Objectives of Current 12th 5 year plan (2012-17)

1. CURRENT FIVE YEAR PLAN (2012- 2017)

2. India at the time of independence was left with crippling economy by
British, which needed attention and well planned strategies to boom again
in the global market. The Planning Commission was set up by a
Resolution of the Government of India in March 1950 in pursuance of
declared objectives of the Government to promote a rapid rise in the
standard of living of the people by efficient exploitation of the resources
of the country, increasing production and offering opportunities to all for
employment in the service of the community.
3. The Planning Commission was charged with the responsibility of
making assessment of all resources of the country, augmenting deficient
resources, formulating plans for the most effective and balanced
utilization of resources and determining priorities.
4. Five year plan objectives: To deal with disparity of income and
wealth Govt. activism required for socially desirable activities with
available resources and foreign exchange Govt. intervention required
for development of infrastructure Balanced regional development.
5. ECONOMIC GROWTH In the 12th five year plan, 9% GDP growth is
expected. Higher investment and fund mobilization will induce market
development and employment. Well regulated and integrated markets
would generate enough jobs and live hood opportunities. Development
through efficient capital markets and public private partnership will
further boost the economy and thus may sustain the growth rate of 9 %.
Growth of a sector through PPP model would lead to decentralization of
economies and inclusion of various sectors, such that a parallel economic
development is induced from this Multi-Sectoral growth approach.
6. AGRICULTURE India is now self dependent for domestic food demands as
a result of green revolution and previous five year plans. Rural economy
growth has to be enhanced by sustained agriculture growth and
development of rural areas by providing rural infrastructure and
amenities. A balanced regional development can be achieved through
agro- dependent sectors. Innovative technologies and open-market
economies would enhance HDI of rural population. For all perishable
products investments and institutional development are more important
than subsidies or price support systems. Forest economies and tribal
societies need greater protection and promotion
7. TRANSPORTATION In order to attain an overall growth urban
governance, urban renewal, finance and urban transportation reforms
should be focused. Adequate transport facilities would result in efficient
distribution network, thereby reducing in accessibility and consequently
save the cost involved. Improved connectivity would also help in managing
urbanization and reduction of migration in metro cities, leading to

development of small and medium town. Energy efficient transport

systems needs to be incorporated with emphasis on eco-friendly and
renewable resources.
8. ENVIRONMENT With the fast pace of industrialisation, India is already
loosing area under forest cover rapidly. More human interventions will
lead to severe loss of habitat. Environmental degradation and
ecological imbalance are the two aspects which result out of development
initiatives at local and global levels. Growth of economy without
compromising on environment is a key issue to be addressed as,
sustainable growth is essential now. Technological advancement,
equitable distribution, affordability along with public awareness is major
points of concern.
9. DECENTRALIZATION Previous five years plans have faced the
reluctance of public participation.The 12th five year plan however talks
about decentralization, empowerment and information. The policy
making process should trickles down to the lowest level of society and
more people should have a say in the process. Citizens should be well
informed and more powers should be given to the public to efficiently
convey the issues by letting people know their powers and rights.
10. TECHNOLOGY Globalization has led to rapid industrialization and
competition in the market. Technological and organizational innovation
will help to enhance productivity and efficiency. Technological
innovations leads to faster results and organizational innovation would
help in efficient utilization of resources, facilitated by providing incentives
and tax subsidies.
11. HEALTH CARE Healthcare conditions are improving in the country but
its affordability and accessibility is still an area to be focused on. Curative
and preventive healthcare would help in increasing general quality of life.
Focus on women and children is essential but importance to elderly
class and handicaps in order to achieve inclusive healthcare development
is essential. Shortage of qualified medical personnel at all levels is a
major hurdle in improving the outreach of the healthcare system,
especially the public health facilities
12. ENERGY Energy being the wheel of growth has to be focused to
ensure faster and inclusive growth. Dependency on traditional energy
resources has to be reduced with more emphasis on domestic renewable
energy production.Use of Non Renewable Sources of Energy being
restricted to priority based industries while promoting Non-Conventional
Energy Resources for rest of the sector. Nuclear power program must
continue, with necessary safety review. Active efforts need to be made to
allay the apprehensions of people regarding the safety of nuclear power
plants. Solar mission is seriously underfunded and requires more
support. Wind power too requires greater support, especially for off-shore
locations which have not been sufficiently explored

13. EDUCATION Education being a concerned sector in five year plans

has to be now emphasized more on accessibility, affordability and quality.
The employability is to be increased for optimum exploitation of
human resources. Improvement in educational infrastructure, research
and developments. Vocational education will need to be given greater
emphasis and made more attractive. Skill Development needs a major
focus at all levels.
14. CONCLUSION The economy will enter the 12th plan period in an
environment of great promise but also one that presents major
challenges. India has done well on the growth front, but not so well on
inclusion. Much of what needs to be done to accelerate GDP growth to 9%
so will be done by the private sector, but the central and state
governments have a crucial role to play in providing a policy environment
that is seen as investor friendly and is supportive of inclusive growth.
Finally, the efficiency in implementation of projects on the ground needs
to be greatly improved.
15. Most of what needs to be done in this context rests with state
governments but the central government must find ways of improving
project design, prioritizing resources to fund well designed interventions
that work, devolving resources to lower levels and helping build capacity.
Evidence-based evaluation is critical for redesign and prioritization.

As Indias government prepares to submit its approach paper for its 12th five-year plan (a plan which covers years
2012 to 2017), the Planning Commissions focus on instilling inclusive growth is making headway. The plan is
expected to be one that encourages the development of Indias agriculture, education, health and social welfare
through government spending. It is also expected to create employment through developing Indias manufacturing
sector and move the nation higher up the value chain. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, however, warned that
maintaining fiscal discipline is important as well.
The commission will likely strive to enact policies that will achieve somewhere around a 10 percent growth rate in
factories and a 4 percent growth rate in farm produce, though Prime Minister Singh has asked the plan to set the
nations growth rate firmly at 9 percent to 9.5 percent.
Come May, a view into the implementation of these goals should be apparent. A question that Indias government will
have to grapple with, much like that of any emerging market, is whether to continue to focus on GDP growth in the
face of soaring food prices and economy-wide inflation.
An important aspect of generating inclusive growth is shifting the target of government aid to rural areas. Typically,
large projects such as power generation, roads whereby freight can travel, and airports receive the lions share of
government subsidies, while rural infrastructure receives comparatively little.
A recent op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal by Saurabh Tripathi, a partner with Boston Consulting Group, echoed
these sentiments.
Rural infrastructure, which serves 70 percent of the population, doesnt get the attention it deserves. As the Planning
Commission sets out to draft the countrys planned investments for the next five years, it is important to take note of
this gap, and the innovative solutions needed to fill it, Tripathi wrote.
As indicated from the planning commissions presentation to the prime minister on April 21, the quantitative metrics
known thus far in the early stage of the five-year plan are:
A target of GDP growth in the 9 percent to 9.5 percent range
An increase in literacy rates to 100 percent between the plans period from 2012 to 2017
An increased expenditure on health from 1.3 percent to 2.0 percent of GDP
In a boon for industry, the planning commission indicated that it aims to have industry and manufacturing-related
activities grow by 11 percent over the next five years, contrasted to 8 percent over the previous 11th five-year plan. It
also aims to undertake somewhat vaguely defined, but certainly well-intentioned, structural and regulatory reforms to
facilitate investment.

The presentation highlighted the planning commissions views that commercial energy demand is expected to
increase by 7 percent per year over the next five years.
To address that increase in demand, the planning commission recommended that all methods of current energy
production and distribution be developed, from coal to nuclear energy to solar and wind, and proposed that existing
taxes on electricity should not be raised.
Interestingly, the Planning Commission envisioned an expansive role for Indian SOE Coal India:
Coal India must become a coal supplier and not just a mining company. Should plan to import coal to meet coal
demands. This requires blending of imported and domestic coal as supplied by Coal India.
All told, in its early stages, the 12th five-year plan promises a lot for rural development and growth. In that sense, it is
similar to Chinas latest iteration of its five-year plan, which seeks to improve the lot of rural Chinese peoples by
increasing urbanization and industrial efforts in central and western China. But, by contrast, while the Chinese
government seems to be continuing with nation-wide industrialization efforts, the Indian government may be
attempting to promote a policy of reverse migration by making rural living more attractive with some access to
modern amenities, but hopefully without the accompanying chaos that goes with it.

GDP:
The value of a country's overall output of goods and services (typically during one
fiscal year) at market prices, excluding net income from abroad.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) can be estimated in three ways which, in theory,
should yield identical figures. They are
(1) Expenditure basis: how much money was spent,
(2) Output basis: how many goods and services were sold, and
(3) Income basis: how much income (profit) was earned.
These estimates, published quarterly, are constantly revised to approach greater
accuracy. The most closely watched data is the period to period change in output
and consumption, in real (inflation adjusted) terms. If indirect taxes are deducted
from the market prices and subsidies are added, it is called GDP at factor cost or
national dividend. If depreciation of the national capital stock is deducted from the
GDP, it is called net domestic product. If income from abroad is added, it is called
gross national product (GNP). The main criticisms of GDP as a realistic guide to a
nation's well-being are that
(1) it is preoccupied with indiscriminate production and consumption, and
(2) it includes the cost of damage caused by pollution as a positive factor in its
calculations, while excluding the lost value of depleted natural resources and unpaid
costs of environmental harm.