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Government okays Ninth Plan, PM's special plans included

The government today approved the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997 to 2002), envisaging a plan size of Rs 8.59 trillion with the gross budgetary support being maintained at Rs 3.74 trillion.

The nod to the document was given in New Delhi on Saturday afternoon by the Union Cabinet at its two-hour meeting, presided by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who is also the chairman of the Planning Commission.

The plan incorporates Special Action Plans or SAPs in five areas, containing a provision of Rs 219.46 billion. The SAPs, which were circulated to the states for comments, have been fully integrated into the document.

This means that the National Development Council is likely to approve the document as it is because the states' views have already been taken into account.

The NDC is to meet in a month's time to finally approve the plan as a minimum of three weeks notice is required for convening its meeting.

A Planning Commission official said this would not be later than the third week of February. Efforts would, however, be made to approve it before the presentation of the Union Budget for 1999-2000.

Planning Commission member-secretary S R Hashim said the growth rate for the plan period had been scaled down to 6.5 per cent per annum from the approach paper projection of seven per cent. This was largely on account of the poor performance. But as revival of the economy was around the corner, the next three years would see a growth rate of seven per cent.

Hashim said the SAPs of the prime minister had been incorporated in the plan, involving an expenditure of Rs 220 billion.

This involved cutting expenditure on non-SAP areas by five per cent to six per cent. The growth rate assumed for the entire period of the plan was 6.5 per cent.

The fiscal deficit of the plan period is five per cent and assumptions have been made about expenditure and revenue, Hashim said.

Asked to comment on the widespread speculation that the finance ministry would propose a cut, he said Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha did not do this.

All the ministers gave their comments on the plan and how it would affect their respective areas.

Hashim said Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's ideas have been ircorporated in the plan and there would thus be a major thrust on primary and basic education. The SAPs had been circulated to the state governments and this would be the new feature in the earlier document approved by the National Development Council.

An NDC meeting to finally clear the plan would take place in a month's time as a three-week notice was required to convene a meeting of this nature.

The thrust of the SAP would be in areas such as agriculture, animal husbandry and allied sectors, health, education, women and child development, youth affairs, rural development and urban development with special emphasis on drinking water and sanitation.

A major thrust would also be given to infrastructure sectors such as road, rail, power and highways.

The expressways plan of the prime minister had been incorporated in the plan.

The SAP also gave a high priority to food production with a target of doubling it in the next 10 years.

The Ninth Plan was the only item that came before the Cabinet today.

The growth rate assumed for the remaining three years of the plan was seven per cent and Hashim said the target was likely to be met as the economy had started turning around.

Information technology was being given special emphasis and Rs 3 billion had been provided for the purpose.

The growth rate in the first year of the plan was five per cent and six per cent in the second year.

UNI

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