Twelfht Five – Year Plan (2012 – 2017)

Introduction

The Twelfth Plan commenced at a time when the global economy was going through a second
financial crisis, precipitated by the sovereign debt problems of the Eurozone which erupted in the
last year of the Eleventh Plan. The crisis affected all countries including India. Our growth
slowed down to 6.2 percent in 2011-12 and the deceleration continued into the first year of the
Twelfth Plan, when the economy is estimated to have grown by only 5 percent . The Twelfth
Plan therefore emphasizes that our first priority must be to bring the economy back to rapid
growth while ensuring that the growth is both inclusive and sustainable. The broad vision and
aspirations which the Twelfth Plan seeks to fulfil are reflected in the subtitle: ‘Faster,
Sustainable, and More Inclusive Growth’. Inclusiveness is to be achieved through poverty
reduction, promoting group equality and regional balance, reducing inequality, empowering
people etc whereas sustainability includes ensuring environmental sustainability ,development of
human capital through improved health, education, skill development, nutrition, information
technology etc and development of institutional capabilities , infrastructure like power
telecommunication, roads, transport etc.

Twelfht Five – Year Plan (2012 – 2017)

On 4th October, the government of India approved the 12th five year plan (2012-17) that aims
to achieve annual average economic growth rate of 8.2 per cent, down from 9 per cent
(Eleventh plan 2007-12). The aim of the 12th Five Year plan is to achieve “faster, sustainable
and more inclusive growth”.

Vision of 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17)

Twelfth Five Year Plan focuses on Growth – Growth which is

 Faster
 Inclusive
 Sustainable
Objectives of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan

The objectives of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan were:

 To create 50 million new work opportunities in the non farm sector.

 To remove gender and social gap in school enrolment.
 To enhance access to higher education.
 To reduce malnutrition among children aged 0–3 years.
 To provide electricity to all villages.
 To ensure that 50% of the rural population have accesses to proper drinking water.
 To increase green cover by 1 million hectare every year.
 To provide access to banking services to 90% of households.

Twelve Strategy Challenges

Based on an intensive process within the Planning Commission, the following ” Twelve

Strategy Challenges ” have been identified to initiate the consultations. The “strategy
challenges” refer to some core areas that require new approaches to produce the desired results.

 Enhancing the Capacity for Growth

 Enhancing Skills and Faster Generation of Employment

 Managing the Environment

 Markets for Efficiency and Inclusion

 Decentralization, Empowerment, and Information

 Technology and Innovation

 Securing the Energy Future for India

  Accelerated Development of Transport Infrastructure

 Rural Transformation and Sustained Growth of Agriculture

 Managing Urbanization

 Improved Access to Quality Education

 Better Preventive and Curative Health Care

25 Core Monitorable Targets of the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17)

ECONOMIC GROWTH

 Real GDP growth at 8%.

 Agriculture growth at 4%.
 Manufacturing growth at 10%.
 Every state must attain higher growth rate than the rate achieved during 11th plan.

POVERTY AND EMPLOYMENT

 Poverty rate to be reduced by 10% than the rate at the end of 11th plan.
 5 Crore new work opportunities and skill certifications in non-farm sector.

EDUCATION

 Mean years of schooling to increase to 7 years.

 20 lakh seats for each age bracket in higher education.
 End gender gap and social gap in school enrollment.
HEALTH

 Reduce : IMR to 25; MMR to 1. Increase Child Sex Ratio to 950.

 Reduce Total Fertility Rate to 2.1
 Reduce under nutrition of children in age group 0-3 to half of NFHS-3 levels.

INFRASTRUCTURE

 Investment in Infrastructure at 9% of GDP

 Gross Irrigated Area 103 million hectare (from 90 million hectare)
 Electricity to all villages; Reduce AT&C losses by 20%.
 Connect Villages with All Weather Roads
 National and State high ways to a minimum of 2 lane standard.
 Complete Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors.
 Rural Tele-Density to 70%.
 40 Litres Per Capita Per Day Drinking Water to 50% of rural population; Nirmal Gram
Status to 50% of all Gram Panchayats.

ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

 Increase green cover by 1 million hectare every year.

 30,000 MW renewable energy during Five Year Period.
 Emission intensity of GDP to be reduced to 20-25% of 2005 levels by 2020.

SERVICE DELIVERY

 Banking Services to 90% of Indian Households.

 Subsidies and Welfare related payment to be routed through Aadhar based Direct Cash
Transfer Scheme.
Conclusion:
Thus the presentation made by the Planning Commission in its NDC meeting on “Issues for
Approach to the Twelfth Five Year Plan” will simply encourage agriculture, education, health
and social welfare through plan expenditure on the respective areas by the government.

In order to achieve greater inclusion growth, the Commission has given stress on better farm
sector performance with a growth of at least 4 per cent faster creation of jobs, consolidated and
stronger efforts health, education and skill development and also on attaining greater
effectiveness of the programmes designed for poor.

In earlier plans, targets and objectives of the plan were finalized jointly by the centre and states.
But for the Twelfth Plan the Commission has sought to develop an inclusive and participative
approach to the entire planning process.

Thus with the idea to make it much more inclusive, the commission has evolved a web based
consultative process in which all interested citizens and stakeholders can participate and share
their views and suggestions on a multi-dimensional strategy matrix that has been created
indicating some key areas which need to be developed.

Thus the planning process followed by the commission for finalising Twelfth Plan has some new
directions in certain respects.