PLANNING IN INDIAN ECONOMY

The Planning commission in India is made by central body. The ex-officio chairman of this commission is the Prime Minister. This commission was constituted on 15th March, 1950. There is hardly any provision for Planning Commission in the Constitution of India. It was constituted in the form of a specialist and an advisory institution. The Union Cabinet constituted it on the proposal of the member of the parliament. The government has changed its structure and organization from time to time. The first Chairman of the Planning Commission was Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. There are different types of planning in the Indian economy. It includes Imperative Planning, Indicative Planning, Perspective Planning, Rolling Plan and Core Plan. In this type of planning the Central Planning authority takes decision upon every aspect of the economy and the targets that are fixed to achieve those goals are required to be followed strictly. This type of the planning is mainly followed in the socialist economies. In the indicative planning the state is likely to fix the broad parameters and aims for the economy. It is different from that of the centralized planning because in the latter one the state does not see the plans with the minute details and over view things on the broad parameter. It only indicates the aims and the targets that are required to be achieved.

It has been followed by the country since the 8th Five Year Plan as it has been already practiced in many of the developed countries. The perspective planning is another important type of the planning. However it is for the long period of the time which is normally the span of 15 to 20 years. It is operationalised with the help of the Five year plan and the annual plans and considered as the highly specialized task. In such types of the planning the planners formulate the perspective plan that defines direction to be used by the economy. Under the scheme of rolling plans there are three different types of the steps. The plan for the current that includes the annual budget is the first step in this regard. The second step is the plan for the next fixed number of the years that may be three, four or five etc. The changes are made in the economy as per the requirements. The perspective plan is made for the 10, 15 or 20 years. As per the concept of the core plan, the planning commission asks the state for submitting the project revenue estimates. On the basis of the estimates, the planning commission explains the expenditure heads for state annual plans. This plan helps to keep the targets within the limits that are realistic.

It also prevents the diversion of funds from the top priority to the accounts that are non plan. The concept of the core plan has been out recently. The planning in the economy is of vital importance and it requires a lot of attention. The Indian economy is very flexible and the members of the economy are appointed by the government. There is no fixed time period for the members of the planning commission and the Deputy Chairman. The government is liable to change the strength or the number of its members. The Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission plays the role and enjoy the status of the cabinet rank minister. The commission also gives the estimation about the human resource and also the physical capital. It also prepares the plan for use of the natural resources in an effective and impartial way so that no discrimination is done by the wasting the natural resources in an improper way. The Commission tries to make the analysis in a critical way of each step and also gives the feedback in the form of the reformative suggestions. The National Development Council gives the final clearance to the planning. The planning is done in a way such that effective results can be taken out. The planning for the economy is a very crucial matter as it affects the whole country and per capita income too. The living standards can be improved only if the resources are used in a better way. The National Development Council was made on 6th August, 1952. The ex-officio Chairman and the Secretary of the Planning Commission is the Prime Minister only. The Chief Minister of all the states and the members of this commission are also the members of the National Development Council. It is the constitutional body. Its target is to initiate the cooperative environment for economic planning between the planning commission and the states. The main function of the National Development Council includes the management of the plans in proper span of the time, the analysis of the policies that put impact on the development. It also gives suggestions to get the aim fixed in the plans. It gives the final shape to the whole plan. There are different models that are used for the development of the economics.

The Nehru Mahalanobis Model, The Gandhian Model of the Growth, LPG Model of Development and PURA model of the development are all used for the economic development in the country. It helps to maintain the economic balance in the country. The models emerge as the driving force of the development strategy at the time of the formulation of the Second Five year plan. It also aims at the enlargement of the chances for the less privileged sections of the society. The poorer sections are benefited through this scheme. The Nehru Mahalanobis model of development has been proved as the driving force of the strategy for the purpose of the development. This scheme has been continued right up to the eighties. It targets for the enlargement of the opportunity for the poor section. The growth with social justice was the main aim of this model. This model intends maintain the self generating path of development with an assurance to problems of the common man that poverty, disease, unemployment and ignorance would be removed so that individual could get their potential with the more of the economic and the social opportunity. The model helps to extend the oppotunities that are social and economic in nature. The state controlled the commanding heights of the economy with the help of the public sector. The another model that is needed to be discussed is the Gandhian Model of the growth and the plan of Gandhian model of the growth was started by Acharya S.N. Agarwala in 1944 and was re-affirmed in 1948. It normally forms the basis of this model that is known as the Gandhian model of the growth. The basic aim of this model is to raise the material as well as level of the culture of the masses of India. It basically gives us the basics of the standard of life. It aims primarily at the improvement of the economic conditions of the backward classes and also the villages and hence it put a great impact on the development of the cottage and the village industries.

The Gandhian model aims at the reform of the agriculture which is the most important and the biggest sector of the Indian economy. The main aim of this model is to attain the sufficiency in the communities of the village. The plan puts impact on the rehabilitation, the expansion and the development of the cottage industries along with the agriculture and small scale industries. The processes of the spinning and the weaving were given the priority. The prime importance was thought to be given to the heavy industries that are on large scale. This model gives the priority to the agriculture that is in support with the cottage and the handicrafts industries. The LPG model of the developement was taken out in 1991 and it was introduced by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. This model put focus on the liberisation and the globalisation along with the other feature of the privatisation. LPG model of development puts an impact on the bigger role for the private sector. The foriegn direct investment was encouraged so that the growth process in the country could be increased to the substantial level. It aims at the reducing the role of state in a significant manner and hence it abandons the planning more in the favour of the liberisation and market driven development process. The PURA model of development came in to existence in 2004 for bridging the rural urban parties. The PURA stands for the Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Area. Mahatama Gandhi highlighted the exploitation done to the weaker section. The main aim of PURA is to increase economic development without the transfer of the population. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam has given importance to remove poverty from India after Mahatama Gandhi. It helps to create the social and economic infrastructure. It can create climate that is conducive by the private sector in the rural areas. The PURA model draws its inspiration from the Gandhian model only.