PM to chair full Planning Commission meeting on Saturday

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will chair a full Planning Commission meeting to finalise the draft of the 12th Five Year Plan on August 20, Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen said on Wednesday.

He said the Commission would make efforts to bring the agricultural growth rate from the present 3.2 per cent to four per cent during the 12th Five Year Plan.

Talking to reporters in Chennai, he said if the meeting approved the draft, then it would be sent to the Cabinet and eventually to the National Development Council.

Sen said he hoped the Council would meet by next month-end to consider the proposal for 12th Five Year Plan.

On the four per cent target growth in agriculture and related sectors, Sen, also the Steering Committee Chairman, said: "In the 11th Five Year plan the target rate of growth for agriculture (and related sectors) was four per cent (in the first four years). But we have managed a 3.2 per cent growth which is considerably better than the target set during the 10th Five Year Plan".

"It (target) will be 4 per cent for the 12th Five Year Plan," he said.

Sen said the decision not to change this target was due to the "bad years" for the agriculture sector in the 11th Five Year Plan due to poor monsoon.

He said the Centre was holding discussions with the private sector on modernisation of storage facilities through Public-Private partnership model.

On exports of vegetables and other products, he said it was for the Group of Ministers to decide on it. "We can go for exports. There is no cap for exports on onions alone," he said.

Sen was here to chair a two-day Steering Committee meeting organised by the State Planning Commission to deliberate on various issues relating to agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries and related sectors.