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GS Paper: GS3

  • Animal Husbandry, Dairy & Fisheries Sector – Pashudhan Sanjivani, E- Pashudhan Haat, etc

  • Planning in India: Bombay Plan; People’s Plan; Mahalanobis Plan; Wage-Good Model; Gandhian Plan

    Planning in India

    The Planning Debates

    The Bombay Plan

    1. A small group of influential business leaders in Bombay drew up and published in January 1944, a plan for the economic development of India. The Bombay Plan, as it is now popularly called, did not represent the opinion of the whole business community. But it claimed public attention because it set forth the considered views of some of the front-rank businessmen and captains of Indian industry.
    2. Mr. J. R. D. Tata and Mr. G. D. Birla were primarily responsible for the initiation of the study. The other industrialists who were part of Bombay plan were P. Thakurdas, Kasturbhai Lalbhai and Sir Shri Ram, Ardeshir Dalal, Mr. A. D. Shroff and Dr. John Matthai.
    3. Toward the end of March 1944, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce representing all business organizations of the country endorsed the Bombay Plan at its annual meeting, and from then on, the plan came to be regarded as the proposal of India’s business community, if not of India’s big business.
    4. The Bombay Plan put forward as a basis of discussion, a statement in as concrete a form as possible, of the objectives to be kept in mind in economic planning in India, the general lines on which development should proceed and the demands which planning is likely to make on the country’s resources.
    5. The principal objectives of the plan are to achieve a balanced economy and to raise the standard of living of the masses of the population rapidly by doubling the present per capita income — i.e. increasing it from $22 to about $45 — within a period of 15 years from the time the plan goes into operation.
    6. The planners have laid down minimum living standards on the basis of about 2,800 calories of well-balanced food a day for each person, 30 yards of clothing and 100 square feet of housing; and they also outline the minimum needs for elementary education, sanitation, water supply, village dispensaries and hospitals. The plan points out that absolutely minimum needs require an annual income of at least $25; and if the income of the country were equally distributed it would give each individual only about $22.
    7. The shares of agriculture, industry and services in the total production is to be changed from 53, 17 and 22 percent, respectively, to 40, 35 and 20 percent.
    8. The plan emphasizes the importance of basic industries but also calls for the development of consumption goods industries in the early years of the plan. Power heads the list of basic industries which are to be developed, followed by mining and metallurgy, engineering, chemicals, armaments, transport, cement and others.
    9. The plan proposes doubling the present total of 300,000 miles of roads, increasing railway mileage by 50 percent from its present 41,000 miles, expanding coastal shipping and investing $150,000,000 on improvement of harbors.
    10. The plan offers a comprehensive program of mass education, including primary, secondary and vocational and university schooling. Provision is also made for adult education and scientific training and research.

    Sarvodaya Plan (1950)

    It was drafted by Jaiprakash Narayan. The plan was mainly inspired by the Gandhian Plan provided by S N Agarwal & the Idea of Sarvodaya presented by another Gandhian leader Vinoba Bhave.

    The sarvodaya plan put forward and emphasized the importance of agriculture and village industries especially small-scale textile & cottage industries in the process of economic development. The plan also recommended the Luddite approach and was pessimistic towards the usage of foreign technology.

    The most important and well acclaimed part of the plan was its emphasis upon land reforms and decentralized participatory people planning.

    People’s Plan

    The People’s Plan was Authored by M N Roy and drafted by the Post- War Re-Construction Committee of the Indian Federation of Labour.

    The object of the Plan is to provide for the satisfaction of the immediate basic needs of the Indian people within a period of ten years. This objective is to be achieved by expanding production and by ensuring an equitable distribution of the goods produced. Therefore, the Plan prescribes increased production in every sphere of economic activity. But its main emphasis is on agricultural development, since its authors believe that the purchasing power of the people cannot be raised unless agriculture, which is the biggest occupation in the country, becomes a paying proposition.

    Agriculture, it is argued, forms the foundation of a planned economy for India. Apart from the nationalization of land and the compulsory scaling down of rural indebtedness, the Plan formulates two schemes for increasing agricultural production: (a) extension of the area under cultivation and (b) intensification of cultivation in the area which is already under cultivation.

    In the field of industry, the People’s Plan gives priority to the manufacture of consumer goods. It is argued that as a large volume of demand for essential good for the community remains perpetually unsatisfied, the goal of planned economy in industry must be to satisfy it first.

    The People’s Plan attaches great importance to railways, roads and shipping in a planned economy. Therefore, it recommends the rapid development of the means of communication and transport to cope with the increased movement of goods and traffic between town arid country.

    The Mahalanobis Strategy

    The three main aspects of the strategy of development in the earlier phase of planning was:

    The Critique of Mahalanobis Mobel:

    The Wage Good Model

    Prominent Economist like, C N Vakil and P R Brahmananda advocated Wage Good model for the development of the Indian economy and Industrialisation. Vakil and Brahamanda differed from the Mahalanobis strategy as they believe “At the low level of consumption (this was the situation in India) the productivity of the workers depends on how much they consumed.

    According to them, if people were undernourished, they will lose their productivity and become less efficient, at this juncture it is necessary to feed them to increase their productivity. But this is not true for all consumer good; so they differentiated between Wage Good (whose consumption increase worker productivity) and Non-Wage Good (whose consumption did not).

    To sum up, Wage Good model says; worker’s productivity depends on not on whether they use machines to produce goods but also on the consumption of wage goods like, food, cloth and other basics. Therefore, the first step towards development is to mechanize agriculture and raise food production; once this objective is reached, one should go for Mahalanobis strategy of Heavy Industrialisation.

    Anyway, Vakil and Bharmananda strategies were ignored and India launched heavy Industrialisation in the Second plan without mechanising agriculture. The result was failure of Mahalanobis Strategy and by 1965-66 India was hit by a severe food shortage crisis. Finally, in the wake of the crisis, the government adopted Bharamananda strategy of mechanizing agriculture sector and engineered green revolution.

    Changing Objectives of Successive Plans.

    Fourth Five-year plan
    • In the Fourth Five-year plan, the basic framework of industrialisation was retained.
    • The objective of self-reliance was not given up, but the main emphasis was shifted to economic growth.
    • The government had starting putting focus on light industries. The agriculture sector was given due importance with adoption of new technologies, improved seeds and fertilizers.
    • The biggest paradox of the industrialisation strategy was that ‘poverty has failed to subside despite growth.
    • The paradox is rightly capture by the Renowned Economist Mahbub-Ul Haq in his famous quote “People are not going to eat tractors”.
    Fifth plan
    • The Fifth plan bough the focus of poverty reduction back on the agenda with government prioritising ‘Minimum Needs Program’. The plan had accorded highest priority to the removal of poverty.
    • The plan document mentioned “The existence of poverty in incompatible with the vision of an advanced, prosperous, democratic, egalitarian and just society”.
    • The forthcoming periods saw turmoil in the country in general and economy in particular. The new Janta Party government decided to terminate the strategy of planning and put a moratorium on the fifth five year plan.
    • The Janta Party presented their own draft plan (1978-83) which stated a new development strategy. For the first time, the planning commission acknowledge the fact that the benefits of growth had failed to reach the poor.
    • The commission further decided that there would not be undue emphasis on numbers such as growth rates. The focus will be on raising the standard of living of the people.
    • The Janta government however could not last long and when the new congress government come in power it terminated the fifth plan and adopted sixth five-year plan (1980-85).
    Sixth plan The Sixth plan puts its objective as:

    • To structurally transform the economy;
    • To achieve sustained and high growth rate;
    • To improve standard of living of masses & Eradication of poverty and unemployment.

    Several anti-poverty programs like IRDP AND NREM was initiated with the aim of removing poverty and unemployment.
    Seventh plan The Seventh plan marks a departure from earlier plan strategies and spelt out new long-term strategy.

    • The plans objectives were: solving the basic problems (food, shelter, clothing, education and health) of the people besides creating conditions for self-sustaining growth in terms of both the capacity to finance growth internally and the development of technology.
    • The seventh plan contained key elements of change.
    • It gave highest priority to increasing agricultural production through adoption on new technology.
    • It reversed the role of public sector and induced privatisation of industrial activity.
    • Liberalisation of external sector with the aim of increasing efficiency in the manufacturing sector.
    • The administrative procedures were changed from regulatory to faciliatory procedures. The strategy was a variant of what is now known as “Agricultural Development led Growth” Strategy.
    Eighth Five-year Plan The new development strategy:

    • The economic growth during the 1980s was not capable of stopping the economy from economic crisis. The reckless spending’s and fiscal mismanagement by the government has put India on the edge of an economic crisis.
    • The full-scale crisis began in 1990-91 and the year of 1991-92 turned out be a severely bad year for the Indian economy. The crisis was market by an Inflation rate of 16 percent and severe shortages of foreign exchange and Balance of payment difficulties. The severity of the crisis was such that India had to shipped its gold to the Bank of England as collateral against a loan of $ 600 million.
    • As a response to the economic crisis, India adopted structural changes to its economy. The changes which will transform the Indian economy for betterment and will took economy to new heights.

    The new approach (Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation) adopted have major policy initiatives:

    • Macroeconomic stabilisation
    • Fiscal reforms
    • Trade policy reforms
    • Industrial Policy reforms
    • Financial sector reforms

    The new development strategy was a complete reversal form the earlier strategies. The old rigidities of the command economy were dismantled and the strategy of external pessimism was eliminated. The new strategy favoured globalisation and was characterised with Export Led Growth.
    Ninth plan The Ninth plan proposed to achieve a 7% growth rate during the plan period. It introduced fiscal discipline and aimed to control rise in prices through controlling money supply. It aimed at resource mobilization and attracting foreign direct investment. The thrust of the plan was to achieve agricultural growth. The proposition was to broaden the direct tax base for raising resources at the center.

    Target Growth: 6.5% Actual Growth: 5.35%
    Tenth plan The Tenth plan laid emphasis on the role of government in the new emerging economic scenario.

    The plan mentions specific areas where the state has to play a proactive role.

    • The social sector
    • The infrastructure sectors.
    • Equity and social justice was given priority.

    The 10th Five Year Plan (2002-2007) targeted at a GDP growth rate of 8% per annum. The primary aim of the 10th Five Year Plan was to renovate the nation extensively, making it competent enough with some of the fastest growing economies across the globe.

    It intended to initiate an economic growth of 10% on an annual basis. In fact, this decision was taken only after the nation recorded a consistent 7% GDP growth, throughout the past decade.

    GDP growth target: 8% (realized: 7.8%), savings rate target: 27% (realized: 31.4%)
    Eleventh plan The Eleventh plan emphasised on ‘faster and more inclusive economic growth’.

    • The objective of inclusiveness and sustainability were accorded with highest priority.
    • The plan mentioned that the strategy must be based on sound macroeconomic policies which establish the precondition for rapid and inclusive growth.

    The eleventh plan aimed at:

    • Rapid growth (more than 9%) to reduce poverty and unemployment.
    • Access to health and education for all.
    • Equality of opportunity
    • Empowerment through skill development
    • Employment opportunities underpinned by the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
    • Environment Sustainability
    • Good Governance
    • Recognition of Women’s agency.
    Twelfth Plan The Twelfth Plan seeks to achieve the growth rate of 8.2 per cent, down from 9 per cent envisaged earlier, in view of fragile global recovery.

    The theme of the plan document is “Faster, Sustainable and more Inclusive growth”.

    The plan projects an average investment rate of 37 per cent of GDP in the 12th Plan. The projected gross domestic savings rate is 34.2 per cent of GDP.

    Besides other things, the 12th Plan seeks to achieve 4 per cent agriculture sector growth during 2012-17. The growth target for manufacturing sector has been pegged at 10 per cent. The total plan size has been estimated at Rs.47.7 lakh crore, 135 per cent more that for the 11th Plan (2007-12).

    Key Highlights:

    • The target growth rate has been set at 8.2 percent.
    • The priority areas are: Infrastructure, Health and Education.
    • Agriculture is given its due importance and it has been documented in the plan that agriculture should maintain a growth rate of 4%, in order to reduce rural poverty.
    • The targeted growth rate for the manufacturing sector has been pegged at 10 percent.
    • Health, Education and Skill development continues to be the focus areas for the government in the Twelfth Plan. The plan mentioned that there is a need to ensure adequate resources to these sectors.
    • Simultaneously, it also points to the need to ensure maximum efficiency in terms of outcomes for the resources allocated to these sectors. The need to harness private investment in these sectors has also been emphasized by the approach.
    • Poverty alleviation needs to be done at a much faster rate. The Planning commission envisage to reduce the poverty Head count Ratio by additional 10 percent during the plan period. At present, the poverty HCR is 21.8 per cent of the population.
    • The outlay on health, Drinking Water and Sanitation should be increased.
    • It suggests the need to take steps to reduce energy intensity of production processes, increase domestic energy supply as quickly as possible and ensure rational energy pricing that will help achieve both objectives viz. reduced energy intensity of production process and enhance domestic energy supply, even though it may seem difficult to attempt.
    • Generation of employment for the youth is the key challenge. The plan targets the creation of additional 50 million jobs.
    • Infrastructure investment should be increased to 9% of GDP.
    • The plan document mentions of providing ‘Affordable and accessible Banking Facility to at least 90% of the population’.

    By,

    Himanshu Arora

    Doctoral Scholar in Economics & Senior Research Fellow, CDS, Jawaharlal Nehru University

  • Issues related to Planning in India

    Economic planning has been a central belief of India’s development strategy since independence. Since the time of independence, India has successfully followed the path of planned development.

    Understanding How Planning Worked: The Model

    The Indian Situation at the time of Independence.

    The Choices

    The basic question’s that planners had to decide are:

    The First question:

    The Second Question:

    The Third Question:

    The Chosen Path by the Indian Planners: Mahalanobis Model

    Centralised (Imperative) versus Capitalist Economic Planning

    Indicative versus Imperative Economic Planning

    The Rationale for Planning in India

    The Feature of Indian Planning

    The Key Objectives of Planning in India

    The Achievements of Planning in India

    India’s development strategy, commitments, and approaches towards growth and development, as reflected in the Plans, have undergone various shifts over the years in response to the objective conditions of the economy and challenges of the moment. Some of these changes have been strikingly bold and original, others more modest.

    Criticism of Indian Planning: The Debate

    Despite the achievement, however, in recent years Indian planning has come under attack from a number of quarters, both within and outside the country. Countries which for long had centrally-planned economies have abandoned planning, at least overtly. It sometimes comes as a surprise to people abroad that India continues to preserve planning as a central pillar of its development strategy despite having had a vibrant market economy for many years now.

    The dissatisfaction with planning originates from two main directions.

    The Counter Arguments

    The Relevance of Planning in the 21st Century India

    The Way Forward

    1. All this is not to say, however, that the planning methodology should not change so as to reflect the new economic realities and the emerging requirements. It has, it must, and it will.
    2. First of all, the – inter-sectoral balancing and indicative planning, at least in the sense of working out the optimal investment programme, which has been the centre-piece of Indian planning since the Second Plan, will continue to remain important in the foreseeable future.
    3. Despite the much greater openness of the Indian economy, our very size and diversity will ensure that imports will continue to play a relatively small role in the economy, except in a very few products.  Thus, the requirement of planning in estimating the sectoral investment needs will remain.
    4. A more important conceptual issue relates to the nature of the planning problem itself. In a controlled or directed economy, it is only necessary to work out a feasible path from the initial condition to the target. However, in a largely market economy this is not sufficient. Although working out the traditional feasible path continues to be necessary, it needs to be complemented by an assessment of the path the economy is likely to take on a business-as-usual basis.
    5. The planning problem then is how to move from the projected path to the desired. Thus, in addition to the standard planning model, there is need to have two other models: (a) a projection model; and (b) a model which adequately captures the effect of policy measures on key parameters.

    By,

    Himanshu Arora

    Doctoral Scholar in Economics & Senior Research Fellow, CDS, Jawaharlal Nehru University

  • Mobilization of Resources

    1. Planning Commission
    2. NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)
    3. Mobilization of Resources: National Development Council; Finance Commission; States Finance Commission

  • Planning Commission

    The Planning Commission

    The Planning Commission was set up on the 15th of March 1950, through a cabinet resolution.

    Planning Commission had evolved over time from developing a highly centralised planning system towards indicative planning where Planning Commission concerns itself with the building of a long term strategic vision of the future and decide on priorities for the nation.

    The commission works out sectoral targets and provides promotional stimulus to the economy (through its “plan funds allocation”) to grow in the desired direction.

    Planning Commission attempted to play a system change role and provided consultancy within the Government for developing better systems. In order to spread the gains of experience more widely, Planning Commission also played an information dissemination role.

    Thus, historically, Planning Commission’s work was three dimensional.

    (a) design policy direction and suggest required schemes/ programmes;

    (b) influence the resource allocation from budget; and

    (c) oversee the performance and record the same on a standard framework for comparative assessment of all the states from time to time.

    In short, Planning Commission was doing the job both that of a think tank and the function of allocation of plan resources among the Central Ministries and States in as judicious a manner as possible, given the limitations of resources.

    The announcement on setting of Planning Commission and its expected role in the economic management was first made in the Parliament by the President, and the details were disclosed by the Finance Minister (Shri John Mathai) through his budget sppech in the first year of the Republic (1950-51).

    Rightly, Planning Commission was anchored to India’s political history of immediate past and the Directive Principles of State Policy as enunciated in the Constitution of India.

    Functions of Planning Commission

    The 1950 resolution setting up the Planning Commission outlined its functions as to:

    1. Make an assessment of the material, capital and human resources of the country, including technical personnel, and investigate the possibilities of augmenting such of these resources as are found to be deficient in relation to the nation’s requirement;
    2. Formulate a Plan for the most effective and balanced utilisation of country’s resources;
    3. On a determination of priorities, define the stages in which the Plan should be carried out and propose the allocation of resources for the due completion of each stage;
    4. Indicate the factors which are tending to retard economic development, and determine the conditions which, in view of the current social and political situation, should be established for the successful execution of the Plan;
    5. Determine the nature of the machinery which will be necessary for securing the successful implementation of each stage of the Plan in all its aspects;
    6. Appraise from time to time the progress achieved in the execution of each stage of the Plan and recommend the adjustments of policy and measures that such appraisal may show to be necessary; and
    7. Make such interim or ancillary recommendations as appear to it to be appropriate either for facilitating the discharge of the duties assigned to it, or on a consideration of prevailing economic conditions, current policies, measures and development programmes or on an examination of such specific problems as may be referred to it for advice by Central or State Governments.

    Planning Commission was replaced with NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015. However, the financial powers like setting sectoral priorities, designing the schemes and programmes, estimating the entitlements to State development programmes (other than devolution), and influencing the annual allocations as per the priorities etc. now come under the direct influence of the Ministry of Finance, Budget Division.

    By,

    Himanshu Arora

    Doctoral Scholar in Economics & Senior Research Fellow,  CDS, Jawaharlal Nehru University

  • NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)

    NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)

    The NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India), is a think tank of the Government of India established on 1 January 2015 as a replacement for the Planning Commission to provide Governments at the central and state levels with relevant strategic, directional and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of policy / development process (eg. special attention to marginalized sections who may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from economic progress, on technology

    (eg. special attention to marginalized sections who may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from economic progress, on technology upgradation and capacity building etc.) In addition, the NITI Aayog will monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes.

    The NITI Aayog also seeks to foster better Inter-Ministry coordination and better Centre-State coordination. This is to help evolve a shared vision of national development priorities and to foster cooperative federalism, as strong states make a strong nation.

    To achieve this, NITI Aayog also envisages creation of regional councils comprising of chief ministers of concerned states / central Ministries to address specific issues and contingencies impacting more than one state or region.

    National and international experts, practitioners and partners are intended to be part of the NITI Aayog.

    The shift to NITI Aayog was taken due to the changing economic landscape of India in the globalised world with greater role for private players, technology and evolving demographic aspirations.

    Since the inception of Economic reforms of 1991, it has been argued by various renowned Economists and Policy makers (Both Inside the Government and Outside Experts) that the Planning Commission has served India well for the past 60+ years and now it needs either to be revamped or abolished all together because:

    • India has changed with the adoption of globalisation
    • India’s demography has changed
    • Indian States have changed,
    • India’s private sector has changed,
    • the level of technology has changed, and
    • India’s integration with global markets has changed,

    Keeping the changes in mind, the NITI Aayog has been created to replace the Planning Commission. It is also stated that the NITI Aayog will ‘facilitate a transition from the isolated conceptualization of merely ‘planning’, to ‘planning for Implementation’.

    Further, NITI Aayog would also be a sounding board and offers internal consultancy services to State and Central government departments for programme design, evaluation, monitoring, capacity building, structuring of PPPs etc. However, such services would be available ‘on-demand basis’.

    Objectives

    The NITI Aayog has the following objectives as outlined in the cabinet resolution forming it.

    1. To evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States in the light of national objectives. The vision of the NITI Aayog will then provide a framework national agenda for the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers to provide impetus to.
    2. To foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the States on a continuous basis, recognizing that strong States make a strong nation.
    3. To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government.
    4. To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy.
    5. To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from economic progress.
    6. To design strategic and long term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and monitor their progress and their efficacy. The lessons learnt through monitoring and feedback will be used for making innovative improvements, including necessary mid-course corrections.
    7. To provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and international like-minded Think Tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions.
    8. To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and other partners.
    9. To offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.
    10. To maintain a state-of-the-art Resource Centre, be a repository of research on good governance and best practices in sustainable and equitable development as well as help their dissemination to stake-holders.
    11. To actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and initiatives, including the identification of the needed resources so as to strengthen the probability of success and scope of delivery.
    12. To focus on technology upgradation and capacity building for implementation of programmes and initiatives.
    13. To undertake other activities as may be necessary in order to further the execution of the national development agenda, and the objectives mentioned above.

    NITI Aayog Vs. Planning Commission

    1. NITI Aayog is Planning Commission with expanded scope but without its financial powers. The financial powers like setting sectoral priorities, designing the schemes and programmes, estimating the entitlements to State development programmes (other than devolution), and influencing the annual allocations as per the priorities etc. now come under direct influence of the Ministry of Finance, Budget Division / Department of Expenditure.
    2. Good or bad, Planning Commission’s influence and impact were perceived, felt and measured through annual plan allocations, acceptance of utilization certificates, discretionary grants in the form of Additional Central Assistance upto autonomous organisations, Zilla Panchayats and municipalities.
    3. Be it rationale or not, the influence of Planning Commission was also reflected in the accounting protocol where budget lines are shown separately for Plan non-Plan, discussed in the CAG Reports and in several proposals by Budget Division, where Plan funds are referred as proxy for development expenditure. But, sans the ability to influence the annual allocations, and influence on the annual budget proposals, the NITI Aayog needs to have a framework to prepare its own annual business plans, to define its outputs and to put in place a framework to assess impact of its outputs and institute an accountability mechanism.
    4. There are some apprehensions as to whether NITI Aayog will be performing such allocative functions just as the erstwhile Planning Commission. This is because the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has created a new budget head titled ‘Special Assistance’ since 2015-16 in Demand No 37 (formerly Demand No. 36) of MoF. The Budget Estimates for 2015-16 is Rs. 20000.00 crore. Ministry of Finance has informed the parliament standing committee that this amount shall be disbursed based on the recommendation of NITI Aayog. (However, the Committee was not appreciative of such allocations.)
    5. Like planning commission NITI sans a legal support or any constitutional foundation. Hence, like Planning Commission, NITI Aayog needs to have its own assessment framework as relevant to its collaborative operations with central government and the respective state governments so that its existence is continuously accepted and respected on the basis of its performance.
    6. As per relevant Rules or Acts, Budget Manual, SC & ST Act, General Financial Rules etc., the Planning Commission as an ‘Organization’ and its officers had ex-officio positions in the decision-making processes or had a direct influence on the financing strategies, including sanctioning and releasing of grants to NGOs and the State Governments, particularly the funds other than those connected to Annual Plan process.

    Composition of NITI Aayog

    Like Planning Commission, NITI Aayog is chaired by the Prime Minister.

    For all practical purposes a Vice Chairman in the rank of a Cabinet Minister (equivalent to Dy Chairman, Planning Commission) and a Chief Executive Officer (equivalent to Secretary Planning Commission) runs the affairs of the institution.

    The following are the members of the current team for NITI Aayog:

    Chair Person Shri Narendra Modi
    Vice Chair Person DR. Rajiv Kumar
    Full Time Member Prof. Ramesh Chand
    Full Time Member Shri V K Saraswat
    Full Time Member DR Bibek Debroy
    Chief Executive Officer Shri Amitabh Kant

    By,

    Himanshu Arora

    Doctoral Scholar in Economics & Senior Research Fellow,  CDS, Jawaharlal Nehru University

  • Mobilization of Resources: National Development Council; Finance Commission; States Finance Commission

    National Development Council

    The National Development Council or the Rashtriya Vikas Parishad was set up on 6th August 1952 to strengthen and mobilise the effort and resources of the nation in support of the plan, to promote common economic policy in all vital spheres, and to ensure the balanced and rapid development of all parts of the country.

    The Council which was re-constituted on October 7, 1967 is the highest decision-making authority in the country in the area of development matters.

    It is a constitutional body with representation from both the Centre and States. The Council is headed by the Prime Minister and all Union Cabinet Ministers, State Chief Ministers, representatives of Union Territories; Members of Planning Commission are its members.The Secretary/ Member-Secretary of Planning Commission functions as the Secretary of the Council and all administrative assistance is rendered by Planning Commission.

    The Secretary/ Member-Secretary of Planning Commission functions as the Secretary of the Council and all administrative assistance is rendered by Planning Commission.

    The functions of NDC are

    1. to prescribe guidelines for formulation of the National Plan, including assessment of resources for the Plan
    2. to consider the National Plan as formulated by the Planning Commission
    3. to consider important questions of social and economic policy affecting national development and
    4. to review the working of the Plan from time to time and to recommend such measures as are necessary for achieving the aims and targets set out in the National Plan.
    5. The prime function of the Council is to act as a bridge between the Union government, Planning Commission and the State Governments.

    It is a forum not only for discussion of plans and programmes but also social and economic matters of national importance are discussed in this forum before policy formulation. It is a very democratic forum where the States openly express their views. No resolution is passed by the Council.

    The practice is to have a complete record of the discussion and gather out of its general trends pinpointing particular conclusions. Sub-Committees under the Chairmanship of Union Cabinet Minister/State Chief Minister are also formed under the NDC to deliberate on policy areas requiring wide-range of consultations.

    The NDC ordinarily meets twice a year. So far 58 meetings of the NDC have been held.

    Finance Commission.

    Article 280 of Indian Constitution

    Finance Commission:

    1. The president shall, within two years of the commencement of the constitution and thereafter at the expiration of every five years or as such earlier time as the President considers necessary, by order constitute a finance commission which shall consist of a chairman and four other members to be appointed by the President.
    2. Parliament may by law determine the qualifications which shall ne requisite for appointment as members of the commission and the manner in which they shall be selected.
    3. It shall be the duty of the commission to make recommendations to the president as to:
    4. The distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be, or may be, divided between them under this chapter and the allocation between the states of the respective share of such proceeds.
    5. The principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenue of the states out of the consolidated fund of India.
    6. Any other matter referred to the commission by the President in the interest of sound finances.

    Finance Commission Working

    Vertical and horizontal imbalances are common features of most federations and India is no exception to this. The Constitution assigned taxes with a nation-wide base to the Union to make the country one common economic space unhindered by internal barriers to the extent possible.

    States being closer to people and more sensitive to the local needs have been assigned functional responsibilities involving expenditure disproportionate to their assigned sources of revenue resulting in vertical imbalances.

    Horizontal imbalances across States are on account of factors, which include historical backgrounds, differential endowment of resources, and capacity to raise resources. Unlike in most other federations, differences in the developmental levels in Indian States are very sharp. In an explicit recognition of vertical and horizontal imbalances,

    The Indian Constitution embodies the following enabling and mandatory provisions to address them through the transfer of resources from the Centre to the States.

    1. Levy of duties by the Centre but collected and retained by the States (Article 268)
    2. Taxes and duties levied and collected by the Centre but assigned in whole to the States (Article 269).
    3. Sharing of the proceeds of all Union taxes between the Centre and the States under Article 270. (Effective from April 1, 1996, following the eightieth amendment to the Constitution replacing the earlier provisions relating to mandatory sharing of income tax under Article 270 and permissive sharing of
    Union   excise duties under Article 272).
    4. Statutory grants-in-aid of the revenues of States (Article 275)
    5. Grants for any public purpose (Article 282).
    6. Loans for any public purpose (Article 293).

    In addition to provisions enabling transfer of resources from the Centre to the States, a distinguishing feature of the Indian Constitution is that it provides for an institutional mechanism to facilitate such transfers.The institution assigned with such a task under Article 280 of the Constitution is the Finance Commission, which is to be appointed at the expiration of every five years or earlier. Under the Constitution, the main responsibilities of a Finance Commission are the following.

    The institution assigned with such a task under Article 280 of the Constitution is the Finance Commission, which is to be appointed at the expiration of every five years or earlier. Under the Constitution, the main responsibilities of a Finance Commission are the following.

    1. The distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be divided between them and the allocation between the
    States of the respective shares of such proceeds.
    2. Determination of principles and quantum of grants-in-aid to States which are in need of such assistance.
    3. Measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State on the basis of
    the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State.

    The last function was added following the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution in 1992 conferring statutory status to the Panchayats and Municipalities. These Constitutionally mandated functions are the same for all the Finance Commissions and mentioned as such in the terms of reference (ToR) of different Finance Commissions.

    To enable the Finance Commission to discharge its responsibilities in an effective manner, the Constitution vests the Finance Commission with the power to determine its procedures.

    Under the Constitution, the President shall cause every recommendation made by the Finance Commission together with an explanatory memorandum as to the action taken thereon to be laid before each House of Parliament.

    So far, thirteen Finance Commissions have given their reports. The Union government has always been accepting the recommendations of the Finance Commissions, exception being the recommendations of the Third Commission relating to Plan grants.

    There have been major changes in the public finances of the Union and the States during the period of over 55 years covered by the Finance Commissions. A number of new matters have been referred to the Commissions in consonance with these developments.

    How the different Finance Commissions have discharged their responsibilities in the ever-changing fiscal situation is covered in the following sections under different heads.

    State Finance Commission

    In India, decentralization reforms, aimed at empowering local people through local governments, assumed significance in early 1990s. Though the Panchayats and the municipalities (rural local bodies and the urban local bodies) existed even before the 73rd and 74th amendment of the Constitution in the year 1993, these amendments provided an impetus to the decentralisation process through a system of self-government for the panchayats and municipalities and devolve greater powers, functions and authority to them.

    It also envisaged the panchayats and municipalities as an institution of self-government. These amendments also underscored the organic link in the public finances of the multi-layered federal polity in India. The devolution of financial resources to these bodies was ensured through periodic constitution of the State Finance Commissions (SFCs).

    Articles 243 (I) and 243 (Y) of the Constitution spelt out the task of SFCs. Accordingly, SFCs are required to recommend

    1. the principles that should govern the distribution between the State on the one hand and the local bodies on the other of the net proceeds of taxes, etc. leviable by the state and the inter-se allocation between different panchayats and municipalities,
    2. the determination of taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be assigned to, or appropriated by the local bodies, and
    3. grants-in-aid from the consolidated fund of the State to the local bodies. SFCs are also required to suggest the measures needed to improve the financial position of the panchayats and municipalities.

    The importance of the SFCs in the scheme of fiscal decentralization is that besides arbitrating on the claims to resources by the state government and the local bodies, their recommendations would impart greater stability and predictability to the transfer mechanism.

    So far, three SFCs have submitted their reports in most of the States. These cover different time period. The convention established at the national level of accepting the principal recommendations of the central finance commission without modification, is not being followed in the states.

    Often, even the accepted recommendations are not fully implemented due to resource constraints. There is no synchronization of the periods covered by the reports of SFCs with that of the central finance commission, which affects the central finance commission in assessing the resource required to state governments to supplement the resources of the panchayats and municipalities.

    By,
    Himanshu Arora

    Doctoral Scholar in Economics & Senior Research Fellow, CDS, Jawaharlal Nehru University

  • Infrastructure Sectors: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc

    1. Infrastructure Sector in India: Definitions; Growth and Infrastructure Linkage
    2. Infrastructure Development in India
    3. Infrastructure Sector in India: Growth Drivers; Government Policy Initiatives
    4. Road Transport in India
    5. Civil Aviation Sector in India
    6. Railways Sector in India
    7. Recent Initiatives by the Railways
    8. Telecommunication Sector in India
    9. Notable Initiatives of Indian Telecom Sector
    10. Port Sector in India
    11. Energy and Power Sector
    12. Government Policy Support for the Energy Sector

     

  • Economics of Animal Rearing in India

    Economics of Animal Rearing

    India’s Position in Global Livestock Economy.

    Importance of Livestock sector in the Indian Economy.

    Importance of Livestock sector in achieving Inclusive Growth in India

    • Distribution of livestock is more equitable than that of land. In 2003 marginal farm households (≤1.0h hectare of land) who comprised 48% of the rural households controlled more than half of country’s cattle and buffalo and two-thirds of small animals and poultry as against 24% of land. Between 1991-92 and 2002-03 their share in land area increased by 9 percentage points and in different livestock species by 10-25 percentage points.
    • Livestock has been an important source of livelihood for small farmers. They contributed about 16% to their income, more so in states like Gujarat (24.4%), Haryana (24.2%), Punjab (20.2%) and Bihar (18.7%).
    • The agricultural sector engages about 57% of the total working population and about 73% of the rural labour force. Livestock employed 8.8% of the agricultural work force albeit it varied widely from 3% in North-Eastern states to 40-48% in Punjab and Haryana. Animal husbandry promotes gender equity. More than three-fourth of the labour demand in livestock production is met by women. The share of women employment in livestock sector is around 90% in Punjab and Haryana where dairying is a prominent activity and animals are stallfed.
    • The distribution patterns of income and employment show that small farm households hold more opportunities in livestock production. The growth in livestock sector is demand-driven, inclusive and pro-poor. Incidence of rural poverty is less in states like Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, and Rajasthan where livestock accounts for a sizeable share of agricultural income as well as employment. Empirical evidence from India as well as from many other developing countries suggests that livestock development has been an important route for the poor households to escape poverty.

    Livestock population (2012 Livestock census)

    Sl. No Species Number

    (in millions)

    		 Ranking in the world population
    01 Cattle 190.9 Second
    02 Buffaloes 108.7 First
    Total (including Mithun and Yak) 300 First
    03 Sheep 65.0 Third
    04 Goats 135.2 Second
    05 Pigs 10.3 –
    06 Others 1.7 –
    Total livestock 512.3
    Total poultry 729.2 Seventh
    07 Duck –  

    Fifth
    08 Chicken –
    09 Camel – Tenth

    Schemes/Policies Launched for Livestock Sector by the Government

    National Livestock Mission

    The National Livestock Mission (NLM) has commenced from 2014-15. The Mission is designed to cover all the activities required to ensure quantitative and qualitative improvement in livestock production systems and capacity building of all stakeholders. The Mission will cover everything germane to improvement of livestock productivity and support projects and initiatives required for that purpose subject. This Mission is formulated with the objective of sustainable development of livestock sector, focusing on improving availability of quality feed and fodder. NLM is implemented in all States including Sikkim.

    NLM has 4 submissions as follows:

    The Sub-Mission on Fodder and Feed Development will address the problems of scarcity of animal feed resources, in order to give a push to the livestock sector making it a competitive enterprise for India, and also to harness its export potential. The major objective is to reduce the deficit to nil.

    Under Sub-Mission on Livestock Development, there are provisions for productivity enhancement, entrepreneurship development and employment generation (bankable projects), strengthening of infrastructure of state farms with respect to modernization, automation and biosecurity, conservation of threatened breeds, minor livestock development, rural slaughter houses, fallen animals and livestock insurance.

    Sub-Mission on Pig Development in North-Eastern Region: There has been persistent demand from the North Eastern States seeking support for all round development of piggery in the region. For the first time, under NLM a Sub-Mission on Pig Development in North-Eastern Region is provided wherein Government of India would support the State Piggery Farms, and importation of germplasm so that eventually the masses get the benefit as it is linked to livelihood and contributes in providing protein-rich food in 8 States of the NER.

    Sub-Mission on Skill Development, Technology Transfer and Extension: The extension machinery at field level for livestock activities is very weak. As a result, farmers are not able to adopt the technologies developed by research institutions. The emergence of new technologies and practices require linkages between stakeholders and this sub-mission will enable a wider outreach to the farmers.All the States, including NER States may avail the benefits of the multiple components and the flexibility of choosing them under NLM for a sustainable livestock development.

    Rashtriya Gokul Mission

    Key features of the mission

    • The Mission aims to conserve and develop indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner and for that breeding facilities will be set up for varieties with high-genetic pedigree”. Indigenous cattle are largely ignored in India despite the fact that they are better adapted to the country’s climate”.
    • The aim of the mission is to protect Indigenous cow from being cross-bred into different varieties.
    • Focus will be largely to give a push to local breeding programme on the line of elite local breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi to enhance milk production.
    • The local cow breed will be protected through traditional-style “gaushalas” or cattle-care centres. • The scheme has provision to acknowledge those farmers who works rigorously in the direction. • The “Gopal Ratna” awards will be conferred to them. • The scheme also makes a point about upkeep of cattle after their milk producing phase gets over and then they often used for the purpose of meat. Official reaction.
    • An amount of Rs 500 crore has been earmarked for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development programme and out of which Rs 150 crore will be specially allocated for the protection of indigenous cow breeds.

    Idea behind the Mission?

    • The idea is to increase milk production which is dismal in comparison to US, UK, and Israel.
    • Though India has attained the numero uno position in milk production but that is only because the country is home of world’s largest livestock population.
    • Through the programme, the aim is to increase high yield per cow which is very low in comparison to the European countries like US. Low yield per cow in India
    • The average daily milk yield for crossbred cattle in India is at 7.1 kg per day while it is at 25.6 in UK, US (32.8) and Israel (38.6).
    • The reason behind the low yield in India is because of intrinsic and extrinsic factors both.
    • The intrinsic factor is low genetic potential while extrinsic is related with number of reasons like poor nutrition and feed management, inferior farm management practices and inefficient implementation of breed improvement programs.
    • At present, India is largely using Jersey, a native of Netherlands and British origin Holstein for cross-breeding purposes.

    Operation flood/ White Revolution in India:

    ‘Operation flood’ a program started by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1970 made India the largest producer of the milk in the world. This program with its whopping success was called as ‘The White Revolution’. The main architect of this successful project was Dr. Verghese Kurien, also called the father of White Revolution.

    In 1949 Mr. Kurien joined Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union (KDCMPUL), now famous as Amul.

    Kurien has since then built this organization into one of the largest and most successful institutions in India. The Amul pattern of cooperatives had been so successful, in 1965, then Prime Minister of India, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, created the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to replicate the program on a nationwide basis citing Kurien’s “extraordinary and dynamic leadership” upon naming him chairman.

    Operation Flood Phases

    The Operation Flood was completed in three phases:

    Phase I (1970-79):- During this phase 18 of the country’s main milk sheds were connected to the consumers of the four metros viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. The total cost of this phase was Rs.116crores. The main objectives were, commanding share of milk market and speed up development of dairy animals respectively hinter- lands of rural areas.

    Phase II (1981–1985):- The management increased the milk sheds from 18 to 136; 290 urban markets expanded the outlets for milk. By the end of 1985, a self-sustaining system of 43,000 village cooperatives with 42.5 lakh milk producers were covered. Domestic milk powder production increased from 22,000 tons in the pre-project year to 140,000 tons by 1989, all of the increase coming from dairies set up under Operation Flood.

    Phase III (1985–1996):- The dairy cooperatives were enabled to expand and strengthen the infrastructure required to procure and market increasing volumes of milk. Veterinary first-aid health care services, feed and artificial insemination services for cooperative members were extended, along with intensified member education. It went with adding 30,000 new dairy cooperatives to the 42,000 existing societies organized during Phase II. Milk sheds peaked to 173 in 1988-89 with the numbers of women members and Women’s Dairy Cooperative Societies increasing significantly.

    Amul: (“priceless” in Sanskrit. The brand name “Amul,” from the Sanskrit “Amoolya,” formed in 1946, is a dairy cooperative in India.

    It is a brand name managed by an apex cooperative organization, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), which today is jointly owned by some 2.8 million milk producers in Gujarat, India. The White Revolution’s model dairy board was that of Amul. The whole program of NDDB was largely based the working of this dairy board. The three-tier ‘Amul Model’ has been instrumental in bringing about the White Revolution in the country.

    Achievements of the White Revolution

    • The phenomenal growth of milk production in India – from 20 million MT to 100 million MT in a span of just 40 years – has been made possible only because of the dairy cooperative movement. This has propelled India to emerge as the largest milk producing country in the World today.
    • The dairy cooperative movement has also encouraged Indian dairy farmers to keep more animals, which has resulted in the 500 million cattle & buffalo population in the country – the largest in the World.
    • The dairy cooperative movement has spread across the length and breadth of the country, covering more than 125,000 villages of 180 Districts in 22 States.
    • The movement has been successful because of a well-developed procurement system & supportive federal structures at District & State levels.

    Blue Revolution in India

    Realizing the immense scope for development of fisheries and aquaculture, the Government of India has restructured the Central Plan Scheme under an umbrella of Blue Revolution.

    The restructured Central Sector Scheme on Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries (CSS) approved by the Government provides for a focused development and management of the fisheries sector to increase both fish production and fish productivity from aquaculture and fisheries resources of the inland and marine fisheries sector including deep sea fishing.

    The scheme has the following components:
    i. National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) and its activities.
    ii. Development of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture.
    iii. Development of Marine Fisheries, Infrastructure and Post-Harvest Operations.
    iv. Strengthening of Database & Geographical Information System of the Fisheries Sector.
    v. Institutional Arrangement for Fisheries Sector.
    vi. Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) and other need-based Interventions.
    vii. National Scheme on Welfare of Fishermen.

    The Scheme Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries is being implemented in consultation with all States & UTs. Besides the activities undertaken under both the marine and inland sectors, no specific role for the coastal states has been defined.

    The Blue Revolution is being implemented to achieve economic prosperity of fishermen and fish farmers and to contribute towards food and nutritional security through optimum utilization of water resources for fisheries development in a sustainable manner, keeping in view the bio-security and environmental concerns.

    Under the scheme, it has been targeted to enhance the fish production from 107.95 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 to about 150 lakh tonnes by the end of the financial year 2019-20. It is also expected to augment the export earnings with a focus on increased benefit flow to the fishers and fish farmers to attain the target of doubling their income.

    The Department has prepared a detailed National Fisheries Action Plan-2020(NFAP) for the next 5 years with an aim of enhancing fish production and productivity and to achieve the concept of Blue Revolution. The approach was initiated considering the various fisheries resources available in the country like ponds & tanks, wetlands, brackish water, cold water, lakes & reservoirs, rivers and canals and the marine sector.

    Challenges faced by the fisheries sector 

    • Shortage of quality and healthy fish seeds and other critical inputs.
    • Lack of resource-specific fishing vessels and reliable resource and updated data.
    • Inadequate awareness about nutritional and economic benefits of fish.
    • Inadequate extension staff for fisheries and training for fishers and fisheries personnel.
    • Absence of standardization and branding of fish products.

    The Way Forward 

    • Schemes of integrated approach for enhancing inland fish production and productivity with forward and backward linkages.
    • Large scale adoption of culture-based capture fisheries and cage culture in reservoirs and larger water bodies are to be taken up.
    • Sustainable exploitation of marine fishery resources especially deep sea resources and enhancement of marine fish production through sea farming, mariculture.

    Poultry Sector in India

    Growth of India’s Poultry sector in Recent years

    • Indian Poultry Industry is one of the fastest growing segments of the agricultural sector today in India. As the production of agricultural crops has been rising at a rate of 1.5 to 2% per annum while the production of eggs and broilers has been rising at a rate of 8 to 10% per annum. Today India is world’s fifth largest egg producer in the world. Indian broiler production at 3.8 million tons is the fourth largest in the world after US, Brazil and China.
    • The broiler growing companies are becoming bigger and the feed mills are getting larger. More than 60 per cent of the feed is being processed. The layer farming with 220 million layers is growing at six to eight per cent and the egg prices are at record high.
    • The 67,000-crore Indian poultry industry is expected to report higher margins in the years to come.
    • The Indian Poultry Industry has undergone a paradigm shift in structure and operation. A very significant feature of India’s poultry industry is its transformation from a mere backyard activity into a major commercial activity in just about four decades which seems to be really fast. The kind of transformation has involved sizeable investments in breeding, hatching, rearing and processing. Indian farmers have moved from rearing non-descript birds to today’s rearing hybrids such as Hyaline, Shaver, and Babcock which ensure faster growth, good livability, excellent feed conversion and high profits to the rearers.
    • The organized sector of Indian Poultry Industry is contributing nearly 70% of the total output and the rest 30% in the unorganized sector.
    •  Due to the demand for poultry increasing and production reaching 37 billion eggs and 1 billion broilers, the Poultry Industry today employs around 1.6 million people. At least 80% of employment in Indian Poultry Industry generates directly by the farmers, while 20 % is engaged in feed, pharmaceuticals, equipment and other services according to the requirement. Additionally, there might be similar number of people roughly 1.6 million who are engaged in marketing and other channels servicing the poultry sector.

    Reason Behind this growth

    • The contributing factors behind this growth are – growth in per capita income, a growing urban population and falling poultry prices.
    • The Indian Poultry Industry has grown largely due to the initiative of private enterprises, minimal government intervention, and very considerable indigenous poultry genetics capabilities, and support from the complementary veterinary health, poultry feed, poultry equipment, and poultry processing sectors. India is one of the few countries in the world that has put into place a sustained Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) egg production project.

    Challenges the Poultry sector is facing

    • In last 2 years the Poultry sector is facing distress due to number of factors
    • There is disparity between states and hence an impairment in growth of the sector. About 60% of the egg production comes from Andhra Pradesh. Commercial poultry farming yet to make a mark in states like Odisha, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan. This disparity has resulted in uncertainty in sector.
    • Recent heatwaves in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region has resulted in high chicken prices due to killing of birds. As a result, poultry feed demand has fallen.
    • Avian influenza was another issue which has resulted which has devastating effect on Indian poultry, and it still continues to haunt the sector due to low demand and less exports
    • Shortage of raw material is another issue. Price of soybean meal, the major and only source of protein has increased about 75%, which has forced the feed manufacturers to comprise in terms of diet given to birds.
    • Shortage of human resources is another problem because of the absence of veterinarians, researchers, in areas where expertise knowledge is required.
    • Indian poultry sector is still unable to tap the benefit of international market. Lack of adequate cold storage, warehouses is the major factor affecting poultry sector in India.
    • Majority of the production is by unorganized which is another threat faced by sector.
    • Usually, summer sees a production drop of five to 10 per cent; this year, with the heat and drought, there is a 25-30 per cent drop. The drought has hit water supply for the birds and the latter’s mortality rate has risen in recent months, pushing up prices for broilers and eggs.

    Way Forward

    The Following measures should be taken by the Government to improve the situation.

    • Strong marketing network to set the industry free from the clutches of middlemen.
    • Government support to public poultry educational and R&D institutions.
    • Building infrastructure to meet the growing manpower demand of the poultry sector.
    • Promote both mass production as well as production by masses.
    • Support and promotion of the processing sector.
    • Insurance against losses.
    • Provision of subsidies, and credit

     

    By
    Himanshu Arora
    Doctoral Scholar in Economics & Senior Research Fellow, CDS, Jawaharlal Nehru University

  • Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.

    1. Food Processing Industry: Definition and Dimensions; Channels of Transitions; Inter linkages between Agriculture and Industry.
    2. Food Processing Industry: Food Based Industry versus Non- Food Based; Location, Upstream, Downstream Requirements.
    3. Food Processing Industry: Forward, Backward Linkages; Food Processing Industry and Economic Development
    4. Food Processing Industry in India: Growth Drivers, FDI Policy, Investment Opportunities; Schemes Related to Food Processing Sector.
    5. Supply Chain Management in Indian Agriculture