Here is the BJP manifesto. Much thought has gone into it , and I have culled out some really smart ideas . Even a 25% success in this + communal harmony will be a huge achievement . They have left no sector or interest group untouched . Create 'Regional Councils of States', with common problems and concerns, with a view to seeking solutions that are applicable across a group of states. We shall give the highest priority towards bringing the eastern parts of the country on par with the western parts. To that extent, there shall be special focus and emphasis on the development of the eastern side of India. - pursue a mission mode project under the 'National Rural Internet and Technology Mission' for use of telemedicine and mobile healthcare for rural healthcare delivery; use of IT for agriculture for real time information; Self Help Groups; retail trade and SMEs; and rural entrepreneurs, etc. -develop India into a Global Hub for Arbitration and Legal Process Outsourcing. - Strengthen and modernize minority educational systems and institutions; dovetailing them with modern requirements. National Madrasa modernization programme would be initiated. - Curate their rich heritage and culture - maintenance and restoration of heritage sites; digitization of archives; preservation and promotion of Urdu. - Facilitate the setting up of a permanent Inter-faith Consultative mechanism to promote harmony and trust, under the auspices of religious leaders. A full-fledged programme for 'Rural Rejuvenation' will be made and implemented which will comprise of integrated strategies for personal, economic and social well being of the villagers. Through the idea of Rurban, we will bring urban amenities to our rural areas, while retaining the soul of the village. - Enact the 'Rights of the Persons with Disabilities bill' (RPWD). - Identify each and every special needs person across the country - establishing a web based disability registration system to issue universal ID for all applicable government benefits (healthcare, transportation, jobs, education etc). -- BJP will initiate nation-wide 'district level incubation and accelerator programme' for encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship. - Launch a 'National Sports Talent Search System', so that extraordinary sporting talent is identified at a very young age. Such promising boys and girls will be selected for special training. The existing rural sports programme and National Women Sports Festival will be broadened to reach every village and to identify talent for nurturing and excellence development. - Set up a dedicated W-SME (Women Small and medium enterprises) cluster in every district. - Remove any remaining gender disparities in property rights, marital rights and cohabitation rights. Investment in education yields the best dividend. Public spending on education would be raised to 6% of the GDP, and involving the private sector would further enhance this. - UGC will be restructured and it will be transformed into a Higher Education Commission rather than just being a grant distribution agency. - we will revisit the Apprenticeship Act to facilitate our youth to Earn while they Learn. We will take up skill development on a mission mode, at an unprecedented scale. - Skill Mapping - to help scientifically plan our national human resource development that India would need (like engineers, architects, doctors, nurses, lawyers, accountants, plumbers, carpenters, welders, etc.). - Launch a 'National Multi-skill Mission' We will promote vocational training on a massive scale. Rigid segregation of formal education and skill development will be broken; a mechanism will be established to give vocational qualifications of Academic Equivalence. Yoga and Ayurveda are the gifts of ancient Indian civilization to humanity and we will increase the public investment to promote Yoga and AYUSH. We will start integrated courses for Indian System of Medicine (ISM) and modern science and Ayurgenomics. We will set up institutions and launch a vigorous program to standardize and validate the Ayurvedic medicine. Barring the multi-brand retail sector, FDI will be allowed in sectors wherever needed for job and asset creation, infrastructure and acquisition of niche technology and specialized expertise. BJP is committed to protecting the interest of small and medium retailers, SMEs and those employed by them. - increase public investment in agriculture and rural development. - take steps to enhance the profitability in agriculture, by ensuring a minimum of 50% profits over the cost of production, cheaper agriculture inputs and credit; introducing latest technologies for farming and high yielding seeds and linking MGNREGA to agriculture. - Set up the 'Organic Farming and Fertilizer Corporation of India', to promote organic farming and fertilizers, and provide incentives and support for marketing organic produce. BJP considers that the role of SME sector is crucial for the economic development of our country. The sector needs to be developed by providing international linkages for exports, availability of credit through a dedicated SME bank, supply chain efficiencies, adoption of IT, support in R&D and innovation, and a policy support for enhancing the mandate to purchase from SME for large scale projects. Overall goal is to enhance the competitiveness of the SME sector leading to a larger contribution to our economic growth and employment generation. Handicrafts-We will move up the value chain of the sector driven by a focus on Quality. - Market linkages - both national and international - Access to credit and information and skills upgradation - Value addition will be encouraged through avenues like - branding, packaging and technology. -issue identity cards to the unorganized sector labourers, and arrangements will be made to provide them good quality health and education services. Also, their skills will be upgraded through appropriate training programs. - extend access to modern financial services to labour - including considering the option of setting up a dedicated Workers Bank. - set up Gas Grids to make gas available to households and industry. - set up a National Optical-Fibre Network up to the village level; and Wi-Fi zones in public areas. - Develop waterways for passenger and cargo transport. - Promote decentralized, demand-driven, community-managed water resource management, water supply and environmental sanitation. - create an ecosystem for multi-country and inter-disciplinary collaborative research, and establish an Intellectual Property Rights Regime which maximizes the incentive for generation and protection of intellectual property for all type of inventors. - achieving synergy between industry and scientific research. Autonomous technology transfer organizations will be created as associate organizations of universities and national laboratories to transfer the know-how generated by them to industry. Industry will be encouraged to adopt or support educational and research institutions to help direct science and technology endeavours towards tangible industrial goals. - promotion of innovation by creating a comprehensive national system of innovation. - indigenous knowledge, based on our long and rich tradition will be further developed and harnessed for the purpose of wealth and employment generation - Ecological Audit of projects and pollution indexing of cities and townships will be done on scientific basis. - Pollution control mechanisms will be set up on priority basis. - In addition to protecting the existing forests and wildlife reserves, the wastelands of the country will be used for social forestry. Languages: Indian Languages are repositories of our rich literature, history, culture, art and scientific achievements. Many of our dialects are important source for knowing our heritage. BJP would promote Indian languages, and put measures for the development of all Indian languages, so that they become a powerful vehicle for creating a knowledge society.
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