Rationale:
INSTITUTIONS MUST CHANGE
This changing reality and growing mismatch has been recognized for years now; with experts,
including many from within the erstwhile Planning Commission, recommending appropriate
changes:
The 8
th
Five Year Plan document
- the very first after the liberalisation of 1991 - itself
categorically stated that, as the role of Government was reviewed and restructured, the role
and functions of the Planning Commission too needed to be rethought. The Planning
Commission needed to be reformed to keep up with changing trends; letting go of old practices
and beliefs whose relevance had been lost, and adopting new ones based on the past
experiences of India as well as other nations.
The Standing Committee on Finance
of the 15
th
Lok Sabha observed in its 35
th
Report on
Demand for Grants (2011-12) that the Planning Commission
"has to come to grips with the
emerging social realities to re-invent itself to make itself more relevant and effective for
aligning the planning process with economic reforms and its consequences, particularly for the
poor"
.
Former Prime Minister
and noted economist, Dr. Manmohan Singh - in his farewell address
to the Commission in April 2014 - also urged reflection on
"what the role of the Planning
Commission needs to be in this new world. Are we still using tools and approaches which were
designed for a different era? What additional roles should the Planning Commission play and
what capacities does it need to build to ensure that it continues to be relevant to the growth
process?"
8
