Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L Narasimhan has appealed to all sections to ensure peace and harmony in the State to sustain the significant strides made in both development and welfare sectors which, indeed, became the “cynosure of opinion-makers” all over.
Mr. Narasimhan said the government, on its part, had contained left wing extremism, which, he described as a menace, a departure from the view held by successive governments that it is a ‘socio-economic problem.’
Delivering his address after unfurling the tricolour and inspecting the ceremonial parade at the 61st Republic Day celebrations organised amidst tight security here on Tuesday, the Governor said Andhra Pradesh was fast recovering from the recession and was poised to achieve a 7.28 per cent growth for this fiscal as compared to national average of 6.9 per cent.
Chief Minister K. Rosaiah, several Ministers, Congress leaders and top bureaucrats were present at the function which was marked by a smart march-past by contingents of the armed forces, police and NCC cadets followed by display of tableaux by various departments and dances by schoolchildren. Mr. Narasimhan spoke highly about the efforts made by the government to make the poor happy through welfare schemes. On the development front, a huge sum of Rs. 48,700 crore has been spent so far and 17.6 lakh acres of land brought under cultivation additionally under Jalayagnam. He listed out as many as 14 welfare schemes under implementation — from NREGS and subsidised rice supply to Abhaya Hastham and four per cent reservations for Muslims.
Billion dollar club
The Governor said the State was set to join the billion dollar club as the revenues from software exports were expected to reach the Rs. 36,000-crore mark.
