Govt should invest more in rural areas: Assocham

The government should invest more in agriculture, health care and education sectors in rural areas as private sector is reluctant to go there, industry chamber Assocham said on Thursday.

In a note sent to the Finance Ministry, Assocham President Swati Piramal said private investments are highly unlikely at initial stages for programmes in rural agriculture, health care and education, as the private sector is apprehensive if its investments would bear any fruits.

The chamber feels that the three key sectors in agrarian regions can be uplifted provided huge public investments are diverted through higher central budgetary allocations, by launching schemes similar to other popular social schemes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

The Industry Chamber said these sectors can be overhauled provided its responsibility remains entirely in state’s domain.

Therefore, it has urged the government that in each panchayat there should be at least one health centre which should be equipped with necessary machines to detect and diagnose diseases.

Such health centres should be set up through centrally sponsored social welfare schemes in which salaries, perks and perquisites of doctors, nurses and other technicians are higher to motivate qualified staff to go to far flung areas, it said.