Planning Commission of India - Role of Planning Commission, Functions of the Planning Commission India

Planning Commission

The Planning Commission in India was set up in March 1950 to promote a rapid rise in the standard of living of the people by exploiting the resources of the country, increasing production and offering employment opportunities to all. The Planning Commission has the responsibility for formulating plans as to how the resources can be used in the most effective way. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first chairman of the Panning Commission.

Structure of the Planning Commission:
The Prime minister is the chairman of the Planning Commission. The Deputy Chairman and the full time members give advice and guidance for the formulation of Five Year Plan, Annual Plans, State Plans, Projects and Schemes etc. Currently the structure of the planning commission is like this:

1. Chairman - Dr. Manmohan Singh
2. Deputy Chairman- Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia
3 Minister of State- Shri M.V. Rajshekharan
4. Members - Dr. Kirit Parikh,Prof. Abhijit Sen ,Dr. V.L. Chopra ,Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar ,Dr.(Ms.) Syeda Hameed ,Shri B.N. Yugandhar ,Shri Anwar-ul-Hoda, Shri B. K. Chaturvedi
5. Secretary- Dr. Subhas Pani

Functions of the Planning Commission:
Following are the functions of the Planning Commission of India:

To make an assessment of the resources of the country and to see which resources are deficient?

To formulate plans for the most effective and balanced utilization of country's resources.

To indicate the factors which are hampering economic development.

To determine the machinery, which will be necessary for the successful implementation of each stage of plan.

Periodical assessment of the progress of the plan.

With the changing times, the Planning commission is preparing itself for long term vision for the future. The commission is seeing to maximize the output with minimum resources.