On India
What is that Bharat that we all wish to build? A Bharat that is just and humane. A Bharat that treats all its citizens as equals. A Bharat that is prosperous. A Bharat that lives in peace. A Bharat in which every person is literate and healthy. A Bharat in which everyone who seeks work is able to find it, and works for a brighter future for all of us.
Our nation is what we are. It will become what we make of ourselves. It is one brick after another that helps make a building. Millions of bricks go to make a great building. In the same manner, the efforts of millions of people go into the formation a nation.
The process of nation building is a great enterprise of adventure and creativity. It requires all of us to work together, bonded by our love for our Motherland.
On National Common Minimum Programme
From the National Common Minimum Programme, I have identified seven priority sectors for focused attention. These are agriculture, water, education, health care, employment, urban renewal and infrastructure.
These are the seven pillars of the development bridge we must cross to ensure higher economic growth and more equitable social and economic development.
The plans and priorities of our Government have been outlined in detail in the National Common Minimum Programme, in my first address to the nation and in the Finance Minister’s Budget speech. Today, I have no promises to make, but I have promises to keep.
On Water
Water is a national resource, and we have to take an integrated view of our country’s water resources, our needs and our policies and water utilization practices. We need to ensure the equitable use of scarce water resources.
The waters of our sacred rivers have for centuries nurtured our civilization. They are the threads that run through the fabric of our nation. We cannot allow these waters to divide us. I urge you and all our political leaders to take a national and a holistic view of the challenge of managing our water resources.
Dealing with the problem of water is an important commitment we have made as part of our ‘New Deal for Rural India’.
On Empowerment of People
While liberalizing and modernizing our economy and enabling individual enterprise to blossom, we must pay special attention to the elimination of poverty and the empowerment of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Castes and Minorities.
Our development strategies for tribal areas must be adequately sensitive to their felt needs and aspirations.
The empowerment of women is an important priority and the education of the girl child is vital to it.
Our children are our future. In framing our policies we must keep the interests of future generations in mind. A healthy child makes a healthy nation.
On Scientific Temper and Pursuit of Excellence
We live in an age where Science and Technology have become an important determinant of power and wealth. For our country to attain its due place in the 21st Century, it is necessary to integrate science and technology into all our development processes.
The promotion of scientific temper must truly become a massive national movement. We cannot make higher education a prisoner of either bureaucracy or ideology. It must develop on the foundations of professional excellence and intellectual integrity.
The pursuit of excellence and concern for social equity must inform all our educational processes.
On Rajiv Gandhi’s Vision and India as an IT Super Power
The enthusiastic manner in which the young people of our country have participated in the information technology revolution, turning India into an "IT super power", is a tribute to the farsightedness of Rajiv Gandhi.
It is a matter of satisfaction today that IT is enabling us to improve the standard of living of ordinary people even in remote areas. We will continue to explore ways in which modern technology can improve the lives of ordinary people. We will improve broadband access and enable the required investment in IT infrastructure.
On Reform of Government
For Government to be able to deliver results, we must reform the functioning of Government. We have to make officials accountable. Make Government more transparent. We have to make public enterprises more efficient.
The question of ethics in public life has repeatedly agitated our people and we have tried to find Constitutional, legislative and administrative devices to deal with the challenge. The time has come for us to consensually evolve a code of conduct for all political parties, a code of ethics for all individuals in public life, and a code of best practices for the Government at all levels.
On this solemn occasion, let us resolve to work together to develop such a code of conduct in a consensual way so as to uphold the values enshrined in our Constitution. We must also look within our parties, and ourselves and ask ourselves what is the root cause of the decline in values in public life?
Governments cannot be wished away, especially in a developing country like ours where the Government has an important role to play. The challenge for economic reform today is to breathe new life into Government so that it can play a positive role where it must.
But what is Government? Government comprises people’s representatives and civil servants. The reform of government is, therefore, a reform of the way we, the elected representatives and officials, work in government.
It is the responsibility of the central government to help States to realize our common and shared objectives of development. But, there is much that State and local governments can do to promote growth, social justice and welfare. They must raise the required resources to the extent feasible. Equally important, attention must also be paid to the quality and effectiveness of government.
If the required infrastructure is provided and individual initiative is rewarded we can be as good as the best in the world. At home, this is the challenge for our Government. To create the environment in which merit is recognized, hard work and creativity are rewarded.
On Anti-national Forces and Terrorism
Peace, social and political stability and communal harmony are essential for economic development. People want such peace and stability so that they can lead safe, secure and normal lives and go about their work, relax and enjoy life. We must fight all anti-national and anti-social forces that try to disrupt normal life. Be they terrorists or communal and other such divisive forces.
Terrorism is a threat to our normal lives and we must all unite in fighting it. Violence has never helped in the progress and prosperity of any society. We will fight this menace to civilized existence with determination. There should be no doubts on this score. However, we are willing to talk to any group provided they abjure the path of violence.
On India and The World
Today I want each of you to show the same degree of self-confidence that our freedom fighters showed, when they led our country to freedom, in your encounters with new markets and new opportunities. We have been an open society. But, in being open to the world, we have not lost our identity as a people.
It is by strengthening our economy and making our democracy more inclusive that we can walk tall in the comity of nations. It is because of our commitment to democracy and development that we also wish to live in peace in our neighbourhood and with the world as a whole.
For centuries we welcomed with open arms both travellers and traders from different parts of the world. We ourselves set sail in search of markets and to spread the philosophies of our wise men. Even today we want to live in a neighbourhood of peace and prosperity.
On Relations With Neighbours
All our neighbours are, like us, developing countries whose priority will also have to be the improvement of the quality of life of their citizens. We are not only bound together by our common borders but also by our common destiny. The assurance of peace and prosperity in our neighbourhood is an important priority for us.
We are in favour of a purposive bilateral dialogue with Pakistan to resolve all outstanding issues. It is our intention to carry forward with firm resolve and sincerity the composite dialogue process with Pakistan. The edifice of peace that we wish to build must stand on the twin pillars of mutual trust and confidence. Of course, trends of cross-border terrorism and violence make our task more difficult and complex
As far as our relations with China are concerned, the positive trends which commenced with Shri Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to China in 1998, have provided a sound basis for later trends in our bilateral ties. We are committed to strengthening and expanding these relations. We shall carry forward the process of discussion to resolve the boundary question with political vision and a practical approach
On Power of the People
The power of the people, however, is infinitely greater than the power of governments. But, it is by combining the two that we can make our nation truly great. However, as I have said already, there are limits to how much the government can do.
Part of the solution lies in each one of us, in our families, in our communities. If we can all cooperate with one another and work together as a community there is much we can do without looking for intervention by the government.
Generations of young people have been inspired by the Mahatma, a frail and soft-spoken man who shook the foundations of a mighty Empire. I want our youth to understand Gandhiji’s message that each one of us has the power to do good for our nation if we are only so determined.