Planning (Part – I)

The following were the original objectives of economic planning in India:

• Economic Development: This is the main objective of planning in India. Economic Development of India is measured by the increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India and Per Capita Income
• Increased Levels of Employment: An important aim of economic planning in India is to better utilise the available human resources of the country by increasing employment levels.
• Self-Sufficiency: India aims to be self-sufficient in major commodities and also increase exports through economic planning. The Indian economy had reached the take-off stage of development during the third five-year plan in 1961-66.
• Economic Stability: Economic planning in India also aims at stable market conditions in addition to the economic growth of India. This means keeping inflation low while also making sure that deflation in prices does not happen. If the wholesale price index rises very high or very low, structural defects in the economy are created and economic planning aims to avoid this.
  Social Welfare and Provision of Efficient Social Services: The objectives of all the five year plans as well as plans suggested by the NITI Aayog aim to increase labour welfare, social welfare for all sections of the society. Development of social services in India, such as education, healthcare and emergency services have been part of planning in India.
• Regional Development: Economic planning in India aims to reduce regional disparities in development. For example,
  some states like Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are relatively well-developed economically while states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Assam and Nagaland are economically backward. Others like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have uneven development with world-class economic centres in cities and a relatively less developed hinterland. Planning in India aims to study these disparities and suggest strategies to reduce them.
  Comprehensive and Sustainable Development: The development of all economic sectors such as agriculture, industry, and services is one of the major objectives of economic planning.
• Reduction in Economic Inequality: Measures to reduce inequality through progressive taxation, employment generation and reservation of jobs have been a central objective of Indian economic planning since independence.
• Social Justice: This objective of planning is related to all the other objectives and has been a central focus of planning in India. It aims to reduce the population of people living below the poverty line and provide them access to employment and social services.
• Increased Standard of Living: Increasing the standard of living by increasing the per capita income and equal distribution of income is one of the main aims of India's economic planning.

Finance Commission determines the method and formula for distributing the tax proceeds between the Centre and States, and among the States as per the constitutional arrangement and present requirements. It recommends grants to States on revenue account under Article 275 of Indian Constitution. While the Planning Commission was responsible to formulate Five Year Plans for social and economic development of India, which needed the review of both capital and revenue requirements of the States. Hence, statement of option (b) is correct.

The Finance Commission Rules, 1951, lay down the criteria for being members of the constitutional body: those having special knowledge of finance and accounts of government with wide knowledge and experience in financial matters and in administration, or with special knowledge of economics, and those who have been qualified to be appointed as a judge of a High Court. Therefore, any member of the erstwhile Planning Commission holding the above eligibility could also become a member of the Finance Commission. Over a period of time the working of both the institutions led to friction among them due to lack of clear-cut guidelines demarcating their areas of work. Citing the overlap of Finance Commission with the Planning Commission and the resultant anomalies, the Second Finance Commission stated that it had become a "statutory body with limited functions". This constitutional debasement ended on 1 January, 2015, when the Planning Commission was dissolved. Thus, statements of option (c) and (d) are incorrect.

The Planning Commission was established by a government resolution in March 1950 to guide India's economic and social development. Its main functions included assessing resources, formulating development plans, prioritizing resource allocation, and monitoring plan implementation.
The Planning Commission was not a formal cabinet body, but its influence over economic policy led to it being informally called the "Economic Cabinet". While influential, the Planning Commission also faced criticism for being a bureaucratic body that stifled economic growth. In 2015, the Planning Commission was dissolved and replaced by the NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India), a more flexible and collaborative body.

NDC has been proposed to be abolished. But till date no resolution has been passed to abolish it. Since the inception of NITI Aayog's Governing Council (which has almost the same composition and roles as NDC), the NDC has had no work assigned to it nor did it have any meetings.

NDC has been proposed to be abolished. But till date no resolution has been passed to abolish it. Since the inception of NITI Aayog's Governing Council (which has almost the same composition and roles as NDC), the NDC has had no work assigned to it nor did it have any meetings.

NDC has been proposed to be abolished. But till date no resolution has been passed to abolish it. Since the inception of NITI Aayog's Governing Council (which has almost the same composition and roles as NDC), the NDC has had no work assigned to it nor did it have any meetings.