Biography

In 2009, the people of India gave the United Progressive Alliance renewed mandate for counting its agenda of building a modern, secular and plural India. They reaffirmed their faith in our policies aimed at bringing about balanced and inclusive social and economic growth in the country and proving equal opportunities to each and every citizen to live life of dignity and fulfillment. I have great pleasure in presenting the Report to the people for the year 2011-2012, which highlights what the government has done for the people in the third year of its term and some of the emergent challenges that face the government and the nation.

In the last year we have worked hard to live up to the people expectation, as we did in the preceding in the goals that we have set for ourselves. There is evidence that poverty is declining faster than it did before the UPA took charge. Real agricultural growth has accelerated and we have a record food grain production. The Indian economy has weathered what has been a very difficult year for the world economy. Most countries slowed down and many have experienced social upheaval. We too slowed down but our growth in 2011-2012, at around 7 percent, remains one of the highest in the world.

Notwithstanding the difficulties that we are facing, I am convinced that we will prove the doomsayers who claim that India economy is in retreat wrong, as we have often done in the past. We should keep the faith in the hard work, ingenuity and resilience of our farmers, workers, industrialists, engineers and scientists.

Our first priority has been to ensure the economic security and well being of our people, We have pursued this objective by enhancing funds for agriculture, rural development and the social sectors, and extending other facilities to the common man. Let me give you some noteworthy examples of what we have done.

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme now reaches one of every five households in the country annually and more than 5 crore accounts have so far been opened in over 97,000 post offices in our villages through the scheme.
• More than 30 lakh additional residents in rural and tribal areas were covered under Rural Postal Life Insurance during last year.
• Our large investments in the health sector are yielding results. Health indicators such as Infant Mortality rate and total Fertility Rate showed continuous decline. The number of institutional deliveries has gone up. No wild polio case has been reported since January 2011 and the WHO has removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries. We have made a commitment to increase healthcare funding to 2.5% of the national GDP by the end of the next Five Year Plan.
• Our focus on education has led to the building of nearly 5 lakh new classrooms and opening of more than 51,000 new primary and upper primary schools in the country.Additionally, 6.8 lakh teachers have been appointed during the last 2 years.
• More than 20 crore people have enrolled though multiple registrars under the Unique Identification Authority of India. This will enable them to claim public service facilities in a transparent manner.
•  Support price to farmers have been increased substantially and our farmers have responded magnificently by producing record crops of wheat, rice, cotton and pulses.
• Food stocks are today at record levels in our history.
• More than Rs.2 lakh crore were disbursed to 2.75 crore marginal and small farmers as loans. The robust services sector of the economy continues to achieve a growth rate of above 9% providing good quality jobs. India remain the second fastest growing Telecom market in the world with nearly  10 crore new telephone connections added during last year, including more than 4 crore in rural areas. More than 62,000 villages were connected with Village Public telephones during the year.

The value of output of the Information Technology sector crossed a milestone of $100 billion this year. Under our e-Governance plan, more than 1lakh village are now part of Common Service Centers for easy electronic delivery of public services.

But we are conscious that there is much that we need to do of we are to sustain the strong growth rates we have seen in the services sector. There is a huge shortage of adequately skilled manpower on the horizon. We have to work quickly to scale up the higher education and skill development infrastructure to produce the quality and quantity of manpower required to support the project expansion of key sectors like information technology. Energy security and the pattern of energy use are critical issues for a rapidly growing economy such as ours. We are trying to expand our capacity to meet the rapidly growing demand.

We provided 34 lakh new BPL electricity connections and electrified around 8,000 villages during the year 2011-2012 which is a record and almost equal to the capacity added during the entire Tenth Five Year Plan.

Our refinery sector has shown phenomenal growth. Two new refineries came on line in Bina and Bhatinda and refining capacity of about 25 MMTPA was added during the year, increasing the total capacity to about 213 MMTPA. We are conscious of the long term need to shift to a pattern of energy use that is sustainable and preserves our environment and ecological harmony. Expanding clean and renewable energy sources is a key action area in our energy security strategy.

The total installed capacity of renewable power connected to our grids has reached about 25,000 MW, of which 5,000 MW was added during the year, again a record for a year. We are harnessing wing, solar and bio-power as never before. These efforts are helping us light up small hamlets and villages in remote corners of our country without harming the environment. We will continue these efforts and expand them.

The UPA government’s initiative to break the international shackles on our nuclear programme is yielding dividends. The year saw the highest ever generation of nuclear power and nuclear fuel production also reached a record high. Seven new nuclear power stations are under construction. The government is totally committed to enforcing the highest international standards safety and security in our nuclear plants. The nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill 2011 has been introduced in Parliament.

Our efforts to expand opportunities for empowerment and employment of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes Other Backward Classes, minorities and women are the bedrock of our policies of inclusive growth. We have intensified monitoring of the schemes that affirmatively support such efforts. The year marked major milestones in the indigenous development of advanced technology by our scientific community. The flawless test launch of the Agni-V long range ballistic missile and the successful fabrication and launch of the all weather imaging RISAT-1 satellite were historic achievement that made the nation proud yet again of its scientific community.

The country’s internal and external security environment has by and large been satisfactory. Levels of violence in Jammu and Kashmir, in Naxal affect area and in the North East have been under control. In Jammu and Kashmir, Panchayat elections were held peacefully after a long gap. People turned out in large numbers to vote and reaffirm their faith in the democratic process. In the North East, the government has been able to bring a number of groups into the democratic mainstream. We are continuously working with state government facing Left Wing Extremist threats. Incidents of violence in area affected by such activities and the number of fatalities are declining.

However, we have to be eternally vigilant and remain one step ahead of our adversaries who continually threaten our peaceful way of life. Our external relations grew apace with our increasing interactions with the world and our growing global stature. We dealt with myriad global challenges as a non-permanent member of the United Nation Security Council. The success of the fourth BRICS summit in India illustrated the potential for multifaceted cooperation among emerging economies.

Our concerted efforts to improve relations with all our neighbors continued to bear rich dividends, while our relations with the major powers remained strong and vibrant. We also enhanced our development partnership activities with fellow developing countries, particularly in Africa. Let me assure you that the government is very conscious that the people of the country demand and deserve much greater transparency and accountability in government. I want to assure the nation that the UPA government is committed to reduce corruption and harassment of ordinary citizens in government offices. We have brought in an array of legislative and administrative measures to achieve this task.

A comprehensive “Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011’ was passed by the Lok Sabha in December and awaits passage in the Rajya Sabha.”The Whistle Blowers Protection Bill 2011’ to provide protection to whistle-blowers was passed by Lok Sabha.”The Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and within a reasonable time. India ratified the United Nations Convention Against corruption in May, 2011. With a view to ensuring full compliance with this Convention, “The Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and officials of Public International Organization Bill 2011’was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

The judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, which has been passed by the Lok Sabha, will help streamline our overburdened judicial system and hasten delivery of justice. The country faces difficult time. There are uncertainties in the global economy and an adverse external economic environment. There are pressures on our balance of payment and fiscal position which we have to manage carefully. We need to find practical ways of reconciling the imperatives of industrial growth with the concerns and fears of local communities. We need to take hard decision that will help preserve the sustainability of our growth. Many challenges remain on the internal security front and the Union and the States have to strengthen coordination to modernise the methods, technologies and systems with which we deal with security challenges. We have to work to build a peaceful periphery where our neighbors see their prosperity in our own.

In all these national endeavours, I seek the cooperation and support of the people, the States and all political parties. As we step into the ninth year of our government, I pledge that we will work with renewed vigour to carry forward our unfinished agenda to empower every Indian, to spread prosperity to every household and to sow the seeds of a brighter future in every village and town of India. Jai Hindi

New Delhi

(Dr. Manmohan Singh)

INTRODUCTION

Since the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government was elected in 2004, it as been regularly presenting an annual Report to the People on the date of its assumption of office. This is a practice never before adopted by any previous government. The UPA uses the date of its completion of each year in office as an opportunity to chronicle its achievements in the year that has passed and over the longer term of its tenure. It is not a document for publicity or propaganda but allows the people to judge and assess the work of their government and see if it has been able to fulfill the promises that had been made.

The UPA considers it its sacred duty to place before the people of the nation an all encompassing account of the extent to which it has delivered on the pledges made jointly by the parties of the Alliance at the time of elections. The Report to the People is one of several but perhaps the most important vehicle created by the UPA for placing the Government’s work before the court of the people. It is one of many initiatives adopted by the UPA to provide a more transparent and open system of governance and has become an established best practice that should be followed by all governments in the years to come.

This report marks the completion of three years of UPA-II and is a document of the action taken on UPA’s pledge to the citizens for building an inclusive, just and equal society. In order not to make it too lengthy but at the same time to cover all areas of governance, an attempt is made each year to compress and place before the nation all relevant data and statistics that speak for themselves. There is no attempt to analyze what has been done but comparisons are made with previous years wherever possible so that the people can judge for themselves. The Report is not a political document but a manuscript that can be used by the media, scholars, analysts and the common person to judge the work of their government.

The year 2011-12 has been a difficult one for the global economy and polity but it is hoped that this Report will be able to show that India’s quest to strive for a better future for our multitudes continues unabated. There are many concrete examples in this volume of how millions of people have directly benefitted during the last year under the UPA government. Ensuring Livelihoods comes at the top of our agenda. With Social Inclusion of our villages through Rural Renewal programmes and Transforming Our Cities with world class infrastructure, our policies have been able to touch almost every Indian living in rural and urban India.

During a difficult year, India has shown remarkable Economic Resurgence. Investors are showing renewed confidence in our strong fundamentals; our agricultural output is on a record breaking path and our services sectors remain robust as ever. We have scaled new heights in adding electricity generation capacity in India showing our commitment to ensuring Energy Security. The increased power generation is now being shared with millions of households across the length and breadth of the country. Coupled with our inclusive policies on the social and economic front, we remain sensitive to the needs of Sustaining the Environment and Ecology. We have added new dimensions to renewable energy growth and generation capacities. Aided by the efforts of our scientific fraternity, the UPA government has further consolidated the country’s Internal and internal Security.

2) ENABLING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

2.1 Education

2.1.1 Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education

There reform process initiated in 2010-11.after enactment and implementation of Right of Children to free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, was continued during the year 2011-12. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) framework of implementation and norms for planning interventions were revised to correspond with the provisions of the RTE Act. New interventions were approved under SSA for providing uniforms, transportation and residential facilities.

Further, the fund sharing pattern between the Centre and State was revised to provide for higher central shares in the SSA outlays for States. Grant under the 13^th Finance Commission became available specifically for elementary education. Government also notified the Nation Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) as the academic authority for laying down teacher qualifications. NCTE notified the minimum teacher qualifications in the Official Gazette and also issued guidelines for conducting Teacher Eligibility Tests. New buildings were sanctioned for 28,197 primary and 6,742 upper primary schools during the period 2010-12;39,502 primary and 11,952 upper primer schools were opened;4,97,992 additional class rooms, 2,48,605 toilets and 24,924 drinking water facilities were provided. 682788 posts of teachers were sanctioned across various states.

2.1.2 Mid Day Meal in Schools

 Under the Mid day meal Programme, 10.52 crore children were provide hot cooked meals in 12.18 lakh elementary school in the country during 2011-12. 22.5 lakh cook cum helpers have been engaged to prepare and serve mid day meals to the school children. More than 10.50 lakh schools have been provided with kitchen devices and 5.35 lakh kitchen-cum-stores have been constructed to ensure safety of food and ensure hygienic meals for the children.

2.1.3 Teacher Education

The Government has approved a revised Teacher Education Scheme with an outlay of 6308.45 crore for the 12^th Plan period, to be shared between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25. The North Eastern states contribute only 10 percent share. The main components of the revised scheme include strengthening of State Councils for Educational Research and Training Institutes for Advanced Studies in Education, Colleges of Teacher Education and district Institutes of Education and training Establishment of Block Institutes of Teacher Education in 196 identified SC/ST/Minority concentration districts as elementary preservice teacher education institutions is new element of the Teacher Education Scheme.

2.1.4 Promoting Literacy-Saakshar Bharat       

  The National Literacy Mission was recast and its new variant Saakshar Bharat launched on 8^th September, 2009. The programme strives to impart functional literacy to non-literates, enable neo-literates to continue their learning beyond basic literacy and acquire equivalence to the formal education system. Since its launch, Saakshar Bharat has been sanctioned in 372 low female literacy districts across the country. The mission is expected to benefit around 7 crore non-literates in over 1.6 lakh Gram Panchayats in these districts.

2.1.5 Strengthening Secondary Education   

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan was launched in March, 2009 with the objective to universalize access to secondary education and improve its quality. During the year 2011-12, opening of 3,956 new secondary schools (Classes IX-X) and strengthening of 15,567 existing secondary schools were approved. Under the scheme for setting up of 6,000 model schools at Block level at the rate of one school per block, as benchmark of excellence to provide quality education to talented rural children, 835 model school were sanctioned during 2011-12.

A scheme for construction and running of girls’ hostels for students of secondary and higher secondary schools in about 3,500 educationally back ward blocks of the country was launched in November, 2008. Upto 2011-12, approval to set-up 1,925 such hostels has been given. The scheme of Information and communication Technology (ICT) in schools in being implemented to bridge the digital divide in schools. Setting up the requisite infrastructure to impart computer literacy and computer aided learning has been approved for 4752 government and higher secondary schools. National Awards were conferred on 298 elementary and secondary teachers on 5^th September, 2011 in due recognition of the meritorious public service rendered by them.  

2.1.6 Higher Education

The main policy objectives in higher education continue to be improvement of access, along with equity and excellence, enhancing the relevance of higher education through curriculum reforms, vocationalisation, and networking and information technology and distance education, along with reforms in the governance structure. Following Bills have been introduced in the parliament:

1. Higher Education and research Bill,2011provides for the establishment of an over –arching authority called National Commission for Higher Education and research for determining, maintaining and coordinating standards in higher Education. The Bill has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha and has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
2. The National Authority for Regulation and Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions Bill, 2010, provides for mandatory accreditation of all higher education institutions and has been Introduced in the Parliament.
3. A Bill to prohibit and punish malpractices and adoption of unfair practices in technical and medical educational institutions and in the university system, to protect the interest of students and applicants seeking admission, has been introduced in the Parliament.
4. A Bill to establish a two-tier structure of Educational Tribunals at the State and National level to adjudicate on the entire gamut of disputes arising in higher education has been introduced in the Parliament and has been passed by Lok Sabha. The Bill has amended based on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee and will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
5. The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill, 2010, for regulating the entry and operation of foreign educational institutions in India has been introduced in Parliament on which the Parliament Standing Committee has submitted report.
6.   A Bill for creation of a National electronic database of Academic Awards and its maintenance by an introduced in the Lok Sabha, which has been referred to the parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC).

To increase access, improve quality and to remove regional imbalances in higher education, sixteen Central Universities have been established, including conversion of three states, universities in the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand into Central Universities, under the Central Universities Act, 2009. All Universities have since commenced academic activities. A provision has been made for central assistance for setting up of a model degree college in each of the identified 374 educationally backward districts where Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for higher education is less than the national GER. Out of 153 proposals received, 78 have been approved and 42 are under process.

In view of the felt need for expansion of facilities for high quality management education, during XI^th five year Plan, seven new IIMs have been established. Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM), Shillong established in Shillong (Meghalaya), commenced its academic session from 2008-09. IIM Rohtak (Haryana), IIM Ranchi (Jharkhand), IIM Raipur (Chhattisgarh) commenced their academic sessions from 2010-11, while IIM Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu), IIM Kashipur (Uttarakhand) and IIM Udaipur (Rajasthan) have commenced their academic sessions from 2011-12.

All the 8 new IITs in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have since commenced their academic activities with student in take of 120 each in B. Tech. programmes. The Scheme for setting up of 20 new IIITs in public Private Partnership mode has since made considerable headway, with 15 State Governments having identified land for setting up of the institute. In four cases, the State Governments have also identified industry partners.

 A grant was provided to set up 26 new polytechnics during the year 2011-12. In addition, the second and third installments were given to 85 and 92 polytechnics. 127 existing polytechnics were provided first installment and 166 were provide with second installment for strengthening. 148 polytechnics were provided grant for women’s hostels. National mission for Information & Communication Technology (ICT) in Education Under the Mission, up to March 2012, Virtual Private Networks and internet connection have been provided to 392 universities and 18,189 colleges/ polytechnics across the country.

AAKASH

The Low Cost Access-cum-computing Device, ’AAKASH’ was launched on 5.10.2011 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Initiation of second phase of Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) Based on the achievements of TEQIP Phase-I, TEQIP Phase-II is being implemented with the assistance of the World Bank at a total cost of 2430 crore. The Government of India contribution is 1895.50 crore out of which 1395.50 crore will be reimbursed by the World Bank. The State share will be 518.50 crore and the share of private unaided institutions will be 16 crore. The funding pattern will be 75:25 between the centre and the participating States and for North Eastern States it will be 90:10.

  National Institutes of Technology (NITs) With the aim of providing at least one NIT in each of the larger States/ UTs, the government has since established 10 new NITs at Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland , Manipur, Mizoram, Goa, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Puducerry. First academic session has commenced from the year 2010-11 and as on date there are approximately 1600 student pursuing undergraduate programmes. So far land has been finalized in case of seven NITs. A Bill for incorporating these NITs under the NIT Act, 2007 is at final stage of enactment.

 2.2 Health & Family Welfare

2.2.1. National Rural health Mission

The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) initiated in 2005 has been catalytic is bringing about a perceptible change in the overall health scenario of the country. The Crude Birth Rate (CBR) AT THE National Level lakh DRUG KITS DISTRIBUTED at 22.1 in 2010 declined 1.7 points over 2005. The Crude Rate during the same period declined by 0.4 points. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has registered a decline of 3 points from previous year and was 47 per 1000 live birth in 2010. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) also declined by 0.1 and stood at 2.5 in 2010.

Over 8.03 lakh ASHAs have received training in 1^st module and 6.2 lakh ASHAs have received advance training in V^th module. About7.8 lakh ASHAs have been positioned with drug kits, moving toward creating a community owned decentralized health delivery system. During 2011-12 (up to Dec 2011) 16,799 additional Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees were constituted to elicit community participation for addressing preventive and promotive aspects of health care and to heighten public awareness on health and nutrition related issues. 20,235 additional health personnel including doctors, paramedics, specialists, staff nurses, auxiliary nurse midwives, were engaged.

In order to further reduce barriers to institutional care for pregnant women and sick new born, a new initiative named “Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram” was launched in June 2011. This initiative seeks to eliminate out of pocket expenses and further provides for free delivery including cesarean section with free drugs and consumables, free diet and free transportation for pregnant women coming to government health facilities. Similar entitlements have been put in place for sick new borns.

No wild polio case has been reported in the country since January 2011 owing to immunization drives. The World Health Organisation has taken India out the list of polio-endemic countries. There is declining trend in morbidity and mortality due to malaria in high endemic States. Mortality due to Kala-Azar has shown a declining trend. The total numbers of report Dengue cases were also lower in 2011 as compared to 2010.

2.2.2. Human resources in Health

A bill to set up National Commission for Human Resource for Health (NCHRH) has since been finalized and has been introduced in Parliament. Then NCHRH IS envisaged as an overarching regulatory body for the health sector, to reform the current framework and so enhance the supply of skilled personnel.

2.2.3. Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY)

PMSSY envisaged construction of 6 ALLMS –like institutions in the first phase at Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh. Construction of Medical College Complex at all the six sites is in full swing and the medical colleges are expected to be functional from academic session 2012-13.

2.2.4. Aids control

Adult HIV prevalence at national level has decline from 0.41% in 2000 to 0.31% in 2009.The estimated annual number of new HIV infections has declined by 56% from 2.7 lakh new infections in 2000 to 1.2 lakh in 2009.

2.2.5. Ayurveda, yoga, Unani Siddha and Homoeopathy Services (AYUSH)

In 2011-12, financial assistance was provided to Sates/UTs as recurring grants for co-located AYUSH facilities at 4090-Primary Health Centre (PHCs), 350-community Health Centre (CHCs), 136-District Hospitals (DHs)and as Non-recurring grants for three PHCs, two CHCs and one District Hospital. Financial assistance was also provided to 15,680-AYUSH Dispensaries and 155-AYUSH Hospital for supply of essential drugs. Six proposals for setting up 50-bedded Integrated AYUSH Hospital and five proposals for setting up 10-bedded Integrated AYUSH Hospital have been supported under the Scheme in the North-Eastern and other Hilly States of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

2.2.6. National Programme for Prevention and Control of Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke           

 The coverage of the programme extends to 100 districts covering 21 States. The programme envisages health promotion and health education advocacy, early detection of person with high level of risk factors through opportunistic screening and strengthening of health system to tackle non-communicable diseases. Under the programme about 58 lakh people have been screened for diabetes and hypertension in 20States.

2.2.7. Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act 2011 

The Transplantation of Human Organs (amendment) Act 2011has been enacted incorporating the inclusion of grandparents and grandchildren in the definition of near relatives recognition of retrieval canters and approval of paired donor exchanges, making it mandatory for the treating staff to request relatives of brain-dead patients for organ donation.

2.2.8 Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010

The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 has been notified to come into effect from 1.3.2012 in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim          

(Courtesy: Congress Sandesh)