Govt approves 12th Five Year Plan

The government on Thursday approved the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) document that seeks to achieve annual average economic growth rate of 8.2 per cent, down from 9 per cent envisaged earlier, in view of fragile global recovery.

"The Union Cabinet also discussed the draft 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) and approved the draft and directed the that the draft be placed before the National Development Council (NDC)," Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi.

"It is an ambitious Plan. It estimates resources at an ambitious level and hope to expand the interventions in critical areas like health, education, drinking water, sanitation," he said.

He further said, "The projected average rate gross capital formation in the 12th Plan is 37 per cent of GDP. The projected gross domestic savings rate is 34.2 per cent of GDP and the net external financing needed for macro economic balance has been placed at 2.9 per cent of GDP.

"Plan emphasises the need for speeding up the implementation of infrastructure projects."

The 12th Plan document has already been approved by the full Planning Commission chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on September 15.

Now, the document will be placed before the National Development Council (NDC), the apex decision making body, for final approval.

The NDC headed by the Prime Minister with all chief ministers and Cabinet ministers on board, is the final authority to approve the five-year long policy document.

In view of the ongoing global problems, the average annual growth target for the 12th Plan has been scaled down at 8.2 per cent from 9 per cent envisaged in the Approach Paper to the 12th Plan.