The President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil outlined these strategies in her address to the joint session of the Parliament here on Monday. The President’s speech is prepared and vetted by the Council of Ministers and is reflective of government’s intentions.

Concerned over menace of corruption, the President said : “A Group of Ministers is considering all measures, including legislative and administrative, to tackle corruption and improve transparency. The Group will consider issues relating to the formulation of a public procurement policy and enunciation of public procurement standards, review and abolition of discretionary powers enjoyed by ministers, introduction of an open and competitive system of exploiting natural resources, fast tracking of cases against public servants charged with corruption, and amendments to the relevant laws to facilitate quicker action against public servants.

“It will also consider issues relating to the state funding of elections. The report of the Group of Ministers is expected soon. A bill to give protection to whistleblowers has been introduced in Parliament. My government has also decided to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.”

Regarding the need for electoral reforms, the President informed that the government has constituted a committee to fast track the process. The committee has held regional conferences with the concerned stakeholders. This will culminate in a national conference in April this year. It is expected that this process of consultation would lead to a consensus on an acceptable agenda of reforms.

ON Judicial reforms she said “the details of the National Mission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms are expected to be finalized soon. This should result in re-engineering of procedures, improving of human resources in this sector and leveraging of information technology. The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, already introduced in Parliament, is intended to enhance the accountability of the judiciary, thereby improving its image and efficiency.”

The issue of black money has attracted a lot of attention in the recent past, especially that allegedly stashed away in foreign banks, the President admitted and assured that the government stands committed to tackling the menace of black money whether generated by evasion of taxes on income earned legitimately or through illegal activities. It requires diligent, sustained effort by all law enforcement agencies, including those of state governments.

“A multidisciplinary study has been commissioned to study its ramifications for national security and recommend a suitable framework to tackle it. Government is also working closely with the international community, especially through the G-20, Financial Action Task Force, Eurasian Group and the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development to expedite the process of identification and recovery of such money”, the President informed.

The government has taken steps to facilitate exchange of information for tax purposes with such countries and entities where Indian citizens may have parked their money. These steps have led to additional collection of taxes of Rs 34,601 crore and detection of additional income of Rs 48,784 crore.

The President said that the government would strive to make the domestic environment more conducive to investment, encouraging public as well as private investment, and domestic as well as foreign investment, particularly foreign direct investment and maintain the momentum for reforms on a wide front to keep by the economic growth trajectory.

The President announced some legislations which are likely to be introduced in the Parliament in the current session like a Food Security Law that will entitle statutorily every family, below the poverty line, to foodgrains at highly subsidized prices. Important inputs in this regard have been received from the National Advisory Council.

The Mines & Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act is proposed to be replaced with a new piece of legislation, which will, among other measures, ensure that local communities benefit adequately from the development process.

A Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill is proposed to be introduced in this session. A Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council will be set up to augment efforts on food security, promote industrial research and development and facilitate innovation in biotechnology. A national programme for Crop Genetic Enhancement Network will be launched to develop improved varieties. A National Science & Engineering Research Board has been notified to provide impetus for promoting basic research in the country.

The coverage of private FM radio services will be extended to all cities with a population of 100,000 and above. A total of 806 new FM radio channels in 283 cities are proposed to be set up. It is also proposed to give incentives to future FM radio operations in Jammu and Kashmir, the north-eastern states and island territories.

The government has set up a High Level National Transport Development Policy Committee for evolving a policy framework to provide an integrated and sustainable transport system.

There has been a massive growth in foreign tourist arrivals despite the global meltdown. Considering the immense potential of employment generation offered by the tourism sector, government has proposed to provide training to at least ten thousand unemployed youth in this field.

For ensuring participation of stakeholders in water management. Further, an integrated river basin approach, combining both surface and ground water, using advanced technological tools, would be adopted for water management and conservation.

Government has constituted a Group of Ministers to look into all issues relating to the reconciliation of environmental concerns arising out of different kinds of developmental activities, without in any way diluting our pursuit of ecologically sustainable growth paths.

A consortium of seven IITs is preparing a Basin Management Plan for the river Ganga.

The President said that the government would take all necessary steps to transform the Armed Forces into a modern force that is equipped to meet the security challenges of the twenty first century. Special attention is being paid to the indigenous development of defence technologies, the expansion of defence production capabilities, and the creation of an environment for private industry to contribute to defence production. The indigenous multi-role light combat aircraft, Tejas, is being inducted into the Indian Air Force.

“Government's foreign policy priority remains the promotion and creation of an environment that is conducive to the socio-economic transformation of India. The pursuit of peace, shared prosperity and regional cooperation within the Indian sub-continent and in our extended neighbourbood will continue to guide my government's efforts.......We will continue to work for the return of stability and peace in Afghanistan and to help the Afghan people's reconstruction efforts. With Pakistan we seek a peaceful resolution of issues through a meaningful dialogue so long as Pakistan does not allow its soil to be used for terrorist activities against India,” the President said.

The government would continue to work for the welfare of Indian diaspora settled abroad.

“Egypt has recently seen momentous developments. As a democracy ourselves, we welcome the dawn of democracy elsewhere,” the President said and added that India intends to hold the second India-Africa Forum Summit in Ethiopia later this year.