Poverty alleviation and inclusive growth – priorities of XI th Plan

'The Hindu' reports from New Delhi reports that 11th Five year Plan of Government of India proposes to introduce specific targeting at the national and State levels to monitor programmes such as poverty alleviation to usher in inclusive growth. The draft Plan document, slated for discussion at a full meeting of the Commisssion chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Thursday, proposes 27 targets at the national level and 13 at the State level that will be scrutinised at regular intervals by the Centre and the State governments.

With a proposed outlay of Rs. 36,44,718 crore, the 11th Plan, beginning 2007, seeks to raise the farm sector growth from 2.13 to 4 per cent while pegging the industry and services sector growth rates at 9-11 per cent. At the national level, the targets to be monitored have been grouped into six major categories to include income and poverty, education, health, women and children, infrastructure and environment.

Focussed on children
The 13 State level targets pertain to State GDP , infant mortality, literacy rate, farm growth rate, poverty ratio and child malnutrition.

Policies and programmes both at the Central and State levels are proposed to be devised to ensure that the targets are achieved. As for a few specifics of the targets to be fixed, the Plan aims at generating seven crore new work opportunities during 2007-12 along with a reduction in joblessness among the educated to less than 5 per cent. The dropout from elementary schools is proposed to be brought down to 20 per cent by the end of the Plan period from 52.2 per cent in 2003-2004.
While the target under health is to provide clean drinking water to all by 2009, the gender ratio for children below six is to be increased to 935 females per thousand males by 2011-12.