The principal function of planning, especially in a federal system, is to evolve a shared vision of and commitment to the national objectives and development strategy not only in the government at all levels, but also among all other economic agents. NITI Aayog acts as the quintessential platform of the Government of India to bring … Read more
First Plan (1951 – 56) Target Growth : 2.1 % Actual Growth 3.6 % It was based on Harrod-Domar Model. Influx of refugees, severe food shortage & mounting inflation confronted the country at the onset of the first five year Plan. The Plan Focussed on agriculture, price stability, power and transport It was a successful … Read more
Decentralized Planning is a type of planning where local organisations and institutions formulate, adopt, execute actions and supervise the plan without interference by the central body. Decentralized planning in the State operated mainly through the following institutions and instruments; Grama Sabha (GS): People’s participation in decentralization was sought to be ensured mainly through meetings of … Read more
India is the third largest producer of cereals, with only China and the USA ahead of it. India occupies the first position in milk production and is the third largest producer of fish and second largest producer of inland fisheries in the world. According to ministry of Agriculture ,India is likely to produce a record … Read more
The founding fathers of our Constitution desired to secure justice, social, economic and political for all citizens. They realized that the inequitable forces embedded in the socio-economic system and also political organizations, had resulted in deprivation and disadvantages for the poor and the weaker sections of the society. They, therefore, considered it necessary to provide … Read more
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), commonly referred to as the World Bank, is an international financial institution whose purposes include assisting the development of its member nation’s territories, promoting and supplementing private foreign investment and promoting long-range balance growth in international trade. The World Bank was established in December 1945 at the … Read more
Human Poverty Index (HPI) The Human Poverty Index (HPI) was first introduced into the Human Development Report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1997 in an attempt to bring together in a composite index the different features of deprivation in the quality of life to arrive at an aggregate judgement on the extent … Read more
The World Bank defines poverty in absolute terms. The bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than US$1.90 per day> (PPP), and moderate poverty as less than $3.10 a day. Types of Poverty Absolute poverty measures poverty in relation to the amount of money necessary to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and … Read more
Economic, social and environmental sustainability The United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a universal and transformative development strategy. The 2030 Agenda commits the global community to “achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions—economic, social and environmental—in a balanced and integrated manner”. Bruntland Report … Read more
Inclusive Growth is economic growth that creates opportunity for all segments of the population and distributes the dividends of increased prosperity, both in monetary and non-monetary terms, fairly across society.Indian Plans after the independence were based on the downward infiltration theory, which failed to bring equitable growth to all the sections of the Indian society. … Read more
The term underdevelopment refers to that state of an economy where levels of living of masses are extremely low due to very low levels of per capita income resulting from low levels of productivity and high growth rates of population. Underdeveloped countries are now known as ‘developing countries’ signifying that such nations are capable of … Read more
Human development is a process of enlarging people’s choices. The most critical ones are to lead a long and healthy life, to be educated and to enjoy a decent standard of living. Additional choices include political freedom, guaranteed human rights and self-respect.Human development has to be development of the people, by the people, for the … Read more
According to the 1996 World Food Summit, food security exists “when every person has physical and economic access at all times to healthy and nutritious food in sufficient quantity to cover the needs of their daily ration and food preferences, in order to live a healthy and active life.” The nutritional dimension is an integral … Read more
WHO Defines Food security to exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Food security has three interlinked contents such as :- Availability of food, Access to food and absorption of food. Food … Read more
Financial inclusion or inclusive financing is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to sections of disadvantaged and low-income segments of society, in contrast to financial exclusion where those services are not available or affordable. Government of India has launched an innovative scheme of Jan Dhan Yojna for Financial Inclusion to provide the financial … Read more
Impacts of Privatization Privatization in generic terms refers to the process of transfer of ownership, can be of both permanent or long term lease in nature, of a once upon a time state-owned or public owned property to individuals or groups that intend to utilize it for private benefits and run the entity with the aim of … Read more
Economic Growth Economic growth means an increase in real GDP. This increase in real GDP means there is an increase in the value of national output / national expenditure. Economic growth is an important macro-economic objective because it enables increased living standards and helps create new jobs. Measurement of Economic Growth Economic growth is measured … Read more
Globalization essentially means integration of the national economy with the world economy. It implies a free flow of information, ideas, technology, goods and services, capital and even people across different countries and societies. It increases connectivity between different markets in the form of trade, investments and cultural exchanges. The concept of globalization has been explained … Read more
Indian Money Market and Banking system is regulated by Reserve Bank of India.The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Main Functions of RBI are as follows:- Monetary Authority: Formulates, implements and monitors the monetary policy. Objective: maintaining price … Read more
VAT is a multi-stage tax levied at each stage of the value addition chain, with a provision to allow input tax credit (ITC) on tax paid at an earlier stage, which can be appropriated against the VAT liability on subsequent sale. VAT is intended to tax every stage of sale where some value is added … Read more
Balance of Payments is a systematic record of all economic transactions undertaken by residents of one country i.e. households, firms and the government with their counterparts in rest of the world. It consists of: 1. Current Account, 2. Capital Account and 3. Reserve Account. The Current Account covers transactions in goods and services and transfers … Read more
Fiscal policy is that part of Government policy which is concerned with raising revenues through taxation and other means along with deciding on the level and pattern of expenditure it operates through budget. However, generally the expenditure exceeds the revenue income of the Government. In order to meet this situation, the Government imposes new taxes … Read more
Public expenditure is spending made by the government of a country on collective needs and wants such as pension, provision, infrastructure, etc. Until the 19th century, public expenditure was limited as laissez faire philosophies believed that money left in private hands could bring better returns. In democracy, public expenditure is an expression of people’s will, … Read more
India has a well developed taxation structure. The tax system in India is mainly a three tier system which is based between the Central, State Governments and the local government organizations. In most cases, these local bodies include the local councils and the municipalities. According to the Constitution of India, the government has the right … Read more
The Indian Government had undertaken industrial policy reforms since 1980, but the most radical reforms have occurred since 1991, after the severe economic crisis in fiscal year 1990-91. These reforms mainly aimed at enhancing the efficiency and international competitiveness in Indian industry. Growth in the industrial sector is one of the vital figures that affect … Read more
Evergreen Revolution was a term coined by M.S. Swaminathan to indicate the development of technologies that can help in increasing productivity in perpetuity without causing an associated ecological harm.He also stated that to achieve the goal of food security by ending hunger and to promote sustainable agriculture, it is important that in the field of social … Read more
The World Trade Organization came into being in 1995 as the successor organization to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War. It is a multilateral framework (an agreement among governments) for conduct of international trade in goods and services and also for protection of intellectual … Read more
Agricultural prices cover prices of agricultural products (output prices) and prices of requisites for agricultural production (input prices) at various stages of marketing. The structure of Indian agricultural marketing system consists of: Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Societies; Regulated Markets; Public Trading and Futures Trading. Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) while recommending the minimum support prices … Read more