PM and Sonia unveil UPA report for the year 2010-11

Sonia Gandhi said, "We will take the issue of corruption head on and demonstrate, through actions, and not words, that we mean what we say."PM Dr Singh presenting the report card of UPA for this year was bullish on an economic growth rate of 8.5 per cent in the past seven years of its rule. UPA government today said high prices still remain a major concern and hinted at more steps to contain inflation, especially for the poor and vulnerable sections. Presenting its annual report card for the year 2010-11, the government said it would seek to contain food inflation through measures for higher production of various agriculture products, while minimising the impact of high fuel prices on 'poor and vulnerable' of the society.At the same time, the government presented a bullish stance on the state of economy and pegged the average growth rate between 2004-05 and 2010-11 at 8.5 per cent and said it was determined to take India to the select league of "middle income countries".Prime Minister touched upon the issue of governance and corruption which, he said, has been the focus of a great deal of attention in 2010-11. "The developments have caused many concerned citizens to worry about the state of governance and the pervasiveness of corruption"."These are legitimate concerns and the UPA government is determined to take corrective action. We will punish those that are guilty through the due process of law," the Prime Minister said in the report which was released at a function at his residence to mark the second anniversary of UPA-II.He also gave an assurance that the government would take steps "to prevent such developments in future".The Prime Minister recalled the "conjunction of several developments" related to the 2G spectrum, procurement and contracting issues related to the Commonwealth Games and similar issues in state governments.He said many of these issues have surfaced because of "our system of institutional oversight and a free press" and to that extend reflect the strength of the system.Singh said,"We have initiated a number of measures to bring about systemic changes that would help in improving governance and curbing corruption and we hope to see quick results of these efforts." Ceremony to have every year report card of the government initiated by Dr Man Mohan Singh is an occasion to call for gala dinner with coalition partners.Thus report card being presented every year ever since UPA government came to power in 2004, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also said the government has taken many steps to improve production of agriculture commodities to contain inflation and intends to take more steps in future. "Food inflation was a major concern in 2010-11," Singh, said, while adding that various measures were taken by the government to address the problem.Noting that high fuel prices reflected the global trends, the government said that it was committed to ensuring availability of cooking fuels to the common man at affordable prices.While prices of petrol and diesel will be market determined, the overall impact on the poor and the vulnerable was being minimized, it said.Singh said that the economy grew at an unprecedented 8.5 per cent growth rate from 2004-05 to 2010-11, despite a severe global financial crisis in 2008-09.Noting that rapid and broad-based economic growth was essential for inclusive development, Singh said India was today widely seen as poised to embark on a sustained high growth path of the type achieved by a handful of countries."We are determined to deliver on this promise so that India moves rapidly into the ranks of middle income countries, free of the burden on poverty, ignorance and disease that has held us down for so long," he said."In response to the global economic slowdown, we undertook a massive fiscal stimulus programme that helped maintain reasonable growth. Today, however, we must reduce the fiscal and revenue deficits, increase public investment, and cut down on wasteful subsidies," Dr Singh added. As per World Bank classifications, India is ranked among lower-middle income economies along with countries like Sri Lanka, China, Pakistan, Iraq and Indonesia. Countries like the US, UK, Australia, France, Germany and Japan are ranked as high-income economies, and those like Brazil, Malaysia, Mauritius, Turkey and South Africa are upper-middle income economies.