PM: New initiatives in education, youth focus

But one of the PM8217;s key messages from Red Fort will be to the nation8217;s youth8212;the largest young population anywhere in the world: that the country is a land of opportunities, in terms of education and employment opportunities.

Towards this end, Singh is expected to launch a new mission for vocational education aimed at bridging the skill deficit. Added to this, the PM will underline the commitment to expanding educational opportunities for the marginalised.

Elaborating on the good growth numbers where the economy has clocked an over 8 per cent growth and where manufacturing grew at 11 per cent, the PM is going to stress the fact that the government needs to do much more to overcome the huge development backlog. It8217;s here that he is likely to call for a war on poverty.

While the weapons in the war will be the government8217;s schemes, including Bharat Nirman and the job guarantee act, the PM will stress on improving delivery-mechanisms and reducing corruption in government.

On the agriculture sector, the PM is expected to announce the setting up of a committee under the chairmanship of economist R Radhakrishna which will suggest measures to tackle agricultural indebtedness.