Plan panel will stick to 9% GDP growth target in 12th Plan

"The Commission will not move any proposal to revise the annual average growth target for 12th Plan when it would present the voluminous five-year long policy document before the National Development Council (NDC) for approval later in the year," a senior Planning Commission official said.

Dismissing speculation that the Commission may scale down the growth target for the 12th Plan in view of prevailing economic slowdown, he said, it would aim at high target.

"The achievable economic growth in the 12th Plan is 7.8 to 8 per cent. But the Commission suggested to fix the growth target for 12th Plan at 9 per cent which was later approved by the NDC," he added.

Moreover, he said, "the growth targets are always kept higher than achievable numbers. The Commission had set an economic growth target of 9 per cent in 11th Plan (2007-12) despite knowing that 8.2 per cent was feasible."

After the government released the nine-year low dismal economic growth number of 6.5 per cent for 2011-12 and poor industrial growth data for April at 0.1 per cent, speculations were rife that the Commission may downsize its target for the current five year Plan.

Several economists have expressed concern over the feasibility of 9 per cent growth target in 12th Plan in view of the January-March economic growth number which stood at nine-year low of 5.3 per cent and stagnant industrial output in April.

The Commission has set a target of 9 per cent average annual growth target in its Approach to the 12th Plan which was approved by the NDC headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after taking all chief ministers and cabinet ministers on board in October last year.