Plan approach paper projects 9% growth

12th Plan focus areas: Health, education, environment.

The Cabinet on Thursday approved the approach paper to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) that projects an annual nine per cent growth. The document will be taken up next month at a meeting of the National Development Council (NDC), which is a body of the Centre and the states.

Information & broadcasting minister Ambika Soni, after on Thursday’s meeting, said the theme of the paper was faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth. “It has proposed a target of nine per cent growth. Health, education and skill development, environment and natural resources and infrastructure development will be focus areas in the 12th Plan,” she told reporters here. The NDC will meet for two days from October 15 to discuss the paper.

Last month, at a meeting of the full Planning Commission meeting, which had cleared the approach paper, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said the country had to work hard to achieve the nine per cent target.

Also, the target could be revised to 9.2 per cent, if inflation comes down and the global economy showed improvement by this fiscal end, he said. The 12th Plan will start from the next fiscal.

The XIth Plan had initially also set a target of nine per cent growth a year on an average with the terminal year (which is the current fiscal) recording a double-digit growth.

Ripple effects of global financial crisis trimmed this target, and now it is expected that 8.1 per cent will be the average per annum growth during the XIth Plan period.

Also on Thursday, the Cabinet, a month ahead of Diwali, approved seven per cent increase in the dearness allowance and relief for the Union government employees and pensioners. Currently, DA and relief stands at 51 per cent of the basic pay. The revised allowance and relief will be payable with retrospective effect from July.

The decision will mean that the government kitty will be hit by Rs 7,228.76 crore a year and Rs 4,819.22 crore this year.

The Cabinet has also decided to empower the finance ministry to withdraw the reduced interest rate of nine per cent (against 9.5 or 10.5 per cent) from the National Small Savings Fund loans to states in case they deviate from their Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management targets.

Further, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a proposal for providing non-plan budgetary support of Rs 59.72 crore for liquidation of statutory dues and wages for ten loss-making central public sector enterprises.

They are Hindustan Cables, HMT Ltd, HMT (Watches), HMT (CW), Nagaland Pulp & Papers Co, Triveni Structurals Ltd, Tungbhadra Steel Products Ltd, Nepa Ltd, Scooters India Ltd, HMT Bearings Ltd.