Structure Of The Planning Commission

A non-constitutional and non-statutory body, the Planning Commission of India was in charge to devise India’s five years plans for societal and economic growth in India. The Prime minister of India acts as the Ex-officio chairman of the planning commission. It was instituted on 15 March 1950 in compliance with article 39 of the constitution, which is an element of directive principles of state policy.

Planning Commission:

Planning Commission was instituted through an executive decision of the Government of India in 1950 in compliance with article 39 of the constitution, which is an element of directive principles of state policy. The Advisory Planning Board composed in 1946 under the chairmanship of K.C Neogi, gave commendations for the organisation of the Planning Commission.

The first Five-Year Plan commenced in 1951, focusing principally on expanding the agricultural division. Two subsequent Five-Year Plans were devised before 1965 when there was a break due to the Indo-Pakistan difference. Two consecutive years of drought, deflation of the currency, a broad rise in prices, and corrosion of resources disturbed the planning process and after three Annual Plans amid 1966 and 1969, the fourth Five-Year Plan began in 1969.

The Eighth Plan could not start in 1990 because of the rapidly changing political circumstances at the Centre, and the years 1990–91 and 1991–92 were indulged as Annual Plans. As a result, the Eighth Plan was lastly commenced in 1992 after the commencement of structural regulation policies.

For the first eight Plans, the prominence was on a rising public sector with enormous investments in fundamental and heavy industries, however since the commencement of the Ninth Plan in 1997, the prominence on the public sector has become less articulated and the current thinking on planning in the country, generally, is that it should be progressively analytical.

In 2014, the central government chose to wind down the Planning Commission. It was substituted by the lately formed NITI Aayog to better characterise the present needs and objectives of the people of India.

Composition

The composition of the Planning Commission has been cited below:

(1) Prime Minister acts as the ex-officio Chairman of the commission. He heads over the meetings of the commission.

(2) Deputy Chairman acts as the de-facto chairman of the commission. He has specified the position of a Cabinet Minister. He is in charge of creating and tender the draft Five Year Plan to the central cabinet.

 (3) The Finance Minister and the Planning Minister act as the ex-officio members of the commission. Additionally, a few other central ministers might be chosen as part-time commission members.

(4) The commission consists of four to seven full-time members who are specialists in different fields, for instance, economics, science, industry, and general administration. They have the position of a Minister of State.

(5) The commission consists of a member-secretary who is generally a senior IAS officer.

Organisational Structure

As per the functions, the Planning Commission consists of three organs:

1. Technical Branches
2. Housekeeping Divisions
3. Programme consultants

Functions

The functions of the national plan as formulated by the Planning Commission comprise the following:

1. To create an estimation of the country’s capital, material, and human resources, comprising technical personnel, and examine the possibilities of enlarging those related resources that are found to be scarce about the nation’s necessity.
2. To devise a plan for the most efficient and balanced consumption of the country’s resources.
3. To describe the stages, based on priority, in which the plan must be carried out and recommend the allotment of resources for the due achievement of every stage.
4. To specify the factors that tend to hinder economic development.
5. To establish the conditions which need to be instituted for the flourishing implementation of the plan?
6. To establish the nature of the machinery needed for securing the successful accomplishment of every stage of the plan.
7. To assess from time to time the progress attained in the implementation of every stage of the plan and also advocate the essential adjustments of policy and measures compulsory for successful execution of a plan.
8. To accomplish public co-operation in national growth.
9. Hill Areas expansion Programme
10. Perspective Planning

Consequently, the Planning Commission is in charge to guide the Government on economic and social growth planning. The Government is in charge of taking decisions on the proposals of the Planning Commission and executing them.

Conclusion

The Planning Commission was instituted as an advisory body, but slowly, it became influential and surfaced prevailing in policy decisions of the Government. Numerous critics have tagged it as a Super Cabinet, an Economic Cabinet, a Parallel Cabinet and so on. The occurrence of the Planning Commission had infringed upon the power and purposes of the Finance Commission as there was no clear limit amid the roles and responsibilities of the two bodies. It has moreover been condemned for intruding upon a federal system of the nation.