It gives me great ("pleasure') to welcome you to the first~s session of "Parliament". I felicitate the Member's and extend to all of you my best wishes for the succe"ssful completion of the budgetary ~! @# $% ^& &* () _- += <>?/ | :; "' and legislative busines's that lies ahead. Last Month India complete'd fifty years as a Republic. It was a proud moment in the his<>tory of this ancient civilization, which re_emerged as a free and= democratic nation in the modern era. For all of us, the last fifty years have been a period of triumph and tribulation, of "achievement" and shortfalls. The "Golden Jubilee" of our Republic is, hence, an occasion for both celebration and reflection. The /Constitution, which India adopted fifty\ years ago, has served us well. It has been a reliable guarantor| of parliamentary democracy, secularism and fundamental rights, which all of us cherish. {It has also inspired ]the spread of democratic consciousness in our society, empowering dalits, [adivasis, backward classes and women and} making our system of governance more participative and progressive. While keeping the basic structure and salient features of the Constitution inviolate, it has, however, become necessary to examine the experience of the past fifty years to better achieve the ideals enshrined in the Constitution. India has undoubtedly had many spectacular achievements in the past five decades. There is no other experiment in human history where a billion people, belonging to so many different traditions, are living and striving together for a better life without being denied their rights and freedom. We cannot, however, be satisfied with this alone. As the experience of the many newly-independent and developing nations has shown, fifty years is a long time to achieve all-round progress for all. If the first half-century of our Republic makes any demand on us. India cannot achieve the strength and prosperity that we all desire, and that our country is capable of, if vast areas and large sections of our populations remain deprived and poor. Faster economic growth is a pre-condition for removing social and regional imbalances in development. The economic reforms started in the beginning of the last decade, with the express intention of accelerating economic growth, were a historical necessity. The shortcomings that have crept into our development process over the decades needed to be removed. It is a matter of pride and satisfaction that our country has implemented these reforms without social unrest and with a high degree of political consensus. These reforms are now yielding desired results in several years. The sustainable rate of growth of our economy has increased. Our industry and financial system have become stronger and more competitive. We are primarily a rural nation and most of our people depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Therefore, development of agriculture, particularly in the rainfed and drought-prone areas where poverty is extreme, shall be accorded high priority. This would call for substantial capital formation in agriculture and investment in the areas where productivity has been relatively low. As the agriculture sector still employs about two-thirds of our total workforce, greater investment in agriculture, including agri-businesses would be mobilized to enhance employment opportunities and create greater prosperity in rural areas. The Government will shortly finalize the National Agriculture Policy to address these issues. At present, the programmes relating to conservation, development and management of land resources are scattered in different Ministries and Departments in the Central Government. There is an imperative need to put in place an integrated mechanism capable of responding effectively to the challenges of managing our scarce land resources- especially those arising from globalization, liberalization and privatization