Plan Panel for ensuring $15 bn FDI in 11th Plan

The Planning Commission has said that the level of FDI inflow is much below the country's potential and the nation needs to attract about $15 billion FDI in the 11th Five Year Plan period.

In its draft approach paper of the 11th Plan, the commission pointed out that a direct benefit from global integration was the increased FDI inflow which increased from $3.7 billion in the 9th Plan to $ 5.4 billion
during the first 4 years of the 10th Plan.

The plan panel pointed out that certain areas of concern would however have to be dealt with. The key area was the health sector.

"In the matter of health also, there are large gaps in the availability of healthcare and in related services such as maternal and childcare, clean drinking water and access to basic sanitation facilities for the mass of our population, especially the poor do not have even minimum basic access," the commission observed and suggested since healthcare is costly and beyond the reach of the common man, public funding could be a reliable panacea to spread their ambit.