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ivelihoods
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2015
employment potential. The government
is concentrating on ensuring ease of doing
business. For example, to reduce the bar-
riers at entry stage for industries, a critical
initiative is troubleshooting that is being
undertaken by the Project Monitoring
Group (PMG) in the Cabinet Secretariat.
The Group actively engages with central and
state governments to debottleneck projects
that are stuck on account of environment
clearances, land acquisition or other state/
central level clearances in major infrastruc-
ture sectors, both Public and Private sector.
Significant theme of current year’s budget
is democratic federalism under which most
of development and social sector responsi-
bilities have been pushed towards the state
governments. The Centre retains the core
minimum of larger programmes with sig-
nificant impact potential. Also, the Centre
provides assistance to national schemes
that have a legislative backing such as food
subsidy and the NREGS. The restructuring
this vision are massive and not necessarily of
the financial kind. The ideas, technology and
human resources needed to be mobilised to
realise this vision are of a larger order and
hopefully planning for this would be equally
robust. The Prime Minister (PM) also
announced the ‘Make in India’ campaign
to stimulate manufacturing growth and
expand gainful employment opportunities.
Twenty five sectors have been selected for
skill enhancement and job creation so that
manufacturing growth in these sectors con-
tributes to nation building. This announce-
ment by the PM was followed by easing of
procedures for licenses and approvals and
increased investment limits for foreign enti-
ties. In a significant move, the government
allowed up to 49 per cent foreign invest-
ments in defence-related manufacturing
units and 100 per cent foreign investments
in railways-related units. The Budget gives a
fillip to the Make in India campaign which
focuses on select sectors with growth and
Vision of India
(i) A roof for each family in India. Complete
2 crore houses in urban areas and 4 crore
houses in rural areas.
(ii) Each house in the country should have
basic facilities of 24-hour power supply,
clean drinking water, a toilet, and be
connected to a road.
(iii) At least one member from each family
should have access to the means for
livelihood and, employment or economic
opportunity, to improve his or her lot.
(iv) Substantial reduction of poverty and
elimination absolute poverty.
(v) Electrification, by 2020, of the remaining
20,000 villages in the country,
(vi) Connecting 1,78,000 unconnected
habitations by all weather roads.
completing 1,00,000 km of roads and
building 1,00,000 km of new roads.
(vii) Providingmedical services in each village
and city.
(viii) Educating and skilling our youth through
quality education. Upgrade over 80,000
secondary schools and add or upgrade
75,000 junior/middle, to the senior
secondary level.
(ix) Increase in agricultural productivity and
realization of reasonable prices. Increase
the irrigated area, improve the efficiency
of irrigation systems, promote agro-
based industry and secure reasonable
prices for farm produce.
(x) Ensure connectivity to all the villages and
remove rural-urban divide
(xi) The Skill India and the Make in India to
create jobs for youth.
(xii) Encourage and grow entrepreneurship
and support new start-ups.
(xiii) Develop Eastern and North Eastern
regions to be on par with the rest of the
country.
By the time of the 75th year of Indian independ-
ence, Amrut Mahotsav of our independence is
reached, we have to achieve all of the above, so
that India becomes a prosperous country; and
a responsible global power.
Source:
Reproduced from the Union Budget
speech, 2015–16.
Box 2.1:
Making India a global power
