The Five Year Plans (FYPs) give India’s policies, programmes, and projects a general direction and a fundamental framework. Annual Plans are used to carry out these five-year plans (APs). The Twelfth Five-Year Plan is a national economic blueprint that is centralised and integrated. The subtitle reflects the overarching vision and ambitions that the Twelfth Plan aims to achieve: ‘Faster, Sustainable, and More Inclusive Growth.’

In order to improve the sustainability of its growth process, the plan recognises the necessity to implement a low-carbon strategy for inclusive growth, with carbon mitigation as a significant co-benefit. It has been stated that any such Indian plan must ensure that the focus is not only on low-carbon development but also on boosting productivity in order to reduce the usage of fossil fuels. In this regard, the Plan aims to: Reduce GDP-related emission intensity by 20% to 25% by 2020, compared to 2005 levels; Add 30,000 MW of renewable energy capacity between 2012 and 2017.

12th Five-Year Plan (India):

The Government of India’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2012–17) was the country’s most recent Five-Year Plan.

The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, has stated that achieving an average growth rate of 8% in the next five years is not possible due to the deteriorating global scenario. The plan was approved at the National Development Council (NDC) meeting in New Delhi, and the final growth target was set at 8%. It is mostly concerned with health.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan, the government aims to reduce poverty by 10%. “We want to lower poverty estimates by 2% annually on a sustained basis during the Plan period,” Mr Ahluwalia said.

Twelfth five-year plan- Objectives:

Growth of the economy:

  • The real GDP is increasing at a rate of 8% each year.
  • Agriculture is expanding at a rate of 4%.
  • Manufacturing is expanding at a 10% annual rate.
  • Every state must outperform the 11th plan in terms of economic growth.

Employment and Poverty:

  • In comparison to the end of the 11th plan, the poverty rate will be reduced by 10%.
  • There are 5 million new job vacancies and skill certifications in the non-farm sector.

Education:

  • The average number of school years will increase to seven.
  • For each age group, there are 20 lakh seats available in higher education.
  • End school enrollment discrepancies based on gender and social status.

Health:

  • Reduce the IMR to 25 and the MMR to 1 to increase the Child Sex Ratio to 950.
  • Reduce child malnutrition in the 0-3 age range to half of the NFHS-3 level by lowering the total fertility rate (TFR) to 2.1.

Environment and long-term viability:

  • Increase green cover by 1 million hectares every year.
  • 30,000 MW of renewable energy will be created during a five-year period.
  • By 2020, the GDP emission intensity will be 20-25 percent lower than it was in 2005.

Delivery of Services:

  • Banking services are available to 90% of Indian households.
  • The Aadhar-based Direct Cash Transfer Scheme will be used to distribute subsidies and welfare payments.

Infrastructure:

  • All villages will have access to power, and AT&C losses will be cut in half.
  • Villages are connected by all-weather roads.
  • National and state roadways are required to have at least two lanes.
  • Both the east and west coasts have dedicated freight corridors.
  • In rural areas, teledensity has reached 70%.
  • Half of the rural population will have access to 40 litres of drinking water per day, and half of all Gram Panchayats will be Nirmal Grams.

Before the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, there is criticism and challenges:

  • Agriculture Growth Rate Is Unrealistic: The 12th Five-Year Plan’s most important aim is to accelerate and achieve a per-annum growth rate in agriculture.
  • Poverty and unemployment issues have been overlooked: The plan talks about accelerating industrial growth to 10% and agriculture growth to 4%, as if achieving those goals alone would solve the problems of poverty, malnutrition, and insecurity faced by the country’s masses.

Conclusion:

The 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) targets an annual growth rate of 8%. This is the revised rate when compared to the initial approach paper. The slogan of the Twelfth Plan is “Faster, More Sustainable, and More Inclusive Growth.” The Twelfth Five-Year Plan of the Government of India was expected to reach a growth rate of 9%, however on December 27, 2012, the National Development Council (NDC) agreed to an 8% growth rate for the Twelfth Plan. The government’s goal for the 12th Five-Year Plan is to reduce poverty by 10%, which has been largely achieved thanks to the government’s poverty alleviation programmes.