UPA to trumpet pro-people policies in poll-bound states

With five states going to the assembly polls later this year and general elections coming next year, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has got into action to sell its popular schemes to voters. It will kickstart a media campaign from Tuesday in the poll-bound states, beginning with Rajasthan.

In the first regional interaction of the Group of Ministers on Media this year, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad would address the press in Jaipur on July 16.

The government would list its achievements and talk about its flagship programmes like Food Security Law, Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT), rollout of Aadhaar, Bharat Nirman and recent decisions on Real Estate Regulator as well as the Cabinet Committee on Investments. The UPA ministers would try to address concerns on inflation, the current economic situation and other issues creating a negative image of the government.

"Issues touching the common man and various initiatives taken by the government in social and other sectors would be highlighted," said a government official, who did not wish to be identified. After Jaipur, other ministers of the UPA-II would do media briefings on these issues in the remaining poll-bound states. Besides Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram are scheduled to go to assembly polls later this year. However, the next visit of senior ministers in the Manmohan Singh government might be to Bangalore.

The government recently promulgated an ordinance on food security, guaranteeing legal entitlement for cheap grains to almost 67 per cent of the Indian population. It would provide five kilograms of rice or wheat or coarse cereals to every identified beneficiary per month at the rate of Rs 3, Rs 2 and Rs one a kg, respectively. However, the UPA ministers might have a tough time explaining the food security law in Chhattisgarh since it already gives much more subsidised grains, analysts said.

The government launched its first phase of DBT, covering 43 districts for select social welfare programmes and was expected to cover another 78 from April 1, in the second phase. Inadequate progress in the first phase led the government to push back the date for starting the second phase of DBT from July 1. Besides, DBT was introduced for subsidised LPG in 18 districts on June.

Earlier this year, the government had set up the Cabinet Committee on Investments (CCI) to clear stuck up projects costing Rs 1,000 crore.

Among its recent decisions, it cleared 25 of the 31 oil and gas blocks that were held up for want of clearances, besides approving 13 power projects, freeing up stalled investment of Rs 33,000 crore.

Ministers might face some tough questions on sliding economic parameters, particularly current account deficit, the rupee value against the dollar, contraction of industrial production in May and continuous decline in exports for two straight months, besides high retail inflation.

Government managers are likely to detail the efforts being taken to perk up economic growth.