The Chief Minister was addressing the 15th meeting of the National Integration Council at New Delhi.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday demanded that a national code be designed to control media content that could potentially trigger communal clashes.
"A concerted effort must be made to involve media barons, particularly those with television channels, in building a national code that requires observance of self-discipline of the highest order while telecasting events and statements having potential to trigger communal clashes," the Chief Minister said, while addressing the 15th meeting of the National Integration Council at New Delhi.
He saIid that the Andhra Pradesh government was committed to ensure peace and tranquility. Outlining the various developmental activities taken up by the government, the Chief Minister said that a number of measures have been initiated to ensure communal harmony, including the development of the Old city of Hyderabad, with an outlay of Rs. 2,000 crores.
Steps have been taken to introduce computers and English education in Madarsas, he said, and added that measures to preserve Arabic archives, and support for construction of a new Haj building near the Shamshabad airport were also taken up.
The government has provided 4% reservation in educational institutions and jobs for economically backward Muslims, and this benefit has recently been extended for 10 more years, he said.
Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the most significant and unique program was that of scholarships, which is being implemented on a saturation basis to ensure that poverty does not become a barrier for accessing education for diligent students. During the current year, 26.5 lakh students belonging to SC, ST, BC, EBC, Minority and Disabled are benefitting from scholarships and the Fee Reimbursement scheme, with an annual expenditure of Rs.3,500 crores, he said.
Referring to the initiatives taken up by the government with regard to the youth in the state, the Chief Minister said that the government has embarked upon a program called Rajiv Yuva Kiranaalu to impart soft skills and technical capabilities to the educated unemployed so that they can be directly employed by trade and industry at the instance of the government.
The scientific assessment made by the Confederation Of Indian Industry (CII) indicates that not less than 28 lakh jobs would arise in various trades in AP by 2014, the CM said. Besides this, he added, one lakh vacancies are to be filled in government departments. He expressed confidence that the program will facilitate the employment of 15 lakh youth in the next 3 years.
The CM also said that the government has taken several measures to make cultivation lucrative. These measures include crop loans on 3% interest to farmers wherever loans are repaid in time, rise in crop loans from Rs. 7,000 crore in 2004 to Rs. 48,000 crore this year, a substantial enhancement of subsidy on fertilizers and seed to Rs. 10,000 crore and Rs. 400 crore respectively, a waiver of interest on loans to farmers affected by untimely rains, procurement of even de-colored paddy, and so on.
The government is providing free power to 28 lakh agricultural connections at a cost of Rs. 5,000 crores annually, he said.
The CM also spoke about Jalayagnam, which he said will create an additional irrigation potential of 1 crore acres. These initiatives have collectively helped increase agricultural production by 335, he said.
The rise in the paddy-procurement price by 88%, i.e., from Rs. 590 to Rs. 1,110 per quintal, in the last 7 years has also helped win the confidence of farmers, he stated.
The Chief Minister however, said that that remunerative prices to the farmers is still a major issue. Prices for agricultural commodities should be in tune with the rising cost of cultivation, to ensure that the farming community is content, he said, and added that a new scheme, 'Saagu Raithu Rakshana Hastam' through an ordinance to facilitate crop loans, insurance and other subsidies on seeds and fertilizers has been brought about by the government.
Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the state government has taken up a new program called 'Indira Jalaprabha', to bring 10 lakh acres of dry land under cultivation by providing micro-irrigation facilities to farmers, by spending around Rs. 1,600 crore. Under 'Indira Jalaprabha', around 5 lakh SC and ST households will be brought above the poverty line in the next 2 years, he stated. (INN)