F
ollowing are the highlights of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Independence Day speech:
* No need to panic in the face of swine flu. No disruption of daily lives.
* Restoring growth rate to nine per cent is the greatest challenge we face.
* Appeal to businessmen and industrialists to join in effort to tackle difficult situation and fulfill their social obligation.
* This year there has been deficiency in the monsoons. We will provide all possible assistance to our farmers to deal with the drought.
* Date for repayment of farmers bank loans postponed. Additional support given to farmers for payment of interest in short term crop loans.
* All efforts will be made to control rising prices of food grains, pulses and other goods of daily use.
* Country needs another Green revolution, the goal is four per cent annual growth in agriculture, achievable in the next five years.
* Food security law under which every below poverty line family will get a fixed amount of food grains every month at concessional rates.
* To extend the benefit of ICDS to every child below the age of six years by March 2012.
* NREGA programme to be improved to bring more transparency and accountability into it.
* Right to Education Act enacted, funds will not be a constraint.
* We will give special attention to the needs of disabled children.
* Secondary education will be expanded through a programme that will ensure that every child in the country gets its benefit.
* Will provide bank loans and scholarships to the maximum possible number of students to support their education.
* New scheme to help students from economically weaker sections get education loans at reduced interest rates. Will benefit about five lakh students in technical and professional courses.
* The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to be expanded to cover every family below the poverty line.
* Additional funds allocated for Bharat Nirman -- the programmes for development of rural and urban areas to be speeded up.
* Accelerated efforts to improve physical infrastructure in the country. Construction of 20 km of National Highways every day.
* Road, rail and civil aviation projects being implemented in J&K and the North Eastern states will be specially monitored.
* India will meet the challenge of climate change through 8 National Missions.
* The Jawaharal Nehru National Solar Mission, aimed at increasing the use of solar energy and making it affordable, will be launched on November 14 this year.
* More attention to programmes for water collection and storage. "Save Water" should be one of our national slogans.
* Every government should be sensitive to people's complaints and dissatisfaction. But nothing is achieved by destroying public property and indulging in violence and the government will deal firmly with such people.
* To root out terrorist activities, our security forces and intelligence agencies are being constantly upgraded. With cooperation from all sections of society we will succeed.
* Redoubled efforts to deal with militant activities. Will extend all help to the state governments to make their police forces more effective.
* Those who think that they can seize power by recourse to the gun do not understand the power of our democracy.
* Will endeavour to remove those causes of social and economic dissatisfaction which give rise to problems like Naxalism.
* Seek active partnership of the our Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe brothers and sisters in our development process.
* The schemes for the welfare of the minorities to be taken forward.
* Funds enhanced substantially for the special schemes for development of minority concentration districts.
* A bill to prevent communal violence has been introduced in Parliament and efforts will be made to convert it into a law as soon as possible.
* Female foeticide is a shame on all of us. We must eliminate it as early as possible.
* Our government is committed to the early passage of the Women's Reservation Bill.
* Working on a legislation to provide 50 per cent reservation for women in rural and urban local bodies.
* National Female Literacy Mission to be launched, aims to reduce female illiteracy by half in three years.
* Have accepted the recommendations of the committee on the issue of pension of ex-servicemen. This will benefit 12 lakh retired jawans and JCOs.
* Will take care of the special needs of the backward region with redoubled efforts to remove regional imbalances.
* Government constantly endeavours to make the North Eastern States equal partners in the country's progress.
* There have been two elections in J&K in past year with people participating vigorously. Proof that there is no place for separatist thought in the state.
* Endeavour to ensure that human rights are respected in J&K and all its citizens are able to live in peace and dignity in an environment of safety and security.
* As far our neighbours are concerned, we want to live with them in peace and harmony. Will make every possible effort to create and environment conducive to the social and economic development of the whole of South Asia.
* Benefit of good programmes will not reach the people till the government machinery is not corruption free. Public administration to be more efficient.
* Need to improve delivery systems to provide basic services to our citizens.
* Renewed efforts to decentralise public administration through the Panchayati Raj Institutions and to ensure greater involvement of people.
* Initiative will be taken for a new partnership between the civil society and the government so that tax payers' money is better spent.
* Right to Information Act to be improved to make it more effective and enhance accountability and transparency.
* Special efforts to strengthen administrative machinery for rural programmes.
* Unique Identification Authority of India set up. First set of identity numbers expected to be available in the next one to one and a half years.
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