Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-27-Speech-3-266"
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"en.20060927.21.3-266"2
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"Mr President, the EU is India’s biggest trading partner, and as such has a natural interest in the country’s economic development. Recently, the news has been good. India’s economic growth has been rapid, there has been commitment to a reduction in child labour, and India is one of the most proactive countries as far as action to combat dumping is concerned. India is also trying to reform its financial position, and is planning to remove restrictions on the rupee. Furthermore, the current human rights dialogue between the EU and India has got off to an encouraging start. India’s National Human Rights Commission has been working meticulously.
At the same time, there have also been worrying developments. The gulf in living standards between the cities and the countryside is growing, and the environmental load is increasing. Nearly 400 million Indians, approximately a third of the country’s population, live on an income of less than a dollar a day. The massive growth in the economy is very unevenly spread: 40% of the population are illiterate. Ever-continuing discrimination based on the caste system in the country contributes to the unequal distribution of wealth and even the dwindling opportunities for economic growth. The worst off are the casteless Dalits, whose rights the authorities do not monitor closely enough.
I appreciate the fact that the world’s largest democracy is actively aiming to correct these shortcomings that can be seen in its society through legislation. Positive discrimination is an example of this. Legislation is not enough, though: there also needs to be more effort put into implementation. Good policy decisions should be systematically put into practice by the local authorities. If the situation continues, much of the Indian people’s potential and many of their skills will remain untapped.
At the same time, I would make a serious request to the Council that it should put the following issues on the agenda of the EU-India Summit in Helsinki: the status of India’s disadvantaged, its environmental problems and how prepared it is to cope with natural disasters. Furthermore, the dialogue on energy which was begun in the spring should continue, because the main determining factor in India’s future economic growth is its ability to meet its demand for energy, one that is growing at a staggering rate."@en1
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