[India] Guv stresses on wiping out poverty, unemployment, illiteracy

from Web India

Sikkim is committed to eliminating poverty, unemployment and illiteracy through an effective strategy and agenda for human development, governor V Rama Rao saod toeday.

Addressing the budget session of the state assembly on the opening day today, He said the state government had taken initiatives for human development with assistance from United Nations Development Programme for specifiic activities.

The agenda for human development would focus on issues like decreasing sex ratio, maternal mortality rate, life expectancy, poverty, livelihood, drop out rate and try to achieve the target.

The Governor said the state government was committed to improving the quality of lives of the common people, particularly those who were living below the poverty line, by giving stress on development of communication network, extension of irrigation facilities, poverty health care system, education and road connectivity.

Mr Rao said due to high performance through investment in socio economic infrastructure, the state had already recorded a growth rate nine per cent.

According to the provisional records of the socio-economic census approximately 15-16 have crossed over the BPL level during the last 10 to 12 years.

But since the growth was not an end in itself, the government was focussing on human development and enrichment of people's lives, he said.