Set milestones, Manmohan tells ministers

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, unhappy with the pace of work of some of his Cabinet colleagues, has asked them to prepare milestones for the next three years, together with vision documents for the ministries and departments concerned.

The missive has been issued because the prime minister is dissatisfied with the pace at which some of his Cabinet colleagues work.

"The prime minister has, at times, said he achieved much more during the first three years of his previous tenure than what he has achieved in the last four months," said a source in the government.

Singh's aides have tried to comfort him by saying that during his previous stint as finance minister, he was faced with a crisis and had to act immediately. The situation is far different now.

On his part, according to sources, the prime minister is of the opinion that the electorate is impatient and wants the government to act on various fronts. Besides, the government feels it is easier to carry the reform agenda in the first three years of its term.

Also, with the milestones in place, the government will be better placed to implement the decisions  in 2005, after elections in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana are completed in the  first quarter. The milestones are expected to be ready by the time the Budget is prepared and some of them will be part of the Budget announcements.

All the ministries had recently been asked to submit action-taken reports on announcements made by the United Progressive Alliance in its common minimum programme. Some of these ministries are now working hard to implement these actionable points.

The prime minister is particularly keen on reforming the infrastructure sectors and wants activity to increase in these areas. Tax reforms and improved administration are the other focus areas for Singh.