In 1978, When the Janata Party led by Morarji Desai came into power, it rejected the fifth Five-Year Plan. Morarjo Desai government introduced a new Sixth Plan as a Rolling Plan, in which the Basic goal of planning was to be revised annually. The meaning of the Rolling Plan was assessing the performance of the Plan annually, and a new plan will prepared for the next year based upon this assessment.
About Rolling Plan
- The Rolling Plan consisted of three kinds of Plans:
- The First Plan was for the Present Year, which comprised the annual budget.
- The Second Plan was for a fixed number of years, maybe 3, 4, or 5 years. The Second Plan kept changing as per the requirements of the Indian economy.
- The Third Plan was a perspective plan for long terms, maybe 10, 15, or 20 years.
- Hence, there was no fixed date for the commencement and termination of the plan in the Rolling Plans.
- The main advantage of the Rolling Plan is that they are flexible and able to overcome the rigidity of fixed Five-Year Plans by revising the targets, projections, and allocations as per the changing condition of the economy of the country.
- The main disadvantage of the Rolling Plan is that if the targets are revised every year, it becomes difficult to achieve the targets laid down in the Five-Year Period. It turned out to be a complex plan. Further, the frequent revisions will reduce accountability and result in the lack of stability of the economy.
Key Notable Points
- Morarji Desai government came up with Rolling Plan as 4 Five-Year Plans for 20 years in which the Basic target was to be revised annually.
Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP)
- On 2 October 1978, the Government of India launched the Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP). The Program launched in 2300 blocks across the country, and all the existing anti-poverty programs got merged under IRDP. It aimed at providing employment opportunities to the poor community to improve their living conditions. IRDP deals with the poverty-related issues in the country. The main objectives of IRDP were to cut out poverty and bring people above the poverty line and enhance their living standards.
Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM)
- On 15 August 1979, the Indian Government launched Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM). It is a centrally sponsored program. Its main objective was to provide technical and business expertise to the rural poor who are in the age group of 18 to 35 years. TRYSEM enables the rural youngsters to take up income-generating activities like self-employment, wage employment, and various allied activities. During the Ninth Five-Year Plan, TRYSEM got merged under the Swarn Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna in 1999.
However, the tenure of the Rolling Plan ended after two years. In 1980, the Congress government led by Indra Gandhi returned to power, rejected the Rolling Plan, and introduced a new Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980-85).