Providing proper access to healthcare, education, housing and civic amenities has to be addressed to achieve the dreams of a new India by 2022, when India commemorates its 75th anniversary of Independence, President Ram Nath Kovind has said.
Addressing the issues being faced by traditionally weaker sections such as OBCs, SC and ST communities and women at the local and State level would drive forward the Indian Development Experience, the President said after inaugurating the centenary conference of Indian Economic Association (IEA) here on Wednesday.
Calling upon economists to work more with the State governments and offer them counsel and recommendations that are specific to their region and demographic profiles, the President congratulated Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for making Andhra Pradesh a leader in economic thinking and initiatives, and for converting the policy perceptions into projects on the ground.
Stating that the world was facing a situation where many societies that had so far advocated the cause of a liberal trading order are turning perfectionist, the President said the onus is on emerging economies such as India to speak up for an inter-connected world, where fair and growing trade helps the largest number of people.
Nobel Laureate and founder of Grameena Bank Muhammad Yunus said poverty was bred out of the system and imposed on people. Comparing the current world economic order to a mushroom plant, he said that 99.9% of wealth continues to remain on top of the tree, while the vast number of people who constitute the trunk of the tree is just 0.1%.
Mr. Naidu, who is chief patron of the conference, said Andhra Pradesh had emerged a role model in driving economic growth through innovative policies and tapping digital technologies. The growth rate in the State has been increasing ever since the bifurcation and the State had even achieved the double digit growth rate, much more than the average growth rate of the country.
