Simone Lawson
The Planning Commission of India was an advisory body that formulated India's Five-Year Plans. It was established in 1950 by an executive decision of the Government of India, in accordance with Article 39 of the Constitution. The Planning Commission was responsible for assessing the country's resources and making recommendations for their effective utilization. However, it has been criticized for overlapping with the Finance Commission and encroaching upon the federal system of the country. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his intention to dissolve the Planning Commission, and it has since been replaced by NITI Aayog. With this context in mind, we can explore the question of whether the Planning Commission of India was a constitutional body or not.
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What You'll Learn
The Planning Commission was an advisory body
The Planning Commission was headed by the Prime Minister of India, who served as the ex-officio Chairman. The Deputy Chairman, with the rank of Cabinet Minister, was responsible for formulating and submitting the draft Five-Year Plan to the central cabinet. The Finance Minister and the Planning Minister were also ex-officio members. The Commission included other ministers as well, such as the Agriculture Minister, Home Minister, Health Minister, and Information Technology Minister.
The Planning Commission played a crucial role in decision-making and strategy formulation. It identified the priority steps for implementing plans and recommended resource allocation for each phase. It also identified factors hindering economic growth and proposed solutions. The Commission worked through its various divisions, with economists forming the majority of its experts.
Despite its important functions, the Planning Commission faced criticism for its role. Some critics labelled it as a "Super Cabinet" or a "Parallel Cabinet," suggesting that it encroached upon the authority of other bodies, such as the Finance Commission, and interfered with the federal system of the country. The Commission's recommendations were also described as purely advisory and non-binding.
In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his intention to dissolve the Planning Commission, and it was subsequently replaced by a new institution named NITI Aayog.
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It was established in 1950
The Planning Commission of India was established on 15 March 1950, with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as its first chairman. The Commission was an institution that formulated India's Five-Year Plans, with the first one launched in 1951. The Five-Year Plans outlined by the Planning Commission focused on the development of various sectors of the Indian economy, with the initial plans concentrating on the agricultural sector and the later plans emphasising the expansion of the public sector and investment in heavy and basic industries.
The Planning Commission was established based on the recommendation of an advisory planning board under the chairmanship of KC Neogy. The Commission's functions were outlined in a 1950 resolution by the government, which included making an assessment of India's material, capital, and human resources, investigating possibilities for augmenting deficient resources, and formulating plans for the effective and balanced utilisation of the country's resources.
The Planning Commission played a vital role in India's emergence as an independent nation with ambitious developmental goals. It worked under the guidance of the National Development Council and included ex officio members such as the Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister, Home Minister, and other important cabinet ministers. The Commission was replaced by the NITI Aayog in 2014 or 2015, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intention to dissolve the Planning Commission.
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It was replaced by NITI Aayog
The Planning Commission of India was established on 15 March 1950 as an advisory institution to formulate India's Five-Year Plans and assess the country's resources. It was also involved in recommending policy adjustments and addressing specific problems referred to it by the central or state governments.
However, on 1 January 2015, the Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India). This change was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, in his first Independence Day speech in 2014, announced his intention to dissolve the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission had become a redundant organization, particularly as India's diversified economy and unique developmental stages in each state made a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to economic planning obsolete in a global context.
NITI Aayog was envisioned as an advisory body to provide strategies and directions for the development process, working with both state and central governments on policy matters. Unlike the Planning Commission, NITI Aayog does not directly control funds; this power rests with the Finance Ministry. NITI Aayog has a 'Bottom-Up' approach, emphasizing Maximum Governance and Minimum Government, in line with the spirit of 'Cooperative Federalism'.
NITI Aayog has initiated various projects, including the LiFE Mission, which aims to create a global community committed to environmentally friendly lifestyles, and the Poshan Gyan initiative, a national digital repository on health and nutrition. NITI Aayog is also working on a blockchain system to enforce contracts, prevent fraud, and efficiently disburse subsidies to farmers. Additionally, it is developing a job portal to connect employers with workers who returned to their home states during the nationwide lockdown.
In summary, NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission of India to address the changing needs of the country's economy and to provide a more dynamic and cooperative approach to governance and policy formulation.
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It was responsible for formulating India's Five-Year Plans
The Planning Commission was an institution within the Government of India that was responsible for formulating India's Five-Year Plans. It was established in 1950 to oversee the country's economic and social development, primarily through the formulation of these plans. The Commission was chaired ex-officio by the prime minister and included the finance minister, agriculture minister, home minister, and several other ministers as ex-officio members.
The Five-Year Plans were a series of national development programs implemented by the Government of India from 1951 to 2017. Inspired by the Soviet model, these plans aimed to promote balanced economic growth, reduce poverty, and modernise key sectors such as agriculture, industry, infrastructure, and education. The Planning Commission conceptualised and monitored the plans until its replacement by the NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) in 2015.
The first Five-Year Plan was introduced by Joseph Stalin in the USSR in 1928. The idea was adopted by Sir M. Visvesvaraya, regarded as the Father of Indian Economic Planning, who, in 1934, published a book titled "Planned Economy in India". In it, he presented a ten-year plan to shift labour from agriculture to industries and double national income. This laid the groundwork for India's Five-Year Plans.
The Second Five-Year Plan focused on the development of the public sector and "rapid industrialisation". It followed the Mahalanobis model, an economic development model developed by Indian statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1953. This plan attempted to determine the optimal allocation of investments across sectors to maximise long-term economic growth. During this period, five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were established, along with the University Grants Commission (UGC) to strengthen higher education. Additionally, contracts were signed for five steel plants, and projects in hydroelectric power were initiated with the help of the Soviet Union, Britain, and West Germany.
The Sixth Five-Year Plan marked the beginning of economic liberalisation, with the elimination of price controls and the closure of ration shops. This led to an increase in food prices and the cost of living. The plan also included the establishment of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development to focus on developing rural areas. Family planning was expanded to prevent overpopulation, and military plans became coterminous with the Planning Commission's plans.
The Twelfth Five-Year Plan, from 2012 to 2017, was India's last Five-Year Plan. It aimed for an ambitious growth rate of 9%, but due to the deteriorating global situation, the final growth target was set at 8%. In his first Independence Day speech in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his intention to dissolve the Planning Commission, and it was subsequently replaced by the NITI Aayog.
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It was criticised for overlapping with the Finance Commission
The Planning Commission of India was a governmental agency established in 1950 to formulate India's Five-Year Plans. It was crucial for shaping India's economic and social development and played a central role in prioritizing development programs. The Commission's responsibilities included assessing India's resources, formulating development plans, prioritizing and
The Planning Commission was an institution within the Government of India that was responsible for formulating the country's Five-Year Plans, among other tasks. The Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister, Home Minister, Health Minister, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister, Information Technology Minister, Law Minister, Human Resource Development Minister, and Minister of State for Planning were among the ex officio members of the Commission. The Commission worked through its various divisions, of which there were two types. The majority of the experts on the commission were economists, making it the Indian Economic Service's largest employer.
The Planning Commission was criticized for its overlap with the Finance Commission. The Planning Commission was responsible for formulating Five-Year Plans, which included making recommendations on economic policies and development programs. The Finance Commission is responsible for making recommendations on the distribution of taxes between the central and state governments, as well as the allocation of conditional grants to the states. There was an overlap between the two commissions in terms of their responsibilities for economic planning and resource allocation. This overlap led to criticism that the Planning Commission was infringing on the responsibilities of the Finance Commission.
The Planning Commission was also criticized for its Soviet-style bureaucracy, which was blamed for slow growth in India. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his intention to dissolve the Planning Commission and replace it with a new institution, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. NITI Aayog is intended to act more like a think tank or forum, in contrast to the Planning Commission, which imposed five-year plans and allocated resources to meet economic targets.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the Planning Commission of India is a non-constitutional and non-statutory body. It was an advisory body that formulated India's Five-Year Plans.
The Planning Commission was responsible for assessing and making recommendations regarding the country's resources, including material, capital, and human resources. It also formulated plans for the effective and balanced utilization of these resources, identifying priority steps and recommending resource allocation.
The Prime Minister of India served as the ex-officio Chairman of the Planning Commission. The Deputy Chairman, who held the rank of a Cabinet Minister, was responsible for formulating and submitting the draft Five-Year Plan. The Finance Minister and the Planning Minister were also ex-officio members.
No, the Planning Commission has been dissolved and replaced by a new institution named NITI Aayog. This change was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first Independence Day speech in 2014.
