India has centralised planning, and the task of planning in India has been bestowed on the Planning Commission of India. 

The Planning Commission of India is now known as the NITI Ayog (National Institution for Transforming India). Planning is a process that can either be single-level or multi-level. Multi-level planning is an exercise in which all the local institutions are involved. It is a more integrative planning that seeks to involve all scales of executive, geographical, political, and indigenous situations in the planning process.

  • When the formulation of plans and decision-making is done at the national level, and the process is centralised, it is known as the single-level planning. 
  • Multi-level planning happens when the national territory is divided into small units, and their number depends upon the country’s size or geographical and cultural settings.
  • Top-down planning aims to take a company from general endeavours to specific goals, whereas bottom-up planning is a tactic that synchronises specific targets into a general framework.  

Planning in India is undertaken in the form of a Five Year Plan. India’s approach to development always remains contextual. The Planning Commission of India cannot be ignored as it has been enforced for more than six decades. One of the most important things to understand is why a certain individual or a group of individuals or some regions are poor as compared with others. 

Major Objectives of Planning

The Planning Commission of India is an instrument that aims to understand the aspirations and dreams of the nation in the longer term. Its main objectives can be summarised as follows-

  • Economic Development
  • Increase in Employment
  • Self-sufficiency
  • Economic Stability
  • Social Welfare
  • Regional Development
  • Comprehensive Development
  • Reducing Economic Inequalities
  • Social Justice
  • Increase in Standard of Living

Resource Planning

In India, Resource Planning is the process that includes the following-

  • Surveying and mapping to identify and list existing resources across the country 
  • Mapping resource development plans
  • Ensuring that there are no conflicts between neighbouring states 
  • Taking each design into consideration – its significance, nature, and quality
  • It is a government procedure before undertaking any new project. 

Sectoral Planning 

Sectoral planning is related to the planning for sectors. It is economic, strategic planning. It considers transportation, land use, infrastructure needs, and the environment. Sectors are grouped as social, economic, and administrative activities based on goods or services produced. 

It is long-term planning and includes-

  • Health
  • Education
  • Tourism
  • Agriculture
  • Electricity 

It is grouped under three sections-

  • Economic Sectors-

Agriculture, Manufacturing, Tourism, Commerce, Finance, Public Administration 

  • Social Sectors-

Education, Health, Welfare, Social Services 

  • Infrastructure Sectors-

Construction, Electricity, Water, Transport, Communications

It promotes economic development and includes rural economic development promotions and also Industrial policy development in order to support various industrial policies. 

Conclusion

Analysing the given facts, it has become clear that planning in India is crucial to the solution of all its upcoming issues. In this article, we have discussed the value of planning, types of planning, and the important steps to be taken care of in planning. 

Planning is necessary in everyone’s life, more so in the case of a country. After every five years, the Planning Commission of India aims to target various necessities of people. Mobilising and allocating resources and saving them in the desired way are the main ideas behind planning.