Indian development planning and policy

There are a very large number of studies - many using considerable statistical and econometric techniques, which have been conducted either on planning models or on details of different sectors, which can be placed in a perspective, in which policies or planning issues can be seen in the framework of successive definition of major problems and attempts at solutions. This book makes a preliminary attempt in the direction of presenting them within an analytical frame work. As a beginning it puts together a number of studies, which are available in the public domain, but have as yet not been generally commented upon in the literature from a planning or policy viewpoint.

In this overall context, some of the tech niques/strategies described and discussed in this book include:

⚫ the development of the agricultural sub model of the Indian Plan, particularly the strengths and weaknesses of the Framework Action Plan (Special Food grains Plan) and the details and policy framework of the agro-climatic plan;

the methodological and econometric details of the development of rule based policies for individual sectors as a part of a national plan, including the concep tual and numerical details of BICP concepts like long range marginal pricing as a planning supply curve, analytical details of dual pricing in terms of multiple market behaviour, use of DRCs, etc. as a part of interrelated input using and output producing sectors;

the details of possible plan models endogenising pricing and tax policies, rather than an exclusive reliance on quantitative allocation models;

the rupture between investments and targets in current plan approaches and details of requirements of strategic plans for core sectors and policies for agriculture, exports, employment and technical change.

This authoritative book will be useful to teachers and students of Indian development planning and policy makers in government, industry and media persons.