India Needs Second Green Revolution – President Pratibha Patil

By: Ravinder Makhaik

Shimla: In the face of a global food crisis, President Pratibha Patil at a civic reception here emphasized the need for a second green revolution in the country to meet challenges ahead.

The president who is here on a working holiday, said that the first green revolution of the 1960’s had made the country self-sufficient in food-grains. Keeping the nations vast rural population in mind, agriculture scientists need to device ways for increasing productivity. A second green revolution was the need of the hour, she said.

Emphasizing about the opportunities that the nations rich bio-diversity offered, Patil said that on her recent visit to Brazil, Mexico and Chile, the national leaders of these countries had expressed interest in Ayurveda systems of treatment. “World over there was a great demand for suitable natural systems of treatment.”

The Himalayan region including Himachal was rich in bid-diversity and a lead should be taken to get patents for Ayurvedic products. It was important that a national medicinal bank be developed, she added.

The President said that the nation was rising to take its place among the comity of nations but to realize the full potential, unity was important for nation building. “Today we are counted among the major economies of the world and have attained global recognition for our achievement in the information technology sector.”

However the president cautioned that it was important to give priority to the needs of weaker, deprived and hapless sections of society. Women empowerment was essential to gain form their full contribution in the developmental process. Social evils like dowry, child marriage, female feoticide and drug addictions need to be tackled awareness campaigns, said the President.

With regard to Himachal, she said that fruit cultivation and tourism had tremendous potential for growth. Food processing, cold storage and marketing avenues needed to be developed for getting better realizations from the horticulture produces. Airports, roads and transport systems need be given more importance for encouraging better tourism.
The president said that the low levels of pollution in the state were ideal for promoting information technology industries and the state needed to give a thrust in the area.

Speaking on the occasion chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal sought intervention of the President office with the central government on various center-state and defence related issues.

Earlier Mayor Narinder Kataria welcomed the president at the civic reception that was held at the Rigde ground.