No proposal under consideration to scrap Planning Commission: Government
Earlier this month, there were talks about need to streamline the role of the Planning Commission
New Delhi: Amid the ongoing debate over the role of the Planning Commission, the government today said there is no proposal under its consideration for scraping and rationalising the present form of the planning body.
"No Sir. There is, at present, no proposal under consideration of the government for scraping and rationalising the present form of the Planning Commission," Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh said in written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Earlier this month, the Minister in his Facebook post had said there was a need to streamline the role of the Planning Commission. Singh had also said that it should not be seen as a hindrance by states.
The new government is yet to reconstitute the Planning Commission, the term of which is co-terminus with the government. The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairman of the Commission.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other members of the Commission had resigned in May after the General Elections results.
Meanwhile, replying to another question in the House, Singh informed that India achieved 8 per cent annual average growth during the 11th Plan period (2007-12) as against the target 9 per cent for the five year policy period.
India has targetted 8 per cent annual average economic growth in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17).
The growth, however, has remained at sub 5 per cent level in the first two fiscals of the five--year policy period. In 2012-13, India economy grew by 4.5 per cent whereas the economic growth was 4.7 per cent in 2013-14.
The latest economic survey has projected 5.4-5.9 per cent economic growth in the current fiscal.
During the 11th Plan, the industrial growth was 7.7 per cent against targetted 10-11 per cent whereas the farm sector growth was 4.1 per cent compared to envisaged 4 per cent in the five-year policy document.