13.4.17

The end of Five Year Plans

Five-year plan, a relic of Nehru-era economic policy, will officially be buried as Niti Aayog's governing council is likely to approve the government's new policy document : three-year action plan (2017-2020). The government had announced that it would junk the decades-old practice of five-year plans after the 12th Plan ended on March 31, and replace it with three-year action plan and 15-year vision document. It will also come out with a seven-year strategy paper.

BJP dispensation's first key policy document related to planning needs approval of Niti Aayog's high-powered governing council, which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has all chief ministers, administrators of Union Territories and senior cabinet ministers as members.

The government's premier think tank has forwarded the key document to the Prime Minister's Office for final vetting. The action plan is aimed at accelerating economic growth and making it more inclusive by focusing on employment generation.

The action plan is likely to take into account the impact of demonetisation on the economy , especially on informal sector. The three-year action plan will not contain revenue projection for 2017-18, though it will have details for 2018-19 and 2019-20.

The Aayog is also working on the 15-year vision document and seven-year strategy paper which will guide the government's development works till 2030. As per the plan, the vision document will be reviewed every three years, with the first appraisal in 2019-20, when the next Finance Commission award is implemented.

As the 14th Finance Commission recommendations have altered the revenue sharing pattern in favour of states, the Centre is expected to focus more on transformative ideas.

In the new system, the allocations of funds to states will be linked to achieving targets specified for each sector. The Modi government had abolished the Planning Commission, which was set up by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1950, in 2014 and replaced it with Niti Aayog.

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