PLANNING

PLANNING

BestCurrentAffairs.com The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) came into existence in 2015 replacing the Planning Commission which was established in 1950. The NITI Aayog is the successor to the Planning Commission. Founded in 2015, the National Institution for Transformation of India or NITI Aayog has been created to serve as the think tank of the Government of India. The Prime Minister of India serves as the Chair of the institution.  The composition of the NITI Aayog is as follows: Prime Minister of India is the Chairperson. The Governing Council comprises the Chief Ministers of all the states, Chief Ministers of union territories with legislatures, viz., Delhi and Puducherry and Lt. Governors of other union territories. Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees nominated by the Prime Minister. The full time organizational framework will consist of, in addition to the Prime Minister as Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson is to be appointed by the Prime Minister. Full time and part-time members will be maximum of 2, from leading universities, research organizations and other relevant institutions in an ex-officio capacity. Part time members will be on a rotational basis. Ex officio Members will be maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister. Chief Executive Officer is to be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. Secretariat as deemed necessary.  First Plan (1951-56) accorded the highest priority to agriculture including irrigation and power projects.  The Second Five-Year Plan (1956-57 to 1960-61) sought to promote a pattern of development, which would ultimately lead to the establishment of a socialistic pattern of society in India.  The Third Plan (1961-62 to 1965-66) aimed at securing a marked advance towards self-sustaining growth.  Annual Plans: The situation created by the Indo-Pakistan conflict in 1965, two successive years of severe drought, devaluation of the currency, general rise in prices and erosion of resources available for Plan purposes delayed the finalization of the Fourth Five Year Plan. Instead, between 1966 and 1969, three Annual Plans were formulated within the framework of the draft outline of the Fourth Plan.  The Fourth Plan (1969-74) aimed at accelerating the tempo of development of reducing fluctuations in agricultural production as well as the impact of uncertainties of foreign aid.  The Fifth Plan (1974-79) was formulated against the backdrop of severe inflationary pressures. The major objectives of the plan were to achieve self-reliance and adopt measures for raising the consumption standard of people living below the poverty line. This Plan also gave high priority to bring inflation under control and to achieve stability in the economic situation.  Four Annual Plans pertaining to the Fifth Plan period were completed. It was subsequently decided to end the Fifth Plan period with the close of the Annual Plan 1978-79.  Removal of poverty was the foremost objective of the Sixth Plan (1980-85).  The Seventh Plan (1985-90) emphasized policies and programmes, which aimed at rapid growth in food grains production, increased employment opportunities and productivity. To reduce unemployment and consequently, the incidence of poverty, special programmes like Jawahar Rozgar Yojana were launched in addition to the existing programmes.  The Eighth Five-Year Plan (1990-95) could not take off due to the fast-changing political situation at the Centre. The Eighth five-Year Plan commenced in 1992 and that 1990-91 and 1991-92 were treated as separate Annual Plans.  The Eighth Five-Year Plan (1992-97) was launched immediately after the initiation of structural adjustment policies and macro stabilization policies, which were necessitated by the worsening Balance of Payments positions and the position of inflation during 1990-91. The Eighth Plan envisaged an annual average growth rate of 5.6 per cent. Against this, an average annual growth rate of 6.8 per cent was achieved during this plan period.  The Ninth Plan (1997-2002) was launched in the fiftieth year of India‘s Independence. The Plan aimed at achieving a targeted  GDP growth rate of seven per cent per annum and there was emphasis on the seven identified Basic Minimum Services (BMS) with additional Central Assistance earmarked for these services with a view to obtaining a complete coverage of the population in a time-bound manner. The achievement in the growthrate on an average was to be 5.5 per cent per annum.  The Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-07) was approved by the National Development Council (NDC) in December, 2002. The Plan has further developed the NDC mandate objectives, of doubling the per capita income in ten years and achieving a growth rate of eight per cent of GDP per annum. The average growth rate in the last four years of the 10th Plan (2003-04 to 2006-07) was little over 8 per cent, making the growth rate 7.7 per cent for the entire 10th Plan period. Though this was below the target of 8 per cent, it is the highest growth rate achieved in any Plan period.  The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) provided a comprehensive strategy for inclusive development, building on the growing strength of the economy, while also addressing weaknesses that have surfaced. It set a target for 9 per cent growth in the five year period with acceleration during the period to reach 10 per cent by the end of the Plan.  The Approach Paper to the Twelfth Plan, had set a target of 9 per cent average growth of GDP over the Plan period (2012 to 2017).  NITI Aayog has short-listed 10 islands for holistic development in the first phase viz., Smith, Ross, Long, Avis, and Little Andaman in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Minicoy, Bangaram, Tinnakara, Cheriyam and Suheli in Lakshadweep. India Year Book 2020 Synopsis [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page No.93 © BestCurrentAffairs.com. All Rights Reserved. [For IAS Prelims 2020]

Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020  NITI Aayog has developed the first ever agriculture marketing and farmer friendly reforms index. The index carries a score with a minimum value ‘0’ implying no reforms and maximum value ‘100’ implying complete reforms in the selected areas. States and UTs have been ranked in terms of the score of the index. The BestCurrentAffairs.com indicators aim to reveal the position of each state with respect to ease of doing agri-business, opportunities for farmers to benefit from modern trade and commerce, and options for sale of her/his produce. They also represent competitiveness, efficiency and transparency in agriculture markets.  A ‘Performance on Health Outcomes‘ index to assess the quality of healthcare services provided by the states has been spearheaded by NITI Aayog, along with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.  NITI Aayog, in partnership with the Ministry of Human Resource Development, has conceptualized and designed the School Education Quality Index (SEQI). SEQI is a composite index that will report annual improvements of states on key domains of education quality.  NITI Aayog is developing a composite water management index, with pro-active engagement of states and union territories.  The Government of India has initiated urban rejuvenation missions - Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart City with the objective of improhving availability of basic urban infrastructure in order to improve quality of life of citizens.  NITI Aayog under its Memorandum of Understanding with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise launched a capacity building programme called the ‗Urban Management Programme‘ in 2016 with the objective of building capacities of Urban Local Bodies, parastatal bodies and state government officials. The programme covered seven states, namely Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP, Delhi and Assam.  The Aayog launched a two-layer process whereby a committee headed by the CEO undertook a detailed analysis of the sick CPSEs with the assistance of the National Institute for Public Finance and Policy. This committee reported its findings. A decision was then made by the Cabinet to close several sick CPSEs.  The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) was launched subsuming the Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU) in 2016 as part of the Start-up India Action Plan. A Mission Directorate was created at NITI Aayog with CEO, NITI Aayog, as the Mission Director.  Establishing Atal Tinkering Labs: AIM is setting up Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) in schools across all 700+ districts across the country. These ATLs are dedicated innovation workspaces of 1000-1500 square feet where latest technologies like 3D printers, robotics, internet of things (IOT), miniaturized electronics ‘do it yourself’ kits are installed using a grant of ₹ 20 Lakhs from the government so that students from Grade VI to Grade XII can tinker with these technologies and learn to create innovative solutions.  At the university, NGO, SME and Corporate industry levels, AIM is setting up world-class Atal Incubators (AICs) that would trigger and enable successful growth of sustainable startups in every sector /state of the country.  The Mentor India programme launched by AIM is a path-breaking initiative to catalyse the academia–industry partnerships. Under it, more than 3,200 mentors from all over the country belonging to various industry sectors have been assigned to work with 1800+ ATLs on a continuous basis.  Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) and Established Incubation Centres are incubation spaces intended to provide incubation facilities to innovative startups. Across the country, 19 AICs are already operational, incubating startups across different fields and working on new age technology.  Atal New India Challenge (ANIC), which is an initiative by Atal Innovation Mission aimed at supporting innovators to create products/ solutions based on advanced technologies in areas of national importance and social relevance through a grant-based mechanism. Moving forward, AIM is also planning to launch another programme ARISE to promote collaborative Applied Research and Innovation between various central ministries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).  NITI Aayog in consultation with central ministries and states developed a mechanism for implementation of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for different agricultural crops.Three concepts were discussed: (i) Market Assurance Scheme (MAS) (ii) Price Deficiency Procurement Scheme (PDPS) (iii) Private Procurement and Stockists Scheme (PPSS). Accordingly Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare launched Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) in 2018 including three mechanisms: price support scheme or market assurance scheme, price deficiency payment scheme and pilot on private procurement stockists.  The Union Government provided, for the first time, an opportunity to the farmers to decide the price of their produce and negotiate with buyers through Model Act on Contract Farming. The Model Act called the State/UT Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2018 was formulated in consultation with NITI Aayog and launched in 2018 for its adoption by the states/union territories. The Model Act covers the entire value and supply chain from pre-production to postharvest marketing including services contract for the agricultural produce and livestock.  A Scheme for holistic nutrition or POSHAN Abhiyaan or National Nutrition Mission, is Government of India’s flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. Launched in 2018, POSHAN Abhiyaan directs the attention of the country towards the problem of malnutrition and addresses it in a mission-mode.  September was celebrated as Rashtriya POSHAN Maah in 2018. The activities in POSHAN Maah focussed on Social Behavioural Change and Communication (SBCC).  Ayushman Bharat: Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana: The National Health Policy 2017 envisages creation of a digital health technology eco-system aiming at developing an integrated health information system that serves the needs of all stakeholders and improves efficiency, transparency and citizens’ experience with linkage across public and private healthcare. Ayushman Bharat comprising twin missions is set to transform the nation’s health system by: operationalizing 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres offering preventive and primary care, on the supply side; and offering financial protection of up to ₹ 5 lakhs per year per family for the deprived 10 crores plus households towards secondary and tertiary care, on the demand side. India Year Book 2020 Synopsis [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page No.94 © BestCurrentAffairs.com. All Rights Reserved. [For IAS Prelims 2020]