COMMENTARY
INTERVIEWS
SPECIALS
CHAT
ARCHIVES

PM hints at increase in spending on social sector

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today indicated an increase in spending on social sector development.

In his opening observations at the second meeting of the Economic Advisory Council in New Delhi, Vajpayee said, ''We need to both allocate additional resources and improve the efficiency of existing programmes significantly in the critical areas.''

This requires careful balancing of expenditure policies -- sustaining fiscal rectitude with higher expenditure, improving the efficiency expenditure and reprioritisation of overall expenditure outlays.

Vajpayee said poverty alleviation will remain at the centre of economic planning. The country's efforts in the past to create productive employment and self-employment opportunities on a massive scale have been inadequate.

Similarly, investments designed for social sector development -- particularly areas like education, drinking water, low-cost shelter, sanitation and sewerage, and primary healthcare have been grossly inadequate, he said.

UNI

Business news