Q. Give detailed history of India’s planning for
development?
Five-Year Plans (FYPs) are centralized and integrated
national economic programs. Joseph Stalin implemented the first FYP in the
Soviet Union in the late 1920s. India implemented its First FYP in 1951,
immediately after independence under socialist influence of first Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
The first Five-Year Plan was one of the most important
because it has a great role in the launching of Indian development after the
Independence. Thus, it strongly supported agriculture production and it also
launched the industrialization of the country (but less than the Second Plan,
which focused on heavy industries). It built a particular system of "Mixed
economy", with a great role for the public sector (with an emerging Welfare
State), as well as a growing private sector (represented by some
personalities as those who published the Bombay Plan).
First Plan (1951-1956)
The first Five-year Plan Sought to get country out of the
poverty cycle. K.N Raj a young economist involved in drafting the plan argued
that India Should "hasten slowly" for first two decades as a fast
rate of development might endanger democracy.
The first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru presented
the first five-year plan to the Parliament of India and needed
urgent attention. The total planned budget of
20.69 billion was allocated to seven broad areas: irrigation and energy (27.2
percent), agriculture and community development (17.4
percent), transport and communications (24
percent), industry (8.4 percent), social services (16.64
percent), land rehabilitation (4.1 percent), and for other
sectors and services (2.5 percent). The most important feature of this
phase was active role of state in all economic sectors. Such a role was
justified at that time because immediately after independence, India was facing
basic problems—deficiency of capital and low capacity to save.
The target growth rate was 2.1% annual gross
domestic product (GDP) growth; the achieved growth rate was 3.6% . The net
domestic product went up by 15%. The monsoon was good
and there were relatively high crop yields, boosting exchange
reserves and the per capita income, which increased by 8%. National
income increased more than the per capita income due to rapid population
growth. Many irrigation projects were initiated during this period,
including the Bhakra Dam and Hirakud Dam.
The World Health Organization, with the Indian government,
addressed children's health and reduced infant mortality, indirectly contributing to population growth.
At the end of the plan period in 1956, five Indian
Institutes of Technology (IITs) were started as major technical
institutions. TheUniversity Grant Commission was set up to take
care of funding and take measures to strengthen the higher education in the
country.[7]Contracts
were signed to start five steel plants, which came into existence in the middle
of the second five-year plan.
More generally, the first Five-year plan included:
Industrial sector, Energy and Irrigation, Transport and Communications, Land
rehabilitation, Social services, Developments of agriculture and community, miscellaneous
issues in India.
The target set for the growth in the gross domestic product
was 2.1 percent every year. In reality, the actual achieved with regard to
gross domestic product was 3.6% per year. This is a clear indication of
the success of the first Five-year Plan.
Some important events that took place during the tenure of
the 1st five-year plan: The following Irrigation projects were started during
that period: Metttur Dam, Hirakud Dam, Bhakra Dam.
The government had taken steps to rehabilitate the landless
workers, whose main occupation was agriculture. These workers were also granted
fund for experimenting and undergoing training in agricultural know how in
various cooperative institutions. Soil conservation, was also given
considerable importance. The Indian government also made considerable effort in
improving posts and telegraphs, railway services, road tracks, civil aviation.
Sufficient fund was also allocated for the industrial sector. In addition
measures were taken for the growth of the small scale industries.
1st three plans (1951-1965) had industrial growth of 8%
sturdy growth. The Atomic Energy Commission was formed in 1948
with Homi J. Bhabha as
the first chairman till 1966. India started family planning in 1952.
Second Plan (1956-1961) the second plan, particularly in the
development of the public sector. The plan followed the Mahalanobis
model, an economic development model developed by the
Indian statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in
1953. The plan attempted to determine the optimal allocation of investment
between productive sectors in order to maximize long-run economic growth. It
used the prevalent state of art techniques of operations research and
optimization as well as the novel applications of statistical models developed
at the Indian Statistical Institute. The plan assumed a closed
economy in which the main trading activity would be centered on importing
capital goods.
Hydroelectric power projects
and five steel mills at Bhilai, Durgapur, and Rourkela were
established. Coal production was increased. More railway lines
were added in the north east.
The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research was
established as a research institute. In 1957 a talent search and scholarship
program was begun to find talented young students to train for work in nuclear
power.
The total amount allocated under the second five-year plan
in India was Rs.48 billion. This amount was allocated among various
sectors: Power and irrigation, Social services, Communications and transport,
Miscellaneous.
The target growth rate was 4.5% and the actual growth rate was
4.27%. 1956-industrial policy
Third Plan (1961–1966)]
The third Five-year Plan stressed agriculture and
improvement in the production of wheat, but the brief Sino-Indian War
of 1962 exposed weaknesses in the economy and shifted the focus
towards the defense industry and the Indian Army. In 1965–1966, India fought
a War with Pakistan. There was also a severe drought in 1965. The
war led to inflation and the priority was shifted to price stabilization. The
construction of dams continued. Many cement and fertilizer plants
were also built. Punjab began producing an abundance of wheat.
Many primary schools were started in rural
areas. In an effort to bring democracy to the grass-root level, Panchayat elections
were started and the states were
given more development responsibilities.
State electricity boards and state secondary education boards
were formed. States were made responsible for secondary and higher
education. State road transportation corporations were formed and local
road building became a state responsibility.
The target growth rate was 5.6%, but the actual growth rate
was 2.4%.
Due to miserable failure of third plan the government was
forced to declare "plan holidays" (from 1966–67,1968–69). Three
annual plans were drawn during this intervening period .During 1966-67 there
was again the problem of drought. Equal priority was given to agriculture, its
allied activities, and industrial sector. The main reasons for plan holidays
were the war, lack of resources, and increase in inflation.
Fourth Plan (1969–1974)
At this time Indira Gandhi was the Prime
Minister. The Indira Gandhi government nationalized 14
major Indian banks and the Green Revolution in India advanced
agriculture. In addition, the situation in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
was becoming dire as the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 and Bangladesh
Liberation War took funds earmarked for industrial development had to
be diverted for the war effort. India also performed the Smiling Buddha underground nuclear test in 1974,
partially in response to the United States deployment of the Seventh
Fleet in the Bay of Bengal. The fleet had been deployed to
warn India against attacking West Pakistan and extending the
war.
The target growth rate was 5.6%, but the actual growth rate
was 3.3%.
Fifth Plan (1974–1979) The fifth Five-year Plan laid stress
on employment, poverty alleviation (Garabi Hatao),
and justice. The plan also focused onself-reliancein agricultural production and defence. In 1978 the newly
elected Morarji Desai government rejected the plan. The
Electricity Supply Act was amended in 1975, which enabled the central
government to enter into power generation and transmission.
The Indian national highway system was
introduced and many roads were widened to accommodate the increasing traffic. Tourism also
expanded.
The target growth rate was 4.4% and the actual growth rate
was 5.0.
Sixth Plan (1980–1985)]
The sixth Five-year Plan marked the beginning of economic
liberalisation. Price controls were eliminated and ration
shops were closed. This led to an increase in food prices and an increase in
the cost of living. This was the end of Nehruvian socialism.
Family planning was
also expanded in order to prevent overpopulation. In contrast to
China's strict and binding one-child policy, Indian policy did not
rely on the threat of force. More prosperous areas of India adopted family
planning more rapidly than less prosperous areas, which continued to have a
high birth rate. The sixth Five-year Plan was a great success to
Indian economy.
The target growth rate was 5.2% and the actual growth rate
was 5.4%.
Seventh Plan (1985–1990)]
The seventh Five-year Plan marked the comeback of the Congress
Party to power. The plan laid stress on improving the productivity
level of industries by upgrading of technology.
The main objectives of the seventh Five-year Plan were to
establish growth in areas of increasing economic productivity, production of
food grains, and generating employment.
As an outcome of the sixth Five-year Plan, there had been
steady growth in agriculture, controls on the rate of inflation, and favorable
balance of payments which had provided a strong base for the seventh Five-year
Plan to build on the need for further economic growth. The seventh plan had
strived towards socialism and energy production at large. The thrust areas of
the seventh Five-year Plan were: Social Justice, Removal of oppression of the
weak, Using modern technology, Agricultural development, Anti-poverty programs,
Full supply of food, clothing, and shelter, Increasing productivity of small-
and large-scale farmers, and Making India an Independent Economy.
Based on a 15-year period of striving towards steady growth,
the seventh plan was focused on achieving the pre-requisites of self-sustaining
growth by the year 2000. The plan expected a growth in labor force by 39
million people and employment was expected to grow at the rate of 4% per year.
Some of the expected outcomes of the Seventh Five Year Plan
India are given below:
·
Balance of Payments (estimates):
Export –
330
billion (US$5.0 billion), Imports – (-)
540
billion (US$8.3 billion), Trade Balance – (-)
210
billion (US$3.2 billion)
·
Projections for Balance of Payments:
Export –
607
billion (US$9.3 billion), Imports – (-)
954
billion (US$14.6 billion), Trade Balance- (-)
347
billion (US$5.3 billion)
Under the seventh Five-year Plan, India strove to bring
about a self-sustained economy in the country with valuable contributions from
voluntary agencies and the general populace.
The target growth rate was 5.0% and the actual growth rate
was 6.01%.
Eighth Plan (1992–1997)]
1989–91 was a period of economic instability in India and
hence no five-year plan was implemented. Between 1990 and 1992, there were only
Annual Plans. In 1991, India faced a crisis in Foreign Exchange (Forex)
reserves, left with reserves of only about US$1 billion. Thus, under
pressure, the country took the risk of reforming the socialist economy. P.V. Narasimha Rao was the ninth Prime Minister of the Republic of India
and head of Congress
Party, and led one of the most important
administrations in India's modern history overseeing a major economic
transformation and several incidents affecting national security. At that time
Dr. Manmohan Singh(currently, Prime Minister of India) launched India's free
market reforms that brought the nearly bankrupt nation back from the edge. It
was the beginning of privatization and liberalization in
India.
Modernization of
industries was a major highlight of the Eighth Plan. Under this plan, the
gradual opening of the Indian economy was undertaken to correct the
burgeoning deficit and foreign debt. Meanwhile India became a
member of the World Trade Organization on 1 January 1995.This
plan can be termed as Rao and Manmohan model of Economic development. The major
objectives included, controlling population growth, poverty reduction,
employment generation, strengthening the infrastructure, Institutional
building, tourism management, Human Resource development, Involvement of
Panchayat raj, Nagar Palikas, N.G.O'S and Decentralisation and people's
participation. Energy was given priority with 26.6% of the outlay. An average
annual growth rate of 6.78% against the target 5.6% was achieved.
To achieve the target of an average of 5.6% per annum,
investment of 23.2% of the gross domestic product was required. The incremental
capital ratio is 4.1.The saving for investment was to come from domestic
sources and foreign sources, with the rate of domestic saving at 21.6% of gross
domestic production and of foreign saving at 1.6% of gross domestic production.
Ninth Plan (1998 - 2002)]
The Ninth Five Year Plan came after 50 years of completion
of Indian Independence. Atal Bihari
Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of India during the Ninth Five
Year Plan. The Ninth Five Year Plan tried primarily to use the latent and
unexplored economic potential of the country to promote economic and social
growth. The Ninth Five Year Plan offered strong support to the social spheres
of the country in an effort to achieve complete elimination of poverty. The
satisfactory implementation of the Eighth Five Year Plan also ensured in the
States ability to proceed on the path of faster development. The Ninth Five
Year Plan also saw joint efforts from the public and the private sectors in
ensuring economic development of the country. In addition, the Ninth Five Year Plan
saw contributions towards development from the general public as well as
Governmental agencies in both the rural and urban areas of the country. New
implementation measures in the form of Special Action Plans (SAPs) were evolved
during the Ninth Five Year Plan to fulfill targets within the stipulated time
with adequate resources. The SAPs covered the areas of social infrastructure,
agriculture, information technology and Water policy.
Budget
The Ninth Five Year Plan had a total Public Sector Plan
outlay of 8,59,200 crores. The Ninth Five Year Plan also saw a hike of
48% in terms of plan expenditure and 33% in terms of the plan outlay in
comparison to that of the Eighth Five Year Plan. In the total outlay, the share
of the Centre was approximately 57% while it was 43% for the States and the
Union Territories.
The Ninth Five Year Plan focused the relationship between
the rapid economic growth and the quality of life for the people of the
country. The prime focus of the Ninth Five Year Plan was to increase growth in
the country with an emphasis on social justice and equity. The Ninth Five Year
Plan paid considerable importance on combining growth oriented policies with
the mission of achieving the desired objective of improving policies which
would work towards the improvement of the poor in the country. The Ninth Five
Year Plan also aimed at correcting the historical inequalities which were still
prevalent in the society.
Objectives
The main objective of the Ninth Five Year Plan was to
correct historical inequalities and increase the economic growth in the
country. Other aspects which constituted the Ninth Five Year Plan were as
follows:
1. Population control.
2. Generating employment by giving priority to agriculture
and rural development.
3. Reduction of poverty.
4. Ensuring proper availability of food and water for the
poor.
5. Availability of primary health care facilities and other
basic necessities.
6. Primary education to all children in the country.
7. Empowering the socially disadvantaged classes like
Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes and other backward classes.
8. Developing self-reliance in terms of agriculture.
9. Acceleration in the growth rate of the economy with the
help of stable prices.
Strategies
• Structural transformations and developments in the Indian
economy.
• New initiatives and initiation of corrective steps to meet
the challenges in the economy of the country.
• Efficient use of scarce resources to ensure rapid growth.
• Combination of public and private support to increase
employment.
• Enhancing high rates of export to achieve self-reliance.
• Providing services like electricity, telecommunication,
railways etc.
• Special plans to empower the socially disadvantaged
classes of the country.
• Involvement and participation of Panchayati Raj
institutions/bodies and Nagar Palikas in the development process.
Performance
• The Ninth Five Year Plan achieved a Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) growth rate of 5.4% against a target of 6.5%
• The agriculture industry grew at a rate of 2.1% against the
target of 4.2%
• The industrial growth in the country was 4.5% which was
higher than that of the target of 3%
• The service industry had a growth rate of 7.8%.
• An average annual growth rate of 6.7% was reached.
The Ninth Five Year Plan India looks through the past
weaknesses in order to frame the new measures for the overall socio-economic
development of the country. However, for a well-planned economy of any country,
there should be a combined participation of the governmental agencies along
with the general population of that nation. A combined effort of public,
private, and all levels of government is essential for ensuring the growth of
India's economy. The target growth was 7.1% and the actual growth was 6.8%.
Tenth Plan (2002–2007)]
The main objectives of the tenth Five Year Plan of India was:
·
Attain 8% GDP growth per year.
·
Reduction of poverty rate by
5 percentage points by 2007.
·
Providing gainful and high-quality
employment at least to the addition to the labor force.
·
Reduction in gender gaps in literacy
and wage rates by at least 50% by 2007.
·
20-point program was introduced.
Target growth:8.1% Growth achieved:7.7%
·
Expenditure of 43825 crores for 10th
five year plans
Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012)]
The overall and comprehensive picture of the growth and plan
performance during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007 - 2012) and performance of
various Flagship programmes being implemented in the state are presented below.
1. Economic Growth
The state economy, as measured by growth in the real Gross
State Domestic Product (GSDP), on an average is expected to grow at 8.33%
during the 11th Five Year Plan period (2007-12) - even surpassing the All
India's GDP growth of 7.94% for the same period. Interestingly, the State
economy grew faster than All-India during the 9th, 10th and 11th Five Year
Plans in which the state registered average annual growth rates of 5.59%
(5.52%), 8.19%(7.68%) and 8.33% (7.94%) respectively where the growth rates
indicated in brackets pertain to All-India. The State had set for itself a
growth target of 9.5% for the 11th Five Year Plan as against 9% for the Nation.
Although there is some shortfall in the overall achievement as compared to the
target both at the State level and at the National level, the growth
achievement, especially of the State, during the 11th Plan could still be
considered awesome, keeping in view of the fact that three years of the 11th
Plan period (2008-09, 2009-10 and 2011-12) got adversely impacted either by
global slowdown unfavorable seasonal conditions and floods.
2. Ensuring Equity and Social Justice
Consistent with recommendations of the Planning Commission
to adhere to allocations for SCs and STs in proportion to their shares in the
State population, on the average, the respective shares in the total outlays
have been maintained under Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal
Sub Plan (TSP) in the Annual Plans.
Review of performance under priority initiatives /
programmes
The following is the outcome of some of the programmes
/initiatives implemented during the 11th Five Year Plan. Some of the new
initiatives launched during this period are also outlined hereunder.
Agricultural Resurgence
The state has been implementing a number of farmer-friendly
initiatives to encourage farming in the state. These include supply of free
power to Agriculture; insulate farmers from financial losses and to restore
their credit eligibility in the event of crop loss through Agricultural
insurance, disbursement of agricultural credit, debt waiver encouraging
frame Rythu Sadassulu
practices. Continuing the benefit, the Government has once again
organized Rythu Chaitanya
Yatras during May-June 2011 in 22 districts in the state with a holistic
approach to educate the farmers at grass root level particularly small and
marginal farmers Under these Yatras, 20.47 lakh farmers have been contacted and
3.37 lakh soil samples were collected and sent to Soil testing Laboratories.
During June 2011, RythuSadassulu
were organized to explain about the various schemes pertaining to Agriculture
and its Allied sectors and to disseminate the Technological advances. Quality
seed to farmers on 50% subsidy has been supplied. Enough quantities of
fertilizers are being assured to farmers during Rabi- 2011-12. Further,
adequate and timely credit support to farmers was also ensured to the possible
extent. All-out efforts have been made to minimize pesticide consumption in the
state through motivating the farmers through Polambadi programmes to follow
Integrated Pest Management practices.
Andhra Pradesh is the first State to have promulgated an Ordinance
"Andhra Pradesh Land Licensed Cultivators Ordinance 2011", which aims
to provide loans and other benefits to the tenant farmers through issue of Loan
Eligibility Cards. With an intention to facilitate credit to tenant farmers and
ensure financial inclusion, the lists of enrolled tenant farmers who were
formed into Joint Liability Groups are made available with Banks. During
2011-12, till the end of September, an amount of ₹116 crore credit is extended
to 34,227 non- loanee farmers and an amount of ₹ 205 crore of credit was
extended to 96,845 tenant farmers. Promotion of SRI cultivation has been taken
up in a big way by providing the necessary infrastructure on 50% subsidy in all
the districts to cover an area of 3.50 lakh hectares. The State is also
implementing a scheme "Bhuchetana", as an integral part of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). To
encourage and support farmers the Government have recently launched a new
scheme to provide interest free crop loans up to ₹ 1 lakh upon prompt repayment
from Rabi, 2011, benefiting 95 lakh farmers. Priority is being given to develop
clusters for improving productivity through good horticultural practices. The
Government has formulated a State Milk Mission envisaging an outlay in excess
of ₹6000 crore spreading over a period of next five years to enhance the
production.
Health Initiatives
Rajiv Arogyasri
One of objectives of the 11th Five Year Plan is to achieve
good health for the people, especially the poor and underprivileged. Rajiv
Aarogyasri Health Scheme is being implemented through Aarogyasri Health Care
Trust in the state to assist 200 lakh poor families from catastrophic health
expenditure. Since inception of the scheme (1st April,2007) till 30th September
2011, 29,021 Medical camps were held by the network hospitals in rural areas
and 48.89 lakh patients were screened in these health camps. So far, 31.75 lakh
patients were treated as out- patients and 13.48 lakh patients treated as
in-patients in 346 network hospitals under the scheme. 11.90 lakh patients
underwent surgery / therapy at pre-authorized amount of ₹ 3,319.87 Crores.
Emergency Transport (108) and Health Information (104)
Services
Toll Free 108 Emergency Management Research
Institute (EMRI) to enable rural poor easy access to hospital
services, free of cost, in times of emergency. Further, a Caller-free Telephone
Service (104) for the rural and urban population of the State to disseminate
information, advice and guidance related to any health problem has been
undertaken by the Government. Under the 108-service scheme, 5.06 lakh patients
were transported during January to September 2011. Further, under 104-service
scheme, 1.88 Crore calls were made under the service during 2010-11. An amount
of ₹ 5891.09 crores has been spent towards Medical & Public Health sector
in the State during the 11th Plan.
Education
To make education more meaningful and effective, the State
Government has been implementing several schemes of its own and those sponsored
by the Government of India. The enrolment in the state during 2010-11 was
133.18 lakhs in all types of schools, out of which 54.64 lakhs were in Primary
schools; 23.30 lakhs in Upper Primary and 53.97 lakhs were in High schools. In
Higher Secondary, there was an enrolment of about 1.27 lakhs. The enrolment of
children consists of about 53.49% in Primary stage (I- V), 18.96% children in
upper primary (VI- VII) and 24.45% in secondary stage (VIII-X). An amount of `
5698.80 crores has been spent towards General Education in the State during the
11th Plan.
Housing and pensions under INDIRAMMA
Under Weaker Section Housing Program, from inception through
the end of March 2011, 1,00,57,318 houses have been completed: 92,42,451 in
rural areas and 8,14,867 in urban areas. During the year 2011-12 (through
September 2011), 2,21,972 houses have been completed, of which 2,06,492 are in
rural areas and 15,480 are in urban areas. Incidentally, Housing sector is the
second largest shareholder of plan budget, falling only behind the massive
Irrigation sector. A total of 71,96,034 pensions are targeted to be distributed
every month. During 2010-11, an amount of ₹1922.18 crore was distributed to
66,33,631 pensioners. For the year 2011-12, an allocation of ₹ 1922.86 Crores
was made in budget and the Government have released an amount of ₹ 1436.02
Crores and ₹ 1343.82 Crores is distributed to 68,29,962 pensioners (through
November 2011).
Self Help Groups (SHGs)
The concept of Indira Kranthi Patham has been evolved with
an objective of enabling all the rural poor families in 22 rural districts ofAndhra Pradesh to improve their livelihoods and quality of life. All
households below the poverty line, starting from the poorest of the poor are
the target group of Indira Kranthi Patham At present there are 1,11,02,494 SHG
members in 9,94,595 SHGs organized into 38,550 Village Organizations (VOs) and
1098 Mandal Samakhyas(MSs). Total savings & corpus of SHG members are ₹
3383.10 crores and ₹ 5070.51 crores respectively. Social capital created during
the project period up to September, 2011 is 1,73,841.
Social Harmony
From the year 2008-09, applications and sanction of
scholarships to S.C, S.T and B.C students were made ONLINE to ensure -that
scholarships reach the students by the 1 of every month and also to ensure
transparency by keeping all the information in the public domain. Apart from
the above, other educational and economic development programmes are also being
implemented to SC, ST, BC and Minorities. An amount of ₹10802.47 crores has
been spent towards welfare of SCs, STs, BCs and Minorities in the State during
the 11th plan
Urban Development
Economic growth, substantially driven by Industries and
Services sector is witnessing accelerated demographic expansion of urban population,
not seen during last century. The emerging challenge needs to be tackled on
multiple fronts simultaneously. An amount of ₹ 10700.45 crores have been spent
for Urban Development in the State during the 11th plan.
Industry
There are 114 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) approved
by the Government of India and of these, 75 are notified and 27 SEZs have become
operational. The projected direct employment generation is 8,50,022 and created
employment is 97763 so far. The projected investment is ₹1,05,447 crores and
achievement so far is ₹ 14,267.43 Crores. An amount of ₹ 1504.72 crores has
been spent under the Industries & Minerals sector during the 11th Plan.
Information Technology
Information Technology and Communi- cations continue to
thrive in our State. I.T. exports worth ₹ 12,521 crores during 2005-06 have
increased to ₹18,582 crores during 2006-07 and further to ₹35,022 crores during
2010-11. Similar upward surge in IT exports is expected to continue during
2011- 12 also.
Curbing Left Wing Extremism- Integrated Action Plan (IAP)
With the aim of giving a fillip to development schemes in
tribal and backward regions, mostly affected by Naxal violence,
Government of India have originally taken up an Integrated Action Plan (IAP) in
60 selected districts across the country. In Andhra Pradesh State,
the IAP programme is implemented in Khammam and Adilabad districts. However, recently,
6 more districts, namely, Srikakulam,Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East
Godavari, Warangal, and Karimnagar have been
included under IAP. These new districts are provided with an amount of ₹30.00
crore each for implementing the developmental works in the year 2011-12. It is
aimed at quick resolution of problems concerning healthcare, drinking water,
education and roads. Developmental works have been taken up in the Left-Wing
Extremism (LWE) districts on a war footing.
Twelfth Plan (2012–2017)
The Twelfth Five-Year Plan of the Government of
India has decided for the growth rate at 8.2% but National Development
Council (NDC) on 27 Dec 2012 approved 8% growth rate for 12th five-year plan.
With the deteriorating global situation, the Deputy Chairman
of the Planning Commission Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said that achieving an
average growth rate of 9 per cent in the next five years is not possible. The
Final growth target has been set at 8% by the endorsement of plan at the
National Development Council meeting held in New Delhi.
"It is not possible to think of an average of 9 per
cent (in 12th Plan). I think somewhere between 8 and 8.5 per cent is feasible,”
Mr Ahluwalia said on the sidelines of a conference of State Planning Boards and
departments. The approached paper for the 12th Plan, approved last year, talked
about an annual average growth rate of 9 per cent.
“When I say feasible...that will require major effort. If
you don’t do that, there is no God given right to grow at 8 per cent. I think
given that the world economy deteriorated very sharply over the last year...the
growth rate in the first year of the 12th Plan (2012-13) is 6.5 to 7 per cent.”
He also indicated that soon he would share his views with
other members of the Commission to choose a final number (economic growth
target) to put before the country’s NDC for its approval.
The government intends to reduce poverty by 10 per cent
during the 12th Five-Year Plan. Mr Ahluwalia said, “We aim to reduce poverty
estimates by 9 per cent annually on a sustainable basis during the Plan
period.”
Earlier, addressing a conference of State Planning Boards
and Planning departments, he said the rate of decline in poverty doubled during
the 11th Plan. The commission had said, while using the Tendulkar poverty line,
the rate of reduction in the five years between 2004–05 and 2009–10, was about
1.5 percentage points each year, which was twice that when compared to the
period between 1993-95 to 2004-05. (For Student Use)
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