Five year plan targets to be bigger than economics

The XII Five-Year Plan (2012-17) document is likely to also be a vision statement, encompassing broader issues that impact the India [ Images ] growth story and not just economic ones.

The rise of Islam as a reaction to totalitarian regimes, growing aspirations of marginalised communities within India, youth violence and restiveness in society because of economic disparity are among the factors that will find a mention.

The Planning Commission, having a re-look at its approach to the Plan, has also identified increasing violence in society, the rise of regional identities, dishonesty and failure of privately-run and government institutions, inadequate resources of water and energy, and a changing world order as key factors impacting economic growth.

The fresh parameters will be part of the first volume of the final document, which contains strategies and goals. These ideas were discussed at a Commission meeting earlier this month. Fine-tuning was done at a meeting. The parameters, if accepted, will give a new dimension to the Plan process and could be a vision document of the country's economic and non-economic scenarios over 10-15 years.

Narratives on how the demographic dividend that India is set to get over that time and how that will pan out across the country; the economic impact of changing world forces such as growth of China and its ambitions; challenges in democratic politics; ubiquity of information and proliferation of channels of communication could also form part of the document.

"The five narratives are independent of each other and are also linked," a senior Commission official said. It has pegged average annual growth rates at both nine and 9.5 per cent during the Plan period. The panel will not revisit the targets in the approach paper, which was cleared by the National Development Council in October.

The Commission estimated the country achieved average annual growth of 8.2 per cent in the XI Plan that ends this March. On the broader economic front, the document is expected to talk about adopting models of growth that will create more opportunities to earn income and hasten the pace of inclusion. "This approach is ore sustainable that the other approach that is based on handouts," the official said.

The document is also likely to talk about innovations in the democratic process with effective participation of citizens, helping channelise growing restiveness among youth.

Source: http://www.rediff.com/business/report/five-year-plans-sweep-to-be-wider-than-economics/20120123.htm
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