The government intends to convene a special meeting of the National Development Council (NDC) sometime in August. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the Planning Commission to prepare for the meeting, which is primarily aimed at reviewing the progress of centrally-sponsored schemes in the agriculture and health sectors.
This will be the second NDC meeting on any specific issue in the recent past. On May 29, 2007, the NDC had met to discuss the agriculture scenario and unveiled the Rs 25,000-crore Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna and food security mission aimed at reversing the declining trend of public expenditure on the agriculture sector.
Chaired by the prime minister, the NDC is a forum of chief ministers of all states and central cabinet ministers, which finalise development Plan strategy for the country.
The prime minister's office (PMO) has asked the Planning Commission to finalise the detailed agenda. It has asked the Plan body to send a copy of the agenda along with a list of possible resolution for the meeting by the end of this month.
Sources added that the prime minister has desired that the NDC should focus on the outcomes it intends to achieve and the agenda papers should, therefore, be focused on the desired outcomes.
The meeting will review the state of agriculture, including the newly launched programmes like Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna and the food security mission.
The farm loan waiver issue may also come up for discussion. It will also review the health programmes both in primary healthcare and in the management of major diseases.
The meeting will also discuss challenges of urbanisation and the response at state and central levels. Panchayati Raj and decentralised planning is also scheduled for discussion. The Planning Commission has started interacting with the ministries to finalise the detailed agenda.
The NDC meeting is considered as an attempt by the government to plug the loopholes in the social sector schemes before the country goes to the polls next year.
However, officials involved in the process say it is unlikely that any new scheme would be announced due to the tight fiscal situation.
Some officials also point out that such a meeting during the currently politically volatile situation may backfire as chief ministers of the opposition parties along with the Left-ruled states may use this forum to harp on the loopholes of the government, especially regarding the farm loan waiver scheme.
