special boost through appropriate fiscal, technological and investment policies.

The emergence of Indian multinationals and Indian brands will be actively encouraged and supported. The procedures for overseas investments by Indian firms for acquisitions will be further liberalised.

Small-scale industry will be freed from bureaucratic harassment. Inspections will be reduced to the minimum, rationalised and implemented without nepotism and

corruption. In clusters of small-scale industries, voluntary and self-regulation will, where possible, be introduced. Special bank facilities in the major clusters of small- scale industry will be created and the availability of working capital and venture capital for small enterprises will be expanded. Complementarity between large, medium and small industry will be fostered through forward-looking and pragmatic investment and technology policies. The policy of small-scale reservation will be kept under constant review especially where there is a need to accelerate exports and introduce new technology. Where free imports are allowed and quantitative restrictions on imports are being removed, the case for imposing any form of restrictions on domestic production needs review.

Issues relating to corporate governance involving a concern for all major stakeholder interests will be dealt with on a priority basis. The take-over code will be implemented in a transparent manner. All support will be given to Indian industry in its efforts to restructure, consolidate and meet the challenges of changing economic circumstances.

A new law will be made to deal effectively with industrial sickness so that the interests of labour are fully protected and industrialists do not run away from their legal obligations by taking recourse to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). The BIFR itself will be completely revamped and a new Sick Industries Companies Act, to replace the SICA of 1987, will be introduced with a view to facilitating quick restructuring and industrial revival.


Labour

The Congress salutes the Trade Union movement on the key role it has played in securing and enforcing the rights of the working class.

The time has now come to forge a national consensus on new industrial relations Bill that reflects the contemporary needs of the economy. The Congress believes that employer-employee relationships are partnerships for prosperity and that such partnerships should be fostered and sustained on a bilateral basis with the government playing a facilitating role.

Facilities in all existing industrial training and vocational training institutes and in polytechnics will be upgraded to international standards. Private industry will be actively encouraged to participate in the running of these institutes.

Social security and insurance schemes for workers in the unorganised and informal sectors, particularly women, will be strengthened and expanded.

The Congress will spearhead a campaign to ensure that existing legislation relating to minimum wages is implemented without any dilution in all sectors of the economy. The minimum wage itself will be kept under constant scrutiny.

Laws that have been made in respect of labour in the unorganised sector will be implemented vigorously and where necessary new laws will be formulated.

All statutory dues to workers in the public and private sector companies will be cleared in a time-bound manner. The interests of workers affected by judicial rulings on polluting and hazardous industries will be fully protected.


Textiles

Considering the crucial importance of the textiles industry in India, particularly from the point of view of employment and exports, the Congress will come out with a comprehensive, forward-looking textile policy. This policy will, among other things, deal with issues relating to

improving the productivity of cotton cultivation, the modernisation of the ginning and processing industries, the technological upgradation of spinning and weaving mills, the revival and rehabilitation of sick mills, the regulated growth of the powerlooms industry and the provision of basic civic infrastructure in powerloom centres, the reliable and assured supply of raw material to and marketing of handlooms, an appropriate fiscal policy that will promote the balanced development of all segments of the textile industry, substantially increasing the global market share of Indian textiles, etc.

Special consideration will be given to social development schemes for the well being and welfare of handloom weavers. An area-based approach will be adopted• so that handloom weavers who are clustered in regions throughout the country will benefit.


Capital Markets

The Congress will take immediate steps to revive the primary market and put the growth of the capital market on a sounder and firmer footing. The debt market will be developed as will the retail government guts market. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIls), Venture Capital Funds and Private Equity Funds will continue to be actively encouraged. Their sentiment on the country must be kept positive on a sustained basis. Domestic institutional players will be developed to become effective market participants. Regulation of the capital market to protect the interests of the small and ordinary investor will be made more effective, and strict and timely action will be taken against all defaulters. Disinvestment of government shareholding in public sector companies and of the holding of financial institutions in private companies will be considered as options to revive the capital market and to offer new investment opportunities to the Indian people.


Infrastructure

The rapid expansion of infrastructure that India desperately needs requires the mobilisation of long-term finances. The insurance industry will be restructured to enhance the flow of long-term funds to infrastructure development. LIC and GIC will be strengthened, corporatised and professionalised to equip them to deal with competition. Private companies with majority equity to Indians will be allowed in all insurance and pensions businesses. Social obligations will be on an even footing for both public and private companies in the insurance industry. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority will be given statutory status and be made an effective instrument for managing the restructuring of the insurance industry.

Infrastructure organisations in the public sector in power, surface transport, ports, railways and communications have to function in a commercial manner and any deviation from commercial functioning must be made explicit and must have a clearly defined social purpose.

A comprehensive long-term plan covering roadways, railways, airways, waterways etc. will be made and implemented to bring about a balanced and required development of national transport system. This will be done with the co-operation and assistance of all the sectors in the country.

Measures will be taken to remove the hurdles in the faster implementation of all infrastructure projects. The legal and regulatory framework for facilitating private investment in infrastructure will be clearly defined and made completely transparent. Public investment in infrastructure must expand but this expansion must be accompanied by structural, organisational and pricing reforms. Public utilities must work for the public. There is simply no other alternative to this simple principle.

There is need for greater co-ordination among central government departments and agencies and between the central government and state governments in the implementation of infrastructure projects. Mechanisms for bringing about such co-ordination will be established and strict time-schedules for project completion will be followed.

Power

The Congress attaches the highest priority to regulatory, organisational, legal and financial reforms in the power sector to enable it to function in a commercial manner. It will actively support restructuring programmes being undertaken by various state governments. A stable national grid will be built speedily.

Public investment in power will receive top priority even as efforts are made to encourage Indian and foreign companies with the objective of adding a total of at least 8000 Mw of generating capacity every year. The pace of construction of hydel projects particularly will be speeded up.

Nuclear power will be given all encouragement and the goal will be to reach 10% of electricity supply from nuclear sources by the year 2010.

Renewable sources of energy have special significance for India, particularly in specific regions. Wind energy has great potential in mountainous and hilly regions, while solar energy can emerge as a major source for lift irrigation in the Gangetic region. The entire renewable energy programme will be given a new impetus both through new investments and technologies.


Oil, Gas & Coal

The Congress will take immediate steps to augment oil exploration and production capability through both the public and private sectors, both Indian and foreign. Overseas

exploration will be also be encouraged. The waiting list for LPG connections will be cleared within two years. The administrative pricing mechanism will be fully restructured in the next three years according to the schedule already in place with subsidies only for kerosene to be met from the budget. The Congress will establish a national gas grid and an independent hydrocarbons regulatory and development authority. New sources like liquefied natural gas and natural gas hydrates will be developed.

The Congress will encourage new investment in coal exploration, mining and production through Indian and foreign companies. Legislative changes in support of this objective will be introduced. New sources like coal bed methane will be developed. A clean coal technology utilisation mission will be launched. A major programme of environmental management in the coal industry and for improving the quality of life in the coal mining areas will be implemented.


Communications

The existing DOT will be corporatised at all levels. This will enable the public sector to cope with the emerging challenges of competition and new technologies. India must begin to add at least 8-10 million new lines every year through both the public and private sectors.

Serious problems have arisen in different telecom sectors involving private and multinational operators. These will be resolved keeping in mind the national interest. Serious private companies will be given every encouragement to emerge as competitors to a restructured DOT. Existing foreign investment ceilings will be reviewed so as to enable the participation of technology-rich global majors in the expansion of our telecom network in a direct and less complicated manner than at present.

The independence and autonomy of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will be fully protected. Competition will be introduced in all segments on telecom industry.

All gram panchayats will be provided with telephones by the end of the century. The national STD network will be further expanded.

The postal system will be modernised. To speed up transmission of money orders, a satellite money order service will be launched to cover all towns.

The Congress will give full managerial and commercial autonomy to government-owned media and equip them professionally to meet the challenges of competition effectively. Steps will be taken to maximise the benefits to India from participation in the global media industry.


Railways

There has been a marked deterioration in the safety of railways in the past few years. The Congress will accord the highest priority to ensuring passenger safety.

Large parts of India are still ill served by the rail network. These areas will be brought into the system in a time-bound manner. All lines will be brought on broad gauge in a clear, time-bound manner.

The organisatlon and managerial structure of the railways has to reflect new and emerging challenges and cannot remain frozen in time. The Congress will appoint a high- powered Railway Reforms Commission to suggest an effective management system for the railways of the 21St Century.

Rail-based mass transit systems in major metros and cities will be introduced on a substantial scale. 


Banks

Financial sector reforms will be continued while at the same time strengthening the supervisory and regulatory apparatus for both banks and NBFCs. Steps will be taken to bring down the level of non-performing loans of banks to no more than 3-4% of their total assets over the next two years. Indian banks will continue to conform to international norms of prudential practice and norms.

Banks will be given greater autonomy to function commercially, introduce new technology, provide new services and offer new products, recruit laterally, raise capital from the market and restructure themselves through mergers and consolidation. Genuine managerial autonomy, competition and a new work culture will be fostered in the banking industry. This will give these banks the autonomy needed to meet the challenges of competition and customer service.

The spread of banks has to come down so that Indian companies will get the benefit of lower interest rates. Confidence will be instilled in the banking community to take normal commercial risks. Credit delivery systems will be made more effective and responsive.

International Trade and Investment

Immediate steps will be taken to revive the export momentum in the economy that was so much in evidence in the latter half of the eighties and the mid-1990s. India’s exports must grow by at least 15-20% per year on a sustained basis. All policy and procedural barriers to faster exports must be dismantled. Exports create employment and greatly assist in the diffusion of prosperity but high transaction costs and restrictive policies in areas like the small-scale sector are preventing India from increasing her exports and generating new employment.

Government and industry will work closely together to help prepare a plan of action to cope with the new and emerging challenges in the international trading system. A special effort will be mounted in the areas of agriculture, textiles and pharmaceuticals. The Information Technology sector, specifically software, which has emerged as India’s newest motor of growth for exports, will be given every encouragement.

India will continue to meet all her international treaty and multilateral agreement obligations in a responsible and time-bound manner and will continue to work to use the WTO to gain additional market access for products and services of interest to India. It will proactively participate in all existing and proposed global discussions with a view to influencing the agenda and enhancing its bargaining strength. It will work with other countries to push for faster dismantling of controls on trade in textiles and agriculture. The objective of tariff policy will be to reach levels prevalent in south-east and East Asia in the next two to three years and global levels shortly thereafter.

India will continue to proactively encourage investment from foreign companies and overseas Indians. There is an entirely new generation of entrepreneurial overseas Indians, which is making a mark in countries like the United States. A special effort will be mounted to attract this group of investors and build enduring networks with them. In the last few years, India has received a direct foreign investment inflow of around $ 3 billion per year. This is a very low figure considering India’s requirement for investment and considering the global availability of capital. Our target should be to reach at least 8-10 billion dollars of foreign direct investment inflows early in the next decade. 

Science and Technology

The 21st century will be the century driven by knowledge and innovation. India is uniquely placed to capitalise on this. S&T policy will be geared to making India a world- class knowledge society, to mobifising technology in support of agricultural and industrial growth and modernisation, to making India a major developer of knowledge-based products and services and to launching a national innovation movement. It is not just knowledge-based industries that will be promoted but equally important, the application of knowledge-based techniques and technologies in traditional industries as well that will get a boost.

Our laboratories, universities and research institutions need massive infusions of new blood, new equipment and a whole new management and work culture. They will be given flexibility, freedom of operation and financial autonomy.

Specific programmes for the modernisation of agricultural universities and of national laboratories will be initiated. ISRO, DRDO and BARC will continue to get unstinted political and investment support. Their linkages with the rest of the economy will be maximised.

New technology development and application missions will be launched in the areas of defence, agriculture, energy, health and animal husbandry.

Innovative ways of harnessing the expertise of Indian scientists and technologists working abroad will be introduced. The services of Indian entrepreneurs who have made a mark in global markets will also be enlisted both for their investment and professional expertise. India will be marketed as a major destination for research, development and engineering. A world-class intellectual property rights system will be put in place.

The Congress is concerned with the falling proportion of young men and women taking to science as a career. Science education will be completely overhauled.

The Technology Development Board will be funded fully to support projects for commercialising indigenous R&D and public-private partnerships in key areas. Biotechnology, renewable energy technologies and new materials will receive special focus. Biotechnology applications in agriculture and health will be emphasised.

Passenger reservations in railways have been made considerably easier through the use of computers. Similar national computerisation projects will be launched in areas of maximum impact like land records, tax administration, banks and public utilities. A special project for the use of modern technologies for the disabled and the handicapped, like computers for the blind, will be launched on a national scale.


Information Technology

It was Rajiv Gandhi who ushered India into the Information Age with the objective of mobilismg the power of information technology to transform the lives of ordinary citizens. This will inform the Congress’s approach to the further development of the information technology industry. It is, of course, an area where India is already emerging as a world-class power, for which enabling policies will be adopted. But more importantly, the information technology revolution must be used to improve governance and resolve the basic problems of our people. Computerisation of key government departments, especially those that deal with the public on an on-going basis, will be carried out in a massive manner. Information kiosks will b opened all over the country like the public call telephone offices. Internet use will be expanded and be taken down to all towns and villages as well. Efforts

at creating standard local language software will be given every encouragement.


Planning

National planning has a critical role to play in promoting balanced regional development, in mobilising resources for poorer regions, in ensuring the expansion of social infrastructure and in key strategic areas like energy where public investment will continue to be very important. The Congress believes that national planning, state planning and district planning are the three pifiars on which economic growth and social transformation rest. The nature, instrumentalities and institutions of planning at each of these three levels must be made more effective and reflective of changing economic challenges and social imperatives. Planning must be made much more than an annual accounting and budgeting exercise. It must be the instrument for focussing attention on, and making appropriate choices between, alternative options. It involves articulating a vision of the future, formulating detailed operational plans for realising that vision, setting priorities, forcing choices and making trade-off, mobilising financial, technological and human resources and providing a machinery for implementation with strict time and cost schedules. Therefore, the planning process must begin from the bottom, involving the people themselves through the District Planning Committees as provided for in the Constitution.


Public Sector

While recognising that the public sector has served the country well in the face of numerous odds and handicaps, the Congress believes that it is time for a strategic redefinition of its role and scope. This reorientation flows from changing economic, social and technological imperati The needs of the future are different. The growth of entrepreneurship in the country advances in technology and the pressing

demands on public expenditure from more essential sectors like education and health make such a reorientation essential.

The public sector must be concentrated primarily in strategic, se and high-technology areas of atomic energy, def and space, as also certain areas of infrastructure where private investment will not be forthcoming. It must operate with full commercial and managerial autonomy. The public sector must also concentrate on developing new areas and new industries and bringing them to commercial fruition.

The Disinvestment Commission will be given a wider and more purposive role in the disinvestment, divestment and restructuring process in the public sector. The recommendations made by the Commission on different public enterprises, particularly those relating to strategic sales, will be implemented professionally without de1ays. The revenues raised through disinvestment will be used for designated education, health and social sector programmes and for retiring debt in a progressive manner.

National Development Council and Inter-State Council

The Congress will strengthen bodies like the National Development Council and the Inter-State Council and make their functioning business-like and purposive. Consideration will be given to enshrining this role in the Constitution itself so that the decisions of these bodies become binding on both the Centre and the states.

Urban Growth

The primary responsibility for ensuring healthy urban development must vest in the elected municipalities in consonance with the Constitutional provisions of Part IX A read with the Twelfth Schedule. 

Towns and cities are magnets of attraction. While all- round development of rural India must and will take place, we can no longer ignore the challenges that are p9sed by continued urbanisation. Neither is it feasible to control the growth of towns and cities. But there has to be greater planning in the growth and expansion of towns and cities. Haphazard growth in the past has had deleterious social and ecological consequences.

Masterplans for all urban agglomerations will be prepared and the discipline of the masterplans observed in actual practice. Integrated land use development planning with the help of modern satellite-based technologies will also be promoted. Each city and urban habitation will have an operational plan to enable the planning and development of infrastructure. Building bye-laws, zoning regulations and development codes will be modernised to facilitate proper urban planning.

Municipal administration will be revived. The finances of municipal bodies will be put on a sounder footing. However not all urban bodies can become financially self- sustaining. Hence, a National Bank for Urban Development will be set up as an apex-level financing and refinancing body. The focus of this bank will be to finance the growth of long-gestation municipal infrastructure, particularly in those towns and cities that do not have the capacity to become financially self-sustaining. Municipalities and corporations will be encouraged and assisted in floating bond issues. Existing schemes for the development of small and medium towns will be reviewed with a view to making them more effective. Satellite towns will be developed with full infrastructure to ease the pressure on existing metros and big cities.

A special programme for improving sanitation and sewerage systems in cities and towns will be initiated and completed quickly. Infrastructure facilities in growth centres and in urban areas that are also centres of industrial and

economic activity will be upgraded and brought up to international standards.


Environment

The Congress believes that it is both desirable and possible to integrate environmental concerns with developmental imperatives. It will ensure that environment and development go hand-in-hand.

The Congress will launch a National Movement for Regenerating Village Natural Wealth. (Hamare Gaon, Hamari Sampada) Three important components of this effort will be a National Afforestation Programme, a National Watershed Regeneration Programme and a National Biodiversity Conservation Programme.

The National Afforestation Programme will afforest one- third of India’s land area by the year 2015. The key objective of the National Watershed Regeneration Programme will be to improve the local economy of the hill, mountain and plateau regions of India which support a large part of the country’s poor tribal people through integrated land-water-forest management. Both these programmes will be run with the active involvement of the elected panchayats. The National Biodiversity Conservation Programme will involve village communities and public institutions to conserve the country’s ancient and valuable natural heritage and will ensure that its benefits go back to our people who have been the custodians of this biodiversity for ages.

The Congress will identify those environmental management functions that could be delegated to the states and local bodies.

It will ensure that the interests of the workers affected by judicial rulings on polluting and hazardous industries will be fully protected.

 

The Congress is committed to effective relief and rehabilitation measures and resettlements programmes for people affected by development projects, specially the tribals.

Previous Congress governments have launched schemes to control the pollution of India’s major rivers. The most prominent of these is the Ganga Action Plan, which has had substantial impact. A National River Cleaning Programme will be launched.


Disaster Management

The Congress will initiate steps to prepare a national disaster management plan for different vulnerable regions of the country. This will be a detailed operational plan of action at the national, state and local levels and will be continuously updated. The Congress will also enact national disaster management legislation laying down the powers and functions of different agencies entrusted with disaster management responsibilities. The legislation would specify the mandatory operating procedures to be enforced during normal and disaster situations. An independent, multi-disciplinary national disaster management agency armed with adequate powers and resources will be established. A national mitigation fund with a corpus of Rs 500 crore will be set up to support all activities at the national and state level to implement long-term measures which will mitigate disasters. The Fund will be administered through a legal corporate body.


The North-East

A High-Power Commission will be immediately set up to examine and suggest solutions to the multidimensional problems and challenges faced by the seven North-Eastern States. The Commission’s recommendations will form a critical part of the Congress’s new approach to the North-East.

The problem of insurgency and militancy in this vital region of the country will be tackled through a variety of means including the speedy all-round development of the region and through mutual understanding and negotiations with the various groups.

Commitments made under various Peace Accords will be fully honoured. The North-East Council will be given an expanded role, larger funds and greater financial powers. Regional offices of various commodity boards will be upgraded and given more administrative and financial powers. The Brahmaputra Board will be activated and studies, demonstration projects and actual schemes will be taken up. Border trade routes will be developed at selected locations along the international border.

Air routes will be opened up further. Guwahati will be functional as a full-fledged international airport and the aerial route between the North-East and East Asia will opened up. Restrictions on domestic and international tourism will be eased with a view to beginning the process of realising the immense potential of the North East for the development of the tourist industry

Autonomous District Councils under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution will be given wider administrative and financial powers.

Illegal infiltration into the region will be effectively checked. Trans-border demographic movements have to be handled and managed sensitively and not made into a political issue.

Special efforts will be made to develop forestry, tourism, handicrafts and other employment-oriented industries in the region. The present restrictions on tourism will be carefully reviewed. -

The natural resources of the region will be utilised in a manner that maximises the benefits to the people of the region.

Narcotics control measures will be tightened and there will be no let-up in the fight against drug cartels.


Jammu and Kashmir

The people of Jammu and Kashmir are fed up with years of militancy and terrorism. They want peace and development. They want a responsive administration.

The Congress is open to dialogue and discussion with any group within the framework of the

Constitution.

Cross-border terrorism will continue to be fought relentlessly. There will be no let-up in the war on militants and terrorists aided and abetted from across the borders.

At the same time, the economic development of J&K will be speeded up and given full support. The issue of regional autonomy will be given serious and critical consideration.

The Congress stands committed to respecting Article 370 in letter and spirit.

Every effort will be made to ensure the early scheduling of the long-delayed elections to the local bodies.


Development of Backward Areas

One of the most important objectives of the Congress’s economic policies is the redressal of regional disparities. Both inter-state and intra-state disparities are of concern. Each state has pockets of development and pockets of backwardness and stagnation. Some states have developed faster than others. The essence of economic reforms is to strengthen the capacity of governments to enhance investments that tackle these disparities in a tangible manner.  

Poverty, low agricultural productivity, underdeveloped physical infrastructure and a low profile on social indicators particularly related to the status of women tend to coincide in about 125 districts of the country. An integrated strategy combining elements of both growth and social development will be put in place and a special national programme for the development of the most backward districts of India will be launched.

India’s most formidable and serious challenge is economic development and social transformation in two of its most populous and poorest states, namely UP and Bihar. 54 of the 100 most backward districts of the country are in UP and Bihar. The fiscal position in all states is precarious but it is particularly so in these two states where all investments have come to a virtual standstill because of the structure of government expenditure.

Politics in these two states has to become the catalyst for change. Issues relating to population planning, female literacy, land reforms, a new work culture, good governance, etc must be championed by all political parties, brought on the public agenda and backed fully by new investments and organisations. The Congress itself will take the lead In this direction and set the example for others to follow so that there is an all-pervasive developmental ethos.

Greater resources are undoubtedly required for these two states. These will be mobiised as a national endeavour. But at the same time governance in these states has to improve vastly. The capacity of these states to invest more in the social sectors, particularly education and health, in a sustained manner has to be enhanced. Land reforms in these states have to be carried out more seriously. Agricultural growth potential has to be realised in greater measure. A climate conducive to industrial investment has to be created. Basic infrastructure facilities need major expansion. Local government bodies need to be

strengthened considerably. Without meaningful financial and administrative decentralisation, these large and sprawling states just cannot be managed effectively.

The systems of fiscal transfers must be weighted in favour of backward states. There must, of course, be a link with performance as well.

Union Territories and Small States

Representative and elected forums, in the nature of mini- assemblies, will be established in all

Union Territories.

The Island Development Authonty, institute.d by Shri Rajiv Gandhi, will be revived and revitalised for the development of our island territories.

In Delhi, the Congress will thoroughly examine all problems arising out of the fracturing of responsibilities between different authorities with a view to ensuring greater efficiency and the statehood to the territory

The special problems of small states will receive sympathetic attention and expeditious action.


New States

The new states of Uttarakhand, Chattlsgarh and Jharkhand will be created without any further delay.

Special sub-regional development boards will be constituted in states where there are striking economic disparities. These boards will be given meaningful autonomy for the implementation of development schemes.


Administrative Reforms

It has been over thirty years since administrative reforms were looked at in a comprehensive manner. A new Administrative Reforms Commission will be established 

to prepare a detailed blueprint for a public administration system that can become a more effective instrument of change and transformation.

In the past few years, a Lok Pal Bill has been under discussion in Parliament. The Congress attaches high priority to the passage of a suitable Lok Pal Bill.

All elected representative of the Congress will declare their assets on the day of his entering and demitting the office.

A multi-pronged crusade will be launched for eliminating the virus of corruption from public life and for breaking the nexus involving corrupt and crooked politicians, businessmen and criminals.

All agencies and organisations engaged in investigation will be allowed to function autonomously and as per the law.

A Bill on Freedom of Information and Right to Information will be introduced soon to give citizens easy access to information at all levels.

The Bill to make the CVC statutory as per the directions of the Supreme Court will also be passed.

Ministries and departments will be restructured commensurate with their changing roles and responsibilities, but without any dilution in the social responsibilities towards the weaker sections of society.

All outmoded procedures will be done away with. Paperwork in all government offices will, where possible, be reduced. All government agencies at the cutting edge where they come into contact with the public and ordinary citizens will be given a charter of specific responsibilities to make them more responsive and accountable to the people. 

All public utilities and public agencies must work and be seen to be working for the ordinary and common citizen.

The civil service at all levels will be made performance- oriented. The induction of professionals and specialists in large numbers will be promoted. Special incentives for strengthening field-level administration, particularly at the level of the district, will be introduced.

Police Reforms

A National Police Commission will be set up immediately to suggest a detailed plan of action for reforming the police system and apparatus. The recommendations of the Commission will be acted upon in close collaboration with all state governments.

The police force will be freed from undue political interference and will be given independence to function in an impartial and professional manner. At the same time, steps will be taken to ensure that the police is seen to be functioning in a humane manner, in a manner that protects basic human rights and in a manner that protects the poor, the deprived and the disadvantaged.

The police force will be equipped with the latest equipment, tools and systems to make it more effective. The Congress government at the Centre will institute a special scheme for funding the modernisation of the police force in all states.

Measures will be taken to undertake constant training of police personnel at all levels and sensitise them to the concerns of ordinary citizens. More women will be inducted into the police force.

The special needs of the police families, especially education and housing, will be taken care of in adequate measure. 

The menace of terrorism and narco-terrorism is Increasing in some parts of India. The menace will be combated vigourously. There will be no compromise in combating trade in small arms as well. Border patrolling will be made more effective. A specialised force to deal with terrorism In its various dimensions within the country will be raised.

Laws will be made and procedures will be evolved with the concurrence of the state governments to control and curb inter-state crimes.


Legislative Reforms

With the inexorable increase in our population, the Congress believes that it Is time to review the strength of all legislatures with a view to making them more representative. A national consensus on this will be evolved.

The Congress will improve the functioning of the Committee system in Parliament. The number of committees dealing with specialised subjects will be increased and their functioning made more consultative, time-bound and professional.

The Congress will take steps to ensure that Parliament meets for more days than it has been doing in recent times.

The Rules of Procedure will be reviewed to ensure proper decorum in the House at all times.

An Ethics Committee for the Lok Sabha will be set up to act as a peer pressure group for probity and integrity. Other measures adopted in other countries with similar parliamentary systems such as ours will be studied and replicated here, if found needed to enhance standards in public life and parliamentary behaviour.

All proceedings of legislative bodies will be televised.


Judicial Reforms

Immediate measures will be taken to drastically cut delays in courts, particularly in the High Courts and in lower levels of the judiciary. While structural measures will be taken to ensure that such delays do not take place in future, all efforts will be made in consultation with the judiciary to complete all existing cases in a clear, time-bound manner. Court management practices will be modernised with the help of modern technology.

A National Judicial Reforms Commission will be set up immediately to suggest details of radical improvements in our judicial system in every respect that will meet the needs of our people. particularly the poor, as well as commerce and industry in a more effective manner.

Immediate steps will be taken to fill all vacancies at all levels so that the disposal of cases is expedited. More courts will be established. More judges will be appointed. This will be done to provide speedy justice to the litigants.

The process shall be initiated of simplifying and codifying existing laws and writing laws in clear language that may be readily understood by the citizen. Attempt will be done to refashion the laws to suit the requirements of the modern era.

Legal aid services will be expanded and strengthened.

The Congress is fully and firmly committed to public interest litigation. But at the same time it is concerned that there have been occasions when this has been misused for political purposes. Some safeguards will be necessary.

Government Itself is a party to a substantial majority of the pending cases In courts. *eps will t to provide alternative dispute setUee such as Lok 

Adalats, conciliation, mediation and arbitration, wide- ranging amendments in the Code of Civil Procedure, computensation of courts, settlement of disputes between different arms of government outside cturt and quick decisions on appeals.

To ensure expeditious and affordable justice to the poor in rural areas, nyaya panchayats will be established by law In all states.


Electoral Reforms

The Congress is fully committed to radical electoral reforms to reduce the Influence of money and muscle power and to check the criminalisation of politics at all levels.

A comprehensive electoral reforms Bill will be introduced at the earliest. This will be based as much on ideas put forward by cltizens organisations as on Ideas expressed by political parties In Parliament and ideas put fOrward by the Election Commission In recent years.

A corpus will be set up for state funding of elections.

All political parties will encouraged to make their accounting practices and procedures more transparent. The Congress will take the lead in this regard.


Human Rights

The Congress will strive relentlessly for the generation of a vibrant and visible human rights culture at all levels and everywhere in the country so as to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are respected and human conduct is so regulated as to be In conformity withthe prescription. The Congress has taken the lead and set up a Department, of Human Rights. Every effort will be made to set up Human Rights Commissions in every state. The activities of the National

Human Rights Commission will be given full support and encouragement.


Partnerships with NGOs

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), voluntary agencies and social action groups are important elements of a civil society, which will be nurtured and given every support. They will be fully involved in social mobilisation and in the implementation of development programmes. The FCRA and other procedures will be reviewed to eliminate harassment and needless interference. Consumer organisations will be given full support to act as watchdogs of performance.


Defence

The highest duty of the Union Government is to ensure national security and defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity, borders and interests of the country. The BJP government failed in this supreme national task. Its response to inteffigence about Pakistani intrusions was tardy, callous and complacent. Because of the lethargic and careless approach, many gallant young men became martyrs trying to recover our own territory in and around Kargil. The euphoria of “Lahore” seemed to have left the BJP government in a dream world of its own. The anxiety of the Vajpayee government not to shatter this ifiusion that it had attempted to create and the resultant delay in responding to clear warning signals cost the nation many precious lives. Our brave jawans and officers succeeded brilliantly but the BJP government failed the country miserably.

The Congress pledges that it will never allow Kargil-type incidents to occur. The Congress also pledges that it will never allow Bhagwat-type episodes to take place where the armed, forces were needlessly humiliated and their morale devastated.

The Congress has never and will never make any compromises in ensuring no let-ups in the levels of our defence preparedness which, at all times, will be consonant with the nature and level of threat perceptions. These perceptions themselves will be kept under constant review.

The nuclear tests and Kargil have brought a whole new dimension to our defence planning and strategy. Th needs of the future will also keep changing. With this in view, the Congress will appoint a High-Level Defence Reforms Committee to suggest a detailed operational plan for the reorganisation of the defence establishment in all its various aspects and for maximising the effectiveness of defence expenditures.

The Congress salutes the brave jawans and soldiers who are risking their lives so that all of us can live in peace. The armed forces are discharging their duties under conditions of extreme hardships. The Congress will attend to their problems and of their families on a priority basis without baullcing at what is required to be done to recognise the gallant role being played by them. The special needs of jawans and their families in terms of education and housing will be met.

A clear, time-bound programme for the equipment modernisation and for keeping the armed forces at contemporary levels of technology will be undertaken immediately in a systematic manner. Investments in defence research and defence production will be sustained at levels needed to assure the desired level of defence preparedness.

While the armed forces will undergo a major technological transformation, the Congress will also take appropriate steps to build up and develop the human resources as well. 

The issue of one-rank one-pension will be re-examined and a solution to the satisfaction of ex-servlcemen found expeditiously. The existing machinery to resettle, rehabifitate and to look after the welfare of the ex-servlcemen and their families will be strengthened. A new Department of Ex-Servicemen’s Welfare will be set up In the Ministry of Defence to provide an Institutional focus for a catalysing a national effort for enhancing the well-being of all ex servicemen and their families. Ex-Servicemen and their co-operatives will be used for specific development programmes like literacy and afforestation.

No effort will be spared to meet the needs and requirements of all those families which are affected by the deaths of young men in the defence and service of the country during wars, and during counter-Insurgency, anti-militant and anti-terrorist operations.

A suitable national monument to all those killed In the service of the motherland will be set up In the nation’s capital.

The National Security Council has been set up. It will be made a purposeful, forward-looking, analysis-based organisatlon that represents a wider cross-section of Intellectual opinion. A full-time National Security Advisor will be appointed.

Intelligence Revamp

The Congress believes that the time has come to embark on a sensitive review of the entire network of intelligence establishments in the country. The professional expertise of the Intelligence organisations needs to be upgraded substantially. The organisatlons have to be technologically up-to-date at all times. Co-ordination among the various agencies has to be institutionalised. Systems for the timely analysis and assessment of the intelligence gathered have to be put In place. This, the Congress will do without undue delay.


Foreign Policy

For fifty years, the Congress ensured a durable national consensus on foreign policy. This consensus has been of late destroyed. The first task must be to restore the consensus, No foreign policy can be meaningful, influential or respected if it is not supported by the vast majority of the people. Foreign policy must have strong domestic roots and must reflect domestic priorities and concerns.

Relations with all our neighbours will be improved. India remains deeply committed to the strengthening of SAARC. Efforts will be done to see that SAFTA becomes a reality in near future. The Congress will work towards creating a non-legislative Parliament for South Asia along the lines of the European Parliament as a forum for the discussion and consideration of issues that are common to all countries in the region. It will launch a new initiative for the integrated development of the Himalayan river system. Co-operation in other areas like power, natural gas, tourism and education will be actively fostered.

There will no let up in our battle against Pakistan-supported terrorism and militancy. Pakistani aggression, both overt and covert, will be dealt with firmly. At the same time, durable and enduring confidence-building measures going beyond mere bus rides will be high on the agenda. The Congress is committed to a meaningful, bilateral dialogue with Pakistan on all issues, including Jammu & Kashmir, within the framework of the Shimla Agreement of 1972. The Congress wants closer bilateral ties with Pakistan but Pakistan has to change its attitude to India in a most fundamental manner.

Historic confidence-building measures in relation to China were taken by previous Congress governments. These will be consolidated and expanded. While recognising that we have border disputes with China that need long term negotiations in mutual good faith, the Congress

will seek to build closer economic, trade, cultural, trade, educational and political ties with China.

Concrete steps have to be taken to ensure that the nuclear weapons available with Indian and Pakistan are never used. India cannot afford to relax her vigil since she is surrounded by nuclear weapons in her neighbourhood but at the same time we must never allow a nuclear arms race to develop in the region. Various ideas have been proposed like a no-first-use pact, a pact not to target population centers, greater sharing of Information on an advance- warning basis, etc. These Ideas need to be studied carefully. India, Pakistan and China have a joint responsibility for nuclear non-proliferation in this region.

The Congress reiterates its firm commitment to the Action Plan for a Nuclear Weapons-Free and Non-Violent World Order presented to the United Nations by Shri RaJiv Gandhi in 1988. The Action Plan remains the sheet anchor of its approach to global nuclear Issues. The Plan for the time-bound and phased elimination of nuclear weapons, with a reliable verification mechanism, will be updated and presented as a draft Treaty to the international community.

The Congress has always sought and will continue to seek closer political, economic, cultural, educational, scientific and technological ties with the United States. The Congress will engage the United States in a comprehensive dialogue on all issues of mutual concern and will take concrete steps to institutionalise this dialogue.

Closer economic and commercial links with the European Union and Japan will be fostered. India has had warm and friendly ties with the European countries and with Japan. These will be consolidated and steps taken to deepen the relationships.

The traditionally close relationship with Russia will be continued and consolidated. Other regions like Central Asia will also receive special attention. Joint projects in the energy sector will be actively explored.

India will continue its efforts to become a full member of APEC and other forums involving Asian countries.

India has watched with great interest the unfolding of the peace process in West Asia. It will play whatever role it Is called upon .to play in placing this process on .a more solid footing. India’s traditionally close links with other countries in the Middle East and the Gulf will not only be preserved but also expanded.

India will continue to work for the rapid agricultural and industrial development of Africa. In the past few years, non-Congress governments have damaged our relationship with South Africa. This will be restored and a special effort made to expand India’s relationship with South Africa and other, countries in the region. India will take the Indian Ocean Rim initiative forward.

Although separated by considerable physical distance, India and South American countries share many common economic and political interests. Closer links with these countries will also be forged and nurtured.

India will continue to work to strengthen the United Nations as the cornerstone of collective global security and to restructure the UN to reflect the many changes taking place in the world. It will take part in and seek to influence discussions on a new global financial architecture. The best way to ensure that India’s voice will be heard in such discussions is to be on a high growth path, revive the investment momentum and continue with economic reforms and liberalisation.

India will simply not compromise on its vital strategic interests. A sincere effort will be made to evolve a broad national consensus on all aspects of nuclear policy keeping in view our strategic interests as well as global concerns. Our approach to the CTBT, the FMCT and other global regimes of nuclear non-proliferation must be integrally linked to the over-arching goal of the time-bound elimination of nuclear weapons. The BJP has wilfully destroyed the national consensus on nuclear matters. That consensus will now be meticulously rebuilt. India will reiterate at every opportunity its steadfast commitment to time-bound universal nuclear disarmament, leading to general and complete disarmament.

An Appeal

Elections are occasions when political parties make solemn pledges to the people reflected in their manifestos.

The manifesto is an opportunity for a political party to present its agenda for the future embodying the loftiest hopes and noblest aspirations of the people.

The manifesto is an opportunity for a political party to articulate its policies and programmes with a freshness of vision, a boldness of intent, a clarity of purpose and a renewed sense of determination.

The manifesto is a charter, a compact that a political party enters into with the people it serves.

But for the Congress a manifesto is something more. It is an occasion for recalling the uniqueness of the Congress, the special nature of the Congress and the distinctiveness of the Congress.

There is a new aspiration, a new expectation, and a new resolve among our people to better their lives and improve their standard of living.

We can look back with some’ satisfaction on our achievements. These are the achievements of the people of India, of its Kisans, of its khet mazdoors, of its scientists and technologists, of its working classes, of its entrepreneurs and managers. The Congress has provided the political leadership that has made these achievements possible.

And we can also look forward with hope and confidence to what the future holds.

It is to complete the unfinished tasks that the Congress approaches the people of India with a sense of humility.

It is to bring India back on the path of economic growth, political stability and social harmony that the Congress approaches the people of India with a sense of responsibility.

It is to rekindle in every Indian a New Hope, a new expectation that the Congress approaches the people with a sense of dedication.

It is to give politics a whole new direction so that it once again reflects the highest values and becomes the harbinger of social transformation that the Congress approaches the people with a sense of hope.

Every year, the Congress pledges to present to the people of India a Report to the Nation that honestly measures the progress of implementation of the promises made and the commitments given in this manifesto. This reflects the transparency in our approach and the seriousness with which we intend to go about the task of governance. 

 

 

 

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