| The road shows, which would be attended by chief ministers of states in the region, are slated to begin in the next fortnight and would be completed by the first week of July. |
| "Based on the inputs of the states, we will make suitable modifications in the approach paper, which will then be tabled before the full Plan panel headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in July," a Planning Commission official said. |
| Officials added that the draft approach paper already had the broad concurrence of the prime minister. |
| "He has not suggested any significant changes. He has only said the approach paper should, towards the end of the document, list out clearly the issues on which the panel wants the states to respond," officials said. |
| A major area of deliberation with states is the pattern of assistance from the Centre. Over the years there has been a sharp dip in the untied component of central assistance which now stands at only around Rs 15,000 crore. A significant portion of central assistance is tied to specific schemes or released as additional central assistance. |
| "States have pointed out that the concept of tying central assistance to specific schemes is not very effective since a scheme may be more effective only in a specific region while not working well in others. We now have to decide whether the assistance should be totally untied or released to sectors under which states have their own schemes," an official said. |
| Another significant area of concern for the Plan panel is the power sector. "The states need to undertake reforms in the power sector. They need to piggyback on the Electricity Act," an official said. |
| Officials said the Plan panel had made clear to states that they would have to justify if a scheme of the Tenth plan had to be carried over to the next plan. |
| "They will have to undertake zero-based budgeting," officials said. |
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