NDC approves 11th Plan mid-term appraisal

New Delhi, July 24 (PTI) The National Development
Council, the highest policy-making body of India, Saturday
approved the Mid-Term Appraisal of the 11th Plan, which has
scaled down the average annual economic growth target to 8.1
per cent from 9 per cent for the five-year period ending 2012.
The approval came at a meeting of the NDC chaired by
Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh and attended by chief
ministers and Union Cabinet ministers when they also took
stock of the current economic situation.
Pinning his hopes on good rains, Singh said that
inflation would come down to 6 per cent by December even as
states called for plugging large-scale leakages in the
Public Distribution System (PDS).
In his concluding remarks after a day-long meeting of
the National Development Council (NDC), Singh stressed the
need for quick operationalisation of the proposed Food
Security Act, which will legally entitle families below
poverty line to a fixed quantity of rice or wheat at Rs 3 per
kg.
The recent hike in petrol and diesel prices, coupled with
the general inflation of 10.55 per cent and 12.47 per cent
food inflation, has generated quite a political storm that is
expected to hit the monsoon session of Parliament, beginning
Monday.
"We expect to see the rate of inflation in wholesale
prices to come down to around 6 per cent by December," the
Prime Minister had said earlier in the day.
Singh regretted that states were not paying due attention
to the farm sector, which is crucial for curbing inflation.
"This must be corrected if we want to achieve broad-based
improvement in living standards in rural areas. Better
agriculture performance is crucial for food security and would
help in tackling the problem of inflation," he said.
Singh said the agriculture market laws need to be
reformed to attract private investment in farm infrastructure.
"We also need to facilitate intra and inter-state free
movement of agriculture commodities..." he added.
However, the chief ministers of Bhartiya Janta
Party-ruled states said that it was the Centre that had failed
in tackling inflation, and the price rise was making life
difficult for the common man.
"Inflation poses a great threat to the country's
development...There is a need to understand the constant agony
that millions of people are forced to undergo daily," Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi warned.
On the chief ministers' suggestion, the Prime Minister
proposed to form an NDC committee under Urban Development
Minister S Jaipal Reddy to look into the challenges of
urbanisation. The report, to be submitted within a year, would
provide inputs into the 12th Plan.
Singh also accepted the suggestion for an Action Taken
Report on discussions at each NDC meeting. PTI