The Asian Productivity Year, 1970 commenced on January 5, this year. Organised by the Asian Productivity Organisation which is an inter-Governmental body set up by the Governments of Ceylon, the Nationalist Republic of China, Hong-Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and the Republic of Vietnam, the Asian Productivity Year will symbolise a year-long co-operative effort by the member countries of the A.P.O. to increase the general consciousness of productivity, to emphasize the role of productivity' in economic growth and to focus attention on the dynamic productivity action needed in private and public sectors for accelerating economic development of the Asian countries. ‘Prosperity through Productivity’, is the appropriate slogan for the Asian Productivity Year, 1970.
India, a founder-member of the A.P.O. has entered the Asian Productivity Year, 1970 with a ten-point programme formulated by the National Productivity Council. This programme covers important aspects of productivity such as techniques, of productivity measurement, creating a climate for quality reliability, orienting top management in productivity techniques, creating an awareness of fuel problems, training industrial engineers in advanced techniques such as electronic data processing, supervisory development, etc.
As rightly pointed out by the President of India in his message for A.P.Y., there is no doubt that India with her varied and meaningful experiences towards economic development on an extensive front will provide all assistance that is practicable for developing the productivity programmes in other countries wherever required. In the sphere of agricultural productivity, our country has an inspiring experience to share. For, as stated in the Rockefeller Foundation Report on India’s food production, the transformation of India’s food picture from a frightening shortage only a mere few years ago to near- abundance in cereal grains today, must rank as one of the most amazing agricultural stories of all times.
The hope of the Prime Minister of India that during the year, the countries of Asia, emerging from centuries-old stagnation, will move forward towards greater productivity and also further strengthen the patterns of economic co-operation among themselves, will be widely shared.
The Indian P & T Department is proud to associate itself with Asian Productivity Year 1970 by issuing a special postage stamp to coincide with the inauguration of the Asian Productivity Congress at Tokyo. In this Congress, top productivity experts from Asian countries meet on a common platform for the first time to exchange their ideas and experiences on various aspects of productivity and to make a Productivity Declaration for the entire South-East Asian Region.
Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India