Need more reforms for social equality: Manmohan Singh

Advocating higher growth rate, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday called for more economic reforms to ensure social equality with inclusive growth.

"We embarked upon economic reforms to open up opportunities to the people born without social privileges. I must confess that the process is not complete. We need more such reforms and higher growth rate for social equality," said Singh at a function here.

Inaugurating the academic session of the newly set up Bengaluru Dr B.R. Ambedkar School of Economics, Singh said with the abolition of the Planning Commission, fresh efforts were needed to ensure social and economic equality.

"In our republic, we have equality in politics but inequality in social life. In politics, we have one vote for one man but the same is denied in social life. How long can we deny equality in social and economic life? Fresh efforts have to be made to keep inequality in control," asserted Singh, quoting from Ambedkar's speech in the Constituent Assembly.

Hoping that scholars from the new economics school would help in finding ways for a cohesive growth, the noted economist said high employment generation was imperative to ensure social justice.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre abolished the Planning Commission in 2014 and set up the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Ayog in its place on January 1, 2015.

Noting that Bengaluru had several institutions of higher learning and were among the best in the country in their respective fields, Singh said the state-run Ambedkar School of Economics should follow the same principle to become a renowned institute.

"As Bengaluru did not have an institute to teach social sciences in its entirety, this school would not only fill the vacuum to learn economics, but also give opportunity to budding economists, as it is dedicated to comprehensive study of economics," added Singh.

Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor C. Rangarajan, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.

--IANS

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