Factors that shaped Indian plans right from the beginning and continue to do so

In India, as elsewhere, planning has through time been coloured by the peculiarities of the country. These relate to the initial situation given historically, the objectives which are given priority by the society and the resources at the disposal of the country.

These factors have shaped Indian plans right from the beginning and continue to do so. In the process, planning in the country has acquired certain features whose description can help in identifying its nature.

1. Centralised Planning Till Seventh Plan:

Planning in India has been largely a centralised planning till the Seventh Plan. The allocation of resources among the different sectors and activities used to be done by the Planning Commission. Till 1990, state was assigned a greater role in development of the country.

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2. Indicative Planning Since Eighth Plan:

The planning system has moved away from a centralised one to an indicative one. Plans now formulate visions of the future, and in this context lay down the priorities of development. The public sector will henceforth be confined restricted to certain activities which are essentially public in character.

The Eighth Plan, the Ninth Plan, the Tenth Plan and the Eleventh Plan for example, concentrate on human development and protection of environment. Further, the priority sectors identified for the growth of infrastructure are power, transport and communications.

3. Market-oriented Decisions:

This feature follows from the indicative character of the planning in a mixed economy. The decision-making points are not all located in a central office. However, the Indian plans also seek to influence the market through the operation of the public sector by implementation of various policies in the fields of public finance, industry, trade, etc. These help in making market conform to the broad priorities of plans.

4. Capital Accumulation:

This implies emphasis on the capacity building of the economy, and priority for the capital projects. Except the First Plan, when agriculture was attached greater importance than industry, the plans have been concerned largely with the raising of the capital stock of the country. There have been slight variations on this central theme, but by and large the task of capacity building has remained in the forefront.