New Delhi:
The UPA-II government celebrates its fourth birthday today and will present a final report card, with the next general elections only months away. It has been a turbulent year for the Manmohan Singh government, with scam after scam rocking it, and the BJP has planned a focused attack to highlight what it calls the UPA's "failures".
The 'Report to The People 2013' will be released by the Prime Minister tonight and is expected to try and blunt the opposition attack with statistics.
According to sources, it will highlight:
- The Wholesale Price Index inflation has come down from an average of 9.56 per cent in 2010-11 to 6 per cent in March 2013.
- It talks of the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme to plug leakages and corruption in Government scheme.
- It lists the Whistleblowers Protection Act, Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, Citizen Grievance Redressal Bill as instances of the UPA's intent to fight corruption.
- The report talks about 10 crore school children covered by mid-day meal schemes across 12 lakh elementary schools.
- It points out that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) has provided employment to more than 4.8 crore household.
- It mentions the introduction of Food Security Bill and Land Acquisition Bill.
- It talks about the average life expectancy going up by five years in the last nine years.
- The report showcases its focus on higher education through three Es - expansion, equity and excellence.
- It mentions that the Janani Sishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) scheme benefitted 12 million pregnant women.
- It highlights the steps for women empowerment including passing Criminal Law (Amendment) 2013.