Planning: Meaning, Evolution and Objectives

Planning and Development Politics

Planning: Meaning, Evolution and Objectives

Planning before Independence

Planning exists in all economies and political systems. A planned system aims at the systematic utilization of the available resources of the state for a long term progress. It is a process where the state aims to increase its output, national dividend, employment and also enhance the social welfare of the people. In such a system, all productive units in a country use their resources according to the directives of the government which is the central authority for development. It also includes laying down targets for public and private enterprises by the state. The state regulates and controls the functioning of both the private and public enterprises. All economic activities of the State are regulated by the government for the progress of the nation and the welfare of the people.

The modern state assumes welfare functions. Unlike the olden days, when states were “police states” concerned only with the security of the population and law and order, the welfare states have a wider role to play. They not only give good governance but also ensure socio-economic justice to the people. The democratic form of government gives opportunities and scope to realise the welfare state objectives of the modern state. The state recommends and implements socio economic reforms so that nations can shed their backwardness and move towards development. In India, the Planning Commission was set up with the objective of having a systematic process of planning in the nation so that the right strategy could be used for the appropriate utilization of resources of the country, for the needs of the present and the development of the future.

The need for economic planning was realized in India even before independence. In 1936, M.Visvesvarayya published a book entitled ‘Planned Economy for India’ in which he proposed a ten year plan for India. He is considered a pioneer of economic planning in India. In 1938, the National Planning Committee was initiated within the All India Congress Committee by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. It had the task of preparing an economic plan for India so that many of the economic problems of the nation could be addressed. The committee could not complete its task due to the outbreak of the world war II and the imprisonment of some of the national leaders. In 1944, the Bombay Plan was prepared for economic development by Indian industrialists M.N.Roy. He proposed a plan which was called People’s plan which gave more importance to agriculture and small scale industries. Later, the Gandhian Plan was put forward by Shriman Narayan Agarwal in 1944 and in 1950 Jayaprakash Narayan drafted the Sarvodaya plan. All these plans aimed at improving the economic conditions of the nation.

Planning after Independence

After Independence, the Directive Principles of State Policy were enshrined in Part IV of the Indian constitution to ensure socio-economic justice for the people. The constitution makers understood the importance of economic development along with guaranteeing social justice. Thus planning was considered essential for the long term development. Accordingly, the Government of India adopted planning as a means of fostering economic development. The Planning Commission was set up with the objective of increasing production so that higher levels of national and per capita income could be achieved. It aimed at guaranteeing employment and narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor. It also aimed at establishing an egalitarian society by giving a wider role to the state so that the goal of socio-economic justice could be guaranteed and economic development could be realised.

Activity

Group Discussion

Teacher can divide the class into five groups. Each group consists of three or five members and discuss the examples given below in the class.

What may be development for one may not be development for the other. Discuss.

Example 1: More wages means development for a worker, but it can go against the entrepreneur.

Example 2: A rich farmer or trader wants to sell food grains at a higher prices but a poor worker wants to purchase it for low prices.

Example 3: Construction of a dam means more and cheap power, but people who will lose their habitat will demonstrtate.

Example 4: TO get more electricity, the industrialists may want more dams. But this may submerge the agricultural land and disrupt the lives of the people.

In this scenario it is worthy to follow the concept of sustainable development.