New Delhi: The President addressed the Parliament on March 12, 2012. Below are some items from the agenda of the Central government as outlined in the speech.
Legislation
A Bill to eliminate manual scavenging and insanitary latrines shall be introduced in Parliament.
New legislation is being considered for persons with disabilities, in order to replace the existing Act.
A Bill to provide for a uniform regulatory environment to protect consumer interests, enable speedy adjudication and ensure growth of the real estate sector shall be introduced.
A Bill to create a Civil Aviation Authority to ensure safe and affordable air services will be introduced this year.
The government is working on legislation for safeguarding and promoting the livelihoods of street vendors.
Amendments shall be made to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act to prohibit employment of children less than 14 years of age.
Government will aim for early enactment of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill.
Workforce Development
1500 new Industrial Training Institutes and 5000 Skill Development Centres shall be set up. Skill training will be provided to 85 lakh people during 2012-13 and to 800 lakh people during the 12th Plan.
A National Mission for Teachers shall be established to improve teacher education and faculty development .
The National Urban Livelihoods Mission shall be launched for large-scale skill upgrade, entrepreneurship development and providing wage employment and self-employment opportunities.
The expenditure on Research & Development shall be increased from 1 per cent to 2 per cent of GDP.
A Higher Education Credit Guarantee Authority shall be set up in order to provide limited credit guarantees through risk pooling for educational loans.
Health
The government will increase national Plan and Non-Plan public expenditure on health to 2.5 per cent of GDP by the end of the 12th Plan.
The National Rural Health Mission will be converted to a National Health Mission during the 12th Plan, which will also cover urban areas. Around 7 crore families will be provided health insurance cover under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana by the end of the 12th Plan.
A Multi-sectoral Nutrition Programme will be launched in 200 districts for maternal and child nutrition needs.
A Department for Disability Affairs and the National Council for Senior Citizens shall be set up.
Economy
Steps will be taken to reduce the gap of 10 million hectares between irrigation potential created and realised.
A scheme for Minimum Support Price for minor forest produce is being considered.
A roadmap to double merchandise exports to US$ 500 billion by 2013-14 has been prepared.
Public sector banks shall be recapitalised to maintain their financial health.
A scheme for promotion of the capital goods industry will be launched during the 12th Plan.
Rs 17,500 crore shall be provided to the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor for infrastructure projects.
The National Electricity Fund shall be set up to provide interest subsidy on loans disbursed to State Power Utilities.
Installed capacity of nuclear plants shall be increased to 10,080 MW from 4,780 MW by the end of the 12th Plan.
In this context, a comparison of the President's speeches since the beginning of UPA-II, looking at what legislative and other proposals/schemes were promised and those that have been delivered, becomes relevant.
The President addressed the Parliament after the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections on 4th June 2009. She also addressed Parliament on 22nd February 2010, as well as on 21st February 2011. The tables below highlight some items from the agenda of the Central government as outlined in these speeches, as well as the initiatives undertaken with respect to these agenda items.
PRS Legislative Research is an independent research initiative. PRS works with Members of Parliament (MPs) across party lines to provide research support on legislative and policy issues.
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