Introduction
Chapter- 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 10 || 11 || 12 || 13 || 14 || 15 || 16 || 17 || 18 || 19 || 20 || 21 || 22 || 23 || 24 || 25 || 26 || 27 || 28 || 29 || 30 || Conclusion || Appendix

Chapter 6:
ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS AND ORGANISATION

Tasks In The Second Plan

AT the present time the general social and economic outlook which has been evolved in India in dealing with problems of national development embodies a large measure of agreement both on the analysis of problems and on many of the basic questions of policy. On closer examination, differences in judgement are often found to be either differences in perspective or differences in detail. While the area of agreement on matters of policy is considerable, doubt exists whether in its range and quality administrative action will prove equal to the responsibilities assumed by the Central and State Governments in the second five year plan. It is likely that as the plan proceeds difficult issues will relate less to matters of policy and approach, more to questions of administration and organisation. Inasmuch as collection -of taxes, spending money and raising small savings are but aspects of the executive functions of government, finance may also be regarded as part of the more general problem of administration.

2. As development goes forward, the expression administration' steadily assumes a broader content. It includes within its scope the building up of personnel, training of men, running the administrative machine, seeking the co-operation and participation of the people, informing and educating the public and, finally, organising a sound system of planning based as much on the participation of people at each level as on the best technical, economic and statistical information available. Increasingly, administrative tasks have to be undertaken in new fields, especially those connected with economic, industrial and commercial operations. If the administrative machinery, both at the Centre and in the States, does its work with efficiency, integrity and with a sense of urgency and concern for the community, the success of the second plan would be fully assured. Thus, in a very real sense, the second five year plan resolves itself into a series of well defined administrative tasks.

3. In comparison with the first plan, these tasks are larger in scope; they are also far more complex. Some part of the ground is familiar and represents activities continued from the past, although on an expanded scale. But there is much that is virtually new for which, in the ordinary course, a longer period of preparation would have been necessary. The principal administrative tasks during the second five year plan could perhaps be classified into certain broad categories:

1. ensuring integrity in administration;
2. building up administrative and technical cadres and providing incentives and opportunities for creative service;
3. continuously assessing requirements of personnel in relation to the tasks to be undertaken; organising largescale training programmes in all fields; and mobilising the available training resources, including public and private institutions, industrial and other establishments, apprenticeship and in-service training;
4. devising speedy, efficient and economic methods of work, providing for continuous supervision, and arranging for objective evaluation of methods and results at regular intervals;
5. carrying technical, financial and other aids to small producers as in agriculture, national extension and community projects and village and small industries;
6. building up organisations for the efficient management of public enterprises as in industrial and commercial undertakings, transport services and river valley schemes;
7. securing local community action and public participation so as to obtain the maximum results from public expenditure, as in agriculture and in social services; and
8. strenthening the co-operative sector of the economy through assistance in managerial and technical personnel and establishment of co-operative, financial, marketing and other institutions;

This statement of administrative tasks is by no means exhaustive. Although each task constitutes a theme by itself, the various tasks have to be viewed as inler-dependent elements in the execution of the plan. In undertaking these tasks, it is essential that there should be sufficient coordination in policy and programmes in different sectors of the economy in terms of the objectives and targets set by the plan.

Integrity In Administration

4. As pointed out in the First Five Year Plan corruption leads to wrongs which are difficult to redress and undermine the confidence of the public in the administration. At present, in several fields of administration there are complaints of lack of integrity in the official machinery. There has to be continuous war against every species of corruption within the administration as well as in public life generally and the methods to root out this evil should be constantly reviewed. In recent years a number of positive steps have been taken both at the Centre and in the States. Several State Governments have organised anti-corruption departments. Procedures for expediting departmental enquiries have been introduced. Public servants are being required to submit returns from time to time regarding movable as well as immovable properties acquired by them. Applications received from the public have to be accounted for to a greater extent than before. Officers whose integrity is open to doubt are being retired before the due dates and are being kept out of positions of special responsibility. An enquiry committee appointed by the Ministry of Railways has examined the problem of corruption on the railways and has made a number of recommendations for dealing with factors to which the committee has drawn attention. The Ministry of Railways propose tc set up and anti-corruption organisation to deal with important cases and with cases against gazetted officers and similar units are to be set up for individual railway systems.

5. In the First Five Year Plan the need for supervision and vigilance within the administration was stressed and it was pointed out that the main attack on corruption must be through ensuring efficiency in every branch of the administration. In particular, it was suggested that the openings which current policies and procedures may provide for corruption should be examined by heads of departments, so as to check the growth of conditions within their organisations in which corruption becomes either an easy risk or a nsjk worth taking. Another important source of corruption to which many inquiry committees have referred is delay in the disposal of cases or applications. Delays might occur on account of excessive concentration of functions or authority, insufficient staff, poor quality of personnel, lack of clear policy or directions, or other similar reasons- In each organisation the sources of delay should be carefully examined and the necessary action taken. It was also pointed out that iaxity on the part of employees of government was often due to the fact that honest and good work was not sufficiently rewarded and inefficiency and dishonesty was insufficiently penalised. Finally, it was necessary to rouse public opinion to the importance of eliminating corruption and to secure public co-operation in maintaining high levels of integrity in the administration of government activities. This approach has led to the establishment in the Ministry of Home Affairs of an administrative vigilance division. This organisation is, on the one hand, in close contact with the special police establishment and, on the other, through specially appointed vigilance officers who work directly under the Secretaries or heads of departments, with individual Ministries and departments. The aim of the administrative vigilance division and of the units associated with it is both to take speedy action where corruption has come to notice and to tackle the factors which make corruption possible. Thus, under the general guidance of the Director of the division, vigilance officers in individual Ministries and departments are required to examine the existing organisation and procedures with a view to eliminating or minimising the factors which provide opportunities for corruption or malpractice, to institute inspection and surprise visfts for detecting failures indicative of the existence of corruption and take prompt action where reasonable ground for suspicion exists. Vigilance officers are required to proceed systematically, selecting those branches of activities first in whicli there may be greater risk of corruption. They are asked to ensure that in matters in which members of public are involved, easily ascer-tainable rules of procedure are made widely known. The administrative vigilance division in the Ministry of Home Affairs and the units associated with it have been in existence for about a year. Sufficient experience has been gained to warrant the suggestion that similar arrangements would be useful also in the States and ?n the principal public enterprises.

6. The Railway Corruption Enquiry Committee has drawn attention to some of the conditions essential to the success of a drive for eliminating corruption. Sometimes officials who are suspected of corruption may be shielded. Individuals who expose corruption fear that they may be victimised and such fears are not always without substance. In many petty matters the influence of individuals is not dis-coiH.i.es.ar.ced and may operate to the disadvantage of weaker parties. The belief that a measure of influence goes a long way is often expressed even where no special concessions are sought. An aleit public opinion can do much to remove an evil whose continued existence is likely to do serious injury to democratic planning. To develop the right climate of public opinion it is necessary that the methods adopted by cu:Tiipt persons should be fully exposed, publicity should be given to the rights and duties of citizens and instances in which corrupt men are brought book should be made widely known.

Administrative And Technical Cadres

7. No large programme can be successfully executed without the necessary personnel. In every field most of the tasks to be accomplished are long range in character and each significant problem needs continuous and detailed attention over many years. For some years there has been a tendency to recruit new personnel on a temporary basis and to carry them over from year to year without giving them reasonable security and satisfaction in achievement. This proves wasteful in man-power resources and, in the long run, is apt to bs more costly. As the review of personnel requirements under the second five year plan, in Chapter VIII brings out, with planned development of the country's resources, personnel needs will increase substantially in almost every field. The appropriate course for each authority, therefore, is to build up permanent cadres and to supplement existing cadres on a permanent basis for carrying out its programmes under the second five year plan. This has been done already with advantage during the first five year plan in a few instances, as in the natioisal extension and community development programme and through the formation of the Indian Frontier Administrative Service.

8. The Indian Administrative Service, which serves both the Centre and the States, is now called upon to assume a growing measure of responsibility. The requirements of personnel belonging to this cadre have been recently reviewed in terms of the likely needs over the next five years, and arrangements for taking in 386 additional officers from amongst persons with previous experience have been decided upon. This wil! be in addition to recruitment during the next five years of 225 persons in the junior scale through the competitive examination.

9. For the implementation of the second five year plan. State Governments have also been engaged in reviewing the requirements of administrative personnel at different levels. As was pointed out in the First Five Year Plan, a major share of the responsibility for detailed administrative work in the districts is borne by members of State administrative services and it falls iargely to them to coordinate the activities of different branches of the administration and to win the cooperation of the people in carrying out development programmes. To ensure that these services can fulfil tke role assigned to them in the States, it is necessary that the cadres should be adequate in strength. The training of individual officers should receive no less attention than die trainin,¹.'; of those who enier the all-India service, and libera' opportunities of promotion should be afforded to the best among the personnel of the State services. The burden falling upon State administrative services will increase to a considerable extent during the second plan. As a result of the review which has been undertaken recently, the following suggestions are offered for the consideration of State Governments:

1. in strengthening State cadres a view of requirements over a sufficiently long period, say 10 years, should be taken;
2. in making estimates of requirements adequate allowance should be made for the likely expansion of responsibilities which State Governments will have to undertake both in relation to their own programmes and in respect of programmes sponsored by the Central Government In each cadre enough provision should be made for reserves, including those needed for facilitating training;
3. increase in State cadres should be undertaken preferably on a permanent basis;
4. as explained later, district development pro grammes are placing an increasing burden on the Collector. To enable him to discharge the duties entrusted to him, sufficient assistance should be given to him:
5. training programmes for administrative per sonnel are being strengthened in a numbe, of States and now include rural development work. Selected officers with experience and judgement should be appointed to positions in which they can provide close supervision and take personal interest in the trai ling of junior personnel during the first years of service. Greater attention should also be given to methods of training, in which respect there is need for continuous exchange of information and experience between States.

10. Experience during the first five year plan has borne out the fact that even in the more developed States a moderate expansion in development programmes strains the available resources of technical personnel, especially at the higher levels. This is true without exception for all fields of development and in some of the less developed States the situation has been sometimes quite serious. For instance, in some States important departments are without directors or other senior officers. In some part 'C' States, the chronic shortage of technical personnel, even at lower levels, has been the most important single cause for shortfalls in expenditure and consequent failure to fulfil targets set by the First Five Year Plan. It may be that a few States are in a fair position to provide themselves with technical personnel. One important iesson of the first plan, however, has been that in several fields the average State is not able to recruit personnel of high quality, organise adequate training and provide reserves of personnel to cope with continually expanding .leeds. It will be an advantage, therefore, if recruitment to State cadres is supplemented in different fields by arrangements such as all-India Services, joint development cadres or other cooperative arrangements between the Centre and par* ticipating States as envisaged in the First Five Year Plan, and cadres or other cooperative arrangements organised on a regional basis to serve the needs of groups of States. It is recommended that detailed proposals should be worked out on this subject.

Economy And Efficiency

11. The very magnitude of the second five year plan will place an enormous strain on the country and will call for a great deal of effort on the part of all sections of the population. Generally speaking, (he people are willing to shoulder greater burdens if they feel assured that the resources raised by the Government will be utilised with economy and efficiency and there will be no wastage. It has to be recognised that since, during the second plan, each department or authority will spend comparatively larger amounts than during the first plan, there must be far greater care in the spending of money. Both at the Centre and in some States special units have been at work for suggesting ways of achieving economies in expenditure. As development proceeds, an increasing proportion of the expenditure is incurred through projects which involve construction works and import or procurement of scarce materials and equipment. Organisation, procedure and programming methods should, therefore, be designed by every department so as to ensure that public money is not misapplied and that from the money spent the maximum results are obtained. In each organisation there is need for an appropriate system of cost control and internal efficiency audit. With the object especially of achieving economies in the execution of projects, a Comn.nt-tee on Plan Projects has been recently constituted by the National Development Council. The spec'i.ai functions of the Committee on Plan Projects wiH be-

1. to organise investigations, including inspection in the field, of important projects, both at the centre and in the States, through specially selected teams;
2. to initiate studies with the object of evolving suitable forms of organisation, methods, standards and tethniques for achieving economy, avoiding waste and ensuring efficient execution of projects;
3. to promote the development of suitable machinery for continuous efficiency audit in individual projects and in agencies responsible for their execution;
4. to secure the implementation of suggestions made in reports submitted to the Committee on Plan Projects and to make the results of studies and investigations generally available; and
5. to undertake such other tasks as the National Development Council may propose for the promotion of economy and efficiency in the execution of the second five year plan.

For purposes of investigations projects under the plan are divided into six broad categories—irrigation and power, public works and buildings, agriculture and community development, transport and communications. public industrial and mineral enterprises, and social services. For each set of projects, the Committee will work through groups composed of Ministers from the Centre and Chief Ministers of States. Reports of investigating teams will be discussed with the Chief Minister of States concerned with the execution of projects under study and the normal procedure will be for investigating teams to discuss aad obtain the views of the Central or State departments and authorities in charge of projects on their draft reports before submitting them to the Committee on Plan Projects. Matters of general policy connected with the investigation of projects will be considered from time to time in meetings of the Standing Committee of the National ' Development Council.

12. During the past two years an Organisation and Methods Directorate has functioned at the Centre in the Cabinet Secretariat and individual Ministries have also set up special organisation and methods units which coliaboratc closely with the Directorate. These arrangements have helped to expedite the despatch of business and to create greater interest in and understanding of matters affecting administrative efficiency. In a number of States also steps have been taken to set up organisation and methods units. It is recommended that as part of their normal machinery ofacCTssn'stration all States should have special units t-Jt oiganisation and methods which will provide the necessary technical guidance and build up a pool of experience on which departments can draw. The Organisation and Methods Directorate at the Centre is in a position to provide facilities for training and to majce its experience available to the States.

13. While valuable results can be obtained through attention to fne details of organisation and methods, for public servanto of all grades to attain high standards of efficiency there is need also for a correct psychological approach. Planned development and the objective of eliminating poverty and building up a social and economic system which provides equal opportunity to all persons may be expected, in the ordinary course, to serve as a powerful incentive for efficiency on the part of public servants at all levels. Competence in the discharge of his duties should be a natural attribute in any public servant who is trained to do a job of work and makes public service his vocation. In mobilising the machinery of administration to put forth the best effort it can, certain aspects should be specially stressed. In the first place, there should be a studied attempt to ensure that at each level the officials concerned have the opportunity of exercising the maximum responsibility and in fact do so. Secondly, men with ability and initiative should be marked out early enough in their careers and given experience in carrying out duties which will further develop their capabilities and train them for positions of higher responsibility. Thirdly, in view of the magnitude of the administrative tasks which have now to be carried out in all fields, an attitude of speed and urgency should be insisted upon. In the fourth place, in the context of development, in personnel policies rigid procedures shoud be replaced- Distinctions, for instance, between administrators and technical personnel exercising administrative functions or between officials in different grades and cadres, which are sometimes drawn, aralready out of place. There is need to tap new sources of recruitment in different fields and, for shorter or longer periods, men with varied experience and background have to be drawn into the administration. Finally, greater interest must be taken than has been customary in the past in developing the correct human relations within each organisation within the Government In administration, as in all fields where men work together in different capacities for common objects, the sense of comradeship, the confidence that comes from recognition of good work done and the opportunity of participation in the making of decisions which they are called upon to execute, will go a long way in promoting keenness and efficiency among public servants.

14. A weakness in the present system of administration is the manner in which administrative control often tends to be exercised. In this connection two aspects may be specially mentioned- In the first five year plan it was pointed out that a considerable part of the time of senior public servants was being given to wars which was formerly done at lower levels. "Increasingly, while each agency of Government is accfptmg new responsibilities, the stage at which effective decisions are taken within any department is being pushed upwards." There is still some tendency for the exercise of initiative and she making of decisions being concentrated . The correction of this tendency is in pars a question of organisation and methods; in part however; it involves a consideration of how best to utilise the available personnel resources and to encourage men to assume responsibility

15. A somewhat similar problem also arises in the relations between secretariat departments and departments or authorities outside the secretariat. In the first five year plan it was emphasised that heads of executive organisations, such as, departments or attached or subordinate offices, should be enabled to function with reasonable freedom and initiative and, at the same time, with the knowledge that they have the confidence of the Ministries under which they are placed. Departments tend to lose their drive and enterprise when they are subjected to detailed control, exercised at a number of levels within a secretariat or a Ministry. Some improvement has occurred in this respect and executive deaprtments are being encouraged to assume greater responsibility, but continuing emphasis on the need for the fullest initiative on the part of departments is necessary. It was also suggested in the first five year plan that Central Ministries and State Governments should undertake systematic reviews of the new functions which they had assumed during rercent years and consider whether some of them, at any rate, could not be made over to separate subordinate authorities. Such a review is now essential in relation to the tasks which have to be carried out during the second five year plan by Central Ministries and by State Governments. In general, it is desirable that the area of policy in which a Ministry or a secretariat has a special interest should be distinguished as clearly and systematically as possible, and to the maximum extent, executive functions should be entrusted to separate units which are in a position to operate with minimum reference to the secretariat

16. In carrying out the second five year plan, a problem which assumes much g-eater importance than before is the need to evolve suitable administrative methods and agencies for carrying technical, financial and other assistance to persons of small means. Whether in agriculture or in small industries or in the field of social services, limited resources in men and money have to serve large number of individuals. The terms and conditions of assistance for various schemes should be drawn up in such a manner that they benefit the under-privileged. At present frequently they leave a large area of discretion as to parties who may be assisted and it may well happen that an unduly large proportion of assistance may pass to persons who are relatively better off or succeed in drawing special attention to their claims. Further, for developing a sound system for the distribution of public assistance in any field it is essential that small producers should be brought together into organised units, such as cooperative associations which can serve their members effectively. Where such associations exist and their members are vigilant the administration can give them a much greater measure of help and guidance than it can to separate unorganised individuals. The associations can also assume an increasing degree of responsibility in relation to their members, reducing thus the burden which falls upon the administrative machinery. The role of cooperatives in agriculture, in small industries and in other sectors is described in later chapters. Here it is sufficient to stress that the building up of cooperative associations and organising mutual aid; wherever feasible, are among the major administrative tasks of the second five year plan and that it is mainly through such arrangements that persons with limited means are to be effectively assisted both in developing their own activities and in utilising the assistance and resources which the State can make available.

Public Enterprises

17. The administrative requirements of public enterprises under the second five year plan have to be considered in relation to the role assigned to the public sector in the Resolution on Industrial Policy. The public sector is to grow absolutely and relatively to the private sector. Progi-ammes of industrial development during the second plan place on the Government responsibility, amongst other things, for new steel plants, coal mines, heavy machine building factories, fertiliser factories, manufacture of heavy electrical equipment and oil exploration and development. The comparative figures of investment during the first and the second plans are an indication of the growing responsibilities of Government in the management of modern industry. The decision to set up a State trading corporation is another illustration of the rapidly increasing area in which the Government has to equip itself with personnel and to create organisations not only for tasks to be undertaken during the next few years but as preparation for even larger responsibilities to be shouldered in the future. Besides industrial projects which the Government directly operates, there are also a number of schemes of industrial expansion with which it is closely associated. Organisations for preparing designs of industrial plant and equipment have to be built up within the Government Personnel has also to be found for assisting development councils established for individual industries under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951.

18. In the First Five Year Plan, attention was drawn to the need for making special arrangements for obtaining personnel for the management of industrial enterprises belonging to the Central and State Governments. It has been recently decided to establish an Industrial Management Service, for staffing State enterprises under the Ministries of Production, Transport, Communications, Iron and Steel and Commerce and Industry. The Industrial Management Service is intended to provide managerial personnel for industrial undertakings needed, for instance, for general management, finance and accounts (except top level posts), sales, purchases, stores, transportation, personnel management and welfare, town administration etc. Recruitment to this Service will be made from within the public services as well as from outside. At lower levels arrangements are to be made for the purpose of training personnel who will be able to assume higher responsibilities at a later stage. The controlling authority for this Service would be the Home Ministry and it will be advised by a Board which will include the Cabinet Secretary and representatives of the Ministries concerned. It is also the intention that public enterprises should be required to recruit extra personnel against supernumerary posts at lower levels in order to provide in due course for the long-term needs of the expanding public sector. The Service should also be able to provide higher grades of personnel for Industries Departments in the States whose operations, especially in the field of small, medium and cooperative industries will steadily increase. In regard to technical personnel, a proposal to set up a technical cadre or cadres to man certain categories of technical and specialised posts in the State industrial undertakings is under consideration.

19. The extension of training facilities in business management has considerable bearing on the rate at which the industrial sector can expand. Business administration courses for training junior officers have been recently initiated at Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Delhi. It is also proposed to establish and administrative staff college which will bring together senior executives in different fields for study of techniques of organisation and administration. Management associations are also being established at principal centres.

20. Where large units have to be operated, appropriate organisations are needed at two levels, namely, (a) for individual enterprises, and (b) for carrying out responsibilities relating to planning, organising, directing and co-ordinating individual enterprises or groups of enterprises. Thus, for instance, the latter group of functions are carried out by the Ministries of Railways, Iron and Steel, Production and the National Industrial Development Corporation. Below this level a variety of forms of organisation have developed in recent years, but in industrial enterprises the joint stock company in which the government holds the entire capital is. being increasingly adopted. Thus, the Natioani Instruments Factory, the Integral Coach Factory and the Chittaranjan Locomotives are examples of departmental management The company form of management has been adopted for Sindri, Hindustan Cables, Bharat Electronics, Antibiotics and others. For the Damodar Valley Project and the air services there are statutory corporations. A number of irrigation projects are managed by control boards in which the Centre and the' States concerned are represented. In determining appropriate forms of organisation for public enterprises the main consideration to be. kept in view is that the normal administrative and financial procedures customary in departmental administration are not suitable for commercial and industrial enterprises. Theseenterprises have to fulfil business criteria and standards and have to meet obligations similar to and, in some respects in excess of, those expected in the private sector. The general policy, therefore, is to confer upon their managements the largest measure of financial and administrative autonomy consistent with the overall responsibility of Government and accountability to Parliament. Questions relating to the organisation of public enterprises are under constant review and greater experience is needed before a clear view as to the relative advantages of different forms of organisations emerges. The subject has already received considerable attention as, for instance, in recent reports of the Estimates Committee of Lok Sabha. Issues such as the composition and functions of boards of directors, the role of a Ministry or a Secretariat in relation to public enterprises under its general control, and the need for a degree of common management for similar public enterprises are under examination in tlie Ministries concerned.

21. In large scale enterprises and in "Boards or Ministries under which they function a great deal of .long-term planning is necessary. Difficult problems are involved, such as'the selection of competent and dependable technical consultants, negotiations with foreign countries and firms, the building up of supervisory and other key personnel, selection of foreign experts, and the adaptation of scientific methods of management to the needs of each enterprise. Questions bearing on methods of management and personnel policies .in public enterprises, therefore, need well-informed and continuous study to which independent experts and leading organisation, both in the public sector and in the private sector, can contribute valuable experience.

Planning Machinery In The States

22. In the course of the first five year plan most States have developed their planning units. As a rule, there are whole-time or nearly whole-time secretaries in charge of planning and development, many of whom also carry executive responsibilities in relation to national extension and community projects. During the second five year plan work relating to planning in the States is likely to increase in volume and complexity. Hitherto, at the State level, the work of planning departments has generally taken the form of a limited amount of coordination of the work of other departments. To an increasing extent, a State planning department will now be concerned with appraisal of the economic and social needs of the State and with financial and material resources, training programmes and overall policy aspects of State programmes. Such questions as the level of employment, .supply of trained personnel, supply of material resources for implementing the plan, mobilisation of small saviors, price trends and the supply of consumer goods must fall more and more within the scope of planning in the States. The preparation of annual plans, improvements in the techniques of planning and the need for more precise and regular reporting and assessment of progress of individual schemes and of different sectors of the State economy will also demand expansion and strengthening of planning organisations in the States. In some States the necessary steps are already being taken. In this connection it is also necessary to emphasise that statistical and economic staffs in the States should be augmented and brought into close working relationships with planning departments.

23. As explained in the next chapter, leading non-officials are associated with the formulation am implementation of plans both at the district and at the State levels. Amongst others. Members of State Legislatures and of Parliament participate in district development committees and project advisory committees and some of them also serve on State Planning Boards. To bring about closer association of Members of Parliament with the work of the Central Government, about two years ago informal consultative committees composed of Members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were constituted for a number of Ministries. During the past year these consultative committees have been associated with the consideration of problems of planning in different fields and at different stages the Planning Commission has conferred with the consultative committee associated with its work. The Planning Commission also suggested to State Governments that Members of Parliament from each State might be associated with work relating to planning and, more especially, in the preparation of the second five year plan. Such association will be of considerable value in carrying out the plan, and it is hoped that in the States arrangements will be made for informal consultation with Members of Parliament and State Legislatures for reviewing the progress of the plan and organising the cooperation and support of the people in its implementation.

Annual Revision Of National And State Plans

24. As has been explained in Chapter I in considering the economic and social objectives of planned development it is necessary to take a view extending over a fairly long period, for instance, 15 years. In preparing the second five year plan, for the development of steel and heavy industries, in irrigation and power, in personnel planning, in the planning of education and in assessing population trends in relation to food supply, a view has been taken of probable requirements or developments over two or three plan periods. Long-term planning affords a perspective which is of great value in achieving balanced development in different sectors and in judging economic and social trends. 'For shorter periods, such as a year, there has to be necessarily detailed planning. Plans for five year periods have to be fitted, as it were, between general long-term plans on the one hand and detailed annual plans on the other. A five year plan helps focus attention on clearly defined tasks for which the resources and energies of the country are to be mobilised. A plan for a five year period must naturally be conceived, and operated in a flexible manner.

25. Flexibility, in working a five year plan is both a necessity and an advantage. In view of uncertainties inherent in imports of equipment and steel and in foreign exchange and .changes in basic economic conditions, the working of the plan has to be reviewed periodically. To the extent a plan is flexible, it becomes possible to take advantage of new infprma tion and experience and to adopt new technological developments. Admittedly, long-term projects and development schemes involve commitments extending over several years and these leave less room for projects which lend themselves to short-term commitments and short-term adjustments. It is proposed that beginning with 1956-57, following the annual budgets, there should be published specific and detailed plans for each year within the general framework of the five year plan. This would avoid undue rigidity in implementation and will permit changes to be made according to the developing needs of the economy.

26. The changes and adjustments which annual plans will facilitate pertain largely to those sectors of the national plan which are in a special measure the concern of the Central Government, such as industries, minerals and transport. In these related fields the public sector is to be expanded and the rate of expenditure stepped up to several times the amount in the first plan. There are large administrative tasks involved. Personnel have to be trained and efficient organisations set up. Planning in these fields must take account of uncertainties in the supply of steel and equipment from abroad and the amounts of foreign exchange available. Within each field in this sector there is need for careful priorities, so that adjustments can be made rapidly. Secondly, programmes for industries, minerals and transport should be worked in a co-ordinated manner, and connected projects should be implemented in an inter-related manner so as to ensure that the expenditure incurred on each group of schemes yields the maximun return. It is proposed to constitute a special committee which will report to the Economic Committee of the Cabinet and the Planning Commission in priorities and allocations of various resources, including foreign exchange, materials and certain categories of technical personnel.

To a smaller extent adjustments within the framework of the plan will also be required in the States. Procedure for undertaking yearly reviews and presenting annual plans for States has recently been worked out in consultation with representatives of the States.

Public Participation And Cooperation

27. The place of public cooperation and participation in the scheme of democratic planning is well recognised. As was said in the First Five Year Plan, public cooperation and public opinion constitute the principal force and sanction behind India's approach to planning. During the past few years wherever the people, especially in rural areas, have been approached, they have responded with eagerness. In national extension and community project areas, in local development works, in shramdan, in social welfare extension projects and in the work of voluntary organisations, there has always been willingness anJ enthusiasm on the part of the people to contribute in labour, and local resources have been made freely available.

28. An under-developed economy has large resources in manpower which are not being fully utilised. These resources have to be used for creating permanent assets. This aim is best achieved when each citizen feels an obligation to give a portion of his time and energy to works of benefit to the community to which he belongs. This is the method of democratic, cooperative growth. One of the central aims of 'he National Extension Service is to organise the systematic use of manpower resources, particularly in rural areas, for works of benefit to the community as a whole. This can be done in a number of ways, for instance, in constructing local works such as village roads, fuel plantations, tanks, water supply and drainage, and maintaining existing minor irrigation works. Where a large work is undertaken, such as an irrigation project, the national extension and community project personnel should take initiative, with the support of non-official leaders, in organising labour co-operatives of villages interested in work on the canal system and connected activities. This is also possible in regard to roads and other projects. Besides inducing a sense of local participation in the projects and augmenting work opportunities, this will enable the local people to benefit by the large expenditure incurred and improve their economic position. By harnessing voluntary effort and local manpower resources, physical targets in the plan can be supplemented in many fields and even greatly exceeded. The second five year plan wiii provide large opportunities for co-operative action along these lines.

29. In the First Five Year Plan reference was made to tne need for programmes for utilising voluntary labour in rural areas. The main object of national extension and community projects is to rebuild village life through work done by the people to meet their common needs. As the national extension service will not reach the entire rural population until the end of the second plan, as a preparatory stage in areas not served by the national extension service it was decided to introduce a local development works programme to enable village communities to undertake, mainly with their own labour, works required for meeting their urgent needs. With this in view, Rs. 15 crores were provided in the first five year plan. The scheme has now been in operation for nearly three years. Apart from Uttar Pradesh, where the local works programme is integrated with shramdan, reports from States indicate that about 39,000 local works have so far been approved. These include works such as the construction of small buildings, dispensaries, community centres, panchayat ghars and libraries, village roads and culverts, wells and minor irrigation works. The local works programme has helped to increase enthusiasm for development in rural areas. At present the work done under the programme is being reviewed in detail in a number of States by three inspection teams. As a result of their evaluation such modifications and improvements as the programme calls for will be introduced.

30. Young men and women and students from colleges and schools are taking an increasing share in the tasks of national development. The first five year plan made a special provision for youth camps and labour services. Up to October 1955, at the instance of the Ministry of Education 795 youth camps had been organised in which 66,000 persons participated. These camps create a sense of dignity in manual labour, provide new interests and bring together different sections of the community. Valuable work has been done by the National Cadet Corps which has now a strength of 46,000 in its senior division, 64,000 in the junior division and 8,000 in the girls division besides 3,000 teachers and others drawn from educational institutions. The Auxiliary Cadet Corps has now a strength of7.50.000. The Bharat Scouts and Guides have a membership of 438,405 scouts and 61,118 guides which represents an increase of 50 per cent since the beginning of the first plan. The Bharat Sevak Samaj has organised nearly 500 youth and students camps in which about 40,000 youth and students have taken part. All these organisations have ambitious programmes of development for the second five year plan. Youth and students have a unique contribution to make to the building of the nation and it is the aim of the plan to give them growing opportunities of service and participation.

31. In connection with the formulation of the second five year plan, an effort has been recently initiated to secure the close association of teachers and students with work in the field of planning. At the suggestion of the Planning Commission, planning forums have been formed in a number of universities and colleges to enable teachers and students to consider problems relating to national development and to send their suggestions to the Planning Commission, State Governments and local bodies. It is hoped that in due course such forums or associations will be formed in all universities and other educational institutions. By disseminating information and creating a more widespread under-standing of national, state and local plans and in organizing voluntary work or development projects, planning forums will provide valuable opportunities to teachers and students to contribute to the success of the second five year plan.

32. As a non-political and non-official organisation set up in pursuance of the first five year plan, the Bharat Sevak Samaj has served as a national platform for constructive work. It has now 31 Pradesh branches and 229 district branches, besides branches in tahsil or taluka towns and in villages. The total membership of persons who have agreed to give five hours of social service during the week now runs to 50,000. In addition to a small number of whole-time employees, the Bharat Sevak Samaj has been able to attract a number of retired and experienced public servants for its programme of work, which now includes social education, health and sanitation, labour cooperatives, work centres, youth and student camps, information centres and cultural activities. Besides implementing its own programmes, the Bharat Sevak Samaj also works in association with other social service organisations. Five of its branches are running welfare extension projects under the schemes of the Central Social Welfare Board. Special arrangements have been made for training camp leaders. Some of the camps have been organised on behalf of education departments and university authorities. A youth organisation named the Bharat Yuvak Samaj has been recently sponsored by the Samaj. Among activities undertaken by the Bharat Sevak Samaj, mention may be made of the construction of \Wi miles of embankment at the Kosi project, work on the Jumna bund, establishment of cooperative societies, assistance in the small savings movement and participation in local development works.

33. Many of the basic ideas of Gandhi ji have become part of the national heritage. Methods and techniques which he and those associated with him in constructive work developed over many years have been found to be of great value of working rural programmes. The tradition of service which they embodied and their emphasis on village reconstruction village industriees. basic education, Harijan welfare and welfare of the under-privileged generally are elements of deep significance for the fulfilment of the second five year plan. Through their work leading organisations of constructive workers, such as, the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust and the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi are making important contributions in the working of the national plan. During the life time of Gandhiji a number of organisation for constructive work had been brought into existence, as the All India Spinners Association. All India Village Industries Association, the Talimi Sangh, the Goseva Sangh and others. The Sarva Seva Sangh was constituted fro evolving a comprehensive and integrated constructive programme and guiding the activites of constructive workers in didfferent fields. Among the princiapal activities in which Sarva Seva Sangh workers are at present engaged special mention may be madee of the Bhoodan movement. They are also working for the organisation of the village economy on the basis of Gram Parivar or the village as a joint family in 800 villages which have been donated as gramdan in the Koraput distrivt of Orissa. In the field of village industries, the Sarva Seva Sangh has contributed to the evolution of the Ambar Charkha as a means for developing decentralised spinning in rural areas.

34. The Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust is working mainly for the welfare of women and children in rural areas. It organises training for gram wikas and provides specialised training in village crafts, basic education, midwifery, etc. The organisation maintains 16 Gram Sevikas Vidyalayas and 7 midwifery training centres and also makes use of other institutions. During 1955-56 the Trust has trained 650 Gram Sevikas for the Central Social Welfare Board and has a programme for training 1095 sevikas in 1956-57. Another important activity of the Trust has been to establish nursery schools and health centres in villages, 290 such centres having been established so far. Besides, its work in connection with the building up of museums at Delhi, Sevagram, Sabarmati and Madura in the memory of Gandhiji and publishing literature connected with his teachings, the Gandhiji Smarak Nidhi finances 200 institutions and has established 300 village re-construction centres in different parts of the country. The Gandhi Smarak Nidhi has also developed work in the field of leprosy and in the extension of the Japanese method of rice cultivation.

35. In drawing up village plans everywhere the people have taken keen interest and have expressed readiness to shoulder the responsibilities which planning brings. A sum of Rs. 15 crores has been provided in the second plan for local development works and Rs. 5 crores for schemes relating to the organisation of public cooperation. In most programmes there is scope, in varying degrees, for securing greater participation from the people. The fields in which such participation can make a material addition to resources and can enhance the achievement of physical targets should be specially marked out by the agencies concerned, both at the Centre and in the States, and public cooperation sought in a systematic and continuous manner.

36. It is not only through village groups and voluntary organisation that public cooperation and participation can be promoted. As was suggested in the First Five Year Plan, local authorities, both urban and rural, should be.utilised by State Governments as their own agents to the greatest extent possible and, in turn, local authorities should seek the cooperation of voluntary organisations and social workers. Associations representing professional groups such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, technicians and administrators could render much valuable service in promoting community welfare. There have been encouraging signs of association and leadership in welfare programmes on the part of universities, educational institutions and youth associations. These and other possibilities mentioned above have to be developed to the greatest extent possible during the second five year plan.

37. In addition to contributions in the form of work, the small savings movement offers to every citizen an opportunity, according to his means and circumstances, to contribute to the success of the national plan. The scale on which the second five year plan is being undertaken makes rt essential that the resources of the community should be mobilised to the fullest extent. Small efforts widely spread can make an immense contribution to the rate of which the national economy develops. The records of small savings during the first plan has been encouraging, but much more has to be achieved during the second plan. It is one of the aims of national extension and community projects to reach every family in the countryside and stimulate savings Educated men and women all over the country can assist the plan by establishing continuous contact with all families in particular areas and inducing them to contribute regularly to the small savings movement. The work done during the past three years in the women's savings movement is an example of the kind of effort which can be made everywhere. The support of the small savings movement in a sustained and practical manner should be an important item in the work of activities of every institution and undertaking throughout the country.

Publicity For The Plan

38. Through community participation and the results which have been achieved, the First Five Year.Plan has reached large numbers of persons. Yet, they represent only a small proportion of the population of the country. As was stated in the First Five Year Plan, a widespread understanding of the plan is an essential stage hi its fulfilment. The people should be able to see how progress in different directions is inter-related and effort in one field strengthens as well as demands efforts in other fields. An understanding of the priorities which govern the Plan will enable such each person to relate his or her role to the larger purposes oft the nation as a whole. The Plan has, therefore, to be carried into every home in the language and symbols of the people and expressed in terms of their common needs and problems. Keeping these needs in view, a sum ofRs. 6 crores has been provided in the States and Rs. 7 crores at the Centre for publicity for the Second Five Year Plan. The programmes of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and of State Governments are being carefully coordinated. They have been so framed as to provide effective machinery for publicity of the Plan, having regard to the relative effectiveness of different media and the necessity of a uniform pattern of publicity organisation in the country through decentralisation and greater coordination with States and participation by non-official bodies. The programmes include the setting up of a chain of information centres throughout the country, provision of literature on different aspects of the Plan, films, audio-visual aids, organisation of mobile vans for field publicity, exhibitions, community receiving sets, and books and journals.

39. Information centres are to be established at the headquarters of development blocks in national extension and community project areas and at district headquarters. These centres will serve as a library of publicity literature and of films and other audio-visual aids. They will also be adequately equipped progressively for answering enquiries concerning activities of the Plan. The number of mobile vans equipped with audio-visual aids now available foY publicity in rural areas is to be increased by pooling the resources of the Centre and the States. Other mobile units which will act as travelling exhibitions in rural areas are also to be put in the field. During the second plan it is proposed to introduce community receiving sets in about 72,000 villages the aim being to provide such sets in the first instance to villages with a population of 1,000 or more.

40. Considerable emphasis is to be given to film publicity, including documentaries, full length films and cartoon films for which the plan provides Rs. 2.2 crores. A beginning is being made in the production of class-room and other educational films and also instructional films. Facilities for showing films are to be extented increasingly to non-official organisations and educational institutions and special attention is to be given to the production of films for children. Song and drama units are also to be organised. The network of teleprinter circuits in English and Hindi is to be increased so that information can reach even remote centres and small newspapers expedi-tiously. The press has a great role to play in educating the people in responsible citizenship, in placing before them important issues of policy and implementation and in offering constructive and well-informed criticism. In the programme for publicity, therefore, the help and cooperation of true press is being specially sought

41. In the preparation of literature relating to the Plan, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in the main, will produce publications in English. Hindi, and, to some extent, in other regional languages and proposes to entrust increasingly to States the production of versions in regional languages. The need has been felt for a journal which could carry the message of the Second Five Year Plan and an understanding of its aims and values to villages throughout the country, to cooperatives and pan-chayats, to voluntary organisations and associations-to public servants and to non-official workers in different fields of national life. With this object it is proposed to bring out a new journal for mass circulation, to be known as the yojana.