20.8.14

Plan Panel 2.0

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought suggestions from the public for the new entity that will replace the 64-year-old Nehru-era Planning Commission, days after he scrapped the body that charts out five-year growth plans. A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said the PM has invited ideas from the people on what shape the new institution can take to replace the Planning Commission. A special open forum has been created on the website mygov.nic.in for suggestions on the new institution. “We envision the proposed institution as one that caters to the aspirations of 21st century India and strengthens participation of the states….Let the ideas flow,” the PM said.
The government had finalized the name of the mega financial inclusion package, Jan Dhan, which Modi unveiled on August 15 through a contest on the MyGov portal. It has emerged as a crucial platform for interacting with the PM and sharing innovative ideas on various issues. The PM has so far used social media to communicate with the people.
Sources said the contours of the new entity were still being worked out and the PM had only announced the scrapping of the plan panel. Modi, in his maiden Independence Day speech, had said the Planning Commission, a Soviet era relic, would be replaced by a new entity, which would have representation from states. “So, I am saying from the rampart of the Red Fort that it is a very old system and it will have to be rejuvenated, it will have to be changed a lot. Sometimes it costs more to repair the old house, but, it gives us no satisfaction.“Thereafter, we have a feeling that it would be better to construct a new house altogether and therefore within a short period, we will replace the Planning Commission with a new institution ....,“ the PM had said, adding that the it would be a “new body with a new soul and new thinking.“
The announcement marked the end of the Five year Plans that was a key feature of governance in India since 1950 when the Planning Commission was set up by Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first Prime Minister. The current FiveYear Plan (2012-2017) would be implemented and the new entity would chalk out the future direction. Some of the functions and responsibilities of the commission are expected to be handed over to the finance ministry. More than 1,500 employees of the plan panel are anxious about their status.
The Planning Commission, headed by a deputy chairman, and reporting to the PM, played a crucial role in the distribution of resources but has faced stinging criticism in recent years for losing its relevance. Critics have said it was a “parking lot for cronies” and had limited impact in a market economy.
Former Power minister Suresh Prabhu has emerged as the front-runner to be the deputy chairman of the revamped Planning Commission. Sources have said the BJP may opt for the Shiv Sena politician and the architect of electricity sector reforms to be the deputy chairman of the commission, although there are other contenders. Prabhu is currently heading an advisory body in the power ministry. Congress on Tuesday slammed PM Narendra Modi's announcement to wind up the Planning Commission as “knee-jerk and half baked decision“, saying he had dealt a blow to federalism.AICC spokesman Anand Sharma said the fact that Modi has now called for suggestions on an alternative to the Plan panel shows he has no plan. “The PM should have taken on board the views of chief ministers before taking such a decision. He should have called a meeting of the National Development Council to discuss it,“ he said.
Meanwhile, criticizing the move, CPM said this is an “arbitrary and ad hoc move that will only facilitate the further private capital profit maximization at the expense of curtailing even the existing meagre resource allocation for peoples' welfare programmes.“

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