The Unorganized Workers Social Security Bill 2008 that has been recently passed by the Parliament shall enable the Government to formulate suitable welfare schemes for unorganized workers. It has been decided that the cess collected under the Building and Other Construction Workers Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service Act, 1996 will be utilized for the purpose of providing unemployment insurance to construction workers. We are advising the State Governments accordingly. Sir, I am extremely surprised the way in which the hon. Member of the Government has made a statement. It is too innocent to describe the present situation; it is too unpardonable because it does not hold out any hope for the future with regard to the retrenchement. This Government gave a debt waiver package last year. We know the results. Nothing has changed. Dr. Swaminathan has given a very clear recommendation. Hon. Leader of the House knows about it. Dr. Swaminathan said that credit facilities, affordable credit, remunerative prices to the farm produce power and irrigation, farm inputs at subsidised rates are very important. We have been pleading we have been urging the Union Government that the interest rate on farm loans should be slashed to four per cent. That is recommended in the Dr. Swaminathan Committee's Report. This Government appointed that Committee to go into the agrarian crisis. That was one of his important recommendations. But even today the nationalised banks are giving farm loans at the rate of seven per cent. Our Government in Karnataka, headed by the hon. Chief Minister B.S. Yeddiyurappa has brought it down to three per cent. Another Government of ours, in Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Shir Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
