PM concerned over rural-urban and inter-regional divide

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has expressed concern over the imbalances that persist in the countrys growth process.

New Delhi, Dec 15 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has expressed concern over the imbalances that persist in the country's growth process.

In an address on the Golden Jubilee Year of Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Dr Singh underlined the need to deal with vast rural-urban divide and inter-regional disparity.

"I believe any long term strategy for addressing both challenges must focus on agricultural development and agrarian change, on the development of human resources and on promoting labour intensive industrialization in these regions", said the Prime Minister.

"We have to move from a situation where people are migrating to where jobs exist, to a situation where jobs migrate to where people live. This means taking development-in particular industrial development- to backward regions. This means increasing avenues for non-farm employment in rural areas. This means investing in better social and economic infrastructure in backward areas", added the PM.

Dr. Singh lamented "inadequate creative thinking" to address these challenges in the country today.

Asking IEG to come forward with "solutions" to the "problem of rural-urban divide and that of inter-regional imbalances in development", the Prime Minister underlined the need to have a strategy for "agriculture and industry", for "rural and urban" and for town and country".

On the occasion, Dr. Singh released a book titled "Growth, Equity, Environment and Population: Economic and Social Perspectives", which has been edited by Dr Kanchan Chopra, Director of IEG and Dr C.H. Hanumantha Rao. The book, published by the Sage publication, is a volume of essays by the IEG researchers on the current socio economic issues.

Dr C Rangarajan Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and Lifetime Trustee, Institute of Economic Growth Society, Prof Andre Beteille, Chairman, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Dr Bimal Jalan, MP (Rajya Sabha) and Life Trustee, Institute of Economic Growth Society, also addressed the inaugural ceremony.

On this occasion, Prof Andre Beteille lamented the depleting stock of "intellectual capital" in the country. He said that we "should be mindful of the need to develop intellectual capital as the life of a society depends to a large extent on the accumulation of intellectual capital".

The Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) is one of India's leading research institutions in the fields of economic and social development. Set up in 1958 with a focus on economics, demography and sociology, its researchers work in areas of emerging societal concern and interest.

The Institute is an autonomous, multi-disciplinary centre for advanced research and training. It is recognized by the University of Delhi as a centre for advanced research. At present, IEG's faculty consists of about 31 social scientists.

ANI