Cong manifesto: All export taxes will be waived off, 8% growth in 3 yrs

New Delhi 1:45 pm Congress manifesto pledges 10 percent growth in manufacturing with emphasis on small and medium enterprisesand stresses on the right to education and healthcare to all Indians.

Whilethe Indira Awaas Yojana and the Rajiv Awaas Yojana will be expanded to cover all poor rural and urban households, expenditure on healthcare will be increased to 3 percent of India’s GDP.

The other big agenda is jobs creation. The UPA plans on creating 10 crore jobs in manufacturing alone in the next decade. Also,all migrant labour will be covered under the Aadhaar programme in the next one year, through a special campaign. UPA wants to extend the benefits of social security to unorganised sector too but has not highlighted how it aims to achieve this.

Infrastructure too has found mention with UPA envisioning a $1 trillion investment in public infrastructure. The party plans on creating 100 new urban clusters around existing small and emerging cities and link them with power and transport facilities.

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Highlights of the manifesto:

•The congress will invest more than 1 trillion dollars over the next decade on upgrading India’s power, transport and other development infrastructure.
•All export taxes will be waived off
•RBI must strike a balance between price stability and growth
•Subsidy to be chosen more carefully, only for the most deserving
•Minimum tariff protection for manufacturing
•No room for any aversion to foreign investment.Looking in to bring FDI in India, especially in higher education
•UPA promises better train services and uninterrupted electricity
•Cong manifesto commits to 8 percent growth within the next three years
•Pegs fiscal deficit of 3 percent by fiscal 2017
•Congress’ jobs agenda: To create 100 million jobs
•To introduce GST in 100 days of Parliament and DTC in this first year
•PPP model should be more transparent
• To ensure passage of women reservation’s bill
• To ensure MNCs pay tax on profit earned in India with a clearpolicy on tax treatment of foreign firms and M&A transactions
•To have clear roadmap for NPA-related issues and public sector bank issues
•Ensure risk of retrospective taxation is avoided
• Toincrease healthcare expenditure to 3 percent of GDP
• To create consensus for SC/ST reservation in the private sector. It is not seen as mandatory
• Congress will opt for a more flexible labour policy as needed for maintaining competitiveness, while moving towards international labour standards for our workers.
• Ensure all towns and Gram Panchayats are connected with high-speed broadband within 18 months
• Skill training to 10 crore youth
• Everyone to get bank account in five years
• Cong to provide upto Rs 1 lakh as low interest loans to women through Self-Help-Groups for livelihood activities.
•Cong to set up Regulatory Reform Task Force for a review of all regulatory processes of central govt ministries with the intent of repealing unnecessary processes
• Party to ensure all million-plus cities are covered by highspeed trains

[caption id=“attachment_77645” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image used for representative purpose only. AFP[/caption]
These new rights will supplement the other rights established under UPA-I and UPA-II - Right to Food; Right to Information; Right to Education; Right to employment; Rights to fight corruption (Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act as well as Whistleblower Protection Act); Right to Identity (Aadhaar) and the Right to direct receipt of welfare benefits (Aapka Paisa, Aapke Haath - Direct Benefits Transfers).

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has promised Right to Healthcare and Housing for all Indians

Gandhi said the manifesto will focus on manufacturing and the UPA’s reforms will focus on bringing back growth.

She also promised pension scheme for the disabled as well as programmes for the elderly and handicapped.

Defending the party’s manifesto, Gandhi said the document is not a vote-seeking ritual for the Congress.

1:15 pm New Delhi: Need more emphasis on job creation, says PM

Here’s what prime minister Manmohan Singh said:

•Congress will recommit to a new vision of inclusive society, rapidly expanding economy in which growth benefits all sections of society and in the process we generate a lot of jobs for India’s young people, said prime minister Manmohan Singh.

•Development has many models. Congress model recognises the need to provide lasting solutions to the problem of proverty. Growth by itself not enough. Education, healthcare, needs of women and Scheduled castes/tribes need to be adressed.

•The Congress record is visible to everyone who cares to look at it.

•We provided an agenda for growth. In NDA period growth range average was 6 percent. Under UPA-1 average growth was 8.4 percent and under UPA-11 it was 7.3 percent.

•Farmers are the backbone of economy.

• During UPA period, 14 crore people lifted from poverty. According to Singh, poverty declines 2.18 percent during UPA tenure

•India grew more during UPA period than what opponents claim

•Election manifesto spells out our strategy for accelerated growth. Investment in education, agriculture and health is very important to achieve inclusive growth. Singh said India needs more emphasis on job creation

The slogan of the manifesto is ‘Your voice, our pledge."

1:00 pm New Delhi: The Congress released a video showing how the party built its2014 Lok Sabha polls manifesto. The video highlightedthe government’s focus on steps to curb inflation, black money and emphasis on legal and judicial reforms. ( Watch the video here).

The slogan of the manifesto is ‘Your voice, our pledge."

AK Antony, chairman of the manifesto committee, said the Congress manifestois a novel new manifesto which reflects aspirations of people across country.

While Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said the UPA has achieved 90 percent of its 2009 manifesto, Firstbiz created an infographic which shows that of the economic policies promised, very few have actually been achieved. See here

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