Hyderabad: The Defence officers undergoing 58th batch of training programme in National Defence College, headed by Brig Vipul Shinghal, Secretary and Faculty members, met Hon’ble Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan on Thursday as part of the Economic Security Study Tour. On this occasion, Governor recalled the time spent by him at the National Defence College, during the time when he underwent training at the College.
While Speaking to the Defence Officers, Governor said that the economic growth is not about figures and said we have to examine how far we have able to bridge the urban-rural divide. He said an assessment has to be made whether basic requirements such as health care, housing and education are accessible to BPL families. One yard stick to assess whether BPL families are benefited by the welfare schemes implemented by Government and whether quality healthcare, education and housing is provided to them, would be to make a count of BPL families at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year to see whether there is really any improvement, said the Governor. Governor stressed on the need to provide affordable healthcare to all sections of society.
The Governor said by increasing employment potential, the issue of rural-urban divide can be addressed and trust-deficit can be avoided. Governor said quality education does not mean having more number of educational institutions. He said industry-linkage with education institutions is an important factor in providing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities to youth. Governor informed the officers of NDC that skill development, sanitation and environment awareness should be part of regular academic curriculum itself.
The Governor said people’s satisfaction should be given top priority by Governments and their requirements should be met first and then the surplus produce can be exported. He said in the coming days industrialisation will lead to diminishing agriculture as land available for cultivation will be scarce. Speaking on technology, the Governor said technology can never be a substitute to human brain and it should act only as a facilitator. He also said every section of the society has a role to play in the economic development of the country and one should have faith in the public institutions. Wrapping up his interaction with the officers of the National Defence College, the Governor said both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are aiming to provide potable drinking water at the doorstep of people. Andhra Pradesh has already achieved power surplus position and Telangana is going to reach the power surplus position in a few months. He also said both the States are on top in the Ease of Doing Business rankings and Telangana has even brought out a legislation to provide deemed approvals in case the application is not disposed of within prescribed time limits.
