India’s Five Year Plans at a Glance

The development plans are drawn by the Planning Commission to establish India’s economy on a socialistic pattern in successive phases of five year Periods-called the Five Year Plans.

The organisation was set up to formulate basic economic policies, draft plans and watch its progress and implementation. It consists of:

(I) Planning Commission of India

(ii) National Planning Council

(iii) National Development Council and State Planning Commissions

In July 1951, the Planning Commission issued the draft outline of the First Five Year Plan for the period April 1951 to March 1956. It was presented to the Parliament in December 1952. In the First Plan, agriculture received the main thrust, for sustaining of growth and development of industries which would not be possible without a significant rise in the yield of raw materials and food.

i) To increase food production.

ii) To fully utilise available raw materials.

iii) To check inflationary pressure.

Outlay: The total proposed outlay was Rs. 3,870 crore.

The main objective was to launch upon industrialisation and strengthen the industrial base of the economy. It was in this light that the 1948 Industrial Policy Resolution was revised and a new resolution of 1956 was adopted. The Second Plan started with an emphasis on the expansion of the public sector and aimed at the establishment of a socialistic pattern of society.

i) A sizeable increase in national income so as to raise the level of living.

ii) Rapid industrialisation of the country with particular emphasis on the development of basic and key industries.

Outlay: The Second Plan proposed a total public sector outlay of Rs. 4,800 crores though actual outlay was only Rs. 4,672 crore.

In the third Plan, the emphasis was on long-term development. The Third Plan report stated that during the five-year period concerned, the Indian economy “must not only expand rapidly but, at the same time, become self-reliant and self-generating.”

i) An increase in national income of more than 5 per cent annually. The investment pattern laid down must be capable of sustaining this growth rate in the subsequent years.

ii) An increase in the agricultural produce and to achieve self sufficiency by increasing food grain production.

iii) Greater equality of opportunities, more even distribution of economic power and reducing wealth and income disparities.

After the ‘Plan Holiday’, the Fourth Plan was begun in 1969.

i) To achieve stability and progress towards self-reliance.

ii) To achieve an overall rate of growth of 5.7 per cent annually.

iii) To raise exports at the rate of 7 per cent annually.

Outlay: The total proposed outlay was Rs. 24,880 crore, which included Rs. 15,900 crores as public sector outlay and Rs. 8,980 crore as private sector outlay.

The Plan was formulated against the background of sever inflationary pressure.

Objectives: In addition to removal of poverty and attainment of self-reliance, the Fifth Plan had the following major objectives.

i) 5.5 per cent overall rate of growth in Gross Domestic objectives.

ii) Expansion of productive employment and fuller utilisation of existing skills and equipment.

iii) A national programme for minimum needs and extended programmes of social welfare.

Outlay: A total outlay of Rs. 53,410 crore was proposed for the Fifth Plan.

The draft of the Sixth Five Year Plan (1978-1983) was presented in 1978. However, the plan was terminated with the change of Government in January 1980. The new Sixth Five Year Plan was implemented in April 1980.

i) To eliminate unemployment and underemployment.

ii) To raise the standard of living of the poorest of masses.

iii) To reduce disparities in income and wealth.

Outlay: The proposed outlay for the Sixth Plan totalled Rs.
1, 58, 710 crore.

The draft of the Seventh Plan was approved on November 9, 1985 by the National Development Council. The plan was part of the long-term plan for the period of 15 years.

i) Decentralisation of planning and full public participation in development.

ii) The maximum possible generation of productive employment.

iii) Removal of poverty and reduction in income disparities.

The Eighth Plan proposed a growth rate of 5.6 per cent per annum on an average during the plan period. The Eighth Plan focused on (i) clear prioritisation of sectors/projects for investment in order to facilitate implementation of the policy initiatives taken in the areas of fiscal, trade and industrial sectors and human development.

i) Generation of adequate employment of achieve near full employment level by the turn of the century.

ii) Containment of population growth through people’s active co-operation and an effective scheme of incentives and disincentives.

iii) Universalisation of elementary education and complete eradication of illiteracy among the people in the age group of 15 to 35 years.

It began on April 1, 1997. The Ninth Plan was the first concrete attempt to translate the programme of economic reforms and the New Economic Policy within the framework of an indicative Plan. The Approach Paper to the Ninth Plan (1997-2002) was approved by the N.D.C. on 16th January, 1997.

i.) Priority to agriculture and rural development

ii.) Accelerating growth rate of economy

iii.) Food and nutritional security for all

iv.) Containing growth rate of population

v.) Empowerment of women and socially disadvantaged groups such as SC/ST, backward classes and minorities.

vi.) Promoting and developing participatory institutions like “Panchayati Raj” institutions, co-operatives and self-help groups.

On December 21, 2002, the Tenth Five Year Plan was approved by the National Development Council (NDC). The Plan has further developed the NDC mandated objectives, of doubling per capita income in 10 years, and achieving a growth rate of 8% of GDP per annum. An 8% growth rate is considered necessary for achieving the social and economic targets of Tenth Plan Keeping in mind decadal growth performance and the steady acceleration that the country has recorded in growth over the past two decades, it is a realisable target. The plan has a number of new features, such as, for the first time

(a) It recognises the rapid growth of labour force over the next decade

(b) Addresses the issue of poverty and the unacceptably low levels of social indicators

(c) Adopted a “differential development strategy” to equate national targets into balanced regional development as there is vast difference in the potentials and constraints of each state

(d) Recognises that the governance is perhaps one of the most important factors for ensuring realisation of the Plan

(e) Identifies measures to improve efficiency, unleash entrepreneurial energy, and promote rapid and sustainable growth

(f) Proposes major reforms for agricultural sector making ‘agriculture’ the core element of the Plan.

Since economic growth is not the only objective, the Plan aims at harnessing the benefits of growth to improve the quality of life of the people by setting the following key targets:

1. All children to be in school by 2003 and all children to complete five years of schooling by 2007

2. Reduction in poverty ratio from 26% to 21%

3. Growth in gainful employment to, at least, keep pace with addition to the labour force

4. Decadal population growth to reduce from 21.3% in 1991-2001 to 16.2% by 2001-11

5. Reducing gender gaps in literacy and wage rates by 50%

6. Literacy rate to increase from 65% in 1999-2000 to 75% in 2001

7. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) to be reduced from 72 in 1999-2000, to 45 in 2007

8. .Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) to be reduced from 4 per 1000 in 1999-2000 to 2 per 1000 in 2007

9. Providing portable drinking water in all villages

10. Cleaning of major polluted river stretches

11. Increase in forest/tree cover from 19% in 1999-2000 to 25% in 2007

The United Progressive Alliance government issued a paper in the eleventh plan titled “Towards faster and more inclusive growth.” According to the approach paper, the monitorable targets of five-year plan are:

1. GDP growth rate to be increased to 10% by the end of the plan;

2. Farm sector growth to be increased to 4%;

3. Creation of seven crore job opportunities;

4. Reduce educated unemployed youth to below 5 percent

5. Infant mortality rates to be reduced to 28 per 1000 births;

6. Maternal death rates to be reduced to 1 per 1000 births;

7. Clean drinking water to all by 2009;

8. Improve sex ratio to 935 by 2011-12 and to 950 by 2016-17;

9. Ensure electricity connection to all villages and broadband over power lines (BPL) households by 2009

10. Roads to all villages that have a population of 1000 and above by 2009;

11. Increase forest and tree cover by 5%;

12. Achieve the World Health Organization standard air quality in major cities by 2011-12;

13. Treat all urban wastewater by 2011-12 to clean river waters;