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Twelfth Five Year Plan
(2012–2017)
Economic Sectors

Volume II

Copyright © Planning Commission (Government of India) 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Planning
Commission, Government of India.
First published in 2013 by
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
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printed at Saurabh Printers, New Delhi.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
India. Planning Commission
Twelfth five year plan (2012/2017)/Planning Commission, Government of India.
Volumes cm
1. India—Economic Policy—1991–92. Finance, Public—India. I. Title.
HC435.3.I39
338.954009’0512—dc23
2013
2013009870
ISBN: 978-81-321-1368-3 (PB)
The SAGE Team: Rudra Narayan, Archita Mandal, Rajib Chatterjee and Dally Verghese

Twelfth Five Year Plan
(2012–2017)
Economic Sectors

Volume II

Planning Commission
Government of India

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Contents

List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Boxes
List of Acronyms
List of Annexures

vii
viii
xii
xiv
xxv

12.

Agriculture

13.

Industry

14.

Energy

130

15.

Transport

195

16.

Communication

258

17.

Rural Development

286

18.

Urban Development

318

19.

Other Priority Sectors

362

Figures
12.1
12.2
13.1
13.2
13.3
13.4
13.5
13.6
13.7
13.8
14.1
14.2
14.3
15.1
15.2
15.3
16.1
16.2
16.3
16.4
17.1
17.2
17.3
17.4
17.5
18.1
18.2

Growth and Fluctuations in GDP Agriculture and Allied
All India Average Real Daily Wage Rate at 2011–12 Prices (` Per Day)
Contribution of Manufacturing to GDP Very Low in India
India and Global Manufacturing States
New Approach to Industrial Policy
Focus on Sectors as well as Cross-cutting Issues
Strategy for Land Issues
Description of Land Acquisition Process
Two Connected ‘Tracks’ for Implementation and Systems’ Improvement
Capability Map
Exploration Blocks awarded in NELP Rounds
Renewable Power Capacities, Top Five Countries, 2010
Cost of Renewable Energy Technologies Per MW
Existing and Proposed Thermal Power Plants on National Waterways
National Waterway-2
Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project
Telephone Subscribers Growth during 2007–12
Distribution of Urban and Rural Subscribers
Number of Telephone and Broadband Connections
Mobile Tariff Trends V/s Growth in Mobile Subscribers in India (1999–2012)
Access to Household Amenities in Rural India (2001 to 2011)
Households by Type of Latrine Facility in Rural India in 2001
Households by Type of Latrine Facility in Rural India in 2011
PURA Transaction Structure
Institutional Structure for PURA
Sources of Increase in Urban Population
Key Constitutes of India’s Urban Future

2
9
52
52
55
59
81
83
101
102
172
183
185
232
234
234
259
260
260
261
303
304
304
312
314
319
324

Tables
12.1
12.2
12.3
12.4
12.5
12.6
12.7
12.8
12.9
12.10
12.11
12.12
12.13
13.1
13.2
13.3
13.4
13.5
13.6
13.7
13.8
13.9
13.10
14.1
14.2
14.3
14.4
14.5
14.6
14.7
14.8
14.9
14.10
14.11
14.12
14.13

Growth Rate of Agricultural and Allied Sectors
Some Weather Details
Averages and Standard Deviations of Annual Growth Rates of GSDP from Agriculture and
Allied Sectors
Growth of Output, Inputs and Productivity
Gross Capital Formation (GCF) in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (2004–05 prices)
Average Annual Growth Rates in Yields Per Hectare
Public Sector Capital Formation and Subsidies to Agriculture (Centre and States)
Real Prices of Agricultural Produce
Demand and Supply of Food Commodities during the Twelfth Plan
Expenditure on Agricultural Research and Education
Outlays and Expenditure of MoA and Its Three Departments (DAC, DAHDF and DARE)
Gross Budgetary Support (Department-wise)
Comparison of States Outlay and Expenditure for Eleventh and Twelfth Plan
Rate of Growth of GDP at Factor Cost at 2004–05 Prices (Per cent)
GCF in Industry
Employment by Sector
Processes that Enable Learning
Manufacturing Ecosystem Infrastructure
Registered MSMEs—Manufacturing
Definition of MSME
Manufacturing GDP by Sector and Employment Projections
Key Variables and Assumptions
Ministry/Department-wise Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) Outlays Industry Sector
Energy Intensity for Total Primary Energy*
Energy Intensity
Household Access (%)
Trends in Supply of Primary Commercial Energy
Share of Each Fuel in Total Energy Production and Consumption
Installed Capacity Addition during the Eleventh Plan (in MW)
Mode-wise/Sector-wise Break-up of Generation
All-India Cumulative Generating Capacity (as on 31 March 2012) (in MW)
Planned Manufacturing Capacity MW Per Annum
Cumulative Achievement of Transmission Lines at the End of the Eleventh Plan
Aggregate Technical and Commercial Los ses of State Power Utilities (within State)
Viability of Major State Utilities Not Improving (Excluding Delhi and Odisha)
Details of Year-wise Progress Achieved on Restructured APDRP (as on 31 March 2012)

1
3
4
6
8
10
13
17
18
30
47
50
50
53
53
54
62
62
85
85
96
105
129
130
131
132
133
134
136
137
137
139
140
141
142
142

Tables ix

14.14
14.15
14.16
14.17
14.18
14.19
14.20
14.21
14.22
14.23
14.24
14.25
14.26
14.27
14.28
14.29
14.30
14.31
14.32
14.33
14.34
14.35
14.36
14.37
14.38
14.39
14.40
14.41
14.42
14.43
14.44
14.45
14.46
14.47
15.1
15.2
15.3
15.4
15.5
15.6
15.7
15.8
15.9
15.10
15.11
15.12

Status on RGGVY Progress during the Tenth and the Eleventh Plan
Outlay/Expenditure: Centre, States and UTs (` Crore)
Sector-wise and Mode-wise Capacity Addition (Provisional) during the Twelfth Plan (MW)
Changing Structure of Fuel for Electricity
Status of Hydro Electric Potential Development
Fuel Requirement during 2016–17
Transmission Line at the End of the Twelfth Plan Period
Inter-Regional Flow of Power at the End of Twelfth Plan Period
Details of Coal and Lignite Production
Inventory of Coal and Lignite Reserves as on 1 April 2012
Accretion of Coal Reserves
Coal Washing Capacity by the end of Eleventh Plan Period
Financial Performance of the Coal Sector
Coal Demand during the Twelfth Plan
Coal Production
Share of Underground Production in Total Production
Price Comparison of Domestic Coal with other Countries
Consumption of Petroleum Products
Physical Performance of Petroleum and Natural Gas Sector
Share of Overseas Hydrocarbon Production
Under-Recoveries on Petroleum Products
Demand of Petroleum Products
Projection of Crude Oil Production in the Twelfth Plan
Natural Gas Demand for Twelfth Five Year Plan
Projection of Natural gas production in Twelfth Plan (BCM)
Breakup of the Exploration Programme for the Twelfth Plan
Likely Under-Recoveries on Petroleum* Products
Projected Refining Capacity during Twelfth Plan (MMTPA)
R&D Expenditure by Major Oil and Gas Companies
Eleventh Plan Power Capacity Addition through Grid Interactive Renewable Power
Cost of Power for Various Renewable Energy Sources
Power Capacity Addition through Off Grid Renewable Power
Eleventh Plan Financial Allocations and Expenditure: MNRE
Indicative Twelfth Five Year Plan Outlay for the Various Ministries/Departments in the
Energy Sector
CO2 Emissions from Various Transport Modes
Overview of Financial Position of the Indian Railways
Investment in Railways during Eleventh Plan
Performance of Freight Business during Eleventh Five Year Plan
Performance of Passenger Business during Eleventh Five Year Plan
Losses in Passenger Services
Capacity Creation during Eleventh Plan
Throw Forward of Infrastructure Projects as on 1 April 2012
Rolling Stock Performance during Eleventh Plan
Productivity Performance
Benchmarking Indian Railways with Chinese and Russian Railways
Traffic Projections

143
146
146
147
148
149
150
151
160
160
161
162
165
165
166
167
167
171
172
173
174
176
176
176
177
177
178
178
180
185
186
186
187
190
196
199
200
201
201
201
202
202
203
203
204
206

x Tables

15.13 Passenger Traffic Projections for Twelfth Plan
15.14 Projection of Originating PKM for Twelfth Plan
15.15 Creation of Fixed Assets during the Twelfth Plan
15.16 Rolling Stock Requirement during the Twelfth Plan
15.17 Passenger Service Yields in some Major Economies
15.18 Freight Yields in some Major Economies
15.19 Physical Achievements under NHDP during the Eleventh Five Year Plan
15.20 Progress of NHDP up to 30 April 2012
15.21 Physical Progress of Non-NHDP NHs during Eleventh Five Year Plan
15.22 State Roads Progress during the Eleventh Plan
15.23 Physical Progress–PMGSY (as on 31 March 2012)
15.24 Financial Progress (as on 31st March, 2012)
15.25 Habitation Coverage–Bharat Nirman (as on 31 March 2012)
15.26 Cumulative Physical Progress under Bharat Nirman (up to March 2012)
15.27 Targets for the Twelfth Plan
15.28 Projected Road Freight and Passenger Traffic
15.29 Financial Performance of the Shipping Sector in the Eleventh Plan
15.30 Estimated Requirements of Additional Vessels and Investment
15.31 Eleventh Plan Projection and Achievements of Traffic and Capacity by Major Ports
15.32 Commodity Wise Capacity Creation by Major Ports during Eleventh Plan
15.33 Traffic Handled at Major and Non-Major Ports during Eleventh Plan
15.34 Trend of the Productivity Parameters during Eleventh Plan
15.35 Year-wise Awards during Eleventh Plan under PPP
15.37 Commodity wise Capacity by the end of Twelfth Plan
15.36 Major Ports wise Traffic/Capacity Projections by End of Twelfth Plan
15.38 Commodity Wise Traffic by the End of Twelfth Plan (2016–17)
15.39 Growth Projections for the Twelfth Five Year Plan: Passenger and Cargo Traffic Forecasts
15.40 Investment Requirements during the Twelfth Plan
15.41 Comparison of ATF Prices in India with Competing Hubs
15.42 Flights/Week
15.43 Ministry/Department–wise Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) Outlays for Transport Sectors
16.1
Targets and Achievements
16.2
Key Targets for the Twelfth Plan for the Electronics and IT-ITeS Industry
17.1
Overview of MGNREGA Performance, 2006–12
17.2 (A) Average Daily Wage Rates for Agricultural Labour: Male
17.2 (B) Seasonality of MGNREGA Employment Provided during 2010–11
17.3
Additional List of Permissible Works Under MGNREGA
17.4
Wage Payment Cycle under MGNREGA
17.5
Accountability Matrix for Delays in Wage Payments under MGNREGA
17.6
Phasing of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission
17.7
Investments in Rural Drinking Water, 1951–2012
17.8
Access to Household Amenities in Worst Performing States in Terms of Toilet Facilities in
Rural India, 2011 (Percentage of Rural Households)
17.9
Percentage of Households with No Latrine Facilities in Rural India, 2011
17.10 Total Sanitation Campaign, Physical Progress, Eleventh Plan
17.11 Total Sanitation Campaign, Financial Progress, Eleventh Plan
17.12 Major Increase in Unit Cost Support for IHHLs during the Twelfth Plan
17.13 IAY-Financial Performance during Eleventh Plan (2007–08 to 2011–12)

207
207
209
210
213
213
215
216
217
218
219
219
220
220
223
225
227
228
237
237
238
238
238
239
239
240
243
243
245
247
251
267
268
287
289
290
291
294
295
299
300
303
304
305
305
305
307

Tables xi

17.14
17.15
17.16
17.17
17.18
17.19
18.1
18.2
18.3
18.4
18.5
18.6
19.1
19.2
19.3
19.4
19.5
19.6

Physical Performance of IAY During Eleventh Plan (2007–08 to 2011–12)
Convergence of IAY with other Rural Infrastructure
Scheme for Purchase of Home Site and Incentive for Additional Target under IAY
Infrastructure and Amenities to be Provided, Operated and Maintained under PURA
Project by Private Developer in the Twelfth Plan
NSAP Progress in the Eleventh Plan
Physical and Financial Progress of NSAP Components, Eleventh Plan
Physical and Financial Progress under JNNURM (March 2012)
Estimates of Urban Transport Investments by HPEC
Requirement of CAPEX
Investments under JNNURM
Investment Requirement Estimates by HPEC
Requirement of CAPEX as per Working Group
Construction Sector-Macro Aggregates
Flow of Bank Credit to Construction Sector
Flow of FDI in Construction Activities (including Roads and Highways)
Alternative growth scenarios of tourism
Performance of Handloom Sector during the Eleventh Plan Period
Performance of Handicrafts Sector during the Eleventh Plan Period

307
308
308
313
314
315
323
344
344
349
350
350
362
371
371
376
397
402

Boxes
13.1
13.2
13.3
13.4
13.5
13.6
14.1
14.2
14.3
15.1
15.2
15.3
15.4
15.5
15.6
15.7
15.8
15.9
15.10
15.11
15.12
15.13
16.1
16.2
16.3
17.1
17.2
18.1
18.2
18.3
18.4
18.5
18.6
18.7

Examples of Weak Domestic Standards Leading to Influx of Sub-standard Products in the
Country
Dwindling Indian Capital Goods Industry
Strategies for Highest Overall Impact
Key Recommendations for Manufacturing
Key Recommendations
Key Recommendations
Achievements in Power Sector during the Eleventh Plan
Recommendations of Task Force on Open Access
Perform, Achieve and Trade Mechanism
Containerisation In Railways
Business Models for Passenger and Rail Freight Logistics: The JR East and Deutsche Bahn
Ways
Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) – A Game Change for the Indian Rail Sector
New Generation Locomotives
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Railways
Key Message from Reports on Railways: The Need for Organisational Reforms
Financing of National Highway Development Programme (NHDP)
Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) Contract
Innovations by some State Governments
Introduction of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC)
Coal Transport to Farakka through Power Station – A Break through for IWT
Development of Airports During the Eleventh Plan
GAGAN—The Indian Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) for Air Navigation
Services (ANS)
Spectrum Trading
Twelfth Plan Targets for the Telecommunication Sector
Key Achievements (as on 31 March 2012)
New Guidelines Strengthen Demand-driven Character of MGNREGA
Limitations of SGSY
Vision of Our Cities
State of Service Delivery—Key Indicators
Transforming Public Transport in Cities
Harmonising the Role of Parastatals with Elected Municipal Bodies
Strategic Densification—International Examples
Recommendation of Isher Ahluwalia Committee on Financial Devolution to ULBs
PPP in Urban Sector under JNNURM

61
68
98
99
122
125
136
145
157
207
208
209
210
212
214
216
217
223
225
233
242
244
263
264
267
293
298
320
321
324
326
330
332
333

Boxes xiii

18.8
18.9
18.10
18.11
18.12
19.1
19.2
19.3
19.4
19.5

FSI and Coverage Areas Can be Combined to Increase Densities
Metro—A Transformational Approach to Public Transport
Reforms and Desired Outcomes Related to Water Supply and Sanitation
Reforms under JNNURM Comprehensive List of Reforms in Urban Sector
Major Schemes for Urban Renewal at a Glance
Financing Instruments for Affordable Housing
Popular Choice by Design!
Twelfth Plan Interventions for Handlooms
Twelfth Plan Schemes for Handicrafts
Upturn in India’s Sporting Performance

338
341
348
355
358
374
399
401
404
410

Acronyms
2G/3G/4G
AAI
AAY
ACA
ACC
ACS
ADB
ADC
ADDA
AES
AI
AIBP
AIC
AIR
AIU
AL
AML
AMM
AMPC
ANM
AnSI
AOC
APL
APMC
APMSS
APO
ARPU
ARR
ARYA
ASHA
ASI
ASPIRE

Second Generation/Third
Generation/Fourth Generation
Airport Authority of India
Antodaya Anna Yojana
Additional Central Assistance
Artisan Credit Card
Average Cost of Supply
Asian Development Bank
Access Deficit Charges
Asansol Durgapur Development
Authority
Acute Encephalitis Syndrome
Artificial Insemination
Accelerated Agriculture Benefit
Programme
Agricultural Insurance Corporation
All India Radio
Association of Indian Universities
Arable Land
Anti-Money Laundering
Abandoned mine methane
Automated Mail Processing Centre
Auxiliary Nurse Midwife
Anthropological Survey of India
Agreement of Collaboration
Above Poverty Line
Agriculture Produce Marketing
Committee
Andhara Pradesh Mahila Samakhya
Assistant Programme Officer
Average Revenue Per User
Average Revenue Realised
Attracting & Retaining Youth in
Agriculture
Accredited Social Health Activist
Archaeological Survey of India
Agriculture Science Pursuit for
Inspired Research Excellence

ASSOCHAM
ATC
ATF
ATFC
ATls
ATMAs
ATS
B.P.Ed.
BAF
BC
BCM
BDOs
BE
BEE
BEML
BFDAs
BFO
BHEL
BIPP
BIRAP
BIS
BLY
BMPTC
BORL–Bina
BOT
BPCL
BPL
BPO
BPR
BRCs

Associated Chamber of Commerce
Air Traffic Control
Automatic Transmission Fluid
Agriculture Technology Forecast
Centre
Administrative Training Institutes
Agriculture Technology
Management Agency
Apprentice Training Scheme
Bachelor of Physical Education
Batch Annealing Furnace
Business Correspondent
Billion cubic metres
Block Development Officers
Budgetary Estimate
Bureau of Energy Efficiency
Bharat Earth Movers Ltd.
Brackish water Farmers
Development Agencies
Business Facilitation Officer
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.
Biotechnology Industry Partnership
Programme
Biotechnology Industry Research
Assistance Programme
Bureau of Indian Standards
Bachat Lamp Yojana
Building Material and Technology
Promotion Council
Bharat Oman Refineries Limited
Build-Operate-Transfer
Bharat Petroleum Corporation
Limited
Below Poverty Line
Branch Post Office/ Business
Process Outsourcing
Business Process Re-engineering
Block Resource Centres

Acronyms xv

BRO
BRT
BSUP
BTKM
BU
BWA
C&AG
CA
CACP
CAG
CAGR
Cal/Kg
capex
CBDT
CBM
CBOs
CBRM
CCDA
CCL
CCRF
C-DAP
C-DOT
CDP
CEA
CEF
CEIG
CERC
CERT
CERT–In
CETP
CeWiT
CFI
CFSI
CFT

CGD

Border Roads Organisation
Bus Rapid Transit
Basic Services to the Urban Poor
Billion Tonne Kilometre
Billion Unit
Broadband Wireless Access
Comptroller & Auditor General
Conservation Agriculture
Commission for Agriculture Costs
& Prices
Comptroller and Auditor General
Compound Annual Growth Rate
Calorie/ kilogramme
Capital expenditure
Central Board of Direct Taxation
Coal bed Methane
Community Based Organisations
Capacity Building and Reform
Management
Coal Conservation and
Development Act
Central Coalfields Limited
Code of Conduct for Responsible
Fisheries
Comprehensive District Agriculture
Plants
Centre for Development of
Telematics
City Development Plans
Central Electricity Authority
Citizen Engagement Framework
Chief Electrical Inspectorate to
Govt. of India
Central Electricity Regulatory
Commission
Computer Emergency Response
Team
Indian Computer Emergency
Response Team
Common Affluent Treatment Plan
Centre for Excellence in Wireless
Technology
Construction Federation of India
Children Film Society of India
Cluster Facilitation Team/
Combating of Financing of
Terrorism
City Gas Distribution

CGP
CGRF
CH4. CO
CHPs
CIDC
CII
CLCSS
CM
CMA
CMM
CMPDIL
CMSA
CNG
CPCB
CPCL
CPE
CPIAL or
CPIIW
CPIS
CPMG
CPPs
CPWD
CREDAI
CRPs
CRRI
CRRI-In
CSC
CSIR
CSO
CSR
CSS
CST
CTL
CUF
CVO

Cluster of Gram Panchayats
Consumer Grievance Redressal
Forum
Methane, Carbon Monoxide
Coal Handling Plants
Construction Industry Development
Council
Confederation of Indian Industry
Credit Linked Capital Subsidy
Scheme
Confederation of Indian Industries
Counter Magnet Area
Coal mine methane
Central Mine Planning and Design
Institute
Community Managed Sustainable
Agriculture
Compressed natural gas
Central Pollution Control Board
Chennai Petroleum Corporation
Limited
Customer Premises Equipment
Consumer Price Index for
Agricultural Labour/Consumer
Price Index for Industrial Workers
Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme
Chief Post Master General
Captive power plants
Central Public Works Department
Confederation of Real Estate
Developers’ Associations of India
Community Resource Persons
Central Road Research Institute
Indian Computer Emergency
Response Team
Cluster Stimulation Cell/Common
Services Centre
Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research
Central Statistical Office/Civil
Society Organisation
Corporate Social Responsibility
Centrally Sponsored Scheme
Central Sales Tax/Concentrating
Solar Technology
Coal to liquid
Capacity Utilisation Factor
Chief Vigilance Officer

xvi Acronyms

C-WET
CWG
DAC
DAE
DAHDF
DALY
DAP
DARE
DAS
DAVP
DBT
DCI
DD
DeitY
DEMU/
MEMU
DFC
DFP
DGCA
DGH
DGPS
DIPP
DIPP
DoP
DoT
DP
DPC
DPRs
DPSU
DRDA
DRDO
DRI
DRM
DSM
DSS
DST
DTC
DTH

Centre for Wind Energy Technology
Common Wealth Games
Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation
Department of Atomic Energy
Department of Animal Husbandry,
Dairying & Fisheries
Disability Adjusted Life Years
Diammonium Phosphate
Department of Agricultural
Research & Education
Digital Addressable System
Directorate of Advertisement and
Visual Publicity
Department of Bio-technology
Dredging Corporation of India
Doordarshan
Department of Electronics and
Information Technology
Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit/
Mainline Electric Multiple Unit
Dedicated Freight Corridor
Directorate of Field Publicity
Directorate General of Civil Aviation
Director General of Hydrocarbons
Differential Global Positioning
System
Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion
Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion
Department of Posts
Department of Telecommunication
Development Plan
District Programme Coordinator
Detailed Project Reports
Defence Public Sector Undertaking
District Rural Development Agency
Defence Research & Development
Organisation
Differential Rate of Interest
Digital Radio Mondiale
Demand side management
Decision Support System
Department of Science &
Technology
Direct Tax Code
Direct to Home

DWDM
E&P
companies
EBP
Programme
ECB
ECBC
ECO
EDGE
EDMC
EDS
EEZ
EFC
eFMS
EIAs
EIL
EM
EMC
EMMC
EMSC
EMU
EOL
EPC
ERP
ESDM
ETP
EWS
EXIM
FAB
FAO
FAR
FDI
FFDAs
FICCl
FM
FMD
FO/LSHS
FOLD

Dense Wavelength Division
Multiplexing
Exploration and Production
Companies
Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme
External Commercial Borrowing
Energy Conservation Building Code
Local Cable Operators
Enhanced Data for Global Evolution
Electronic Design and
Manufacturing Cluster
Electronics Delivery of Services
Exclusive Economic Zone
Expenditure Finance Committee
Electronic Fund Management
System
End Implementing Agencies
Engineers India Limited
Entrepreneur’s Memorandum
Electronics Manufacturing Cluster
Electronic Media Monitoring
Centre
Environmental Measures and
Subsidence Control scheme
Electric Multiple Unit
Essar Oil Ltd
Engineering Procurement and
Construction
Enterprise resource planning
Electronics System Design &
Manufacturing
Effluent Treatment Plant
Economically Weaker Sections
Export Import
Fabrication Unit
Food and Agriculture Organisation
Floor Area Ratio
Foreign Direct investment
Fish Farmers Development
Agencies
Federation of Indian Chamber of
Commerce & Industry
Frequency Modulation
Foot & Mouth Disease
Furnace oil/Low Sulphur Heavy
Stock
Forum of Load Dispatchers

Acronyms

FoR
FPOs
FPS
FRBM
FSA
FSI
FSRU
FTA
FTII
FYP
GAIL
GBI support
GBS
GCF
GCV
GDP
GIPCL
GIS
GKMS
GMO
GOI
GoI-UNDP
GPR
GPS
GPs
GQ
GRIHA
GSDP
GSI
GSM
GST
GT
GTO/IGBT
GW
HD
HDTV
HEC
HEIs
HEMM
HITS

Forum of Regulators
Farmer Producer Organisation
Fair Price Shop
Fiscal Responsibility and Budget
Management Rules
Fuel Supply Agreement
Floor Space Index
Floating Storage & Regasification
units
Free Trade Agreement
Films and Television Institute of
India
Five Year Plan
Gas Authority of India Ltd
Generation based incentive support
Gross Budgetary Support
Gross Capital Formation
Gross calorific value
Gross Domestic Product
Gujarat Industries Power Company
Ltd
Geographical Information System
Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva
Genetically Modified Organisms
Government of India
Government of India-United
Nations Development Programme
Ground Penetrating Radar
Global Positioning System
Gram Panchayats
Golden Quadrilateral
Green Rating for Integrated Habitat
Assessment
Gross State Domestic Product
Geological Survey of India
Global System for Mobile
Communication
Goods and Services Tax
Gross Tonne
Gate Turn Off (Thyrister)/lnsulated
Gate Bipolar Transistor
GigaWatt
High Definition
High Definition Television
Heavy Engineering Corporation
Higher Educational Institutions
Heavy earth moving machinery
Headend In The Sky

HMCP
HMEL
HMT
HPCL
HPEC
HPOs
HPT
HRD
HRSS
HS
HSIL
HTLS
HTREL
HUDCO
HUMS
I&B
IAAS
IAASTD

IAP
IAY
IBF
IBIN
IBM
IBP
IBS
IC
ICAR
ICD
ICF
ICMR
ICRIS
ICT
ICTE
IDA

xvii

Hardware Manufacturing Cluster
Park
Hindustan Mittal Energy Limited
Hindustan Machine Tools
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation
Limited
High Powered Expert Committee
Head Post Offices
High Power Transmitter
Human Resource Development
High Resolution Seismic Survey
Herorrhagic Septicemia
High Surge Impedance Loading
High Temp. Low Sag
High-tech Reconnaissance &
Exploration Licences
Housing and Urban Development
Corporation
Indian Institutes of Urban
Management
Information & Broadcasting
Integrated Agro-Meteorological
Advisory Service
International Assessment of
Agricultural Knowledge, Science &
Technology for Development
Integrated Action Plan
Indira Awaas Yojana
Indian Broadcasting Foundation
India Backbone Implementation
Network
Indian Bureau of Mines
Indian Broadcasting Foundation
In Building Solutions
Integrated Circuit
Indian Council of Agricultural
Research
Inland Container Depot
Integrated Coach Factory
Indian Council of Medical Research
Integrated Coal Resource
Information System
Information and Communication
Technology
Information, Communication
Technology and Electronics
International Development
Association

xviii Acronyms

IEBR
IEC
IFFI
IGNDPS
IGNOAPS
IGNWPS
IHHL
IHSDP
IIDS
IIFCL
IIHT
IIIT
IIPA
IISc
IIT
IIUMs
ILCS
ILRIS
IMD
IMEI
IMIS
IMPCC
IMT
INDIPEX
IOCL
IP
IPM

Internal and Extra Budgetary
Resources
Information Education and
Communication
International Film Festival of India
Indira Gandhi National Disability
Pension Scheme
Indira Gandhi National Old Age
Pension Scheme
Indira Gandhi National Widow
Pension Scheme
Individual Household Latrine
Integrated Housing & Slum
Development Programme
Integrated Infrastructural
Development Scheme
India Infrastructure Finance
Company Limited
Indian Institute of Handloom
Technology
Indian Institute of Information
Technology
Indian Institute of Public
Administration
Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Technology
Indian Institutes of Urban
Managements
Integrated Low Cost Sanitation
Scheme
Integrated Lignite Resource
Information System
Indian Meteorological Department
International Mobile Equipment
Identity
Integrated Management
Information System
Inter Media Publicity Coordination
Committee
International Mobile
Telecommunications
India International Philatelic
Exhibition
Indian Oil Corporation Limited
Intellectual Property/Internet
Protocol
Integrated Pest Management

IPR
IPTV
IPV 4/IPV 6
IRDA
IRDP
ISO
ISPRL
ISRO
ISSHUP
IT
ITA-1
ITI
ITIs
IT-ITeS

IVRS
IWAI
IWT
JE
JLGs
JMP
JNNURM
JNNUSM
JRDA
JV
JWGs
KCC
Kgoe/US$
KVIC
KVK
KVs
kW
Kwh
L. km

Intellectual Property Rights
Internet Protocol Television
Internet Protocol version 4/Internet
Protocol version 6
Insurance Regulatory Development
Authority
Integrated Rural Development
Programme
Indian Standard Organisation
Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Ltd
Indian Space Research Organisation
Interest Subsidy Scheme for
Housing the Urban Poor
Information Technology
Information Technology
Agreement-1
Indian Telephone Industries
Industrial Training Institutes
Information Technology-and
Information Technology enabled
Service
Interactive Voice Response System
Inland Waterways Authority of
India
Inland Waterways Transport
Japanese Encephalitis
Joint Liability Groups
Joint Monitoring Programme
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar
Mission
Jharia Rehabilitation and
Development Authority
Joint Venture
Joint Working Groups
Kisan Credit Card
Kilograms of Oil Equivalent/US
Dollar
Khadi & Village Industries
Corporation
Krishi Vigayan Kendra
Kendriya Vidyalayas
Kilo Watt
Kilowatt hour
Line kilometre

Acronyms xix

LAD
LARR
LBFL
LCO
LDBs
LDC
LDO
LEED
LHB
LIGs
LNCPE
LNG
LPG
LPT
LR
LTCCS
LTE
LWE
M&A
M.P.Ed.
MA
MANAGE
MAT
Mbps
MCCL
MCS
MDI
MDRR
MEA
MES
MFIs
MGNREGA
MGNREGS
MGR
MHz/GHz
MIS
MITI
MMBTU

Least Assured Depth
Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation
and Resettlement Bill, 2011
Local Bodies Finance List
Local Cable Operators
Livestock Development Boards
Land Development Corporation
Light Diesel Oil
Leadership in Energy &
Environmental Design
Linke Holfmann Busch
Low Income Group
Laxmibai National College of
Physical Education
Liquefied natural gas
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Low Power Transmitter
Land Readjustment
Long Term Cooperative Credit
Structure
Long Term Evolution
Left Wing Extremism
Mergers and Acquisitions
Master of Physical Education
Moving Average
National Institute for Agriculture
Extension and Management
Minimum Alternative Tax
Megabits per second
Mahanadi Coalfields Limited
Monitoring, Control and
Surveillance
Management Devolution Index
Mines and Minerals (Development
and Regulation) Bill, 2011
Ministry of External Affairs
Minimum Economic Size
Microfinance Institutions
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme
Merry-Go-Round
Mega Hertz/Giga Hertz
Management Information System
Ministry of International Trade and
Industry, Japan
Million Metric British Thermal Unit

MM-III
MMP
MMSCMD
MMT
MMTOE
MMTPA
MNAIS
MNRE
MoA
MoC
MoHUPA
MoP
MoP&NG
MoRD
MoRTH
MoSPI
MOT
MoU
MoUD
MPCs
MRP
MRPL
MS
MSE-CDP
MSEFC
MSIPS
MSME
MSMED Act
MSP
MT
MTA
MTEE
MTOE
MW
MWe

Mini Mission III
Mission Mode Project
Million Metric Standard Cubic
Metre Per Day
Million Metric Tonnes
Million tones oil equivalent
Million Metric Tonne Per Annum
Modified National Agricultural
Insurance Scheme
Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy
Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Coal
Ministry of Housing and Urban
Poverty Alleviation
Ministry of Power
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Gas
Ministry of Rural Development
Ministry of Roads Transport &
Highways
Ministry of Statistics & Programme
Implementation
Multi-organisation Team/ Muriate
of Potash
Memorandum of Understanding
Ministry of Urban development
Metropolitan Planning Committees
Maximum Retail Price
Mangalore Refinery and
Petrochemicals Limited
Motor spirit
Cluster Development Programme of
the M/o MSME
Micro & Small Enterprise
Facilitation Councils
Modified Special Incentive
Programme Scheme
Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise
MSME Development Act, 2006
Minimum Support Price
Million Tonnes
Mid-term Appraisal
Market Transformation for Energy
Efficiency
Million tons of oil equivalent
Medium Wave/Megawatt
Megawatt electrical

xx Acronyms

MWp.
NABARD
NABFINS
NAC
NADA
NAIS
NAPCC
NARS
NATRIP
NAVA
NBA
NBECI
NBFCs
NBS
NCC
NCP
NCR
NCTE
NDDB
NDP
NDTL
NE
NEF
NEGP
NERUDP
NELP
NER
NFAP
NFBS
NFDB
NFDC
NFSA
NFSB
NFSM
NGN
NGO
NGP

Megawatt Peak
National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development
NABARD Financial Services
Non Agricultural use of Land
National Anti-Doping Agency
National Agricultural Insurance
Scheme
National Action Plan on Climate
Change
National Agriculture Research System
National Automotive Testing and
R&D Infrastructure Project
National Audio-Visual Archives
News Broadcasters Association/
Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan
National Bio Energy Corporation of
India
Non-Banking Finance Companies
Nutrient Based Subsidy
National Cadet Corps
National Competition Policy
National Capital Region
National Council of Teacher
Education
National Dairy Development Boards
National Dairy Plant
National Dope Test Laboratory
North East
National Electricity Fund
National e-Governance Plan
North Eastern Region Urban
Development Programme
New Exploration Licensing Policy
North Eastern Region
National Frequency Allocation Plan
National Family Benefit Scheme
National Fisheries Development
Board
National Film Development
Corporation
National Food Security Act
National Food Security Bill
National Food Security Mission
Next Generation Network
Non-Governmental Organisation
Nirmal Gram Puraskar

NGRCA
NGRI
NHAI
NHB
NHDP
NHM
NIA
NICRA
NIMZ
NIPER
NIS
NISC
NISSM
NIUA
NKN
NLCPR
NLP
NMCC
NMCP
NMEEE
NMSA
NMSH
NMT
NOCL
NOFN
NPBB
NPBBD
NPCBB
NPFAI

National Gender Resources Centre
in Agriculture
National Geophysical Research
Institute
National Highway Authority of India
National Horticulture Board/
National Housing Bank
National Highway Development
Programme
National Horticulture Mission
Net irrigated area
National Initiative on Climate
Resilient Agriculture
National Investment and
Manufacturing Zone
National Institute of Pharmaceutical
Education & Research
National Institute of Sports
National Institute of Sports
Coaching
National Institute of Sports Science
and Sports Medicine
National Institute of Urban Affairs
National Knowledge Network
Non-Lapsable Central Pool of
Resources
Natural Language Processing
National Manufacturing
Competitiveness Council
National Manufacturing
Competitiveness Programme
National Mission for Enhanced
Energy Efficiency
National Mission for Sustainable
Agriculture
National Mission on Sustainable
Habitat
Non-Motorised Transport
Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Limited
National Optical Fibre Network
National Programme for Bovine
Breeding
National Programme for Bovine
Breeding and Dairy
National Project for Cattle & Buffalo
Breeding
National Playfields Association of
India

Acronyms xxi

NPFP
NPK
NPM
NPMSH&F
NPS
NPYAD
NRAA
NRDWP
NREGS
NRL
NRLM
NSAP
NSD
NSDC
NSDF
NSF
NSIC
NSNIS
NSS
NSSO

NTDPC
NTKM
NTP
NTPC
NTS
NUHHP
NULM
NURTA
NUSP

National Physical Fitness
Programme
Nitrogen Phosphorous & Potash
Non-Pesticidal Management of
Pests
National Project on Management of
Soil Health & Fertility
New Pension Scheme/ New Pricing
Scheme
National Programme for Youth and
Adolescent Development
National Rained Area Authority
National Rural Drinking Water
Programme
National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme
Numaligarh Refinery Limited
National Rural Livelihood Mission
National Social Assistance
Programme
National School of Drama
National Skill Development
Corporation
National Skill Development Fund
National Sports Federation
National Small Industry Corporation
Netaji Subhas National Institute of
Sports
National Sample Survey/National
Service Scheme
National Sample Survey Office/
National Sample Survey
Organisation
National Transport Development
Policy Committee
Net Tonne Kilometre
National Telecom Policy
National Thermal Power
Corporation
National Institute of Sports
National Urban Housing and
Habitat Policy
National Urban Livelihoods
Mission
National Urban Rail Transit
Authority
National Urban Sanitation Policy

NVG

NVs
NYC
NYKs
O&M
O+OEG
OBCs
ODF
OFB
OIL
OMCs
OMS
OMT
ONGC
OVL
oya
PACS
PAPU
PAT
PATM
PCB
PCU
PDAs
PEARL
PHPDT
PIB
PIC
PKM
PLB
PLI
PMEGP
PMGSY
PNG
PNGRB
POL
POLIF
POs
POSOCO

National Voluntary Guidelines on
Soc., Env., & Eco Responsibility for
Business
Navodaya Vidyalayas
National Youth Corps
Nehru Yuva Kendras
Operation & Maintenance
Oil and oil equivalent gas
Other Backward Classes
Open Defecation Free
Ordinance Factory Board
Oil India Limited
Oil Marketing Companies
Output per man shift
Operate-Maintain-Transfer
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
Limited
ONGC Videsh Ltd
Year on Year Average
Primary Agriculture Cooperative
Society
Pan African Postal Union
Perform, Achieve & Trade
Perform, Achieve and Trade
Mechanism
Pollution Control Board
Policy Coherence Unit
Pension Distribution Agencies
Peer Experience and Reflective
Learning
Peak Hour Peak Direction Traffic
Public Information Bureau
Public Information Campaign
Passenger Kilometre
Public Land Banks
Postal Life Insurance
Pradhan Mantri Employment
Guarantee Programme
Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak
Yojna
Piped natural gas
Petroleum and Natural Gas
Regulatory Board
Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants
Post Office Life Insurance Fund
Post Offices
Power System Operation
Corporation Limited

xxii Acronyms

PPAC

Petroleum Planning and Analysis
Cell
PPAs
Power purchase agreement
PPP
Public–Private Partnership
PPPP
People Private–Public Partnership
PPPIAD
Public–Private Partnership
for Integrated Agricultural
Development
PPVFRA
Protection of Plant Variety &
Farmers Rights Authority
PRGF
Partial Risk Guarantee Fund
PRIs
Panchayati Raj Institutions
Provi.
Provisional
PSB
Public Service Broadcaster
PSCs
Production Sharing Contracts
PSUs
Public Sector Undertakings
PTA
Preferential Trade Agreement
PURA
Provision of Urban Amenities in
Rural Areas
PWD
Public Works Department
PWSS
Piped Water Supply System
PYD
Programme for Youth Development
PYKKA
Panchayati Yuva Khel aur Krida
Abhiyan
R&D
Research and Development
R&M AND LE Renovation & Modernisation and
Life Extension
R&R
Rehabilitation and Resettlement
R/P ratios
Reserves-to-Production ratio
R–APDRP
Restructured Accelerated Power
Development and Reforms
Programme
RAY
Rajiv Awas Yojana
RBCs
Rural Building Centres
RCUES
Regional Centres of Urban and
Environment Studies
RDF
Rural Development Flexi-fund
RDSO
Research Design and Standards
Organisation
RE bonds
Renewable Energy bonds
RE
Revised Expenditure
READY
Rural Entrepreneurship &
Awareness Development Yojana
REC
Renewable Energy Certificate
RFD
Result Framework Document
RFID
Radio Frequency Identification
RGGVY
Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
Vidyutikaran Yojana

RGNIYD
RHF
RIA
RIDF
RIL
RIL-KG
RIS
RITES
RKVY
RMSA
ROB/RUB
RoW
RPLI
RPO
RPOLIF
RRTS
RTE
RUDSETIs
S&DD
S&L
SAD
SAGES
SAMETIs
SARDP-NE

SAT
SAU/SAUs
SBD
SCCL
SCs
SCSP
SDO
SDTV
SEB
SEBI
SECC

Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of
Youth Development
Rural Housing Fund
Regulatory Impact Analysis
Rural Infrastructure Development
Fund
Reliance Industries Limited
Reliance Industries Limited-Krishna
Godavari Basin
River Information System
Rail India Techno Economic
Services
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha
Abhiyan
Road Over Bridge/ Road Under
Bridge
Right of Way
Rural Postal Life Insurance
Renewable Purchase Obligation
Rural Post Office Life Insurance
Fund
Regional Rapid Transit System
Right to Education
Rural Development and SelfEmployment Training Institutes
Song and Drama Division
Standards and Labelling
Special Additional Duty
Goaf edge supports
State Agriculture Management
Extension & Training Institutions
Special Accelerated Road
Development Programme for the
North East
Sports Authority of India
Social Audit Unit/State Agricultural
Universities
Standard bid documents
Singareni Collieries Company
Limited
Scheduled Castes
Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan
Standard Developing Organisations
Standard Definition Television
State Electricity Board
Securities & Exchange Board of India
Socio-Economic and Caste Census

Acronyms

SECF
SFAC
SFCs
SGSY
SHBs
SHGs
SIBRI
SITP
SJSRY
SKO
SLNA
SLSC
SME
SOC
SOE
SOP
SoRs
SPTLs
SPV
SRFTI
SRI
SSA
STB
STL
STOA
STs
STU/CTU
SW
SWAN
TCF
TCIL
TCoE
TDB
TDR
TDRs
TDSAT
TEC
TFP
TISCO

Contribution to State Energy
Conservation Fund
Small Farmers Agribusiness
Consortium
State Finance Commissions
Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar
Yojana
State Housing Boards
Self-Help Groups
Small Industry Business Research
Initiatives
Scheme for Integrated Textile Park
Swarna Jayanti Sahari Rozgaar
Yojana
Superior Kerosene Oil
State-Level Nodal Agency
State Level Sanctioning Committee
Small and Medium Enterprise
Soil Organic Carbon
State Owned Enterprise
Standard Operating Producer
Schedule of Rates
State Pesticide Testing Laboratory
Special Purpose Vehicle
Satyajit Ray Film and Television
Institute
System of Rice Intensification
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Set Top Box
Short term liabilities
Short-Term Open Access
Scheduled Tribes
State Transmission Utilities/Central
Transmission Utility
Short Wave
State Wide Area Network
Trillion cubic feet
Telecommunications Consultants
India Ltd
Telecom Centres of Excellence
Technology Development Board
Transfer of Development Rights
Tradable Development Rights
Telecom Disputes Settlement
Appellate Tribunal
Telecom Engineering Centre
Total Factor Productivity
Tata Iron and Steel Company
Limited

TMNE (NE)
TNUDF
TOD
TOPS
TPDS
TPSs
TQM
TSC
TSDO
TSP
TUFS
UC
UCG
UGC
UHV
UID
UID
UIDSSMT
UIG
UK
ULBs
ULIP
UMPPs
UMTA
UNICEF
UPU
USA
USEPA
USHA
USIS
USOF
UT
VAS
VAT
VCFEE
VFX
VGF

xxiii

Technology Mission for North
Eastern Region
Tamil Nadu Urban Development
Fund
Time of Day
Terrestrial Observation &
Prediction System
Targeted Public Distribution System
Town Planning Schemes
Total Quality Management
Total Sanitation Campaign
Telecom Standards Development
Organisation
Telecom Service Provider/Tribal
Sub-Plan
Technology Upgradation Fund
Scheme
Utilization Certificate
Underground Coal Gasification
University Grants Commission
Useful heat value
Unique Identification
Unique Identification—AADHAR
Urban Infrastructure Development
for Small & Medium Towns
Urban Infrastructure and
Governance
United Kingdom
Urban Local Bodies
Unit Linked Insurance Plan
Ultra Mega Power Projects
Unified Metropolitan Transport
Authority
United Nations Children’s Fund
Universal Postal Union
United States of America
United States Environment
Protection Agency
Urban Statistics for HR and
Assessments
Urban Sport Infrastructure
Universal Service Obligation Fund
Urban Transport
Value Added Services
Value Added Tax
Venture Capital Fund for Energy
Efficiency
Visual Effects
Viability Gap Funding

xxiv Acronyms

VLFM
VLPT
VoIP
VUs
VWSC
WBCIS
WDM-PON

Visionary Leadership for
Manufacturing
Very Low Power Transmitter
Voice Over Internet Protocol
Vehicle Units
Village Water and Sanitation
Committee
Weather Based Crop Insurance
Scheme
Wavelength Division Multiplexed
Passive Optical Network

WHO
WiPS
WRDA
WSCs
WTO
XGPON

World Health Organisation
Wireless Intrusion Prevention
System
Warehouse Regulatory &
Development Authority
Weavers’ Service Centres
World Trade Organisation
Next Generation Gigabit Passive
Optical Network

Annexures
13.1
13.2
13.3
14.1
14.2
14.3
14.4
15.1
15.2
15.3
15.4
15.5
15.6
15.7
15.8
16.1

Manufacturing GDP by Sector and Employment Projections
Sector-wise Recommendations
Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) Outlays (GBS) for Industry Sector
Eleventh Plan Physical Progress of RGGVY Projects under Implementation
Sectoral Coal Demand/Off-take for Annual Plan 2012–13
Annual Plan 2012–13—Company-wise Production—Ministry of Coal
Physical Targets of Renewable Programme for the Twelfth Plan
Central Road Sector Outlay and Expenditure-At Current Price for Eleventh Plan
Plan-wise Addition to NH Length
Achievement on National Highways
National Highways Development Project Phase I to VII
Physical Performance of Air India Limited during Eleventh Plan Period
Financial Performance of Air India Ltd. during the Eleventh Plan Period
Financial Performance of Airports Authority of India during Eleventh Plan Period
Financial Performance of Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. during Eleventh Plan Period
Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) Outlays for the Ministry of Communications and IT and
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

105
106
129
191
192
193
194
252
254
254
255
256
256
257
257
285

12
Agriculture
INTRODUCTION
12.1. Although agriculture now accounts for only
14 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it
is still the main source of livelihood for the majority of the rural population. As such rapid growth of
agriculture is critical for inclusiveness. Important
structural changes are taking place within the sector and there are definite signs of improved performance. Agricultural growth has accelerated
compared to the Tenth Plan and diversification
is proceeding (Table 12.1). The National Sample
Survey Organisation (NSSO) data brings out that
rural labourers are shifting to non-agricultural work,
tightening the labour market in agriculture and putting pressure on farm wages. However, dependence
on agriculture remains unchanged among the rural
self-employed whose average farm size continues to

decline with population growth. This is also an ageing, more feminised population, whose educated
young members are less likely to want to stay in
farming. The viability of farm enterprise, mostly
small farms, must therefore be a special area of
Plan focus in the Twelfth Plan. The Plan must also
focus on other priorities such as resource-use efficiency and technology to ensure sustainability of
natural resources, adaptation to climate change and
improvements in total factor productivity.

RECENT TRENDS: PERFORMANCE AND
POINTERS
GDP Growth
12.2. The average of annual growth rates of GDP in
agriculture and allied sectors during the Eleventh

TABLE 12.1
Growth Rate of Agricultural and Allied Sectors
(in percentage)
Plan

Share of Agriculture in the
Economy

Growth Rate of Agriculture
and Allied Sectors

Growth Rate of Total
Economy

(All Figures based on 2004–05 prices)
Ninth Five Year Plan

23.4

2.5

5.7

Tenth Five Year Plan

19.0

2.4

7.6

2007–08

16.8

5.8

9.3

2008–09

15.8

0.1

6.7

2009–10

14.6

0.8

8.6

2010–11 (2nd RE)

14.5

7.9

9.3

2011–12 (Rev Est.)

14.1

3.6

6.2

Eleventh Plan Average

15.2

3.7

8.0

Eleventh Plan (2007–08 to 2011–12)

Source: Central Statistical Office, New Delhi Press Release dated 7th Feb, 2013.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Five Year Plan is now placed at 3.7 per cent. This is
short of the target of 4 per cent but is significantly
better than the achievement of 2.4 per cent in the
Tenth Plan. Failure to reach the target growth is
one reason for the high inflation in prices of food
and other primary commodities that persist despite
the recent slowdown in overall GDP growth.
Consequently, although the overall GDP growth target of the Twelfth Plan has been revised down since
the Approach Paper, the growth target for agriculture is maintained at 4 per cent.
12.3. A natural question which arises is whether the
target of 4 per cent is attainable in view of past shortfalls. Although growth trends and targets are subject
to high errors due to weather variability (for example, the Eleventh Plan average was pulled down by
two successive bad harvests in 2008–09 and 2009–
10), there is reason for cautious optimism because
the turn-around that began after 2004 appears to be
maintaining its momentum. Figure 12.1 plots averages and standard deviations of annual growth rates
over moving five-year periods, a trend of the growth
averages and also annualised five-year growth rates
based on five-year moving averages. All these show
growth still trending up and variability reducing.
The Eleventh Plan growth rate based on five-year
moving averages is at 3.6 per cent, the highest for any

five-year period ever and, significantly, growth variability has also reduced to lowest ever.
12.4. The reduction in variability is important since
claims of acceleration or deceleration make sense
only when variability is low. Also, it is a measure
of how well the system is able to cope with inevitable bouts of aberrant weather and yet maintain the
growth momentum. It should be noted that agricultural growth was positive in 2009–10 despite the
worst drought in nearly 40 years. More generally,
whereas earlier periods saw at least one and normally
two years of negative growth in every five year, there
has not been a single year of negative growth of agriculture and allied sectors after 2002–03.
12.5. The magnitude of secular decline in growth
variability over the last 30 years is also important.
This is now less than a third of its peak. A major
role must have been played by the increase in irrigation from about 20 per cent of arable area in 1981
to 35 per cent today, based mainly on groundwater. However, since water tables have fallen and
temperatures risen, the extent of variability decline
is surprisingly large. Even assuming zero variability on irrigated land, this implies that variability on
rain-fed land must have reduced very substantially.
Clearly factors such as a more diversified agriculture,

3.0

6.0

2.0

4.0

1.0

2.0

Average of annual growth rates

1996–97
5 yr MA

2011–12

8.0

2006–07

4.0

1991–92

10.0

1986–87

5.0

1981–82

12.0

1976–77

6.0

2001–02

Std dev of annual growth rates (axis 2)

FIGURE 12.1: Growth and Fluctuations in GDP Agriculture and Allied

Agriculture 3

extended information reach and investments both
on-farm and in watershed development, appear to
have enabled better responses to depleting natural
resources and weather risk. Although there is considerable scope to improve each of these factors further, it is a matter of satisfaction that developments
in these areas are having a positive effect.

The Climate Challenge
12.6. The climate challenge facing agriculture needs
to be taken seriously. Table 12.2 shows a distinct
trend towards both drier and warmer weather, particularly during the last three Plan periods. Rainfall
in context of agriculture has traditionally been
discussed in terms of the monsoon (that is, June–
September) but annual precipitation is probably
much more relevant now since the dominance of
Kharif crops has reduced. Viewed in this perspective, it is noteworthy that each of the last three Plan
periods has recorded lower mean rainfall and higher
rainfall variability compared to the immediately previous period. Three (2008, 2009 and 2011) of the
five Eleventh Plan years had annual rainfall below
95 per cent of long period average, as compared
to only five in the previous 15 years. Temperature
conditions have deteriorated even more. Periods
prior to 1997 can be considered normal, but warming has increased at an accelerating pace since then.
The Eleventh Plan period contained the two warmest years (2010 and 2009) ever recorded since 1900.

Even the coolest year (2008) during these five years
was the thirteenth warmest in the last 110 years.

State-wise performance
12.7. The Mid-term Appraisal of the Eleventh Plan
(MTA) had noted that the recovery in agriculture
after 2004 was associated with clear signs of renewed
dynamism in rain-fed areas. Table 12.3, presents
state-wise averages and standard deviations of
annual growth rates of Gross State Domestic Product
(GSDP) from agriculture and allied activities for four
separate periods since 1981–82. It clearly shows the
following:
1. The all-States average and median growth rates
of GSDP recovered beyond levels before mid1990s, to reach near 4 per cent in the period
after 2004–05, this also happened individually in
many states, particularly those with large rainfed areas. The states with best performance were
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Tripura,
Mizoram, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, all with above 5
per cent growth.
2. Despite more difficult weather conditions, all
except few hill states managed substantial reduction of growth variability (measured by standard
deviation of annual growth rates) during 2005–
12 as compared to the past.

TABLE 12.2
Some Weather Details
1951/52 to
1967/68

1968/69 to
1980/81

1981/82 to
1990/91

1991/92 to
1996/97

1997/98 to
2001/02

2002/03 to
2006/07

2007/08 to
2011/12

122.5

118.7

120.1

121.0

118.5

113.7

111.7

12.5

10.2

11.5

7.2

8.3

9.4

10.0

Mean

91.9

88.8

90.0

87.8

83.9

86.6

Standard Deviation

10.1

9.6

11.0

6.5

5.5

7.9

9.7

Annual Rainfall (cm)
Mean
Standard Deviation
Monsoon Rainfall (cm)

Annual Temperature anomaly from normal (°C)
Mean

0.04

–0.03

0.09

0.19

0.34

0.56

0.65

Standard Deviation

0.28

0.24

0.03

0.10

0.22

0.11

0.26

Source: Climate bulletins and other publications of the India Meteorological Department.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 12.3
Averages and Standard Deviations of Annual Growth Rates of GSDP from Agriculture and Allied Sectors
Average of Annual Growth Rates

Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu & Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamilnadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Sum of GSDP of:
All above states
High irrigation states
Medium irrigation states
Low irrigation states
High productivity states
Mid productivity states
Low productivity states
Across States:
Median
Standard deviation

Standard Deviation of Annual Growth Rates

1981–82
to
1993–94

1994–95
to
1999–2000

2000–01
to
2004–05

2005–06
to
2011–12

1981–82
to
1993–94

1994–95
to
1999–2000

2000–01
to
2004–05

2005–06
to
2011–12

3.9
9.3
2.5
1.1
4.9
8.8
4.5
2.8
1.3
1.1
4.5
3.2
4.9
5.7
2.8
1.1

2.8
–0.8
0.2
3.1
–2.1
5.2
2.1
0.3
5.2
4.3
4.1
1.9
1.6
3.1
2.1
7.2

13.8
8.5
2.7
22.7
10.5
27.0
7.0
2.1
5.7
7.2
5.7
4.9
3.4
10.1
6.2
6.2

18.6
4.6
26.5

5.8
2.5
2.8
2.8
5.3
3.4
(3.4)
3.8
2.9
3.6
4.1
3.0
3.6

0.0
2.5
5.5
–1.2
1.8
3.7
3.5
2.4
4.1
2.5
(3.3)
3.2
1.8
2.8
2.9
2.4
2.6

5.0
5.0
4.1
3.3
7.3
5.5
4.2
1.5
0.7
8.0
5.1
–0.2
4.4
5.3
5.9
3.3
5.7
2.5
3.1
1.8
5.5
3.4
4.6
5.7
2.8
2.0
2.6
3.8
(3.7)
2.7
4.2
4.5
2.1
3.7
5.1

10.0
9.7
4.8
12.9
10.5
53.5
12.2
12.4
11.2
12.9
8.7
6.4
10.5
17.3
3.6
11.2

2.6
4.9
5.9

4.7
1.6
–0.1
7.4
4.6
9.1
2.7
8.0
3.6
5.0
–2.9
1.7
2.2
1.6
5.8
4.8
0.1
14.1
3.5
1.8
10.9
6.5
–0.5
4.0
1.0
3.3
2.4
2.1
(1.7)
1.7
3.1
1.5
2.5
2.1
2.5

12.7
7.1
3.2
3.2
9.2
5.8
(5.1)
3.1
9.8
5.6
3.9
4.0
11.0

11.0
4.4
14.4
11.1
9.6
5.7
5.2
3.5
4.3
5.2
(4.6)
3.8
9.1
4.7
3.1
6.6
6.4

9.7
7.2
1.4
24.1
35.3
24.2
3.5
6.2
3.8
19.6
15.1
2.4
27.1
6.9
6.9
2.1
4.8
9.7
16.4
2.6
44.9
1.0
14.0
11.4
1.8
4.9
4.0
6.5
(6.1)
2.1
8.5
9.1
2.2
4.5
16.7

6.5
7.8
2.2
11.9
9.1
10.4
5.7
9.7
2.9
5.1
6.8
3.4
4.7
11.5
4.4
2.2
5.9
2.3
2.5
1.6
10.1
2.4
7.0
5.6
1.4
4.3
3.4
2.8
(2.5)
0.9
3.0
5.3
0.8
2.3
5.4

3.6
2.2

2.5
2.3

3.5
3.7

4.2
1.9

10.5

6.2

6.9

5.1

Note: Figures in brackets use corresponding national GDP agriculture and allied (2004–05 prices) data. High irrigation refers to the
GSDP sum over Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal (Net irrigated area (NIA)/Arable land (AL) > 55 per cent in 2008–09).
Low irrigation (NIA/AL < 30 per cent) refers to Assam and North-East, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Medium refers to the rest. High productivity states (present GSDP/AL > `70,000/hectare
at 2004–05 prices) are Tripura, West Bengal, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, J&K and Haryana. Low productivity (GSDP/AL <
`35,000) states are Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Gujarat.
The rest are Middle productivity. The 1980–81 series gives data only for undivided Bihar, MP and UP; these have been split using
1993–94 ratios to get GSDP for new States.

Agriculture 5

3. The variation in performance across States suggests that State-level responses and implementation play a very significant role in determining
agricultural performance. However, to the extent
that available technology limits potential growth,
it will be difficult to maintain high growth rates
where productivity has increased close to potential levels. This is relevant because the Eleventh
Plan strategy gave much greater flexibility to
States and focused more on yield gaps within
existing technology, rather than emphasising
new technologies and supporting these. The
growth acceleration since 2005 has therefore
been much stronger in states with lower productivity and less irrigation. This suggests that
the strategy may be correcting the past relative
neglect which caused rain-fed farming, covering
over 60 per cent of arable land, to perform well
below potential.

encourage initiatives at State and lower levels. Third,
aware of low public investment and food security
needs, it increased Centre’s spending on these, particularly in disadvantaged regions. Fourth, noting
farmer distress, it tried to focus not just on production but also on farm incomes, stressing service
delivery and suggesting encouragement of group
activity with land and tenancy reforms put back on
the agenda. Compared to the original green revolution that built on the best, this strategy sought to
deliver faster growth, that is, more inclusive, more
stable and less concentrated spatially. Nonetheless,
there is a wide demand for a ‘second green revolution’ with more irrigation and better crop-specific
technologies, with some even claiming that Bt cotton has been the only recent success. The Twelfth
Plan accepts the proposition that a greater technical thrust is needed, and the strategy for agriculture
should take this into account

12.8. It is a matter of concern that the recent growth
revival has been weak in areas with high land productivity, not only in relatively more irrigated states
such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal that had green revolution success, but also
in less irrigated states such as Kerala, Himachal
Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir where high productivity reflects a high-value cropping pattern based on
horticulture. These States together contribute about
35 per cent of national agricultural output from 20
per cent of arable land, but none of them have been
able to surpass growth rates achieved in the past.
Even Gujarat, a low productivity state that sustained
near 10 per cent growth for almost a decade through
better water use and rapid adoption of Bt cotton
hybrids, slowed down perceptibly in the Eleventh
Plan as Bt adoption saturated and yields reached a
plateau. Clearly, growth is more difficult to accelerate at higher productivity levels without new technology, particularly if past patterns of growth have
taken a toll on natural resources.

12.10. In order to provide a snapshot of the Eleventh
Plan performance and give indication of what the
Twelfth Plan should do differently, long-run data
on growth of output by sub-sector and also rates of
growth of input use and productivity are presented
in Table 12.4. Since performance is almost invariably discussed in the context of well-defined policy
periods, those chosen for this table are same as in the
Eleventh Plan document: (i) Pre-Green Revolution
(1951–52 to 1967–68); (ii) Green Revolution proper
(1968–69 to 1980–81); (iii) Wider technology coverage (1981–82 to 1990–91) when focus shifted from
intensification of Green Revolution in best areas
to its spread to new areas; (iv) Early liberalisation
period (1991–92 to 1996–97) when relative prices
became an additional focus, both because agriculture
was expected to gain from reduced trade protection
to industry and also with Minimum Support Prices
(MSP) used for active growth promotion rather than
just passive price support. The other three periods in
the table are subsequent Plan periods: (v) Ninth Plan
(1997–98 to 2001–02); (vi) Tenth Plan (2002–03 to
2006–07) and (vii) Eleventh Plan (2007–08 to 2011–
12). For each of these periods, the average of annual
growth rates is presented for each variable chosen.

OUTPUTS, INPUTS AND PRODUCTIVITY
12.9. The Eleventh Plan had made four conscious
choices. First, with technology fatigue evident, it
funded research better but emphasised on getting
more from existing technology. Second, since one
size does not fit all, it decentralised plan funds to

12.11. As noted above, growth of agricultural GDP
at 3.3 per cent was short of the 4 per cent target for

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 12.4
Growth of Output, Inputs and Productivity
(period averages of annual growth rates)
Pre-Green
Revolution

Green
Revolution

Wider
Coverage

Early
Liberalisation

Ninth Plan

Tenth Plan

Eleventh
Plan

1951/52 to
1967/68

1968/69 to
1980/81

1981/82 to
1990/91

1991/92 to
1996/97

1997/98 to
2001/02

2002/03 to
2006/07

2007/08 to
2011/12

3.5
3.4
7.4
4.2
5.3
3.0
3.1
3.0
4.8
3.3
5.7
0.3
3.0

2.4
0.8
4.4
2.4
6.5
2.1
5.7
3.1
4.0
3.3
7.1
0.3
3.1

1.5
0.3
–2.5
9.4
–5.6
1.7
3.8
2.3
3.6
2.6
2.7
2.7
2.6

1.0
1.8
7.4
1.7
15.1
2.1
2.6
2.1
3.6
2.5
3.3
1.3
2.4

3.0
4.2
4.5
2.2
10.7
2.8
4.7
3.4
4.8
3.8
3.6
2.3
3.6

2.3
0.1
0.7
8.7
8.7
12.9
2.2

1.6
0.9
0.5
2.0
4.3
14.4
1.9

–0.6
3.9
1.6
3.9
5.1
–4.1
3.0

1.4
0.7
2.9
4.8
5.1
2.6
2.5

4.1
3.3
3.3
6.7
5.8
8.0
4.4

5.4
0.1
2.1

6.5
0.3
1.9

2.7
2.6
3.0

1.5
1.3
2.4

3.5
2.3
4.3

3.7
5.8
0.4
3.5

3.7
7.2
0.3
3.7

2.5
2.7
2.8
2.5

2.5
3.6
1.3
2.4

3.5
3.7
2.3
3.3

0.8
0.5
2.8
3.9
1.4

0.3
2.3
3.1
2.0
4.3

–0.1
0.3
3.4
1.4
5.1

0.6
0.5
4.7
2.3
6.6

0.3
–1.5
6.0
3.6
7.5

2.7
3.0
0.7

3.3
1.4
0.6

2.6
2.2
–0.9

1.8
1.8
–2.4

3.1
4.8
–2.7

I. Value of Output (2004–05 prices)
Cereals
4.2
3.4
Pulses
3.0
0.7
Oilseeds
3.2
1.8
Sugars
3.3
4.1
Fibres
4.4
2.5
Non-horticulture crops
3.2
2.7
Horticulture
2.6
4.2
All Crops
3.0
3.0
Livestock
1.0
3.3
Crops and Livestock
2.5
3.0
Fishing
4.7
3.1
Forestry
1.7
–0.2
Agriculture and allied
2.3
2.4
II. Value of Intermediate Inputs (2004–05 prices)
Seed
1.5
1.1
Feed of livestock
1.9
4.0
Organic manure
0.0
1.3
Fertilisers and pesticides
18.2
9.3
Diesel oil
26.0
13.1
Electricity
18.5
15.2
All inputs crops and
2.4
4.5
livestock
Inputs for fishing
4.6
3.3
Inputs for forestry
1.7
–0.2
All inputs Agriculture and
2.3
3.9
allied
III. Gross Value Added (2004–05 prices)
Crops and Livestock
2.7
2.7
Fishing
4.7
3.0
Forestry
1.7
–0.2
Agriculture and allied
2.5
2.4
IV. Factor Inputs into Agriculture
Land (Gross cropped area)
1.3
0.4
Labour
1.8
1.1
Net Fixed Capital Stock
2.3
3.6
Of which: Public
Private
V. Partial Factor Productivities (2004–05 prices)
Land productivity
1.2
2.0
Labour productivity
0.7
1.4
Capital productivity
0.2
–1.1

Note: Cropped Area from Ministry of Agriculture, Land use statistics; Labour is agricultural employment from Census till 1971 and
NSSO (weekly status) from 1972–73; all other data are from Central Statistical Office (CSO): National Accounts 2004–05 prices.

Agriculture 7

agricultural GDP but was faster than that in the
Tenth or the Ninth Plan, though lower than the
period from 1981–82 to 1996–97. The growth rates
for individual crops shown in Table 12.4 are for
gross value of output and not value added, but they
present a valid basis for inter-period comparisons.
1. Growth of total value of output in agriculture
proper (crops and livestock) during the Eleventh
Plan averaged 3.8 per cent per year which was
the highest among all seven periods considered.
2. Total non-horticulture crop output grew marginally faster than target (2.8 per cent against
2.7 per cent target) mainly because of foodgrains
(3.1 per cent actual against 2.3 per cent target),
oilseeds (4.5 per cent against 4 per cent) and
fibres (10.7 per cent against 5 per cent).
3. Horticulture at 4.7 per cent was only marginally
short of the 5 per cent target.
4. Growth of output from livestock (4.8 per cent)
was again highest amongst all the periods considered but this performance, and even more, so for
fishing (3.6 per cent), fell short of the ambitious
6 per cent target set for these two sub-sectors.
5. Growth of forestry was expectedly slower, pulling down the growth of total value of output in
agriculture and allied to 3.6 per cent, but this
too was the highest among all the seven periods
considered.

organic manure and modern inputs such as chemical
fertiliser, pesticides and farm power. With low seed
replacement, underfed farm animals and soils short
of organic carbon, projections by working groups for
the Twelfth Plan suggest that past growth of these traditional inputs should be improved upon. However,
these working groups also project lower growth of
‘modern’ inputs than observed during the Eleventh
Plan. For example, 2016–17 requirements of chemical fertiliser and farm power are placed at levels that
imply annual growth for both fertilisers and ‘modern’ energy at about 4.5 per cent. These exceed corresponding the Eleventh Plan projections but are
much less than the Eleventh Plan actual. Reduced fertiliser and fuel subsidies would be consistent with the
desired moderation in trend of these inputs. Restraint
is also needed on pesticides use which rose sharply in
the Eleventh Plan after years of being subdued.

12.12. Growth in intermediate inputs has accelerated steadily reaching 4.3 per cent per annum during the Eleventh Plan, which was much higher than
growth of output and over twice the growth rate of
intermediate input use during 1981–97. The more
rapid growth in input use explains why despite the
faster growth of the gross value of output during
the Eleventh Plan at 3.6 per cent than in the period
1981–82 to 1996–97 (about 3.0 per cent), GDP in
agriculture (which is a value added concept) grew
more slowly. In other words, agricultural growth
became more input intensive in the Eleventh Plan.
This suggests the need to re-look policies relating to
inputs, especially fertiliser and power.

12.14. In parallel with high growth of intermediate
inputs, there was acceleration in growth of the net
capital stock in agriculture and allied sectors during
the Eleventh Plan. As shown in Table 12.4 (item IV),
Net Fixed Capital Stock in agriculture expanded at
6.0 per cent per year, much faster than in the previous two Plans. The public component of capital stock increased by 3.6 per cent while the private
component increased at 7.5 per cent per year, both
showing acceleration compared to the previous
two Plans. However, public investment in agriculture, which was stepped up very substantially in the
last three years of the Tenth Plan, stagnated in the
Eleventh Plan (Table 12.5). This was mainly because
of a large shortfall in planned investment in irrigation. As a result a key part of the Eleventh Plan strategy to achieve 4 per cent agricultural growth which
was to increase public investment in agriculture to
4 per cent of agricultural GDP and thereby achieve
growth of public sector capital stock in agriculture at
least equal to the required 4 per cent growth of total
capital stock has not fructified. Clearly, to attain 4
per cent agricultural growth in the Twelfth Plan will
require firmer commitment to ensure realisation of
this unattained the Eleventh Plan objective.

12.13. Policies towards input use need to distinguish
between traditional inputs such as seed, feed and

12.15. Private investment in agriculture has accelerated over the past three Plans. Private investment

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 12.5
Gross Capital Formation (GCF) in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (2004–05 prices)
Year

GDP from Agriculture
and Allied
2004–05 Prices
2

GCF in Agriculture and Allied at
2004–05 Prices

GCF in Agriculture as Per Cent of
GDP from Agriculture

Public
Sector

Private
Sector

Total

Public
Sector

Private
Sector

Total

Tenth Plan
2002–03

5,17,559

10,299

63,215

73,514

2.0

12.2

14.2

2003–04

5,64,391

12,683

57,238

69,921

2.3

10.1

12.4

2004–05

5,65,426

16,187

59,909

76,096

2.9

10.6

13.4

2005–06

5,94,487

19,940

66,664

86,604

3.5

11.2

14.6

2006–07

6,19,190

22,987

69,070

92,057

3.7

11.2

14.9

2007–08

6,55,080

23,257

82,484

1,05,741

3.6

12.6

16.1

2008–09

6,55,689

20,572

1,06,555

1,27,127

3.1

16.3

19.4

2009–10

6,62,509

22,719

1,08,420

1,31,139

3.4

16.4

19.8

2010–11

7,09,103

21,500

1,20,754

1,42,254

3.0

17.0

20.1

Eleventh Plan

Source: Central Statistical Office National Accounts Division.

averaged 15.6 per cent of agricultural GDP in the first
four years of the Eleventh Plan as against expected
12 per cent. The main driver of this was a large
relative price shift in favour of agriculture, showing that farmers respond to price incentives. If calculated in current price terms rather than constant,
private investment averaged 13 per cent of agricultural GDP—only slightly higher than expected.
Nonetheless, total capital stock in agriculture grew
more than expected. While private investment in
irrigation and water-saving devices did increase, the
largest increase was in labour-saving mechanisation.
This was a natural response to growing labour scarcity which is reflected in rising wages.
12.16. Table 12.4 also shows growth rates of the two
other factors of production in agriculture: land and
labour. Not unexpectedly, while capital stock has
grown quite rapidly throughout, the other two factors
have not. As far as labour is concerned, the measure
shown is employment in agriculture by usual status estimates of the National Sample Survey (NSS),
which is available almost annually since 1987–88 but
requires interpolation for earlier years. Combined
with Census data, these show continuous increase of

agricultural employment till 1994, although at varying rates of growth and at a particularly sharp rise in
early 1990s when there was slow-down in rural nonagricultural employment. Agricultural employment
fluctuated in the next decade, but has clearly declined
after 2004–05. NSS employment data for 2007–08
and 2009–10 show clear evidence of an accelerated
shift of rural labourers to non-agricultural work,
which in itself is not an undesirable development.
For land, the measure shown is gross cropped area
which, despite the loss of nearly 3 million hectares of
arable land to non-agricultural uses since 1990–91,
has increased in all periods excepting a slight dip
in the Ninth Plan. This is because cropping intensity has increased almost continuously. However,
cropped area growth which averaged 0.9 per cent per
annum till 1990–91 has averaged only 0.2 per cent
subsequently.
12.17. Table 12.4 also shows growth rates of partial
productivity of land, labour and capital taking GDP
agriculture and allied as numerator. Labour productivity growth has historically been low, averaging
2 per cent per annum or less except during 1981–90
when it reached 3 per cent. Labour productivity

Agriculture 9

160.00
Average Real Daily Wage Rage at 2011–12 Price (` per day)

` per day

150.00
140.00
130.00
120.00
110.00

2011–12

2010–11

2009–10

2008–09

2007–08

2006–07

2005–06

2004–05

2003–04

2002–03

2001–02

2000–01

100.00

Year
FIGURE 12.2: All India Average Real Daily Wage Rate at 2011–12 Prices (` Per Day)

jumped to nearly 5 per cent during the Eleventh Plan.
The accelerated shift of rural labour to non-agriculture caused real wages to rise at about 5 per cent
annually between 2004–05 and 2009–10, according
to the NSS, and latest reports of the Commission of
Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) suggest even
faster growth of real wages in the last three years of
the Eleventh Plan at almost 8 per cent per year. The
trend in real wages in 2011–12 prices, as estimated
by CACP, is shown in Figure 12.2.
12.18. Labour saving mechanisation, a significant
contributor to the sharp increase of private investment in the Eleventh Plan period, was a natural
response to tighter labour markets and rising wages.
But, while mechanisation helped farmers to cope
with labour scarcity, it exacerbated a decline in capital productivity. Private capital stock in agriculture
has increased twice as fast as agricultural GDP since
the Ninth Plan and, although mitigated by terms of
trade gains and a debt write-off, continued investment with declining capital productivity may not be
sustainable.
12.19. While greater private investment in farming is desirable where it reflects both an ability to
invest and a desire to increase farm productivity, the
same phenomenon can become a source of distress if
farmers keep investing to cope with shrinking natural resources, more frequent adverse weather and
less assured labour supply, and do not get adequate

returns for this investment. The Eleventh Plan had
tried to address this in two ways: first, increase public investment to lessen the private burden and add
economies of scale; and second, rework architecture
of the Plan spending on agriculture to make it more
decentralised and flexible but also more coordinated locally to improve total productivity of private
resources by better service delivery in all areas from
extension to input supply and marketing. However,
as noted earlier, public investment did not increase.
And, although combined Plan expenditure of Centre
and States in agriculture did increase from 1.9 per
cent of agricultural GDP in the Tenth Plan to 2.9 per
cent in the Eleventh, this was relatively small and left
research, education and extension under-funded,
leaving much to be desired in the quality of service
delivery.
12.20. Nonetheless, growth of land productivity did
increase significantly (Tables 12.4 and 12.6). Having
climbed from about 1 per cent per annum before
Green Revolution to over 3 per cent during 1991–97,
land productivity growth had decelerated to below 2
per cent. This rebounded to over 3 per cent during
the Eleventh Plan.
12.21. Total factor productivity (TFP) improved
during the Eleventh Plan. Individual factor productivity data in Table 12.4, weighted by a range of factor
shares suggest that TFP growth during the Eleventh
Plan was back to around 1980s level. For example,

Twelfth Five Year Plan

applying factor shares of 30 per cent land, 40 per
cent labour and 30 per cent capital give the following
averages of annual TFP growth: 0.7 per cent in preGreen Revolution period, 0.8 per cent during Green
Revolution period, 2.2 per cent during the wider coverage period, 1.8 per cent during early liberalisation,
1.4 per cent during the Ninth Plan, 0.6 per cent during the Tenth Plan and 2.0 per cent in the Eleventh
Plan. Although these estimates must be treated as
tentative since data on factor shares is not robust, it
does suggest that the deceleration of TFP in agriculture observed in the previous two Plans, which had
caused widespread apprehension, may have been
reversed in the Eleventh Plan. In other words, the
Eleventh Plan architecture, with the Rashtriya Krishi
Vikas Yojana (RKVY) as core, appears to have delivered despite adverse weather, a public investment
shortfall and implementation gaps. The strategy of
spreading known technology wider had paid.

hectare of important individual crops. There has
been gradual but sustained shift in cropping pattern away from coarse cereals and pulses towards
other crops over the last four decades. Area under
coarse cereals had declined by 18 million hectares
and that under pulses by nearly 2 million hectares
from earlier peaks to end of the Tenth Plan. During
the Eleventh Plan, there was further decline of 2 million hectares in area under coarse cereals but area
under pulses reversed earlier decline to reach a
new peak in 2010–11. Noting, that technology and
price policy had neglected pulses earlier despite
their importance as source of protein, special attention was given to pulses in both the National Food
Security Mission (NFSM) and RKVY, the two major
schemes launched during the Eleventh Plan. Cotton
gained most area, followed by fruits and vegetables,
with rice area steady, an increase in wheat area and
decline in area under oilseeds and sugarcane.

SUB-SECTOR-WISE PERFORMANCE AND
ISSUES

12.23. Although area under coarse cereals and oilseeds declined during the Eleventh Plan, both these
crop groups averaged over 4 per cent output growth.
This was because growth of yields per hectare accelerated across almost all crop groups, especially those
mainly rain-fed (Table 12.6). Not only did coarse
cereals and oilseeds yields increase faster during the

Crop Sector
12.22. In addition to above, two indicators worth
highlighting in the crop sector are the pace and pattern of crop area diversification and trends in yields/

TABLE 12.6
Average Annual Growth Rates in Yields Per Hectare
Pre-Green
Revolution

Green
Revolution

Wider
Coverage

Early
Liberalisation

Ninth Plan

Tenth Plan

Eleventh
Plan

1951/52 to
1967/68

1968/69 to
1980/81

1981/82 to
1990/91

1991/92 to
1996/97

1997/98 to
2001/02

2002/03 to
2006/07

2007/08 to
2011/12

Wheat

3.7

3.3

3.6

2.8

0.7

–0.3

3.0

Rice

3.2

2.7

3.0

1.4

2.1

1.2

2.2

Jowar

3.4

2.9

3.2

1.3

0.2

2.1

3.1

Bajra

2.6

6.3

8.8

6.2

4.9

7.3

8.4

Maize

4.8

1.7

4.1

2.6

3.1

–0.2

6.5

Coarse cereals

2.6

1.5

3.1

4.3

1.3

1.7

7.3

Pulses

2.3

–0.2

2.3

1.9

–0.3

0.6

2.7

Oilseeds

1.3

0.8

4.8

3.3

0.4

3.5

5.4

Cotton

3.0

2.6

5.3

3.1

–6.2

19.4

3.9

Sugarcane

1.6

3.1

1.3

0.4

0.3

0.7

0.5

Note: Data is up to fourth advance estimate for 2011–12, Ministry of Agriculture.

Agriculture 11

Eleventh Plan than in any of the earlier periods, so
did pulses yields. Apart from hybrids in case of maize,
and to less extent in bajra, these yield increases came
mainly from better seed quality, higher seed replacement and better practice rather than from new crop
technology or more irrigation.
12.24. Yield growth of cotton, another largely rainfed crop, was also respectable although it was down
sharply from a spectacular performance during the
Tenth Plan following adoption of Bt hybrids. With
more than 90 per cent of cotton area now under
Bt hybrids, and cotton yields more than doubling
over the last decade, there is no doubt either about
general farmer acceptance or its being a clear case
of technological transformation unlike other rainfed crops. But disagreements continue about the
extent to which Bt contributed to this yield increase
and on wisdom of India’s total dependence on Bt
hybrids rather than the Bt varieties used in the rest
of the world. There are also legitimate complaints
of non-availability of non-Bt seeds, for example in
Vidharbha. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
therefore remain controversial, as was evident in case
of Bt Brinjal. Nonetheless, since significant breakthroughs in production technologies are required
to cope with increasing stress, particularly for rainfed crops, it is necessary to remain abreast with latest advances in biotechnology. It is, therefore, time
to put in place scientifically impeccable operational
protocols and a regulatory mechanism to permit
GMOs when they meet rigorous tests that can outweigh misgivings, while simultaneously noting that
many feasible advances in biotechnology do not in
fact involve GMOs.
12.25. Moreover, the Eleventh Plan experience is that
continuous less-visible efforts by farmers to adapt
and improve can be made effective. The NFSM,
which aimed to reduce gaps between potential and
actual yields, was designed to aid farmers in their
own efforts by demonstrating and supporting a wide
range of interventions. This seems to have worked.
For example, growth in wheat yields nationally was
negligible during the Ninth and the Tenth Plans but
increased to 3 per cent in the Eleventh Plan. Even
in Punjab, where it was believed that wheat yields

had reached a plateau below 4.5 tonnes per hectare,
yields increased steadily during the Eleventh Plan to
reach 4.9 tonnes, accompanied by wider use of conservation practices such as laser levelling, zero tillage
and raised beds. Rice yield growth was also higher in
the Eleventh Plan than in any period after 1991, with
Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, East Uttar Pradesh and
West Bengal contributing 80 per cent of this, again
with growing awareness of conservation practices.
For example, many States are now using RKVY to
mainstream the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
that was not officially accepted till 2004 and was only
small part of NFSM.

Livestock and Fishery
12.26. Livestock contributes 25 per cent of gross
value added in the agriculture sector and provides
self-employment to about 21 million people. Rapid
growth of this sector can be even more egalitarian
and inclusive than growth of the crop sector because
those engaged in it are mainly small holders and the
landless. Growth of livestock output averaged 4.8 per
cent per annum during the Eleventh Plan recovering
from an average of 3.6 per cent in the Ninth and the
Tenth Plans.
12.27. Growth, of dairying, which is the main constituent of livestock sector though slightly higher
than the 4 per cent averaged since 1990, was short of
demand. With over 75 per cent of cattle located in
rain-fed areas, the major issue is access to feed, fodder
and drinking water which is becoming increasingly
scarce. The problems of the sector are compounded
by growing numbers of unproductive male cattle. Developing a strong fodder base needs intensive effort and innovation in institutional aspects of
pasture protection and management and usufruct
sharing. There is little concerted effort in this area at
present as it is too fragmented across various departments to be able to provide the technical inputs, institutional designs and adequate investments to make
a meaningful impact. Richer farmers with access
to groundwater irrigation can grow irrigated fodder and increase herd size. Poorer livestock owners,
dependent mainly on commons and agriculture residues, end up underfeeding the animals. This problem
raises questions about the present breeding strategy

Twelfth Five Year Plan

that focuses almost exclusively on induction of breeds
that are high yielding, but are much less tolerant to
adverse conditions in extensive livestock systems.
12.28. These issues, which also affect owners of
small ruminants, poultry and even those involved in
inland fishery, came to the fore during the Eleventh
Plan following the drought of 2009. The consequent
high inflation in feed and fodder, that also led to high
inflation in prices of livestock products, revealed
a need for much greater coordination not only
between agencies responsible for livestock and those
responsible for crops that sustain livestock, but also
with other policies, for example, trade policies that
influence feed and livestock product prices. RKVY
provided a window which cut across departments
to allow States to focus on fodder shortages and
restored growth of livestock output much quicker
than in earlier droughts. Nonetheless, underlying
problems remain, as does so called protein inflation.
The Twelfth Plan must address these problems by
involving dairy cooperatives in breed and feed issues,
revisit breeding strategies and make fodder development higher priority in both animal husbandry and
crop programmes.
12.29. India produces about 65 billion eggs annually
and production growth has accelerated from around
4 per cent per annum during the 1990s to over 5 per
cent during the Tenth and the Eleventh Plan. This
acceleration has been achieved despite new challenges such as periodic outbreaks of avian influenza
and the biofuels effect on international prices of
maize, the main poultry feed, which has now transmit
into the domestic economy. One reason for this vitality has been the growth of a large and vibrant commercial poultry sector with adequate economies of
scale and fairly good backward and forward linkages.
Besides eggs, this commercial poultry sector also produces over 2 million tonnes of broiler meat which is
an increasing part of total meat production of about 5
million tonnes. Meat, with production growth at over
5.5 per cent per annum during the Eleventh Plan, is
the fastest growing segment in the livestock sector.
12.30. The performance of the fisheries sub-sector has been impressive on the whole, with growth

more than 5 per cent per annum during the 1980s
and 1990s, but growth in this sub-sector has been
decelerating since mid-1990s. The main reason for
this has been stagnation of marine fishery, a phenomenon which is expected to continue. The major
growth in fisheries in recent years has come from
the inland fisheries, with particularly rapid development of brackish water aquaculture. This has been
linked to prawn cultivation for export, although
there is also strongly growing domestic demand for
fresh water fish. Fish prices more than doubled during the Eleventh Plan, a higher inflation than either
crops or any other livestock segment, despite a small
acceleration in production growth compared to the
Tenth Plan. A problem in this sector is that although
a National Fisheries Development Board was set up,
responsibilities are still not clearly defined between
this and the Department of Animal Husbandry,
Dairying and Fisheries. This has in particular meant
an inability to realise the vast potential of inland fresh
water fishery. Fish production can be enhanced 2 to
4 times in rain-fed water bodies, whether irrigation
reservoirs, natural wetlands or ponds and tanks created by watershed development or Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS). If fully harnessed, these can secure
over 6 per cent fishery growth in the Twelfth Plan.

EMERGING IMBALANCES
12.31. Although the discussion so far suggests that
agricultural performance did improve during the
Eleventh Plan, experience of the Eleventh Plan also
points to emerging imbalances in agriculture which
call for a long-term strategic reorientation.

Subsidies vs Public Investment
12.32. The Eleventh Plan document had highlighted
that public investment in agriculture as per cent of
agricultural GDP had halved between the 1980s and
in the end of the Ninth Plan while, simultaneously,
budgetary subsidies to agriculture had doubled as
proportion of agricultural GDP. The tendency for
subsidies to increase much faster than public investment was checked to some extent during the Tenth
Plan, but it reappeared again during the Eleventh
Plan (Table 12.7). Budgetary subsidies to agriculture
(excluding food subsidy, which should be treated as

Agriculture 13

a consumer subsidy) increased from an average of
4.1 per cent of agricultural GDP during the Tenth
Plan to average 8.2 per cent in the first four years
of the Eleventh Plan. Actual subsidies to agriculture
were higher in both periods since CSO books budgeted subsidy on domestic urea manufacture entirely
to industry and because part of the power subsidy
received by agriculture is not budgeted but borne by
utilities. Compared to these numbers, public investment in agriculture averaged only about 3 per cent of
agricultural GDP during both Plan periods.
12.33. The imbalance between subsidy expenditure and expenditure on public investment raises
the issue whether a shift away from subsidies and
towards greater public investment would not be beneficial. The usual argument for reducing subsidies is
that it will improve the fiscal deficit, but that is not
the relevant point in this context, there is a need to
shift from subsidies to public investment aimed at
increasing land productivity on the grounds that

this would produce better agricultural outcomes and
would also be more inclusive. This is particularly
important in the context of strategies for combating
the effect of climate change where public investment
in conservation and management of water resources
will be crucial.
12.34. There are also other uses of resources in agriculture which could be promoted if agricultural subsidies are restrained. The Eleventh Plan document
had pointed to trade-offs that subsidies might have
with other non-Plan revenue expenditures, particularly staffing of essential farm support systems such
as extension. Moreover, capacity and skill shortages have made upgrading agricultural universities an urgent need. The Eleventh Plan had aimed
to increase spending on agricultural education and
research from 0.6 to 1 per cent of agricultural GDP,
but this remains less than 0.7 per cent—a large gap in
a very important area that is miniscule in relation to
subsidies.

TABLE 12.7
Public Sector Capital Formation and Subsidies to Agriculture (Centre and States)
(in ` crore and as per cent to GDP from agriculture and allied at current prices)
Public GCF
Agriculture and
Allied

Budgetary
Subsidies (CSO)

Food Subsidy

Total Fertiliser
Subsidy

Subsidy on
Indigenous Urea

All other
Agriculture
Subsidies

Tenth Plan
2002–03

9,563

2.0

43,597

9.0

24,176

5.0

11,015

2.3

7,790

1.6

16,196

3.3

2003–04

12,218

2.2

43,765

8.0

25,181

4.6

11,847

2.2

8,521

1.6

15,258

2.8

2004–05

16,187

2.9

47,655

8.4

25,798

4.6

15,879

2.8

10,243

1.8

16,221

2.9

2005-06

20,739

3.3

51,065

8.0

23,077

3.6

18,460

2.9

10,653

1.7

20,181

3.2

2006–07

25,606

3.5

59,510

8.2

24,014

3.3

26,222

3.6

12,650

1.7

21,924

3.0

2007–08

27,638

3.3

85,698

10.2

31,328

3.7

32,490

3.9

12,950

1.5

34,830

4.2

2008–09

26,692

2.8

1,56,823

16.6

43,751

4.6

76,603

8.1

17,969

1.9

54,438

5.8

2009–10

33,237

3.1

1,39,248

12.9

58,443

5.4

61,264

5.7

17,580

1.6

37,121

3.4

2010–11

34,548

2.7

1,50,170

11.8

63,844

5.0

62,301

4.9

15,081

1.2

39,106

3.1

Eleventh Plan

Note: Public sector agricultural GCF and GDP are from CSO, National Accounts Division; budgetary subsidies, are also from CSO
and are based on the economic and purpose classification of Government expenditure. Food and Fertiliser subsidies are from budget
documents of the Central Government. ‘All other agriculture subsidies’ in the table are defined as budgetary subsidies (CSO) plus
subsidy on indigenous urea minus food subsidy. This is because CSO classifies food subsidy as subsidy to agriculture but classifies
subsidies on indigenous urea as subsidy to industry.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

12.35. Another, very important reason why subsidies
should be rationalised and restrained is that some
of these subsidies could actually be doing harm. A
case for subsidies exists if there is clear evidence that
some input is being underused. Conversely, when
with there is clear evidence of overuse of a subsidised
input, there is a case to reduce or even eliminate the
subsidy. Today, there is clear evidence of overuse.
Data from all over India, especially from the prime
green revolution areas, show that high use of chemical fertilisers and power is causing excessive mining
of other soil nutrients and of groundwater, and that
this is also leading to loss of quality of both soil and
water. There is of course about 20–25 per cent of the
country’s arable area, located largely in North-East,
East and Central India, where use of these inputs is
so low that further intensification is desirable per se.
But with nearly 90 per cent of fertilisers and 95 per
cent of farm electricity currently being used outside
this area, there can be no doubt that the present subsidies are actually encouraging practices that need to
be discouraged.
12.36. Any proposal for reducing subsidies will
be opposed by farmers on the grounds that output
will fall if the subsidy cut reduces input use. This is
true unless other investments are made simultaneously but such investments would indeed be facilitated by the resources released. Efforts were made
in the Eleventh Plan to encourage more efficient
practices without actually reducing the quantum of
subsidy. For example, many States have undertaken
separation of feeders so that electricity supply for
agricultural use can be treated differently from that
for rural non-agricultural use, and stricter scheduling imposed on the former while maintaining its
lower price. Similarly, the Centre introduced a new
scheme, the ‘National Project on Management of Soil
Health & Fertility’ (NPMSH&F) to promote soil testing and issue of soil health cards to farmers, aimed
particularly to spread awareness of micronutrient
deficiencies resulting from excessive and unbalanced
fertiliser use and to encourage balanced and judicious use of chemical fertilisers in conjunction with
organic manures to maintain soil health and fertility.
Moreover, in order to rationalise fertiliser subsidies,
a nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) system was adopted

to subsidise fertiliser products uniformly on basis of
nutrient content, rather than set product-wise subsidies and separate maximum retail prices (MRPs)
for each product. The objective was to reduce deadweight of the fertiliser control order, set nutrientspecific subsidies that maintain desirable NPK
balance, and evolve a subsidy protocol to encourage
both development of new complex fertiliser products
(including micronutrients) and more investment in
the sector.
12.37. These initiatives have had some success in
particular regions, but they do not as yet show up in
national data in terms of higher additional output
per unit additional use of these inputs. Moreover,
NBS roll-out was seriously flawed since urea was
kept out of its ambit. Urea prices remain controlled
with only a 10 per cent rise at the time of adoption
of the NBS in 2010. Meanwhile prices of decontrolled products doubled. The fixity of the urea price
naturally worsened the NPK balance. Also, there has
been very little product innovation. The subsidy bill
has increased because resulting higher urea demand
has been met entirely by imports at a unit subsidy
twice that on domestic output, with little incentive to
expand domestic capacity. The NBS as rolled out has
been counterproductive because urea has not been
included.
12.38. As may be seen from Table 12.6, the fertiliser
subsidy is now much higher than all other subsidies to agriculture put together. While this is partly
because fertiliser consumption rose over 30 per
cent during the Eleventh Plan, the main reason is
that world prices of all fertilisers and feedstock have
doubled since 2006. With world fertiliser prices very
sensitive to demand from India, which is not only
the world’s largest importer of fertilisers but also
dependent almost entirely on imports for feedstock,
improving efficiency of fertiliser use must be a the
Twelfth Plan focus, almost as important as the issue
of water use efficiency taken up in another chapter.
A New Road Map for Fertiliser Policy
12.39. A broad idea of what is necessary is evident
from a few key indicators about the price of urea,
the most important and politically sensitive fertiliser

Agriculture 15

in India. At the world level, urea prices had averaged about 80 per cent of world wheat price during
the 25 years before 2005. Since then, they have been
fluctuating wildly at much higher levels and world
urea prices are now over 150 per cent of world wheat
price. In comparison, the price of urea in India has
been declining continuously in relation to wheat
MSP—from over 150 per cent during the 1980s, to 75
per cent in 2005, to only 41 per cent currently. While
MSP of wheat for 2012 was 90 per cent of April–June
average of world reference price of wheat, the MRP
for urea was only 21 per cent of world reference price
of urea.

be consequent audit objections, since average unit
subsidy on domestic urea is presently half that on
imported. Second, notwithstanding this, that part
of urea industry which uses feedstock other than gas
would complain that they could become unviable
since their present subsidy is more than the weighted
subsidy. Third, since post-subsidy price of urea
would tend to settle at import cost less the weighted
subsidy; this would, with world urea prices now
about $420/tonne, not only double from the present
MRP of `5,310 per tonne but also be subject to the
very large fluctuations in world urea prices that have
been evident since 2005.

12.40. Similarly, achieving the recommended
national 4:2:1 NPK balance has proved elusive, again
partly because urea (main source of N) is priced
cheap relative to other fertilisers. World prices of
DAP (main source of P) and MOP (main source of
K) have fluctuated around 150 per cent and 100 per
cent of world urea price over the last 30 years with no
obvious trend. Relative prices of P to N were similar
in India as globally, and K much cheaper, till decontrol in 1992 made these more expensive. The MRP
for DAP and MOP in India were 194 per cent and 92
per cent of urea MRP before NBS, after which these
have risen sharply again. Voluntary MRP for these
are now 380 per cent and 230 per cent of urea MRP.
Unless corrected soon, this large distortion in NPK
prices is bound to reduce crop productivity.

12.42. Although political opposition to decontrol is
mainly on the third point above, the other points,
which relate to differences in costs of production
between different Indian producers and between
Indian costs and world prices, have historically been
at least equally important impediments to reform
in this sector. This is unfortunate since India’s fertiliser industry, although at disadvantage on feedstock, is largely efficient and can play a key role both
in ensuring future nutrient supply and in the effort
to increase fertiliser-use efficiency. However, with
more than half of its revenues coming from subsidies
and with Government also allocating scarce feedstock cheaply, industry effort currently is more to
meet pre-set requirements and lobby, rather than to
either secure long-term feedstock sources or develop
new products and services for its customer base. This
needs to change, and one way that this can be done
is by reducing industry’s dependence on Central
subsidies, allowing greater space for it to set prices.
The industry’s present cost structure is such that no
subsidy would be required on over 70 per cent of
domestic urea production if urea MRP was allowed
to rise to MSP for wheat or paddy. This level of urea
MRP would reduce subsidy by about `15,000 crore
annually and bring domestic NPK price parities in
line with corresponding world parities while still
leaving absolute fertiliser prices in India at about half
international levels.

12.41. One way out of the present conundrum is to
bring urea into NBS and decontrol its prices. But this
has not been possible so far and fertiliser decontrol
both in 1992 and again in 2010 excluded urea with
counterproductive effect. The reason for this is not
just opposition to rise in urea prices, but also issues
related to domestic urea industry. For example, subsidy provided to N for decontrolled fertilisers in
the present NBS formula is based on the weighted
average of subsidies on imported (around $320/
tonne) and indigenous (around $160/tonne) urea.
Three consequences would follow if urea prices
were decontrolled fully with the subsidy on both
imported and domestic urea equated to this (around
$200/tonne). First, the domestic urea industry as
a whole would get a windfall gain, and there may

12.43. Of course, if this were all, urea prices would
more than double with all its negative consequences.
It would be politically unpopular even with the

Twelfth Five Year Plan

5–10 per cent extra increase in MSP that would be
required to compensate increases in cost of production. There would definitely be some loss of output
as result of lower urea use and farmers unable to avail
MSP increase would suffer loss of income. But these
negatives can be neutralised and a win-win outcome
ensured if the saving in subsidy is ploughed back to
develop suitable location and crop-specific packages
with adequate price incentives so that farmers do
not suffer income loss and yet are encouraged to use
appropriate combinations not only of NPK but also
organic matter and required micronutrients.
12.44. However, for this, the architecture for public intervention will need to go well beyond NBS.
Designing and contracting suitable packages will
require stability in prices of basic NPK in relation to
crop MSPs and also considerable location-specific
input, both scientific and operational. The Centre will
need to ensure some insulation of domestic prices of
straight fertilisers from their large world price fluctuations and devolve many functions and most of the
savings from reduced urea subsidy to States. States, in
turn, will need to involve universities and local bodies
to design suitable local packages of products and subsidies and then contract directly with industry.

Cereals Production and Build up of Stocks
12.45. Another major imbalance that emerged during the Eleventh Plan was between production and
consumption of cereals, particularly rice and wheat
on the one hand which led to rising stocks and rising
consumption of edible oils and pulses which led to
imports. Cereals production increased by 37 million
tonnes (8 million tonnes coarse cereals, 11 million
tonnes rice and 18 million tonnes wheat) between
2006–07 and 2011–12. This was the result of several factors, including the NFSM, an Eleventh Plan
initiative to increase production, combined with
remunerative prices and an expanding and effective procurement machinery in Madhya Pradesh
for wheat and Chhattisgarh for paddy. However,
although NFSM exceeded targets and per capita
production has bounced back beyond earlier highs,
much of the increase has been absorbed by increase
in Government stocks. There are lessons that need to
be learnt from this for the Twelfth Plan.

12.46. The rapid accretion of stocks between
2006–07 and 2008–09 was because cereals output
responded quickly to policy, both NFSM and MSP,
rising from 203 million tonnes in 2006–07 to 220
million tonnes, accompanied by even larger increase
in procurement, from 36 million tonnes to 59 million tonnes, while off-take from public stocks rose
only from 37 to 39 million tonnes. Consequently,
market availability declined during this period,
increasing grain prices, the dominant source of food
inflation till 2009–10 (Table 12.8). Availability contracted further in 2009–10 because of drought which
caused output to fall back to 203 million tonnes.
Rice and wheat relative prices eased somewhat in
the subsequent two years because output increased
even more rapidly than during 2006–09 to reach 240
million tonnes in 2011–12 and because this time rise
in procurement (to nearly 73 million tonnes) was
less than output and off-take increase (to 56 million
tonne) was relatively much more. Nonetheless, procurement exceeded off-take throughout the Eleventh
Plan, even during 2009 drought, and present stocks
are clearly too high. Costing about `5 per kg per year
to store, these are tying up huge resources that could
have been put to better use.
12.47. One important point to emerge is that
although food inflation is usually ascribed to production shortfalls, policy decisions on MSP and on
pricing and quantum of PDS and open market sales
can be even more important. This is of course true
of rice and wheat prices that are directly affected by
such policies, but there are indirect effects as well.
For example, milk, eggs, fish and meat had almost no
effect on food inflation from 2004–05 till 2008–09,
but have contributed most to food inflation subsequently (Table 12.8). As discussed earlier, much of
this was due to feed and fodder shortages that the
2009 drought exacerbated. But the high build-up of
rice and wheat stocks may in this context have contributed additionally. Substitution effects from lower
availability of rice and wheat appear to have pushed
up real prices of coarse grain to levels that compare
with and most likely influenced inflation in livestock
products. To maintain rapid agricultural growth, it
will be necessary to continuously assess both MSP
and trade policy in light of domestic production

Agriculture 17

TABLE 12.8
Real Prices of Agricultural Produce
(WPI commodity/WPI all commodities, 2004–05 base)
2004–05

2005–06

Rice

100

101

Wheat

100

101

Coarse Cereals

100

107

Pulses

100

Vegetables

100

Fruits
Milk

2006–07

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12

105

112

121

117

110

112

115

117

127

120

108

110

115

113

123

122

136

108

134

124

146

137

129

109

103

118

113

124

128

115

100

102

104

114

119

100

112

123

124

Eggs, Fish and Meat

100

102

101

100

116

133

137

Oilseeds

100

104

103

102

Sugarcane

100

109

107

Fibres

100

109

107

138

140

All Agriculture

100

101

104

106

115

123

122

Note: All agriculture comprises food and non-food primary articles.

trends, paying attention to such wider linkages, so
as to minimise undue production imbalance and the
inflationary pressures resulting from these.
12.48. Another important and related issue is the
likely future demand for food. The Twelfth Plan
Working Group on Crop Husbandry, Demand
and Supply Projections, Agricultural Inputs and
Agricultural Statistics has made projections for
foodgrains and other food items by the terminal year
of the Twelfth Plan, that is, 2016–17 (Table 12.9)
which would suggest that present levels of cereals
production already exceed likely demand at the end
of the Twelfth Plan. These projections are based on
actual past patterns of observed demand and the fact
that cereals consumption per capita has declined
since at least mid-1990s. However, it is also the case
that India has very high levels of malnutrition and,
although there are many reasons for this, deficiencies
in calorie intake remain one of the most important.
With cereals supplying over 50 per cent of total calorie intake even now, falling cereals consumption is
the main reason why per capita calorie intake has not
increased despite rising incomes. It is not just that the
share of cereals in total food expenditure is falling;
even poor people are reducing the share of income
spent on all foods in order to meet other non-food

needs. In such a situation, where there is a disjunction
between such a basic element of human development
as nutrition and other demands in an increasingly
consumerist society, there is need to ensure that minimum nutrition requirements are actually met. This
is the goal of the proposed National Food Security
Act (NFSA) under which a majority of the population will be entitled to some very cheap cereals. This
is likely to increase cereals demand from those projected in Table 12.9, but nonetheless cereals demand
is unlikely to rise much faster than population.
12.49. This means that agricultural production
must diversify during Twelfth Plan so as to satisfy
both tastes and nutrition. In particular, MSP policy
should be more restrained for rice and wheat and
made more effective in case of pulses and oilseeds
where India is a net importer. Although MSP for
pulses and oilseeds have been increased substantially in recent years, farmers are still not encouraged
enough to put in the effort and resources required
to substitute for current imports of these commodities. This is primarily because procurement efforts in
these commodities, which are currently not part of
Public Distribution, simply do not offer farmers the
certainty that they have from procurement effort in
rice and wheat.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 12.9
Demand and Supply of Food Commodities during the Twelfth Plan
(in million tonnes)
Crop/Group of Crops

Rice

Projected Demand (million tonnes)
2016–17

2020–21

Projected Supply
(million tonnes)
2016–17

110

117

98–106
93–104

Wheat

Maize

Coarse Cereals

Cereals

235

Pulses

22
257

Foodgrains
Oilseeds/Edible oils

Actual Production (million tonnes)
2006–07
93

2011–12
104*

94*

22*

42–48

42*

253

240–251

203

240*

18–21

17*

277

258–272

217

257*

33–41

30*

Sugarcane/Sugar

279

312

365–411

355

358*

Vegetables

161

189

116

147**

Fruits

124

75**

Milk

141

173

103

122**

Fish

Meat, other than poultry

3.7

5.0

Poultry Meat

3.3

4.3

6.9

8.3**

2.3

2.7**
2.2@

Source: Twelfth Plan Working Group on Crop Husbandry, Demand and Supply Projections, Agricultural Inputs and Agricultural
Statistics; *4th advance estimate for 2011–12; **Production for the year 2010–11; @Production 2010–11 for only commercial poultry
meat.

Public Distribution System
12.50. The Eleventh Plan period witnessed significant improvements in administration of the
Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). A
nine-point action plan has been useful in elimination of large number of ghost ration cards, reduction
in leakages and greater transparency in the conduct of TPDS operations. While carrying forward
these initiatives with greater vigour, there is a need
for rejuvenated approach towards the TPDS during the Twelfth Plan period. The foremost amongst
those is the move towards facilitating rights-based
approach under TPDS by enacting the National
Food Security Bill (NFSB). The Bill has been introduced in the Parliament and is expected to provide
food and nutritional security, in human life-cycle
approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of
quality food at affordable prices to people to live a
life with dignity. This would require strengthening of
existing infrastructure and taking up new initiatives

and schemes. Reforms in the TPDS would be crucial
as it would bring about more efficiency in the system with enhanced transparency and accountability.
Entitlements of foodgrains are expected to shift from
per household basis to per capita basis. One of the
important challenges for implementation of NFSB
would be proper identification of beneficiaries which
may be based on the ongoing Socio-economic and
Caste Census. Another important initiative required
during the Twelfth Plan is the end-to-end computerisation of the TPDS operations with the help of a
comprehensive Plan scheme. This shouldnot only
address current challenges but also facilitate proper
tracking foodgrains and lifting by consumers using
Aadhaar numbers or adopting innovative methods
like smart cards.
12.51. The up-scaling of the TPDS for proper implementation of NFSA is an opportunity to expand PDS
coverage to include coarse cereals, pulses and edible

Agriculture 19

oils and thereby bring scale and certainty to their
procurement. However, given that consumption and
production patterns vary greatly from state to state,
this is probably something that can be done better
by the States themselves than by any Central agency.
Nonetheless, as part of PDS reform, the Central
Government could moot the idea not only of decentralised procurement but also the innovative methods of transferring food subsidy. One option could
be that, while the Centre continues to bear responsibility for delivering adequate quantities of cereals
to every State, these may be priced close to market
and food subsidy transferred to the States as recommended by the High Level Committee on Long Term
Grain policy in 2002. Alternatively, subsidy could be
credited directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries or the FPS dealers using authentication mechanism of Aadhaar numbers. Other option could be
to have a comprehensive electronic benefit transfer system whereby subsidy is loaded on to a smart
card and consumers have a choice of commodities
or fair price shops. These initiatives are expected to
bring down leakages significantly as there would be
little incentive left for intermediaries to divert the
PDS foodgrains into the open market. While implementing these measures, it would be pertinent to
address the issue of viability of FPS and improve
their functioning. The Gross Budgetary Support for
the Department of Food and Public Distribution is
`1,523 crore for the Twelfth Five Year Plan.

Consumer Welfare and Protection
12.52. Consumer welfare has been one of the core
concerns of the Government since the post-Independence period. Policies have been designed and
legislations enacted to protect the interests of consumers and grant them the rights of choice, safety,
information and redressal. For the Twelfth Plan
period, it would be apposite to expedite formulation of a comprehensive National Consumer Policy
in conformity with the UN guidelines on consumer
protection. Secondly, there would be a need to revisit
existing legislations administered by the Department
of Consumer Affairs so as to bring the provisions in
line with the changes in the economy, trade, business
and consumer expectations. This, inter alia, includes
amendments in Bureau of Indian Standards Act and

Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act. There is also a
need to conceptualise a National Policy for Quality
Infrastructure covering standardisation, testing and
legal metrology so as to provide the infrastructure
for development of definitive standards, systems
of legal metrology and conformity assessment. The
commodity futures markets need to be strengthened
to enable it to serve the dual purpose of price discovery and risk management. Besides, a structured
system of information, counselling and mediation
need to be put in place with emphasis on rural consumers. The data analysis and price monitoring also
need to be more comprehensive and structured so as
to make informed decisions on market intervention.
The Gross Budgetary Support for the Department
of Consumer Affairs is `1,260 crore for the Twelfth
Five Year Plan.

MAJOR CHALLENGES AND PRIORITIES
DURING THE TWELFTH PLAN
12.53. The main lesson from the performance in
the Eleventh Plan is that while there has been a welcome turn-around from the deceleration that was
evident in the decade to 2005, and while several
indicators have shown marked improvement and
potential to build upon, several policy imbalances
exist that can prove to be major handicaps. There
are also other formidable challenges, for example,
a shrinking land base, dwindling water resources,
the adverse impact of climate change, shortage of
farm labour, and increasing costs and uncertainties
associated with volatility in international markets.
The Twelfth Plan will need to face these challenges
boldly.
12.54. The key drivers of growth will remain:
1. viability of farm enterprise and returns to investment that depend on scale, market access, prices
and risk;
2. availability and dissemination of appropriate
technologies that depend on quality of research
and extent of skill development;
3. Plan expenditure on agriculture and in infrastructure which together with policy must aim to
improve functioning of markets and more efficient use of natural resources; and

Twelfth Five Year Plan

4. governance in terms of institutions that make
possible better delivery of services like credit,
animal health and of quality inputs like seeds,
fertilisers, pesticides and farm machinery.
12.55. In addition, certain regional imbalances
must be clearly addressed. A national priority from
view of both food security and sustainability is to
fully extend Green Revolution to areas of low productivity in the eastern region where there is ample
ground water, and thereby help reduce water stress
elsewhere. Rain-fed areas continue to be at a disadvantage, and their development still requires some
mindset changes.

FARM VIABILITY: SECURING ECONOMIES OF
SCALE AND BETTER MARKET ACCESS AND
RETURNS
12.56. Farm profitability is central to achieving rapid
and inclusive agricultural growth. Improved agricultural prices (Table 12.8) were an important driver
in success of the Eleventh Plan. But slower growth
of demand in some major sub-sectors (Table 12.9),
combined with higher input costs due to world price
trends, could cause this driver to be more muted in
Twelfth Plan unless offset by increase in productivity. The reports of the Commission on Agricultural
Costs and Prices show low net farm revenue for
many crops, particularly rain-fed. Diversification
towards higher value crops and livestock remains
the best way not only to improve farm incomes and
accelerate growth, but also to reduce stress on natural resources which form farmers’ production base.
This needs better infrastructure and emphasis on
integrated farming systems, combining crops and
livestock, including small ruminants, for different
location-specific endowments. This also requires
innovative institutional and contractual arrangements so that smallholders have the requisite technology and market access.

(A) The Centrality of Smallholdings
12.57. Small farms typify Indian agriculture and this
predominance continues to increase. Agriculture
Census 2005–06 reported the average size of an
operational holding at only 1.23 hectare, with farms
less than 2 hectares comprising 83 per cent of all

holdings and 41 per cent of area. No agricultural
development Plan can be credible unless it is relevant
to this vast majority of farmers. Also, 12 per cent of
rural households are now female headed with even
smaller holding, and the feminisation of agriculture
poses special problem.
12.58. An important step that would help small and
marginal farmers is to reform the tenancy laws. These
were originally meant to help small and marginal
farmers but now operate against them. Even limited
legalisation of agricultural tenancy and freeing the
land lease market with proper record of ownership
and tenancy status will help such farmers. Some small
farmers may lease out land to shift to other occupations, provided they were assured that they could
resume the land if they wished. Some large farms may
lease in land and even employ the small owner on his
own farm to grow specific crops under supervision.
Moreover, a stark reality of India’s farm situation
today is that while land hunger continues unabated
amongst the poor and uneducated, especially female,
educated young men in richer households are leaving
agriculture. The rapid rise of wages for rural casual
labour during the Eleventh Plan period has further
increased the relative cost of cultivating with hired
labour. Many large and absentee owners are leaving
land under-cultivated which could be leased out if
they were assured of retaining ownership.
12.59. The Eleventh Plan had set out in detail the key
elements necessary to make land policy effective for
equity and efficiency. These are:
1. Modernisation of land records must be both
time-bound and comprehensive. Full digitisation of land records, including GIS maps, should
be completed with required survey/settlement
by end of the Twelfth Plan, during which pilots
should also be initiated to enable movement
towards a Torrens system in the Thirteenth Plan.
2. Although there is no strong case to change
existing ceiling laws, there are several pending
implementation issues that can and should be
addressed as land records are modernised.
3. Land issues in tribal areas require urgent and
special attention.

Agriculture 21

4. Although no major new redistribution of agricultural land is likely, it is possible to ensure that
all rural households have at least homesteadcum-garden plots.
5. Tenancy should be legalised in a ‘limited’ manner. Prescribed rents, if any, should allow a band
wide enough for rents to be contracted mutually
over contract periods long enough to encourage
investment by tenants while protecting ownership rights so that landowners have incentive to
lease out land rather than keep this underutilised
or fallow.
6. Small and marginal farmers, particularly women,
lack adequate access to credit, extension, insurance and markets. While every effort should be
made to strengthen delivery of public services in
their favour, the intervention likely to be most
potent is support to group action by farmers
themselves. It was suggested that subsidies in
Government schemes give preference to group
activity.
12.60. Most of these issues, as well as the associated matter of consolidating fragmented holdings in
course of survey/settlement, are in the State domain
and progress is uneven. Ongoing efforts of Ministry
of Rural Development (particularly, Department of
Land Resources) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs also
address some of these issues, although not necessarily related directly to agriculture. However, there was
little progress during the Eleventh Plan on the suggestion to redesign schemes so that subsidies favour
group activity among small and marginal farmers.
In fact, a criticism of the Eleventh Plan schemes has
been that these diluted earlier specific support for
such farmers.
12.61. Almost all the Twelfth Plan working groups
set up by the Agriculture Division of Planning
Commission have strongly recommended that the
Twelfth Plan should put special focus on building
capacity that encourages group formation and collective effort by small, marginal and women farmers, rather than simply provide additional subsidy to
individuals in these categories. Existing group activity takes many forms depending on purpose. From
lower tiers of formal cooperative structures in credit,

marketing, dairy and fishery, extending to self-help
groups (SHGs), farmer clubs, joint liability groups
(JLGs) and, more recently, to producer companies. For simplicity, these can all be termed Farmer
Producer Organisations (FPOs).
12.62. The Twelfth Plan Working Group on Disadvantaged Farmers, including women has provided
evidence-based assessment of the ground situation.
New insecurities of tenure from urbanisation and
industrialisation are impacting small farms which
are efficient but lack adequate access. Its main recommendation is that a collective approach should
be promoted in agriculture for small and women
farmers at all points of the value chain. It cites many
successful examples that stretch from the Gambhira
farmer’s collective in Gujarat, initiated in 1953 and
still going strong, to several initiatives of women’s
group farming in Andhra Pradesh such as one initiated by Deccan Development Society in 1989 and
another initiated by a UNDP-GoI project in 2001
and sustained since 2005 by the Andhra Pradesh
Mahila Samakhya (APMSS). The most recent success story is the collective farming initiative launched
in 2007 under Kudumbashree jointly by Kerala
Government and NABARD. Success of these in
increasing production and empowering women
point to a need for States to experiment with (i)
channelising NGO strength in mobilising people to
encourage small holders to shift from an individual
to a group-oriented approach; and (ii) facilitating
land access by groups of disadvantaged farmers with
appropriate arrangement for provision of inputs,
including credit. Financing such experiments should
be permissible under RKVY.
12.63. Since land access was the most difficult part
in all the above efforts, the Working Group has suggested that, except distribution of homesteads to the
homeless which should have the highest priority,
future Government land distribution should be to
groups of landless and women farmers rather than
to individuals. This could take the form of long-term
lease which would expire if the group broke down,
for which it would be necessary to legalise tenancy
at least for this purpose. Moreover, an innovative
suggestion of both this Working Group and the

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Working Group on Marketing is to set up Public
Land Banks (PLB) at Panchayat level. Landowners
could ‘deposit’ uncultivated land and receive regular
payments from the PLB varying by period of deposit
and rents actually obtained with the guarantee that
this ‘deposit’ can be withdrawn with suitable notice.
The PLB could then lease out to small and women
farmers or their collectives. A form of ‘limited’ tenancy aimed at fuller agricultural use of available farm
land and to slow down speculation in such land for
future non-agricultural use, this idea excludes leasing to corporate entities. However, to set up PLBs
will require some initial seed capital and a clear legal
framework. If States provide the legal framework
and the necessary guarantees, the seed capital could
also be permissible under RKVY.
12.64. Access to finance, especially by small holders, is crucial for improved agricultural performance.
Credit flow doubled in the Eleventh Plan but mainly
by credit deepening, with little increase in farmer
coverage and still leaving 60 per cent of farmers
without institutional credit. There are several ways
in which credit access can be widened. Primary
Agricultural Co-operative Societies (PACS) still have
the widest coverage and must be made more memberdriven and less dependent on higher tiers. Joint
Liability Groups (JLGs) are still the most appropriate mechanisms for farmers and livestock owners
who have productive assets but cannot access credit
because they have no land records, are located too far
from banks or have last mile problems. The SHGBank Linkage programme is still the most appropriate financial mechanism to extend credit to marginal
and dry land farmers as this allows better income
smoothing since SHGs provide space for diversity
in loan purposes and sizes, enabling financing of a
variety of activities that such families select as part of
livelihood strategies when income from agriculture
is low.
12.65. Commercial banks have not supported JLGs
or SHGs as much as they could have, preferring
instead to comply with priority sector requirements
by offering bulk finance through Non-Banking
Financial Companies (NBFC) and Micro-Finance
Institutions (MFI). However, NBFC–MFI lending

is mainly individual and based on standard products imposing short repayment schedules which
did not dovetail with cash flows from agriculture.
This caused multiple borrowings, increased risk
to borrowers and led to a backlash. The solution is
to restore the principle of group decisions by borrowers both in the borrowing process and in use of
borrowed resources. This need not exclude NBFC–
MFI so long as shortcuts are avoided. For example,
NABFINS, a NBFC promoted by NABARD, lends
only to groups and uses a Business Correspondent
(BC) Model that also provides working capital to second level institutions like cooperatives and producer
companies which aggregate, add value and market
commodities. The SHGs have a stake in these second
level institutions which help expand their livelihood
base.
12.66. Small and marginal farmers face problems
not only with shrinking land assets and with credit;
they have difficulty in accessing critical inputs for
agriculture such as quality seeds and timely technical assistance. In this situation, FPOs offer a form
of aggregation that leaves land titles with individual
producers and uses the strength of collective planning for production, procurement and marketing
to add value to members’ produce through pooled
resources of land and labour, shared storage space,
transportation and marketing facilities. These also
improve bargaining power of small farmers and,
most importantly, reduce transactions costs of banks
and buyers to deal them. Investing in such group
efforts has strong externalities.
12.67. The Twelfth Plan Working Group on Agricultural Marketing, Infrastructure, Secondary
Agriculture and Policy for Internal and External
Trade has in fact suggested that an institutional
development component, along lines of NABARD’s
farmer club scheme, be introduced in all Centrally
sponsored schemes to specifically target FPO formation among small producers, especially tribals,
dalits and women. It notes that a majority of FPOs
that are likely to emerge as a result of such an intervention will remain focused on addressing issues of
crop planning, technology infusion, input supply
and primary marketing. But, with adequate support

Agriculture 23

for business development, about one fourth to a
third would seek to leverage presence further up the
value chain, most likely at the lower end (for example, setting up pack houses, grading centres, small
cold stores, drying or quick freezing plants). Larger
FPOs, for example, existing cooperatives could provide this support and in fact could aim bigger, but
issues may be different. For example, the National
Dairy Development Board’s SAFAL has had only
limited success although the wide network and logistics of milk cooperatives make these obvious incubators for village-level aggregation of other perishable
products. Therefore, the Twelfth Plan must try to
mainstream support for FPO formation and capacity building using all credible agencies for the purpose: existing cooperatives, NABARD and the Small
Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC).

(B) Issues in Expanding Agricultural
Marketing and Processing
12.68. A major problem facing cultivators is that they
do not get remunerative prices because of uncertainties caused by inadequate market information,
unnecessary controls, lack of physical infrastructure and price volatility—both domestic and global.
In order to provide adequate incentives to farmers,
the Twelfth Plan will have to focus on leveraging the
required private investment and also policies that
make markets more efficient and competitive.
12.69. Reforming the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Acts should therefore have
priority as emphasised in the Eleventh Plan and the
Mid-term Appraisal. The introduction of the Model
Act in 2003 was directed towards allowing private
market yards, direct buying and selling, and also to
promote and regulate contract farming in high-value
agriculture with a view to boost private sector investment in developing new regularised markets, logistics
and warehouse receipt systems, and in infrastructure
(such as cold storage facilities). This is particularly
relevant for the high-value segment that is currently hostage to high post-harvest losses and weak
farm-firm linkages. While many States have moved
towards adoption of the Model Act, actual progress
has been limited. Often the permissions given are
subject to unacceptable restrictions which make

them ineffective. Vested interests in maintaining the
existing mandi system intact are very strong. In view
of the slow progress, the Ministry of Agriculture
set up a Committee of State Ministers in-charge of
agricultural marketing. The Committee submitted
a ‘First Report’ in September 2011 which has been
circulated to all States and UTs. The report calls for
‘speedy reforms’ of Agricultural Produce Market
Committees (APMC) Act across different States
along with ‘time-bound development’ of marketing
infrastructure. Calling for a ten-year perspective plan
to improve infrastructure of backward and forward
linkages for agriculture production and marketing,
the report has suggested that agricultural marketing
be given access to priority sector lending. Thus, the
process to secure necessary amendments in APMC
Acts and thus create the enabling legal environment
is still ongoing. The Twelfth Plan will need to fasttrack modernisation of mandi infrastructure, with
adequate provision of communication and transportation, and also empower small producers through
their organisations and marketing extension.
12.70. Post-harvest losses, probably average 10 to
25 per cent, being particularly high in horticulture, livestock and fisheries. Very large investments
are required in developing agricultural markets,
grading and standardisation, quality certification,
warehouses, cold storages and other post-harvest
management of produce to address this problem.
Such large investments are possible only with the
participation of the private sector which, in turn,
require freedom from controls on sales/purchase of
agricultural produce, its movement, storage and processing. Many new initiatives were taken up during
the Eleventh Plan, including both terminal markets
under Public–Private Partnership (PPP) mode in the
National Horticulture Mission (NHM) and a model
of public sector investment combined with professional management by stakeholders as exemplified
by NDDB’s fruit and vegetable wholesale market at
Bengaluru and APEDA’s Modern Flower Auction
Houses.
12.71. The Twelfth Plan Working Group on Horticulture and Plantations which studied the matter
in detail has observed that participation by traders,

Twelfth Five Year Plan

wholesale buyers, exporters and processors has actually been very low in all these new initiatives because
of reluctance to be subject to transparent operating
procedures. It has come to the conclusion that the
present model of Market Sector Reforms which is
trying to create space for a new set of modern markets in coexistence with much less transparent procedures in APMC regulated markets is unlikely to
result in any major private investment in modern
marketing infrastructure. In its view, to break the
barrier of reluctance to participate in business of
modern markets it is necessary as part of marketing
reforms to define and introduce a common Standard
Operating Procedure (SOP) for all markets: both
the new modern markets envisaged as well as existing regulated markets under APMC Acts. Therefore,
it proposes that managements of existing regulated
markets must be made to adopt the modern marketing model: that is, undertake the auction function
themselves and all payments to sellers ensured by the
Market Committee through a system of bank credit
limits of the buyers. This would involve redefining
the role of APMC management with introduction
of SOP and an open policy of registering buyers;
permitting setting up of private markets in APMC
areas; removal of interstate barriers to allow an unified national market, either by using entry 42 of the
union list or at least for sealed container cargo; and
single point levy at first point of sale.
12.72. While this entire area of regulation of agricultural product markets is thus in some flux and
movement is still slow, an important initiative in
the Eleventh Plan involved setting up a Warehouse
Regulatory and Development Authority (WRDA) to
set standards and modernise warehousing. The aim
is enlarged use of negotiable warehouse receipts that
can be linked to e-trading, both spot and future, so
that farmers have an alternative to mandis. However,
so far less than 300 warehouses have been registered
and there is yet no effective coverage of perishable
products. Cold storages have recently been brought
under WRDA but minimum standards are yet to be
set. This may be as difficult as meeting the requirement of cold storage additional capacity estimated
at around 32 million tonnes over the next decade.
Present cold storages are of inadequate quality, most

domestic component manufacturers do not have
certified performance ratings, BIS standards do not
exist for many critical components of cold chain
infrastructure and critical storage conditions prescribed internationally for cold chain structures have
yet to be validated for many Indian agro-climatic
conditions or cultivars.
12.73. Although India ranks second in world production of fruits and vegetables, only 6–7 per cent of
this is processed, compared to 65 per cent in US and
23 per cent in China. A well-developed food processing industry is expected to increase farm-gate prices,
reduce wastage, ensure value addition, promote crop
diversification, generate employment opportunities
and boost exports. Further, issues concerning food
processing industry are dealt with in Chapter 9.
12.74. The private sector needs to invest much more
in creation of warehousing capacity, cold storages
and supply chains. In this context, the Planning
Commission had also set up a Committee on
Encouraging Investments in Supply Chains including provision for cold storages for more efficient
distribution of farm produce, which submitted its
report in May 2012. The Committee has indicated
that with regard to foodgrains, the Department of
Food and Public Distribution has initiated steps
for creation of 17 million tonnes of additional storage capacity including 2 million tonnes in the form
of silos. This additional capacity is expected to take
care of public sector’s warehousing requirement during the Twelfth Plan. The Committee has recommended to exempt perishables from the purview of
APMC, provide freedom to farmers and make direct
sales to aggregators and processors, introduce electronic auction platforms for all the mandis where
daily transaction is above `10 crore, and replace
licensees of APMC markets with open registration
backed by bank guarantees to ensure wider choice to
growers and to prevent cartelisation by traders. The
Committee has recommended encouraging largescale private investments in the cold chain sector
using PPP Model with Viability Gap Funding besides
providing budgetary support and capitalising on
schemes such as Rural Infrastructure Development
Fund (RIDF). An Inter-Ministerial Group on Cold

Agriculture 25

Chain Infrastructure and Allied Sectors has been set
up by the Government to facilitate implementation
of these recommendations.
12.75. There is merit in planning part of such investment as infrastructure to reduce waste and enlarge
markets rather than wait for corporate investment in
processing or retail. The extent of wastage is not easily ascertainable and new research suggests that some
of the older estimates were quite likely exaggerated,
especially if quality loss leading to lower prices is not
counted as waste. Also, the experience so far is that
corporate entrants have not fared very well in the
competition with incumbent traders since existing
trading margins, although high, are in fact much less
than, for example, in the USA. However, there is no
doubt that modern storage and logistics do reduce
waste. If such infrastructure also improves farm
shares, social returns could exceed the private and
justify subsidies. Subsidy rates, increased recently
to 25–50 per cent, are now quite high and policy
should be clear on whether the goal is just capacity
targets or wider market access and improved marketing efficiency. If the latter, eligibility criteria need
to be specified and also linked clearly with marketing reform. Social returns to subsidy will be more if
access to both the infrastructure and to markets is
more open. The real test is whether these can spawn
and sustain enterprise in aggregation, grading and
processing at the bottom, preferably by FPOs, but
also by lead farmers and even by existing commission agents.
12.76. The recent decision to open up debate on FDI
in retail must be seen in this context. With multibrand retail already open to the domestic corporate sector, FDI in retail should not be viewed as an
entirely new disruptive factor affecting traditional
retail. It will only add depth and competition to the
present situation. Deeper pockets and technology,
and the compulsions to invest in supply chain development which is not there for domestic modern
retail may accelerate investment in logistics, quicken
consolidation of retail trade and create new proprietary supply chains. It must be emphasised that
FDI alone will not resolve back-end issues related
to modernising agricultural markets that have so

far muted the domestic corporate effort and investment. FDI has an added potential to link farmers to
wider markets by expanding exports. However, the
Eleventh Plan had also noted the legitimate concern
that if front-end investment outpaces backward
linkage, the outcome could instead be more imports
and lower farm prices. The introduction of FDI will
increase, not lessen, the importance of priorities
identified above: marketing reforms, aggregation
at the bottom and public funding of stand-alone
infrastructure.
12.77. With less than 40 per cent of farm produce
presently consumed in urban areas and much less
processed, use of public funds to improve market
efficiency will have a positive effect on farm growth.
There are benefits in coordinating this effort with
other steps to encourage corporate investment in
this area. For example, the NHM was designed
based on a concept of adequately sized area clusters so that processors could plan capacities based
on anticipated future fruit production that would in
turn ensure markets for farmers when trees finally
bore fruit. But processors have preferred to wait and
watch while farmers, not sure of adequate market for
any single crop, have usually chosen to diversify their
production basket. Most clusters have therefore not
developed in the manner intended. A larger thrust to
modernise processing and retail will require bringing
more synergy between corporate actors and farmers,
particularly in infusion of technology and capital at
the farm end.
12.78. The Ministry of Agriculture has proposed a
RKVY window for Public–Private Partnership for
Integrated Agricultural Development (PPPIAD) for
States to facilitate ‘large scale integrated projects led
by private sector players with a view to aggregating
farmers and integrating agricultural supply chains.’
The idea is to leverage corporate interest and marketing solutions to part-finance mobilisation of
expertise to form FPOs and infuse technology and
capital to enhance farm production and value addition. This is in line with views of various working
groups, and needs to be piloted. But since this will
in effect be public subsidy to contract farming, it
is necessary to be clear on what should and should

Twelfth Five Year Plan

not be subsidised. First, project selection should
go beyond where contract farming would normally
occur; that is, give priority to proposals involving FPOs composed mainly of small and marginal
farmers in less accessible and rain-fed locations.
Second, tangible assets that are property of the corporate partner cannot be subsidised by RKVY. Only
stand-alone assets of farmers or their FPOs should
be subsidised. Third, a transparent project selection
mechanism will be required to rank proposals, for
example, by assigning marks based on States’ priorities to deliverables offered, with outcome indicators
for subsequent monitoring. If this works, it might be
a game changer, not only to form FPOs and widen
farm-industry linkage but also to fast-track desirable changes in cropping patterns.

(C) Credit and Cooperatives
12.79. The Twelfth Plan Working Group on
Institutional Finance, Cooperatives and Risk
Management has projected the demand for credit
during Twelfth Plan at between `31,24,624 crore
and `42,08,454 crore, depending on the methodology used. At the higher end of these estimates, that
is, assuming agriculture growth at 4 per cent and
ICOR at 4.5, the size of the credit requirement in
the Twelfth Plan period translates into about double
the flow during the Eleventh Plan, that is, `8 lakh
crore per year, as against the level of `4.68 lakh crore
achieved during 2010–11.
12.80. This projected level of credit appears feasible
in view of the Eleventh Plan achievement. As against
credit flow of `2,29,401 crore in agriculture during
2006–07, the total institutional credit flow to agriculture in 2011–12 was `5,11,029 crore. But despite
this very robust growth, many issues continue to
confront agricultural credit, particularly in the area
of financial inclusion necessary for ensuring inclusive growth. Agricultural credit continues to neglect
certain sub-sectors, the flow of term lending is dwindling and there is inordinate increase in the share of
indirect finance. Credit dispensation by institutions
to small and marginal farmers has been disappointing, including by the Cooperative Credit Structure
(CCS) which has traditionally catered to relatively
smaller farmers.

12.81. On these issues, the working group has
pointed to the need for more objective assessment of
credit requirements for direct and indirect financing of agriculture and also to redefine the priority
lending sectors. It has suggested updating of KCC
databases with priority analysis of KCC percentage provided to the small and marginal farmers and
more intensive use of ICT applications to track the
flow of credit and transmission losses, with reference to such farmers.
12.82. Some ongoing and emerging changes appear
to hold promise of triggering off better financial
inclusion for banking activity:
1. The Core Banking Platform provides seamless
connectivity which, with the telecom infrastructure, brings a new architecture to access financial
services.
2. The BC model, together with mobile phones, can
along with post offices provide significant lastmile connectivity.
3. Mandating payments (for example, of wages
under the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act, pension dues and so on) through
formal channels, including post offices, is helping to reach financial services to those so far not
reached.
4. The enormous economies of scale generated
by SHG Federations (each of 150–200 SHGs) is
enabling banks to give larger loans for housing
and health facilities for their members. A variety
of insurance services are also being made available, including life, health, livestock and weather
insurance.
5. The UID project of the GoI with biometric
identity may facilitate easier opening of bank
accounts, although this has yet to happen.
12.83. The financial health of the Long-term
Cooperative Credit Structure (LTCCS) continues to
deteriorate with accumulated losses of `5,275 crore
by March 2010, resulting in erosion of 59 per cent in
owned funds. A quick decision is warranted on the
implementation of the revival package for the LTCCS
too on the lines of the Short-term Cooperative Credit
Structure (STCCS).

Agriculture 27

12.84. Notwithstanding, the relatively improved
financial health of the STCCS following implementation of the revival package, its share in total institutional credit continues to show a declining trend.
The package for STCCS was conditional to radical
restructuring of coops into autonomous, democratic
and self reliant institutions without intrusion of
politics and bureaucracy. The States have not implemented these recommendations with full seriousness. Therefore, Cooperative Sector Reforms should
continue to be insisted upon during the Twelfth
Plan.
12.85. In the interest of strengthening of the ground
level tier, there is also need for considering disciplined refinancing of PACS as stand-alone institutions, provided that these are member driven. PACS
still have the widest coverage and the recent development of financing PACS through commercial banks
needs to be widened, deepened and strengthened,
especially in cases where higher tiers of the STCCS
are weak and not in a position to fund them.

(D) Farm Income Variability: Managing World
Price Volatility and Climate Risk
12.86. The Eleventh Plan document had noted that
farmers are now subject to much greater risk than
what Indian farmers have been used to in the past.
The frequency and severity of risks in agriculture
have increased on account of climate variability and
this has been accompanied by much greater variability of world prices and their quicker transmission
into the domestic economy. On price variability,
it had recommended much greater co-ordination
between MSP and trade policies and for putting
in place a system whereby tariffs on imports and
exports of farm products could be varied quickly
in response to world price movements rather than
having to take recourse to outright bans which hurt
both farmers and trade. On climate variability, it had
recommended going beyond current insurance measures and to put in place a tertiary mechanism for
management and assessment through climate forecasting and mapping of agricultural losses.
12.87. World agricultural prices rose sharply during the Eleventh plan period, with inflation about

9 per cent per annum in US dollar terms and price
volatility much higher than before, accompanied by
even higher world inflation in fuels and fertiliser.
It is now generally agreed that among the several
factors that contributed to this were more frequent
weather shocks, policies to promote biofuels and
increased demand on commodity future markets as
a result of speculation and portfolio diversification.
There is also consensus that linkage between agricultural prices and price of oil is now very strong
and may cause high volatility to persist. As compared to this, domestic Indian agricultural prices
were much less volatile and domestic prices of fuel
and fertiliser were increased much less than corresponding international prices. Indian farmers were
thus relatively better protected against both higher
price volatility and higher costs. However, this has
involved repressing inflation in fuel and fertiliser
and required bans on exports during world-price
spikes. Co-ordination between MSP and tariff
policy is still very weak. For example, while other
aspects of a recent CACP suggestion for oil palm
development can be met by ongoing schemes,
the proactive tariff support required is a sticking
point. These will need to be addressed during the
Twelfth plan.
12.88. On the climate side, a number of initiatives
taken by the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) and the India Meteorological Department
(IMD) during the Eleventh Plan have significantly
improved the scope and quality both of climate data
and of other remote sensing tools. Although IMD’s
long-range forecasts of the monsoon still have a
very large margin of error, its shorter-range products not only have greater accuracy but cover an
array of agro-meteorological variables with fairly
high resolution. There is also much better co-ordination today between ISRO and IMD on one hand
and the Ministry of Agriculture, corresponding State
departments and NARS on the other. For example,
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC)
has set up a Mahalanobis National Crop Forecasting
Centre with ISRO collaboration to augment present crop forecasts and assessment with regular
remote sensing, GIS and Global positioning System
(GPS) data.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

12.89. With better satellite products, an Eleventh Plan
innovation was the Integrated Agro-Meteorological
Advisory Service (IAAS) which now issues regular
weekly Agro-Met Advisory Bulletins up to district
level on field crops, horticulture and livestock. This
involves agricultural universities to collect and organise soil, crop, pest and disease information and amalgamate this with weather forecasts to assist farmers
in their decisions. Though still of very variable quality from district to district, and limited since district is too big a unit for useful advisory, a 2009–10
NCAER study concluded that this brought large savings to farmers. In the Twelfth Plan, a Gramin Krishi
Mausam Seva (GKMS) will be launched to extend
IAAS to block level, initially on experimental basis.
Also, IMD will implement the Monsoon Mission
aimed at generating better seasonal monsoon rainfall
forecasts in different spatial ranges.

limited since crop-cutting experiments delay claims/
payments until well after harvest and risk covered is
only of yield shortfalls at the block level.

12.90. In a parallel Eleventh Plan initiative, that
took advantage of IMD experience with Automatic
Weather Stations technology, Government launched
a Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS)
through the Agricultural Insurance Corporation
(AIC). Initiated as a pilot in Kharif 2007 in 70 hoblis of Karnataka for 8 rain-fed crops, by 2010–11 the
Scheme was being implemented in 17 States and
covered more than 67 lakh farmers growing crops
on 95 lakh hectares spread over 1,010 blocks in 118
districts.

12.93. As a result, the Government of India is currently implementing four schemes, that is, NAIS,
MNAIS, WBCIS and another pilot Coconut Palm
Insurance Scheme (CPIS). Only NAIS is being
implemented as a full-fledged scheme and the other
three are being implemented on pilot basis. The
pilot programmes will be evaluated early in the
Twelfth Plan for future revisions/modifications to
evolve a National Agricultural Insurance Programme.
For this, the following will be necessary. First,
define what should be the core programme which
Government should set up and what should be left to
companies to devise their own insurance products.
Second, to examine the trade-off between competition and benefits of risk pooling, that is, a centralised
reinsurance system. Third, arrive at an optimum mix
between weather-based insurance and those dependent on yield measurements whether by crop-cutting
experiments or remote sensing.

12.91. At present WBCIS has about one-third the
coverage of the National Agricultural Insurance
Scheme (NAIS), the main crop-insurance vehicle.
Based on results of crop-cutting experiments, this
has been in operation since 1999–2000. Although
a useful device, especially for farmers growing relatively risky crops, the main problem with NAIS is
that it is not actuarial insurance. Premiums for most
important crops are fixed at all-India level irrespective of risk and Central and State Governments
pay for the entire excess of claims over premium
received. Moreover, being compulsory for all borrowers from banks in States where it is in force, and
with relatively few non-loanee farmers involved,
it mainly insures banks against default following
poor harvest. Further, its popularity with farmers is

12.92. For these reasons AIC is also piloting a
Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme
(MNAIS) since 2010 that aims to (i) reduce the insurance unit from block to village panchayat with higher
indemnity as proportion of threshold yield, (ii) move
to actuarial premiums supported by upfront subsidies instead of NAIS practice of Government paying
the entire excess of claims over premium, and (iii)
extend insurance cover to situations such as failed
sowing, cyclonic rains and localised calamities, such
as hailstorms and landslides. The main problem is
lowering insurance unit which although good for
farmers increases the cost and effort on crop-cutting
experiments exponentially.

12.94. Some suggestions, based mainly on the
Twelfth Plan Working Group on Institutional
Finance, Cooperatives and Risk Management, are:
1. Taking as core the ongoing NAIS, modifications
being made through the pilot MNAIS should be
continued. The high cost of lowering the insurance unit should be dealt with progressively in

Agriculture 29

consultation with States. Centre may share part
of the cost of crop-cutting experiments in the
short-run but should shift to new technologies
such as satellite imagery in the long run.
The issue of private-sector involvement in agricultural insurance can be creatively addressed,
for example, through a system of co-insurance
under which the AIC is lead insurer (with underwriting responsibilities and contacts with multiple agencies).
Weather-based insurance should continue, again
focused on customisation and innovation such
as double trigger (weather and yield) and indexplus products, with State Governments choosing what to subsidise. Roll-out of AWS can be
demand-led and private sector also involved
but with mandatory accreditation from a competent third-party designated by Government to
ensure consistent and high-quality weather data.
Further, Terrestrial Observation and Prediction
Systems (TOPS) platforms need to be pilot
tested.
Other innovative products such as communitybased mutual insurance, savings-linked insurance, a properly designed product fort contract
farming arrangement and so on can help establish insurance culture, especially if linked to FPO
formation.
Agriculture insurance, being specialty insurance with huge Governmental intervention
should be seen more as a social instrument of the
Government rather than a commercial instrument, hence is unlikely to be effectively administered unless backed by a statute.
To protect non-insured farmers from extreme
financial distress, Government may consider ‘Catastrophe Protection.’ A blanket Life
Insurance cover could be devised for at least
small/marginal farmers (including tenant farmers) to meet liabilities to banks or other RFIs
in the unfortunate eventuality of death and to
secure some financial support to families of the
deceased. Premia on such group/blanket insurance could be funded by Central/State Governments and financing banks, in full or in part.
Crop losses arising out of natural calamities are
presently compensated by Government funding

or concessions like loan/interest waivers/deferments. This practice is fraught with inefficiency,
besides crippling repayment ethics. It is, therefore, necessary that dealing with loan losses
should be internalised within the banking system
through the constitution of Relief and Guarantee
Funds and Stabilisation Funds (set up partly with
Government funding, by diversion of subsidies
for loan repayments and so on).

AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
12.95. Agricultural research has played a vital role in
agricultural transformation and in reducing hunger
and poverty and its role in the Twelfth Plan will be
crucial. The Eleventh Five Year Plan had noted that
research in the past had tended to focus mostly on
increasing yield potential by more intensive use of
water and biochemical inputs, paying less attention
to either the long-term environmental impact of this
approach or to methods and practices for efficient
use of inputs and natural resources (Table 12.10). But
now that limitations of this approach were evident,
there appeared to be lack of any clear agricultural
research strategy or to assign definite responsibilities and prioritise the research agenda rationally. It
had proposed that ICAR institutes undertake basic,
strategic and anticipative research, focusing particularly on problems of rain-fed agriculture, while SAUs
concentrate on generating required manpower and
on applied and adaptive research to address local
problems. It had emphasised that research should
shift from a commodity based approach to a farming systems approach through convergent efforts of
R&D agencies within each agro-climatic region to
address local problems identified by stakeholders,
including development agencies. It had also stressed
the need to enhance spending on NARS and proposed to raise this to 1 per cent of agriculture GDP
by end of the Plan period.
12.96. As it turns out, research spending at 2006–07
prices, although reaching nearly 0.9 per cent in 2010–
11, averaged only 0.7 per cent during the Eleventh
Plan. At current prices, it was even less, averaging
only 0.64 per cent during the Eleventh Plan. Part of
the reason was a shortfall of about 20 per cent in the

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 12.10
Expenditure on Agricultural Research and Education
(` crore at 2006–07 prices)
Tenth Plan
States

Centre

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12

Eleventh Plan

Plan

4,151

694

965

1,070

1,289

1,382

5,401

Non-Plan

6,477

1,464

1,315

1,497

1,755

1,599

7,629

Total

10,629

2,158

2,279

2,567

3,044

2,981

13,030

Plan

4,977

1,210

1,418

1,402

1,909

1,998

7,938

Non-Plan

4,125

852

1,040

1,235

2,168

1,512

6,808

Total

9,102

2,063

2,458

2,636

4,077

3,510

14,745

197

100

160

576

9,128

1,961

2,580

2,534

3,298

3,540

13,914

10,603

2,316

2,355

2,732

3,923

3,111

14,437

RKVY

Plan

Centre and
States

Plan
Non-Plan
Total

GDP Agriculture and
Allied (2006–07 prices)
Research/Education
as % GDP Ag

19,732

4,277

4,935

5,266

7,221

6,652

28,351

33,40,648

7,64,890

7,65,601

7,73,565

8,27,969

8,50,812

39,82,837

0.59%

0.55%

0.61%

0.67%

0.86%

0.76%

Centre’s Plan expenditure from that originally targeted, but the main reason was inadequate spending
by States. While Centre’s expenditure (non-Plan and
Plan, including RKVY) increased 68 per cent in real
terms between the Tenth and the Eleventh Plan periods, corresponding States expenditures increased
only 22 per cent. In particular, non-Plan spending
on SAUs increased less than 17 per cent, less than
required to meet the pay commission awards in most
States. Consequently, most SAUs are understaffed
and underfinanced. This is undoubtedly the most
serious problem confronting NARS.
12.97. Nonetheless, new SAUs continue to be created, especially in animal husbandry, which lack adequate staff, have little infrastructure and are grossly
underfunded. Emphasis has to be laid on arresting
proliferation and improvement, especially in core
disciplines like modern biology, to ensure a steady
supply of quality human resources. ICAR should
specify minimum standards, and meeting these
standards could be an eligibility condition for States
to get RKVY funding.
12.98. Significant contributions of public-sector research during the last decade have included

0.70%

breakthroughs in basmati varieties, improved
wheat varieties resistant to rust including race ug99,
improved varieties of soybean, Bengal gram, mustard, chickpea and single cross hybrid maize; which
have led to higher growth in these crops. Similarly,
although most Bt cotton hybrids that are commercially successful are from private producers, these are
based mostly on public material. With respect to natural resource management, public research claims
significant contribution in developing resource
conservation technologies like integrated farming,
micro-irrigation, laser levelling, zero tillage and agricultural practices to improve efficiency of nutrients
and water, including in situ rain water harvesting.
In fruits and vegetables, better varieties and hybrids,
disease management and multiplication of planting
material and in livestock and fisheries, disease management technologies (vaccines and diagnostics),
feed and fodder management, improving reproductive health and production of fisheries seed.
12.99. Broadly, although NARS has yet to respond
to changes suggested in the Eleventh Plan, there are
signs of some new research priorities and agendas.
As example of new collaborative research, ICAR
launched the ‘National Initiative on Climate Resilient

Agriculture 31

Agriculture (NICRA)’ in February 2011 as a network
project with several collaborating institutions with a
view to enhance resilience of Indian agriculture to
climate vulnerability through strategic research and
technology demonstration. The research on adaptation and mitigation covers crops, livestock, fisheries and natural resource management. The project
aims to enhance resilience through development
and application of improved production and riskmanagement technologies. It plans to demonstrate
site-specific technology packages on farmers’ fields
for adapting to current climate risks and to enhance
the capacity of scientists and other stakeholders in
climate resilient agricultural research and its application. This will be continued during the Twelfth Plan.
12.100. For the Twelfth Five Year Plan, the ICAR
has proposed a number of new initiatives in its manner of functioning, such as extramural funding for
research, creation of funds for agri-innovations and
agri-incubation and setting up of an Agriculture
Technology Forecast Centre (ATFC). To improve
staff strength and quality it has proposed an Adjunct
Professor Scheme, Agriculture Sciences Pursuit for
Inspired Research Excellence (ASPIRE), e-courses
and more post-doctoral fellowships. Modernisation
of SAU farms is also contemplated. In particular, it
has proposed the following new thrusts:
• Conceived Research Platforms: Research consortia platforms are proposed for focused, time
bound multi-disciplinary research in areas of
‘Agro Biodiversity Management; Genomics;
Seed; Hybrids; GM Foods; Biofortification; Plant
Borers; High Value Compounds/Phytochemicals;
Nanotechnology; Diagnostics and Vaccines;
Conservation Agriculture; Waste Management;
Water Management; Natural Fibre; Health
Foods; Precision Farming, Farm Mechanisation
and Energy; Secondary Agriculture and Agriincubators.’ These will involve partnership of
ICAR with R&D organisations inside and outside NARS. Inter-departmental platforms for
research in these priority areas and also capacity
building in basic sciences, remote sensing and
medium range agri-advisory services will be fostered involving CSIR, DBT, ICMR, DRDO, DST

•

research institutes as well as general universities
and Ministries of Environment, Space and Earth
Sciences.
National Agricultural Education Project: A
National Agricultural Education Project for
Systemic Improvement in Higher Agricultural
Education and Institution Development is proposed to be undertaken as an externally-funded
project to improve education quality in State
Agricultural Universities.
National Agriculture Entrepreneurship Project:
Another externally-funded project is proposed in
order to build an ecosystem for nurturing entrepreneurship development through translational
research for technology commercialisation, management of technologies for commercialisation,
research for breakthrough technologies for accelerated growth and higher-economic impact.
Farmer FIRST: In order to make technology delivery process more effective through the existing
630 Krishi Vigyan Kendras, this new initiative
will enhance farmers–scientist contact through
multi-stakeholders’ participation to move beyond
production and productivity to privilege the complex, diverse and risk prone reality faced by most
farmers.
Student READY: A one-year composite programme, the Rural Entrepreneurship and
Awareness Development Yojana (READY) is proposed with the objective to develop professional
skills for entrepreneurship: knowledge through
meaningful hands-on experience in project mode;
confidence through end to end approach in product development; and enterprise management
capabilities including skills for project development and execution, accountancy and national/
international marketing.
Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture
(ARYA): This initiative will be implemented with
a youth-centric approach, targeting areas of agriculture research which can be converted into viable economic enterprises and build capacities to
attract rural youth to agriculture.

12.101. The Twelfth Plan allocation for ICAR is of a
size that will allow spending on NARS to reach 1 per
cent of agriculture GDP by end of the Plan provided

Twelfth Five Year Plan

States fund SAUs similarly. The above ICAR proposals can have priority if defined in terms of deliverables, rather than areas. Also, NARS should address
the following issues on priority basis during the
Twelfth Five Year Plan:
• Strengthening soil organic carbon (SOC) research,
particularly on the quality of organic matter and
microbial activity, physical properties of SOC,
validation and refinement of models and SOC
dynamics under different land uses and management regimes.
• Developing Models and technology interventions
on rational use of inputs, especially nutrients and
irrigation water, under diverse agro-ecologies
through interdisciplinary and farmer participatory mode in order to enhance their use efficiency,
as also farm profits.
• The Expert Group on Pulses has been critical of
NARS. Efforts to enhance the yield potential of
pulses, by analysing physiological and biochemical limitations of the current crop and designing
more efficient types, is a priority which should
also involve improving the nutritional quality
of pulses and reducing various anti-nutritional
factors.
• Another priority continues to be the development
of heat resistant varieties of wheat.
• Greater thrust needs to be given to post-harvest
management, secondary agriculture and value
addition, along with by-products and waste management. The agricultural technologies which
have been developed and matured in the Eleventh
Plan should be taken for commercialisation in the
Twelfth Plan. Accordingly, the human resource
development including para-technicians should
be emphasised.
• Private agriculture input and seed companies use
the research products of public system to generate
profits. The public research system should seek a
share in such profits which is possible if the public research system takes due care in protecting its
intellectual property rights under the Protection
of Plant Variety and Farmers’ Rights Authority
(PPVFRA). This requires development of an
appropriate pricing mechanism and preparing a
suitable licensing system.

NATIONAL MISSION ON EXTENSION AND
TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
12.102. The extension system of State agricultural
departments is the weakest link in the chain between
research and the farmer. Large number of vacancies of extension workers in the State Agriculture
Department was one of the gravest concerns
expressed by the Eleventh Plan document. During
the Eleventh Plan, efforts were initiated to improve
extension services by extending Central support to
State extension reforms. This has resulted in 604
Agriculture Technology Management Agencies
(ATMAs) to be established across the country with
21,000 new posts sanctioned with Central assistance
at State, district and block levels. Also, since a continuous problem plaguing extension has been lack
of organic link between the research system and
the extension machinery, R&D linkage guidelines
were jointly brought out by the DAC and ICAR
and sent to all States and SAUs. The basic thrust of
these guidelines were to get ATMAs and KVKs to
work together at the district level and below, keeping in view the priorities reflected in Comprehensive
District Plans. Although neither has delivered full
results, there is now much greater acceptance that
things must be done together.
12.103. Seed is also an area where NARS made much
greater effort than in previous recent Plan periods.
12.104. Along with seeds, farm mechanisation was
also highlighted earlier as a source of the Eleventh
Plan labour productivity gains. In view of emerging
labour shortages in many states, there is demand to
expand custom hiring services, as well as for new
implements. During the Twelfth Five Year Plan it
is proposed to give a co-ordinated thrust on seeds,
farm mechanisation and extension through a new
Mission on Extension and Technology Management.
This should also have a component to fund ICAR
research platforms to find solutions to problems
thrown up by extension and requiring expertise
beyond SAU.

(A) Seeds and Planting Material
12.105. Three major yield successes during the last
decade relate to cotton, maize and basmati rice.

Agriculture 33

These were driven by new seeds of which cotton and
maize hybrids were mainly from private sector while
basmati rice varieties were almost entirely public.
Increased adoption of hybrids in cross-pollinated
crops like cotton, maize, pearl millet and sorghum
has been led largely by the private sector, which
accounts for three-fourths of hybrids developed so
far in the country. But there is discernable change
in role of public sector in development of hybrids
after 2001–02. Till 2001–02, private sector developed 150 hybrids of cotton compared to 15 by public sector; 67 hybrids of maize compared to three in
public sector. In the next seven years, public sector
increased its share from 8 per cent to 19 per cent in
cotton, from 4 per cent to 40 per cent in maize and
from 25 per cent to 58 per cent in rice, with similar
changes in other crops. In parallel, public production
of quality seeds of varieties have increased rapidly
in recent years, expanding the public share in total
seed use. Production of quality seed doubled from
140 lakh quintals in 2004–05 to 280 lakh quintals in
2009–10, contributing significantly to the Eleventh
Plan yield performance. Private sector accounted for
39 per cent of this seed production. Nonetheless, the
ratio of quality seed to total seed use by farmers is
still much lower than norm and there is considerable
scope to raise crop productivity by raising this ratio.
12.106. There are several pending issues regarding
seeds. For example, at present there is no regulatory
mechanism to protect farmers against non-performance, say poor seed germination rate. The Seeds
Bill, 2004, introduced in Parliament in 2004, is still
under consideration of the Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Agriculture. It aims to regulate the
quality of seeds and planting material of all agricultural, horticultural and plantation crops to ensure
availability of true to type seeds to Indian farmers;
curb the sale of spurious, poor quality seeds; protect the rights of farmers; increase private participation in seed production, distribution and seed
testing; liberalise import of seeds and planting materials while aligning with World Trade Organization
(WTO) commitments and international standards.
Comprehensive and authentic databases on seed
production and trade in India by public and private
sectors as required under the seed and plant variety

laws need to be built up. The seed chain and the
norms for quality control should be followed without any compromises or shortcuts.
12.107. At present, the public sector is responsible for most valuable germplasm while private seed
agencies concentrate on more remunerative high
value seed segment. Under the circumstances, clear
protocols need to be developed for sharing precious
germplasm with the private sector on payment of
royalty, while ensuring their conservation and preventing possible erosion of the national interest in
the context of international agreements on plant
variety and intellectual property rights. If this can be
done, there is vast scope to expand linkages between
the private seed industry and public research institutions to take advantage of the positive aspects of both
the segments for the benefit of farmers.
12.108. ICAR needs to revisit procedures for variety
identification, release and notification to cover private and farmers’ varieties and also to avoid bias in
favour of varieties evolved by the testing institutions.
The number of seed testing centres in the country should be expanded rapidly, if necessary in PPP
mode and with third party oversight, to reduce the
time taken in assessment and refinement of varieties and hybrids and technologies for production
and protection of crops. There is also a need for
‘Phytosanitary’ certification, especially for export/
import of seeds. The State Seed Corporations may
establish at least one such certification centre in each
major State.
12.109. The DAC made the present assessment of
seed requirement during the Twelfth Plan for its
proposed Seed Mission with respect to some of the
major crops which brings out that even excluding
requirements arising from possible shift to hybrids,
seed production of varieties will need to increase by
about a third to meet the projected increase in seed
replacement rates. Since seed-production planning
should be done with a long-term perspective (considering the viability of the seed) and also to keep
buffer stock of seed to meet eventualities of natural
calamities that require replanting, the actual production requirements may be higher. To meet the

Twelfth Five Year Plan

seed demand for 45 major crops produced within
the country and required under diverse conditions,
seed hubs need to be identified to produce seed and
supply the same to the farmers in each area. This will
save cost of transportation. Public agencies will also
need to strengthen infrastructure for seed processing, storage, transportation and distribution.
12.110. Adequate availability of quality seeds is a particular challenge for farmers in rain-fed areas where
rainfall risks are high and productivity depends crucially on timely sowing within a short rainfall window. The seed system must be capable of providing
seeds of contingency or alternative crops during
prolonged dry spells. With protection of crop diversity important in rain-fed areas, strengthening and
improving local-seed systems and linking these to
NARS is a necessity for productivity enhancement.
12.111. An important part of the new Mission will
therefore be to better integrate farmers with production and distribution of quality seeds through, for
example, seed village programmes and by encouraging NGOs to help FPOs take up seed production.
Therefore, capacity building will be vital to success.
Fodder seeds that are presently neglected and scarce
will need to be emphasised. Equally, the Mission
must be enabled to convey to NARS accurate feedback from farmers on seed suitability.

to be enhanced through promotion of custom hiring models as well as individual ownership. While
draft animal power based implements and manual
tools should be owned by individual farmers (with
appropriate financial incentives, for example, off
season employment for animal power by integrating some services such as ‘manure transport’ with
MGNREGS), expensive machinery should be promoted thorough custom hiring. This could be done
by promoting machinery service centres involving
existing FPOs or by groups of farm youth trained in
machinery operation and maintenance.
12.114. Greater impetus is needed to develop needbased and regionally differentiated farm machinery. Ongoing efforts by NARS need to be suitably
strengthened with appropriate participation of commercial agricultural machinery manufacturers.
Financial incentives could be linked to requirements thrown up by extension experience from different locations or from FPO demand. The Mission
should identify and convey to NARS the critical
mechanisation gaps and, in particular, specific local
requirements related to machinery for soil and water
conservation and gender-friendly implements.

12.112. Wages have increased significantly in recent
years and with labour accounting for more than 40
per cent of variable cost, many farm organisations
report that shortage of labour is obstructing operational efficiency. Animal power is also declining,
with commercial banks reluctant to extend loans
for bullocks. This has naturally led to an increase in
farm mechanisation. However, farm mechanisation
has so far been biased in favour of tractors and been
concentrated in irrigated-command areas paying little attention to the needs of farmers in dryland areas
and the scope for introducing small machines that
might be useful to meet their needs.

12.115. During the Eleventh Plan, the task of
strengthening and restructuring agricultural extension was approached through a wide mix of different initiatives. The context for this was that while
public sector extension arrangements have weakened, the number and diversity of private extension service providers have increased in the last two
decades. These include the media, NGOs, producers
associations, input agencies and agri-business companies. Many provide better and improved services
to farmers, but their effective reach is limited and
most poor producers are served neither by public
nor private sector in many distant and remote areas.
Notwithstanding the important role being played
by private sector extension, there are also concerns
with regard to wholesomeness of information, given
equity and long-term implications.

12.113. Considering the farm sizes and prevailing
skills, farm mechanisation penetration would have

12.116. Although setting up ATMAs in almost all
districts was the single most important achievement,

(B) Farm Machinery

Agriculture 35

this went hand-in-hand with efforts to enhance quality through domain experts and regular capacity
building. Other efforts included interactive ways of
information dissemination, public–private partnerships and pervasive and innovative use of ICT/Mass
Media. Efforts were also made to involve agri-entrepreneurs, agri-business companies and NGO experts
to bolster public extension. Most of these efforts will
have to continue in the Twelfth Plan since extension is a continuous process. But, in view of the initial broken down condition, there are considerable
gaps even after the subsequent effort. For example,
an evaluation of ATMAs by the Agricultural Finance
Corporation in 2009–10 found that although 52 per
cent of respondent farmers said that they gained
knowledge of new practices and technologies from
this, only 25 per cent felt that this had helped to
increase production. It is perhaps time to conduct
a country-wide extension census to identify extension resources (manpower, infrastructure, expertise)
available in public and private sectors.
12.117. It is also necessary to continue with experimentation. There are number of models which have
been successfully implemented in several States and
countries which can be tried as pilots by ATMA and
then expanded. Many civil society organisations have
successfully experimented with community managed
extension systems with members of the local community acting as agents of agricultural extension. In
the Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture
(CMSA) model of Andhra Pradesh, members of the
village community have been trained and developed
as Community Resource Persons (CRPs). CRPs
adopt elements of sustainable and eco-friendly agricultural practices in their own farms and are in a better position to motivate and convince other farmers
than normal extension workers. Working with agricultural scientists and extension personnel under the
broad ATMA umbrella, CRPs can help technology
transfer and diffusion.
12.118. Agricultural extension covering crops and
allied sectors is primarily the responsibility of the
States and it is expected that States should drive the
extension reforms process. Any national effort in this
regard can only support States’ efforts. Moreover,

as noted by the Twelfth Plan Working Group on
Agricultural Extension, while public policy in agriculture increasingly recognises importance of public–private partnership in extension, the experience
so far is that PPPs have been the exception rather
than the rule. States must adopt PPP, but this is not
substitute for strengthening the public extension system. Future collaboration between public and private players will have to focus more on the public
sector’s ability to set standards and monitor progress
so that these standards are enforced on all players,
including public extension agents, while providing
institutional training and support.
12.119. An important task of the new Mission
should therefore be to consult with States so as to
evolve a standards and regulatory framework for certifying and validating extension activities by all players, including public extension agents. MANAGE
and SAMETIs should take the leading role in driving extension reforms at the National and State levels
respectively. The corporate sector should be encouraged to involve itself in this effort and in agricultural
extension in general, if only as part of their Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR). Even more important
than funding under CSR, the corporate sector can
support by providing adequate extension training
to their extensive promotion network of distributors
and dealers so as to meet required standards.
12.120. The Twelfth Plan Working Group on
Agricultural Extension has noted that although
ATMAs exceeded targets on training, demonstrations and exposure visits, the number of farm schools
set up was well below target and that matters were
lagging also on strengthening and extending Farmer
Advisory Committees at every level. Since active
involvement of farmers in planning and executing
extension reforms was a key ATMA goal, the new
Mission must concentrate on this and on feedback,
particularly on technology and on agricultural plans
at district and lower levels. A critical aspect of this
will be ATMA–KVK coordination and more intensive ICT use.
12.121. Extension services must also be gender-sensitised, and this will require joint efforts, involving the

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana component
of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)
under MoRD, the Project Directorate for Women in
Agriculture of ICAR and National Gender Resource
Centre in Agriculture (NGRCA) of Ministry of
Agriculture (MoA). Further, since the present extension system does not pay adequate attention to livestock, fishery and fodder and separate extension
machinery for animal husbandry and fishery is not
feasible in many states, this function will need to be
integrated with ATMA with suitable KVK and NGO
backstopping. Indeed, convergence should be a basic
goal of the new Mission, both on the side of technology dissemination and feedback as well as for planning integrated agricultural development.
12.122. The ultimate objective of the Mission should
be to upgrade ATMA from a society operating as an
adjunct to line agricultural departments to an independent entity with technical capability to offer local
solutions and deliver feedback to NARS on locationspecific technology needs. The larger trends of public policy point towards decentralised governance
of natural resources and the promotion of growth
with increasing emphasis on district (and lower)
level planning. It is necessary to see decentralised
planning as an iterative planning—doing—learning—planning cycle rather than as simply a onetime activity. The challenge is to institutionalise this
process and ensure that the agency facilitating planning also has accountability in the overall outcome.
ATMAs are a natural choice for such an agency in
the present context.

SPECIFIC PLANS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE
MAJOR SUB-SECTORS
(A) Livestock
12.123. For achieving growth rate of 5–6 per cent
per annum the animal husbandry sector would need
to address important challenges during the Twelfth
Plan. These include delivery of services, shortage of feed and fodder and frequent occurrence of
deadly diseases. Compared to its contribution in
the economy livestock sector has received much less
resources and institutional support. Livestock extension remains grossly neglected. The country still lacks

adequate facilities and the infrastructure for disease
diagnosis, reporting, epidemiology, surveillance and
forecasting. Livestock markets are underdeveloped,
which is a significant barrier to commercialisation
of livestock production. Besides, the sector is also
coming under significant pressure of increasing globalisation of agri-food markets. Although there is
demand for Indian meat products in international
markets, lack of international processing standards
is a hindrance. Unfortunately, schemes on modernisation of slaughterhouses and by-product utilisation
have not been effectively implemented. In the animal
husbandry sector, the major priority areas during
Twelfth Five Year Plan will be breed improvement,
enhancing availability of feed and fodder and provision of better health services, including proper
breeding management. Conservation and perpetuation of diverse local germplasm, which are adaptable
to Indian climate conditions and resistant to various
endemic diseases, will be another important area,
with clearer focus on sub-sectors such as small ruminants that have so far been neglected.
12.124. An important Twelfth Plan initiative is
the National Dairy Plan (NDP), which has already
been launched as a central sector scheme with
credit support from the International Development
Association (IDA). To be implemented by the
National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)
through a network of End Implementing Agencies
(EIAs), mainly dairy cooperatives and producer
companies, this aims to (i) increase productivity of
milch animals and thereby increase milk production
and (ii) provide rural milk producers with greater
access to the organised milk-processing sector. These
objectives would be pursued through adoption of
focused scientific and systematic processes in provision of technical inputs, supported by appropriate
policy and regulatory measures.
12.125. An important sub-component of (i) above
will be scientific progeny testing and pedigree selection of bulls for semen required in artificial insemination (AI) services. It is planned to make available
about 900 high genetic merit bulls for replacement of
bulls maintained at all ‘A’ and ‘B’ graded semen stations and thereby achieve 100 per cent high genetic

Agriculture 37

merit bull replacement at these semen stations by
end of the Twelfth Plan. It is estimated that this
would produce some 100 million high-quality disease-free semen doses annually.
12.126. Taking NDP into account and, with RKVY
incentives for States to substantially enhance public sector investment in agriculture and allied sector
during the Eleventh Plan, the Department of Animal
Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DAHDF) has
also decided to redesign its schemes. It aims to provide more flexibility to States while reducing the
number of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and
reorientating these to secure better programmatic
focus.
12.127. On genetic improvement in bovines, the
current major programme is the ‘National Project
for Cattle and Buffalo Breeding (NPCBB)’ which
is being implemented since October 2000. Unlike
NDP, which aims to provide breeding services from
the dairy side, NPCBB is administered as part of
States’ veterinary services. DAHDF proposes to continue NPCBB in this present form since the DAHDF
target is to expand the artificial insemination programme from present coverage of about 25 per
cent of breedable population to 50 per cent, which
will require an expansion of AI services beyond the
about 35 per cent coverage planned for under NDP.
This is because NDP will not cover all States and
there are likely to be farmers not covered by dairyled breeding services even in States covered by NDP.
Moreover, States have already established Livestock
Development Boards (LDBs) in the present format
to implement bovine breeding programmes with
a stated focus on development and conservation of
important indigenous breeds. The critical requirement is that NPCBB and States’ efforts through
LDBs share common standards and protocols with
NDP in progeny testing, pedigree selection and to
improve conception rates. If so, resources are sufficient to achieve 5 per cent growth of milk production
in the Twelfth Plan
12.128. Since standards and protocols will be the key
to success on the breeding side and basic commonality will have to be brought between NDP, LDBs and

NPCBB, there is need for some architectural redesign during the Twelfth Plan. Therefore, although
NPCBB will continue, this will be as a component
of a new National Programme for Bovine Breeding
and Dairy (NPBBD) which will subsume all DADF
existing schemes on dairy development. Thus,
NPBBD will have two main components, namely
National Programme for Bovine Breeding (NPBB)
and Dairy Development. The component for Dairy
Development will mainly focus on States/areas not
covered under NDP and, in addition to existing
support areas, convergence will be attempted in a
phased manner so that dairy cooperatives which are
not part of NDP also offer breeding and extension
services. It is hoped that such combined activities in
respect of dairying with breeding will be more effective in extension of artificial insemination services,
feed management and marketing of good quality of
milk which are essential for improving productivity
and income of farmers. In the meantime, NPBB will
continue existing NPCBB functions through LDBs
and the veterinary side with two areas of focus: first,
to harmonise breeding standards and protocols; and,
second, to achieve the so far unrealised stated focus
on development and conservation of important
indigenous breeds.
12.129. The main programme on the veterinary side
will be an expanded scheme for Livestock Health
and Disease Control. Such an expansion is necessary
because occurrence of diseases like foot and mouth
disease (FMD), hemorrhagic septicemia (HS), brucellosis, mastitis, blood protozoon and so on, have
been accentuated with introduction of exotic breeds.
Taking into account the economic losses from these
diseases, and also those of small ruminants (PPR or
peste-des-petits ruminants), particularly to small,
marginal and landless farmers including women
farmers, it is necessary to have a strong focus on
national control programmes for all major animal
diseases, backed by epidemiological analysis and
assessment of the animal diseases in different agroclimatic regions. Unrestricted movement of livestock, as well import of germplasm, and changes
in ecosystems due to climate change are adding to
occurrence of diseases. The availability of improved,
potent and efficacious vaccines meeting international

Twelfth Five Year Plan

standards against major prevalent diseases can enable better management, containment and control of
the diseases. The new programme will associate all
ICAR institutes specialising in animal diseases and,
in consultation with the State Governments, formulate and implement more effective strategies for control of different diseases.
12.130. The third major programme of DADF will
be the National Livestock Mission (NLM). Apart
from bovine breeding, dairying and livestock health
schemes, DADF runs a plethora of other schemes
relating small ruminants, poultry, piggery and fodder development which although of extreme importance, especially to small, marginal, landless and
women farmers, have so far not received focused
attention. The multiplicity of small schemes in these
livestock sectors has been a major constraint since
this limits the capability of states to effectively access
funding under various schemes. In order to provide
greater flexibility to states in formulating and implementing various projects, it is proposed to merge
these schemes with the main objective of achieving
sustainable development and growth of the livestock
sector.
12.131. The NLM will have an important mini-mission of feed and fodder, with an objective to substantially reduce the gap between availability and
demand. The deficit of dry fodder (10 per cent),
concentrates (33 per cent) and green fodder (35 per
cent) continues to be high, although availability of
feed resources has improved somewhat. The forage
and fodder seed need varietal and quality improvement alongside better availability. The NLM will
encourage seed companies and SAUs to take up forage seed production on a priority basis. Developing
common property resources, including grazing land
and wasteland, and better utilisation and enrichment
of crop residues/agricultural by-products is the other
priority. Ration balancing, which is being promoted
under NDP, will also be promoted under this minimission on feed and fodder.
12.132. The NLM will also have an additional minimission relating particularly to development of
small ruminants, but also covering poultry, piggery

and other minor livestock species. While subsuming some of the existing Central Sector Schemes for
poultry, small animals and fodder development, the
objective will be fuller development of the animal
biodiversity available in our country, which is a rich
treasure of germplasm. NLM will also focus on predominantly non-descript pig populations, concentrated in NE region and eastern region there have
poor productivity. Indian poultry industry is well
equipped and organised to achieve target growth rate
of 11 per cent for commercial broilers and 7 per cent
for layers although it failed to diversify in favour of
duck, quail, turkey and emu production. Need-based
import of grandparent stock of reputed international
brands may be continued with strict enforcement of
bio-security measures. Rural poultry sector however,
needs financial, infrastructure and technological
support to raise the present 2 per cent growth rate
to 3 per cent. All these, including the conservation of
threatened breeds, will be covered by NLM in a flexible but more focused programmatic manner.
12.133. Other issues that NLM will address include
livestock insurance and extension and any innovative
initiative proposed by states for development of the
livestock sector, for example, to deal with unhygienic
slaughtering and processing. If State Governments
notify minor veterinary services accordingly, shortage of human resources of veterinary staff could also
be supplemented by recruitment of para-vets, similar
to that of ASHA, to provide minor veterinary services and supplement the livestock-extension activity in the States. In this context, it might be noted
that as public-sector spending is enhanced for development of livestock, there is need for continuous
assessment of the efficacy of AI and of animal health
programmes in terms of success rates, lactating efficiency and of potential and actual yield per animal.

(B) Fisheries
12.134. Potential of fisheries sector in providing
quality food and nutrition, creating rural livelihoods,
advancing socio-economic development in the rural
and far flung areas is widely demonstrated and globally recognised as a powerful tool for poverty reduction and fostering rural development. Annual fish
production has reached to the level of 8.30 million

Agriculture 39

tonnes during 2010–11 (P). Annual export earning
has also touched record US$2.9 billion mark contributing about 17 per cent to national agricultural
export. About 14.5 million people are engaged in
fishing, aquaculture and other allied activities of
which about 75 per cent are in inland fisheries and
the remaining in marine fisheries.
12.135. In marine fisheries, uncontrolled fishing
capacity has led to over-exploitation of the coastal
resources. The estimated potential of the offshore
waters offers opportunities which calls for upgradation of the fleet as well as skills and capacities of
the fishers and incentives to promote diversified
fishing in the offshore waters. Implementation of
Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) as a
new programme in the ensuing Plan is expected to
bring more discipline and regulate the activities so as
to maintain the growth rate in a sustainable manner.
There is a need of additional infrastructure and also
upgradation of facilities infrastructure for landing
and berthing facilities of marine fishing fleet and for
domestic marketing that have been the main reasons
for post-harvest losses.
12.136. Freshwater aquaculture, which contributed
to the ‘Blue Revolution’ in the country in late 1970s,
is now almost stagnating in terms of species diversification and yield rates due to less focus on sustainable development of inland capture fisheries in past
Plans; increasing pressure on the resources, including habitat degradation; and multiple use of inland
water bodies with least priority to fishery requirements. Average yield rates are around 1,000 kg/ha/
yr, against potential of 3–4 thousand kg/ha/yr. The
efforts to raise productivity should, however, be
accompanied by formulating guidelines and regulatory measures for the judicious use of critical inputs
keeping in view the principles of the FAO Code of
Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
12.137. Quality fish seed is the most critical input to
enhance the productivity and production of fishes.
But, there are no organised brood-stock production
and management facilities in the country. Therefore,
there is need to set up brood banks in each State with
one at the Central level. There is need to promote

commercial fish feed mills and indigenously formulated fish feeds with locally available ingredients by
supporting the private players with enhanced capital subsidy especially in the States where there are no
feed mills.
12.138. Adequate infrastructure is not available for
disease diagnosis and treatment for fish disease management. There is a strong need for capital investment as well as support for the State Governments
in capacity building and managing the disease diagnostic laboratories. There is also a need for creating
a disease surveillance and communication agency/
mechanism at National level along with its wings at
suitable regional locations to build awareness and
send alerts to the stakeholders. This agency shall
have adequate regulatory powers to ensure the disease control.
12.139. The gradual decline of Freshwater Fish
Farmer’s Development Agencies (FFDAs) and
Brackish water Farmer’s Development Agencies
(BFDAs) and their resultant poor performance
coupled with weak extension services has impacted
the overall growth of aquaculture in the country.
Rejuvenation and consolidation of the two field-level
agencies (FFDA and BFDA) into a single agency—
Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Agency or
can undertake extension of technologies, promote
networking of farmers and fishers (mainly from
reservoirs) and provide effective liaison between
the farmers and developmental and other extension
agencies such as the Krishi Vigyan Kendras and the
ATMAs as well as sourcing the public finance for
fishers.
12.140. An important initiative of Government of
India for development of fisheries sub-sector has
been to launch ‘National Fisheries Development
Board’ (NFDB) as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
in the year 2006 for implementing fishery developmental schemes in an integrated manner. The scope
of NFDB would be expanded to include management of fish diseases and creation of related infrastructure which is a gap in the present scenario.
During the Twelfth Plan, the existing CSS on inland
and marine fisheries (except welfare of fishers) will

Twelfth Five Year Plan

be merged with NFDB to facilitate expansion of fisheries through integration of a wide array of activities,
but with its main focus on inland fresh water fishery.
The schemes will be implemented under the aegis
of NFDB removing any duplication or overlap of
efforts. This clear demarcation of work, it is hoped
will enable the growth rate of the sector to rise to 6
per cent during the Twelfth Plan.
12.141. DADF would focus its efforts on policy, regulation and welfare of fishers, and will implement the
scheme relating to welfare of inland and marine fishers. The DADF will also handle the strengthening of
fisheries data base, implementation of the proposed
scheme on Monitoring, Control and Surveillance
(MCS), all fisheries policy and legal matters, coordination with the sister Ministries/Departments at the
Centre and the States to make the sector’s foundation more robust and sustainable and build stronger
linkages between research and development. Future
course of fisheries management will have to work
at two fronts—sustainable utilisation of healthy
resources and rehabilitation of threatened resources
by habitat restoration and appropriate conservation
measures. Climate change and its possible impact on
fisheries and fishers is again an additional challenge.
Thus, the future course of management will require
highest level of compliance of acts and regulations,
extensive adoption of BMP and implementation of
CCRF (Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
introduced by FAO) which would be possible only
through the cooperation and active participation of
resource user communities as partner in the development and management process.

(C) Horticulture
12.142. With increasing per capita income, Indians
are consuming more of fresh and processed horticultural products indicating growing scope of horticulture by improving crop productivity and efficiency
in the value chains. The initiatives taken in the horticulture sector during the Tenth Five Year Plan
have helped in achieving high growth in production. During the Eleventh Five Year Plan, the growth
rate of horticulture is expected to be 4.7 per annum,
slightly short of the projected 5 per cent. There has
been a marked push to the expansion in area under

horticulture crops since taking up of a number of initiatives for horticulture development through NHB,
TMNE (NE) and then NHM in 2005–06.
12.143. However, in quest for area-expansion efforts,
the states have neglected due thrust on increasing
productivity of existing orchards through technology infusion or by capital investment in fertigation,
input management, plant protection and farm mechanisation. The area expansion programmes have
also lacked the proper backward linkage with supply
of quality seed and planting material. Even where
Nursery Act exists, it has not been enforced effectively. A proper system of accreditation and rating of
nurseries, with clearly defined protocols, is the most
important priority and will have to be put in place
during the Twelfth Plan.
12.144. Adequate attention to post-harvest management and market development and processing has
yet to pick up and is the weakest aspect of diversification towards high-value products resulting in frequent and sharp fluctuations in prices of fruits and
vegetables in domestic market. As discussed earlier,
marketing sector reforms implemented by States
have so far not resulted in efficient marketing of perishables, or put in place transparent system of auction and price discovery. There are huge logistic gaps
between production clusters and marketing centres,
often at long distance, and private sector investment
in post-harvest management and in marketing infrastructure has not come forward to the desired extent.
There is also lack of proactive steps to enhance
export competitiveness for high-end export destinations. The availability of adequate regular, uninterrupted, affordable power supply for setting up
infrastructure like tissue culture labs, seed processing plants, bio control labs and post-harvest management units like cold storages, ripening chambers and
so on is a constraint which needs to be addressed at
least in and around horticulture clusters. Since horticulture operations are cost intensive and hi-tech,
horticulture growers need to be provided affordable
credit with higher ceiling and insurance against risk.
12.145. The horticulture development missions
depend on a loose set-up of Technology Support

Agriculture 41

Groups for technology inputs. This has proved inadequate. Many States do not have adequate technical trained manpower to implement programmes.
Unless State Governments fill up vacant posts and
create additional posts to provide necessary technical
input, it should be deemed that they are uninterested
and the mission wound up in those States.
12.146. During the Twelfth Five Year Plan the
National Horticulture Mission will integrate the
several existing schemes in this sector and aim at
holistic growth of horticulture sector, including
bamboo, through area-based regionally differentiated strategies, which include research, technology
promotion, extension, post-harvest management,
processing and marketing, in consonance with
comparative advantage of each State/region and its
diverse agro-climatic features. The Mission will also
facilitate marketing reforms discouraging payment
of unnecessary market levies and encouraging private investment for setting up horticulture produce
markets. While continuing existing efforts, and aiming at 5 per cent growth of horticulture production
during the Twelfth Plan, the main objective will be
to build required capacities at State level, and assess
their seriousness, so that the horticulture development related activities can be transferred fully to
States by end of the Twelfth Plan.
12.147. Another objective will be to improve horticulture statistics which continue to be weak, lacking
both a validated methodology for data collection of
horticulture crops and adequate machinery to collect such data. Generation and dissemination of
quality data can also help in averting frequent situations of gluts and shortages and exploitation of
such situations by the middlemen and speculators.
DAC needs to take up a one-time horticulture census with the objective of generating reliable base line
data. Further, as recommended by NSSO committee on improvement horticulture statistics, there is
need to set up an extensive network of Horticulture
Information Systems (HIS) with proper data units
in all relevant districts and at State and Centre level
covering all relevant aspects. To facilitate this, at least
3 per cent of Mission funds should be earmarked for
this purpose.

(D) Food Grains and Oil Seeds
12.148. Since cultivated land is limited, with potential for only marginal future increase through higher
cropping intensity or development of cultivable
wasteland, future increase in production will have
to come mainly from yield improvement. Declining
average annual growth of food grains yields from 3.2
per cent in 1980s to 1.6 per cent in 1990s and further
to only 0.6 per cent during the Tenth Plan, taking this
well below population growth, had led to widespread
concern about future food security. The issue was,
therefore, analysed fully with several alternatives
considered and the National Food Security Mission
(NFSM) was formulated for the Eleventh Plan. This
was based on an assessment of yield gap data then
available, and was focused on increasing yields in
low-yield districts using a variety of known interventions, with particular attention to availability of quality seeds. Although this has paid off, with food grains
yield growth increasing to 3.3 per cent during the
Eleventh Plan, a valid question regards continuation
of NFSM is whether yield gaps are still large?
12.149. A committee set up under Chairmanship of
Chief Minister of Haryana has recently examined the
issue and suggested continuing with the strategy to
bridge the gap between real and potential yields. The
analysis of gap between potential and achieved yields
presented to this committee suggests that there is
considerable potential of increasing yields even in
high productivity irrigated areas with the current
technology. For these areas, the strategies will need
to concentrate on propagation of balanced use of fertilisers and application of micro-nutrients, water and
soil-saving technology. In case of wheat, however,
there is need to step up research to develop varieties
resistant to temperature. The major yield gaps are
due to management practices. Other reasons for this
gap need to be ascertained through specific studies
and addressed through appropriate interventions.
12.150. In addition to enhancing productivity
of food grains in the low productivity areas, it is
equally important to stabilise the productivity gains
in these areas as well as in areas where productivity
levels are comparatively high. With these issues in
mind, the National Food Security Mission (NFSM)

Twelfth Five Year Plan

will be revamped during the Twelfth Plan. While
the Eleventh Plan approach of focused attention on
identified districts and crops in a location specific,
target-oriented manner will continue, greater attention will be put in most areas to shift from exclusive
focus on individual crops to the cropping system/
farming system approach. In particular, the Mission
will be extended to cover coarse cereals and fodder,
in addition to wheat, rice and pulses as at present.
The Mission contemplates that promotion of package of practices in compact blocks in a hand holding approach would not only help in enhancing the
production and productivity of a region but also help
in changing mindsets of farmers due to its positive
large-scale impact. This approach will ensure inclusion of all farmers in the compact block irrespective of their size of holding or social status and will
be compatible with other efforts that encourage
strengthening of institutions, including building of
farmers organisations and FPOs. The Mission will
also build upon the Eleventh Plan experience regarding conservation agriculture.
12.151. However, the main way in which NFSM
will be extended during the Twelfth Plan is through
greater emphasis on strategic-area development.
The two programmes that were started as RKVY
sub-components in the Eleventh Plan namely, the
60,000 pulses village programme and the intensive millets production programme will largely be
shifted into NFSM. On another sub-component of
RKVY—Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India
(BGREI)—a view will be taken by DAC in consultation with States regarding format of its continuation during the Twelfth Plan. Also, some additional
districts in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the
north-eastern region will be included to provide a
specific thrust on foodgrains cultivation in hill areas.
12.152. Such restructuring of RKVY and NFSM will
address the problem of bridging the existing large
gap between potential and realised rice yields in
eastern States and the challenge of increasing pulses
production. Since BGREI allows components which
are not part of NFSM, and since development of the
eastern region requires significant investments in
power and marketing infrastructure, the final design

of how to proceed on the relative contributions of
RKVY and NFSM will need to be decided in consultation with the States. Also, since a counterpart
of expanding rice production in eastern States is to
reduce rice area and resulting groundwater stress
in the North-West, a decision will have to be taken
on what components of the latter effort should be
stressed in NFSM/RKVY.
12.153. Preliminary targets under the NFSM for the
Twelfth Plan are enhancing production by additional 25 million tonnes of foodgrains consisting of
10 million tonnes of rice, 10 million tonnes of wheat,
3 million tonnes of pulses and 2 million tonnes of
millet. Also it aims to expand fodder production to
meet the demand both of green and dry fodder. In
all probability, the requirement of sufficient quantity
of dual purpose feed and fodder will require raising this target to 30 million tonnes, with additional
production of coarse cereals put at 7 million tonnes.
All these targets are less than was actually achieved
during the Eleventh Plan and are consistent with
demand forecasts. This would amount to targeting
2–2.5 per cent increase in foodgrains production in
the Twelfth Plan.
12.154. Another consequence of the expanded scope
of NFSM will be to absorb the pulses and maize
components presently in the Integrated Scheme for
Oilseeds, Oil palm, Pulses and Maize Development.
During Twelfth Five Year Plan, it is proposed to
replace this scheme with a new Mission on Oilseeds
and Oil Palm which will be launched with a preliminary target to increase the production of oilseeds by
at least 4.5 per cent per annum, that is, the same rate
of growth as actually achieved during the Eleventh
Plan. The core of this Mission will therefore be to
continue past efforts with a clearer focus on oilseeds. However, since production of oilseeds has not
been able to match the increasing demand of edible
oils, resulting in persistence of a huge gap between
demand and production of edible oils in the country,
the Mission will also aim to expand area under oil
palm to realise the latent potential of the oil palm in
the country. This part of the Mission will fully consider a proposal made recently by CACP and incorporate whatever is feasible.

Agriculture 43

NATURAL RESOURCES
(A) Water
12.155. The water resource potential of India is
assessed as 186.9 million hectare meter, mostly from
rainfall. With annual availability still more than
utilisation and with its uneven spatial and temporal distribution leading to floods/droughts in some
or other parts of the country every year, there is a
strong demand to fully utilise this potential as soon
as possible. The total States proposals on investment
in Irrigation and Flood Control for the Twelfth plan
add up to about `4,00,000 crore, which alone would
amount to over the 4 per cent of cumulative GDP
from agriculture and allied sectors being targeted
as total public investment in this sector during the
plan. Recognising both the criticality of irrigation for
agricultural growth and the potential available, the
Centre’s Twelfth plan gross budgetary support for
development of water resources (including on AIBP)
is being stepped up to `1,09,552 crore from the
Eleventh plan actual expenditure of `41,427 crore.

Science Information Networks have projected that
around 30 per cent area of India falls in the extreme
water scarce zone having less than 500 m3/person/
year supply of renewable fresh water. The information from the Central Ground Water Board reveals
that situation has worsened in most of the states
since 2004. The groundwater level has been declining annually by about 4 cm during the past decade,
often resulting in drying of rivers and wetlands
and contamination with arsenic, fluoride and other
toxic substances. This requires effective regulatory
framework and participatory watershed development, especially because groundwater extraction is
often highly unfavourable to the small farmers who
cannot keep investing to tap deeper aquifers. Apart
from developing appropriate regulatory framework,
and people’s participation, the need of water saving
devices and crop planning cannot be overemphasised. Micro-irrigation coverage will be given priority both in irrigated and rain-fed areas, as part of
comprehensive local planning.

(B) Watershed Development
12.156. However, the performance in respect of
creation and utilisation of irrigation facilities during
the Eleventh Five Year Plan was not satisfactory. The
original Eleventh Five Year Plan target for creating
irrigation potential was 16 million ha. This was subsequently revised to 9.5 million ha, which has been
achieved. However, utilisation out of the created
potential is expected to be only 2.7 million ha. The
ever increasing gap between created potential and
its utilisation is an issue that is a Twelfth Plan priority, steps to address which are discussed in another
chapter.

12.158. Watershed development has long been one
of the major channels directing public investment
to natural resource base and production systems
in rain-fed agriculture. From their earlier emphasis on soil and water conservation, the focus in case
of watershed projects is shifting towards livelihood
security and income generation. It is also now generally accepted that to be effective, the watershed
development and soil conservation investments have
to be complemented with farming systems investments in a watershed-plus framework that takes into
account the diversity of rain-fed agriculture.

12.157. In recent decades irrigation facilities have
increasingly been created through exploitation of
groundwater deployment. However, non-judicious
exploitation of groundwater for irrigation purposes
in India is already showing signs of crisis in many
parts of country. Studies report that more than
26 cubic miles of groundwater has already disappeared from underground aquifers in large areas of
Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi, between 2002
and 2008 (NASA 2009). Global Runoff Data Centre,
University of Hampshire and International Earth

12.159. However, despite considerable emphasis on
this in the Eleventh Plan design and development of
common guidelines, actual performance in regard
to watershed development was poor during the
Eleventh Plan. The details of the Eleventh Plan had
target and achievement may be seen in the Chapter
on Water. Since all watershed development programmes have been transferred to the Department of
Land Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture has to
redefine its initiatives for rain-fed farming and sustainable agriculture.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

12.160. The National Rainfed Area Authority was
constituted with the specific objective of integrating schemes/programmes and activities of
various Departments of the Centre and the State
Governments with regard to dryland farming as
well as providing technical back stopping for watershed development in a comprehensive manner.
The authority was expected to play a major role in
training of the officials associated with the watershed development projects and also take a lead role
in social mobilisation which is critical in the success of the watershed development programmes. It
was also expected to take up studies for evaluation
of the implementation of projects by the States. So
far Departments both at the Central and State level
has not taken much interest in associating NRAA
either in evaluation of the programmes or for providing technical input for these. NRAA expertise will
be better utilised during the Twelfth Plan.

(C) Land and Soil Health Management
12.161. Land is the prime natural resource of which
140.02 million hectares are net sown area. Since
1990–91 there is gradual but sustained decrease in
net sown area from 143 million hectare to 140 million hectares with corresponding increase in fallow
land. The demand from non-agricultural uses like
industrial and urban requirement as well as speculative demand on account of rising land value is putting pressure on availability of land for agricultural
use. There is an urgent need for State Governments
to lay out clear policies to protect productive agricultural land and provide specific guidelines on preservation of commons and their protection. There
are also other important institutional and policy
issues concerning land: proper recording of land
titles, easing tenancy rigidities, computerisation of
land records as well as addressing declining size of
holdings.
12.162. An important aspect of land is its degradation in terms of mechanical, chemical and biological. Widespread and continuing erosion of country’s
natural resource base is threatening the sustenance
of agriculture sector’s growth rate. Over 120 million ha have been declared degraded or problem
soils (NAAS 2010). Conservation agriculture (CA),

integrated nutrient management, carbon sequestration, erosion control, saline and alkaline soils management, legislation for soil protection, development
of remote sensing and GPS-based Decision Support
System (DSS) and amelioration of polluted soil are
required to rejuvenate deteriorated soils.

(D) Use of Fertilisers and Pesticides
12.163. Fertiliser consumption in the country has
been increasing over the years and now India is the
second largest consumer of fertilisers in the world,
after China, consuming about 26.5 million tonnes
of NPK. However, imbalanced nutrient use coupled
with neglect of organic matter has resulted in multinutrient deficiencies in Indian soils. These deficiencies are becoming more critical for sulphur, zinc
and boron. As nutrient additions do not keep pace
with nutrient removal by crops, the fertility status of
Indian soils has been declining rapidly under intensive agriculture and is now showing signs of fatigue,
especially in the Indo-Gangetic plain. Potassium is
the most mined nutrient. Sulphur deficiencies are
also showing up in all parts of the country especially
in the southern region. In a comprehensive study
carried out by ICAR through their Coordinated
Research Project on Micronutrients, Toxic and
Heavy metals, based on an analysis of 2,51,547 soil
samples from different states, it was found that 48
per cent of these samples were deficient in zinc, 33
per cent in boron, 13 per cent in molybdenum, 12
per cent in iron, 5 per cent in manganese and 3 per
cent in copper. The micronutrient deficiency is a
limiting factor lowering fertiliser response and crop
productivity. As a result of over-emphasis on chemical fertilisers and imbalanced fertiliser use, efficiencies have become abysmally low: hardly 35 per cent
for N, 15–20 per cent for P and only 3–5 per cent for
micronutrients like zinc, resulting not only in high
cost of production but also causing serious environmental hazards. At this rate, the National Academy
of Agricultural Sciences has estimated that for meeting the food needs of the country by 2025, India
may have to increase NPK supply to over 45 million
tonnes from the current level of 26.5 million tonnes
and of organic manures from 4 to 6 million tonnes.
The Twelfth Plan envisages NPK demand at 34–36
million tonnes by 2016–17, but the more important

Agriculture 45

priority should be to give much greater emphasis than hitherto on fertiliser use efficiency and soil
health.
12.164. Restoration of soil health requires initiatives
for continuous monitoring of soil health, measures to
arrest decline of soil health, creating adequate facilities for soil testing, fertilisers testing, developing and
upgrading testing protocols, ensuring judicious and
efficient use of fertilisers and pesticides. Judicious
use of fertiliser requires adequate soil testing facilities. By 2010–11 there were 1,049 soil tests labs in the
country with a soil analysis capacity of 106 lakh soil
samples per annum. The State Governments have
issued 40.8 million soil health cards to the farmers
by October 2011. Although a massive achievement in
fairly short time, this remains far below the requirement of soil testing capacity. To augment the capacity the State Governments need to utilise resources
from Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and also engage
State Agricultural Universities, Agricultural Produce
Marketing Committee and other institutions.
There is need for widespread awareness creation
for soil-test–based fertiliser use by involving State
Agricultural Universities and KVKs and NGO and
other stakeholders.
12.165. Measures to soil health improvement need
to be comprehensively centred on addition of soil
organic matter in substantial quantities over time.
The efforts for production and use of available biological sources of nutrients like bio-fertilisers, organic
manure, bio-compost for sustained soil health and
fertility and improving soil organic carbon and so on
as alternative inputs have been inadequate so far. For
promotion of these inputs in conjunctive use with
chemical fertlisers, and to promote organic farming we need to formulate and define standards for
unregulated organic and biological inputs and bring
them under quality control mechanism and define/
upgrade standards and testing protocols.
12.166. Similarly, use and availability of safe and
efficacious pesticides and their judicious use by
the farming community is critical to a sustained
increase in agricultural production and productivity. Quality of pesticides is monitored by the Central

and State insecticide inspectors who draw samples
of insecticides from the market for analysis in the
68 State Pesticide Testing Laboratories (SPTLs)
that have a total annual capacity of 68,110 samples
in 23 States and one Union Territory. However,
sale of low quality/spurious pesticides by dealers is
widespread and is an issue that States need to handle with seriousness. Further, since use of synthetic
pesticides needs to be confined to target control in
the right quantity and at the right time, presence of
pesticides residue in food commodities is becoming a serious food safety matter. DAC implements
a scheme for monitoring pesticide residues and
sharing outcomes of the sample analysis with State
Governments as well as advising States to take necessary action including promotion of the Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) approach, which emphasises a safe and judicious use of pesticides. Many
NGOs, however, represent that sporadic promotion
of IPM is not helping in establishment of sustainable agriculture practices and that Non-Pesticidal
Management (NPM) of pests is the only sustainable
answer.

NATIONAL MISSION FOR SUSTAINABLE
AGRICULTURE
12.167. A major new mission that will be launched
during the Twelfth Plan is the National Mission for
Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). Conceived originally as part of the National Action Plan on Climate
Change (NAPCC), this aims at transforming Indian
Agriculture into a climate-resilient production system through adoption and mitigation of appropriate measures in the domains of both crops and
animal husbandry. Since a number activities relating to sustainable agriculture are already parts of
other proposed missions, NMSA as programmatic
intervention, will primarily focus on synergising
resource conservation, improved farm practices
and integrated farming for enhancing agricultural productivity especially in rain-fed areas. Key
deliverables under this mission will be developing rain-fed agriculture, natural resource management, enhancing water and nutrient use efficiency,
improving soil health and promoting conservation
agriculture.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

12.168. Nonetheless, since sustaining agricultural
productivity through climate and other challenges
to the natural resources base is the focus of this mission, it will have to go beyond its programmatic
interventions to bring mind-set changes required in
transiting from the past focus on irrigated, chemical intensive agriculture. The recent ICAR network
project on National Initiative on Climate Resilient
Agriculture (NICRA) provides some insights on
requirements of adaptation. NMSA can collaborate
with ICAR on specific matters regarding adaptation to climate change. The key to this is a paradigm
shift that moves towards a knowledge-based, farmer
centric and institutionally supported system where
the Government is prime mover and facilitator to
demonstrate at scale the overall strength and impact
of rain-fed agriculture packages that have slowly
emerged through several years of grass-roots work
by Government and civil society organisations and
have shown the strength of combining water and
other interventions at a micro-level. The starting
point of NMSA must be an accurate assessment of
the natural resource, comprising water, land, climate
and biodiversity, which determine the opportunities
for livelihoods of the people.

(E) Design of NMSA
12.169. While the decision to launch the National
Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is quite
historical, there are design issues both in view of the
fact that the Ministry of Agriculture no longer has
a watershed development component in its programmes and because there are strong differences
on the matter of fertiliser and pesticides use. While
the current National Mission on Micro-Irrigation,
the National Project on Management of Soil Health
and Fertility and the Rainfed Areas Development
Programme (RADP) window in RKVY can be
merged with NMSA, none of these address fully
the issues that have been raised by the Twelfth Plan
Working Group on Natural Resources Management
and Rainfed Farming. Its main recommendation is
to observe the following:
1. Focus on stabilising and securing diverse cropping by bringing a focus on ‘Rainfall Use
Efficiency’ as central to policy as against mere

use efficiency of applied water. This shift calls for
two major focal areas:
a. Promote measures for in-situ conservation
and efficient use of rainwater
b. Invest in shared and protective/supportive
irrigation
2. Harness the inclusive growth potential in the
so far untapped Agronomic and Management
Innovations that are aligned to enhancing sustainability of natural resources, reducing costs,
increasing efficiency of resource use and improving total factor productivity. System of Rice
Intensification and non-pesticidal management
(NPM) of pests as mentioned in the Approach
Paper and options evolving in conservation agriculture are some examples.
3. Strengthen the extensive livestock systems
depending wholly or partly on commons and
agriculture residues through intensive efforts
in improving health care, feed, fodder, drinking water, shelter, institutions and so on. The
domain of public policy and intervention must
shift to these from the present almost exclusive
focus on high yielding breeds.
4. Invest in decentralised and local institutional
capacities that enable a shift away from onetime Planning to ‘iterative Planning—implementation—learning cycles’ anchored by local
institutions.
5. Enhance institutional capacities in local governance and resource management, particularly
related to Commons and strengthen Panchayat
Raj, cooperatives and other stakeholder institutions. Such institutional base is a prerequisite
for evolving location and agro-ecology specific
mechanisms of programme designing, credit
access, filling in infrastructure gaps, marketing
and so on.
12.170. The specific recommendations of this working group, including the setting up of a National
programme on rain-fed farming, could be another
component of NMSA, financed by resources currently expended under the scheme of Macromanagement in agriculture which housed the

Agriculture 47

watershed development schemes of DAC and will
now have to be wound up. This component could
mainstream the learning that has emerged from the
International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge,
Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
along with ICAR’s National Initiative on Climate
Resilient Agriculture (NICRA).

programmes for development of agriculture and
allied sectors. The Ministry is likely to realise 88 per
cent of the outlay at current prices. A noticeable feature is that RKVY, which was initiated in 2007–08,
accounted for 38 per cent of MoA’s total plan expenditure in 2011–12(RE).
12.173. DAC with utilisation of around 94 per cent
of projected outlay for Eleventh Plan at current
prices has shown a better performance. The NHM
fell short of targets mainly on account of below par
performance in grounding the Terminal Market
Complexes. The NFSM and horticultural programmes except NHM have achieved the envisaged
financial targets and expenditure on agricultural
insurance exceeded the Eleventh Plan projection
because of demands arising from the drought of
2009. DAHDF incurred major shortfall in the Plan
expenditure. One of the reasons for this was the
attempt to introduce a large number of schemes
with small outlays during Eleventh Plan which faced
problems in their conceptualisation, formulation
and approval at various stages. Inadequate staff in
the State implementing Departments and resulting
limitations on absorption capacity of the States to
implement the programmes has also been responsible for the shortfall. Both DAC and DAHDF also
transferred increasing amounts through State/
District level autonomous bodies, which will need to
be avoided in future since this limits the capacity of
States to plan comprehensively for agriculture development. Plan realisation is expected to be around 77
per cent in the case of DARE.

PLAN FINANCING
Expenditure on Agriculture and Allied Sectors
12.171. During the Eleventh Five Year Plan, a combined Plan outlay of `1,36,381 crore (at 2006–07
prices) by the Centre, States and UTs was envisaged
for the agriculture and allied sectors. The realisation is estimated to be `1,30,076 crore at 2006–07
prices, that is, 95 per cent of projected Plan. The
priority to agriculture and allied sectors in allocation of resources in the combined Plan of Centre,
States and UTs has been around 5.6 per cent in the
Eleventh Plan, an improvement over 3.6 per cent
during the Tenth Plan. At present about 50 per
cent of the agriculture and allied sectors plan in the
country is being financed by the Centre, including expenditure on Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
(RKVY).

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF THE MINISTRY
OF AGRICULTURE
12.172. Table 12.11 gives the outlay and expenditures of the MoA and its three departments, DAC,
DAHDF) and Department of Agricultural Research
and Education (DARE), which implement plans and

TABLE 12.11
Outlays and Expenditure of MoA and Its Three Departments (DAC, DAHDF and DARE)
DAC
Eleventh Plan proposed (Current Prices)

DAHDF

DARE

RKVY

WDPSCA

Total

41,337

8,174

12,588

25,000

240

87,339

2007–08 Actual

5,769

782

1,280

1,247

9,118

2008–09 Actual

6,545

865

1,630

2,887

11,966

2009–10 Actual

6,827

871

1,707

3,761

13,206

2010–11 Actual

10,208

1,096

2,522

6,720

20,585

2011–12(RE)
Total Eleventh Plan Actual
% utilisation during Eleventh Plan

8,654

1,357

2,850

7,811

20,722

38,003

4,970

9,989

22,426

209

75,597

Twelfth Five Year Plan

RASHTRIYA KRISHI VIKAS YOJANA
12.174. The National Development Council (NDC),
in its meeting held on 29 May 2007 resolved to initiate a special Additional Central Assistance Scheme
viz. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). The purpose behind this programme was to encourage States
to draw up District and State agricultural plans and
also increase their own spending on the sector so as
to reorient agricultural development strategies for
rejuvenating Indian agriculture during the Eleventh
Plan (2007–12). RKVY is preferred by States for its
inbuilt flexibility in selecting interventions and setting State specific targets.
12.175. One objective of RKVY during the Eleventh
Five Year Plan was incentivising States to increase
expenditure on agriculture and allied sectors. State
plan expenditures (excluding RKVY receipts) as percentage of GDP in agricultural and allied increased
from 1.0 per cent in the Tenth Plan to 1.4 per cent
in the Eleventh Plan. State plan expenditures on agriculture and allied sectors (excluding RKVY) have
also increased as percentage total plan spending by
States, from about 5 per cent during the Tenth Plan
to over 6 per cent during the Eleventh Plan. RKVY
was therefore successful in motivating States to pay
greater attention to agriculture, besides providing
increased Central assistance for the sector.
12.176. RKVY as assistance was particularly useful for the funds-starved animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries sectors. Projects amounting to over
`5,000 crore were sanctioned under RKVY for these
sectors during the Eleventh Plan, about 20 per cent of
the total sanctioned RKVY projects, and more than
spending on DAHDF’s schemes. This has provided a
substantial push to these sectors which account for a
significant contribution to the agricultural GDP.
12.177. However, preparation of Comprehensive
District Agriculture Plans (C-DAPs) has been a weak
area in many states, partly due to lack of capacity at
District/State level. Although there are reservations
regarding quality and effective capability of district
level planning and project design, this was an original NDC intention and must be fully implemented
during the Twelfth Plan. At least 25 per cent of projects sanctioned by SLSCs should originate from

the district level, preferably approved by District
Planning Committees. For the purpose, suitable
units will have to be formed involving ATMA/KVK/
SAU and any other technical support unit that States
may specify. As mentioned earlier, it is necessary to
see decentralised planning as an iterative planning—
doing—learning—planning cycle rather than simply
a one-time activity. The challenge is to institutionalise this process and ensure that the agency facilitating planning is also accountable for the outcome.
12.178. Further, while there is very strong anecdotal evidence of the early success of RKVY, a detailed
impact assessment of the scheme is needed for further experience and learning. Moreover, two modifications are desirable in the present practice. First,
there should be a proper committee to examine and
vet all projects proposed to the SLSC. Second, that at
least this vetting committee or even the SLSC work
closely with, and preferably be coterminous with,
State level bodies that select MoRD projects, particularly for watershed development. This would permit
better convergence and better project selection.
12.179. Many States have requested changes in the
allocation criteria of RKVY and some have objected
to opening of new windows within the RKVY. A
decision has been taken that no more than 20 per
cent of RKVY funding will be in such windows of
national importance. A decision has also been taken
that at least 40 per cent of RKVY spending should
be on hard infrastructure spending. A meeting of all
States will be held to discuss proposals for changes in
allocation criteria.
12.180. Finally, future RKVY design needs to be
seen in the context of many pending key reforms.
Despite efforts by the Central Government, progress
in agricultural marketing, extension and cooperative
reforms continue to be sluggish. Delivery of services
has not been efficient due to lack of staff at various
levels. State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) need
greater funding support from the State Governments.
Inadequacy of agricultural infrastructure hampers
achievement of growth potential of the agriculture
sector. During the Twelfth Plan RKVY will need
to be reoriented to facilitate such market reforms,
higher expenditure on SAUs and for infrastructure

Agriculture 49

development, besides emphasising effective formulation and implementation of District Agriculture
Plans. These could be incorporated by changing the
current eligibility conditions and allocation formula
for RKVY. The proposed meeting of all States as
mentioned above will need to be held before these
changes in RKVY are proposed to Cabinet.

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS
12.181. Statistics are the hard input into planning.
There are numerous gaps in agricultural statistics
hampering the agricultural development planning
some of which include reliable and timely availability of forecasts of agricultural crops especially
foodgrains, reliable statistics for small areas like
blocks and Panchayats, estimates of agricultural
production losses due to pests, diseases, floods and
drought, good estimates of production of minor
crops including spices, condiments, medicinal
plants, floriculture and so on, estimates of requirement of foodgrains for seed, feed and industrial use,
harvest and post-harvest losses in agricultural production and estimates of meat production. Further,
the available estimates generated through sample
surveys suffer from organisational and operational
problems bringing in inconsistency in these surveys.
12.182. The Vaidyanathan Committee has recommended setting up a National Centre for Crop
Statistics, independent of the present system, for providing reliable quick estimates at the National and
State level. This should have high priority since not
only are there strong doubts about quality of present
data among experts, the large increase in number
of crop-cutting experiments for insurance purposes
may further vitiate the system. An independent
source of high-quality data is vital for improving the
quality of agricultural statistics in India.
12.183. The existing database relating to horticulture sector needs to be strengthened as mentioned
earlier in the horticulture section. Cost of production data for animal husbandry products also needs
improvement. Development of appropriate methodology for estimation of feed consumed by livestock will help in updating ratios currently used
by the National Accounts Division. Similarly, the

existing methodology for generation of fishery statistics needs fine tuning.
12.184. For ascertaining the reliability of land use
statistics in the context of diversion of agriculture
land to other uses for residential, industrial, urbanisation, roads and so on, there is a need for conducting a study for checking the land records through
khasra registers/other records of those villages where
the area have come under diversion of agriculture
land to non-agriculture uses particularly in the vicinity of the metropolitan cities.
12.185. Pilot studies need to be undertaken for perfecting remote sensing techniques and GIS/GPS tools
to develop reliable estimates of area under agro-forestry area under crop production, land-use planning,
land development and precision farming and so on.
12.186. All in all, the Twelfth Plan objective is to
continue with the decentralisation thrust of RKVY,
while reducing number of Centrally Sponsored
Schemes. As discussed in relevant sections above,
this vision on decentralisation could extend to fertiliser and food subsidies also. While doing this, the
main Twelfth plan foci are:
• Bringing scale through development of Farmer
Producer Organisations
• Emphasising technology, both on the research
and development sides
• Stressing standards and protocols and standard
operating procedures in every scheme
• Improving statistics and evaluation
• Initiating a shift towards sustainable and climateresilient agriculture, not only through NMSA but
more generally by laying emphasis on rain-fed
areas and bringing about shifts of water-intensive
rice cultivation from water-stressed North-West
India to Eastern India.
• Preparing for faster growth through a more
diversified agriculture, with investment in the
necessary modern infrastructure required for perishable products.
12.187. As shown in Table 12.13, States have indicated that they will more than double their plan

Twelfth Five Year Plan

expenditure on agriculture and allied sectors from
`1,11,824 crore during the Eleventh plan to `2,26,500
crore during the Twelfth Plan. The Centre shall also
more than double its plan expenditure. The allocation for RKVY is being raised to `63,246 crore for
the Twelfth Plan from actual expenditure of `22,426

during the Eleventh Plan. The indicative Twelfth
Plan Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for all other
schemes of the MoA is `1,11,232 crore. This is against
corresponding the Eleventh Plan actual expenditure
of `53,171 crore. Refer to Table 12.12 for department-wise break-up, excluding RKVY:

TABLE 12.12
Gross Budgetary Support (Department-wise)
Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) (` Crore)

Department
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC)

71,500

Department of Agriculture and Research Education (DARE)

25,553

Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DAHDF)

14,179

TABLE 12.13
Comparison of States Outlay and Expenditure for Eleventh and Twelfth Plan
(` in crore at current prices)
Name of Sate

Eleventh Plan Outlay
Agriculture
and Allied
Sector

Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu & Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Orissa
Nagaland
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total States

3,487.44
752
877.86
3,672.73
4,613
211.76
9,092.94
1,638.82
1,470.08
1,818.21
3,130.53
8,426.85
2,649.11
3,408.18
9,507.64
386.55
735.52
536.31
1,230.29
434.31
1,309.13
2,919.07
260.43
7,831.57
798.51
19,146.37
2,478.5
1,846.50
94,670.21

% of Total
Plan
2.4
9.5
2.1
4.8
8.6
2.5
0.7
4.7
10.7
7.0
7.8
8.3
7.8
4.8
5.9
4.7
8.0
9.6
3.8
8.3
4.5
4.1
6.9
9.2
9.0
10.6
8.4
2.9
3.6

Eleventh Plan Expenditure
Agriculture
and Allied
Sector

% of Total
Plan

9,510.46
617.71
2,335.56
4,805.33
5,637
325.39
8,879.8
2,733.02
1,642.82
892.98
2,319.85
10,484.4
2,931.54
6,057.09
10,636.4
234.04
845.2
387.86
3,580.37
725.08
1,410.77
5,990.67
228.27
8,170.01
858.79
14,164.8
2,079.25
3,339.26
1,11,824

6.0
5.7
7.8
6.3
12.7
3.6
6.9
5.7
12.1
3.5
5.9
7.7
7.6
7.3
7.3
3.2
9.8
7.1
8.2
11.3
4.0
6.2
6.4
8.8
11.3
7.8
10.0
5.1
7.2

Twelfth Plan Outlay
Agriculture
and Allied
Sector
17,138
1,114
3,272
15,613
8,284
1,046
19,712
6,288
2,174
2,843
4,157
19,824
8,831
17,076
19,325
643
2,114
346
8,387
1,795
1,524
7,255
469
20,680
980
24,354
2,673
8,583
2,26,500

% of Total
Plan
5.0
5.3
5.9
6.0
6.9
3.9
7.8
5.4
9.7
9.7
3.8
8.9
11.5
8.5
7.03
3.1
10.7
2.8
7.4
13.8
2.9
5.6
4.1
10.0
6.8
8.5
5.9
5.5
7.1

Increase in
Twelfth Plan
over Eleventh
Plan Expdr. (%)
80
80
40
225
47
221
122
130
32
218
79
89
201
182
82
175
150
134
148
8
21
106
153
14
72
29
157
103

13
Industry
13.1. India has become one of the fastest growing
economies in the world over the last two decades,
undoubtedly aided in this performance by economic reforms. The striking aspect of India’s recent
growth has been the dynamism of the service sector,
while, in contrast, manufacturing has been much less
robust, contrary to the experience in other emerging
market countries, where manufacturing has grown
much faster than GDP; this has not happened in
India. Consequently, manufacturing sector’s contribution to the GDP has stagnated at 16 per cent, raising questions about India’s development strategy,
especially its implications for generating adequate
employment. Additionally, employment in manufacturing declined in absolute terms from 55mn to
50mn between 2004 and 2005 and 2009–10, after
having grown by 25 per cent between 1999 and 2000
(44mn) to 2004–05 (55mn).
13.2. The Eleventh Plan period was marked by unfavourable global economic conditions brought on
by the financial sector crisis of 2007–09 followed by
the risks of sovereign debt crisis mid-2011 onwards.
While this led to slackening demand, exchange-rate
volatility and economic uncertainty, domestic difficulties such as poor implementation and delayed
reforms also slowed the growth of the Indian manufacturing sector. The year 2009–10 witnessed a
fleeting return of manufacturing buoyancy largely
on account of a few sectors such as the automotive
sector along with a revival in cotton textiles, leather
and food products. This brief spurt, however, has
now moderated. The net result is that the share
of the manufacturing sector in the country’s GDP

continued to be stagnant, a trend now observed for
nearly three decades and remained relatively lower
than other emerging and developed economies (refer
to Figure 13.1).
13.3. Further, India was not able to fully leverage the
opportunities provided by the dynamics of globalisation that resulted in a dramatic shift of manufacturing to developing countries over the last decade. The
increasing gap in both, the sectoral share of manufacturing and the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector in India, compared with countries, such
as China, is testimony of that (Figure 13.2).
13.4. This shift of manufacturing capacities from
developed nations to rapidly developing economies
(RDEs) is likely to continue. It is estimated that by
2025 RDE production will account for over 55 per
cent of global production compared to 36 per cent
presently. Hence, India’s ability to capitalise on this
by capturing a disproportionate share of such a shift
in global economic setting through an accelerated
growth rate will be imperative.

PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF THE
MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Growth Rate
13.5. The manufacturing sector averaged a growth
of 7.7 per cent (till 2009–10) during the Eleventh
Plan (refer to Table 13.1). Growth peaked at 14.3 per
cent in 2007–08 and then started decelerating. The
decline in manufacturing growth was primarily
responsible for the slowdown in GDP in 2011–12.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Manufacturing needs to grow at higher than GDP growth to capture better share of GDP
Manufacturing GDP Growth for most
Countries higher than GDP Growth

Share of manufacturing GDP in India is low at
~15% when compared to other economies

Growth rate for ‘99–’09
China
India
Poland
Malaysia
Russia
Thailand
Egypt
Hungary
South Korea
Turkey
Brazil
Argentina
Germany
Japan

Share of mfg. GDP
10.3% 9.9%
7.0%
3.9%
4.8%
5.3%
4.0%
4.9%
2.5%
4.9%
3.6%
3.3%
3.3%

Thailand
36%
31%
South Korea
30%
China
26%
Malaysia
23%
Hungary
21%
Germany
21%
Argentina
19%
Japan
18%
Poland
18%
Turkey
16%
Russia
16%
Brazil
16%
(0.8)%
Egypt
15%
(1.3)%
India
12%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

6.8%
6.7%
6.7%
6.6%
6.6%
5.4%
5.0%
4.4%
3.9%
2.7%
2.2%
0.8%
0.6%

3%
x%

GDP growth rate for 1999–2009

Source: Economic intelligence Unit, Data Monitor, Euro-monitor, World Bank Work Development Indicators, BCG analysis.
FIGURE 13.1: Contribution of Manufacturing to GDP Very Low in India
Manufacturing Gross Value Added ($bn)
1,923

2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0

1,856
1,084

Global
Rank

1990
2000
2010

8
3
1

ain

170

sia

176

179

M
ex
ico

ss
ia

209

226

e
an
c

a
re

231

268

279

az
il

282

Ita

an
y

n
Ja
pa
2
2
3

308

SA
1
1
2

614

3
3
4

4
6
5

12
12
6

13
8
7

7
7
8

6
5
9

16
13
10

9
16
11

14
9
12

25
20
13

10
11
14

Manufacturing Output as % of World Total
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%

18.9%

18.2%

10.7%
6.0%

2.3%
UK

USA

China
1970

Japan
1980

1990

Germany
2000

3.0%
Italy
2010

Source: UN National Accounts Main Aggregates Database.
FIGURE 13.2: India and Global Manufacturing States

2.6%
France

2.2%
India

Industry 53

Initial deceleration in industrial growth was largely
on account of the global economic meltdown. Fragile
economic recovery in US and European countries,
and subdued business sentiments affected the growth
of the manufacturing sector. Rising interest rates and
appreciation of the rupee during the Eleventh Plan
period also contributed to this slow down. It is significant to note though, that volatility of manufacturing growth has become more pronounced over
the last five years. An important implication of this
is the need for greater flexibility both in policy and
non-policy factors which have a bearing on the manufacturing sector.

Investment
13.6. Investment and capacity additions are critical for
sustained industrial growth. National accounts data
clearly indicate a moderation in the growth of gross
capital formation (GCF) in industry (Table 13.2).
The rate of growth of GCF in four broad sectors of

industry comprising mining, manufacturing, electricity and construction averaged 10.9 per cent during 2004–11, almost the same as the rate of growth
of GCF in the economy as a whole. For manufacturing to grow faster than other sectors in the economy,
rate of GCF in manufacturing will have to be higher.

Employment
13.7. Employment in manufacturing increased from
44 million to nearly 56 million between 2000–01 and
2004–05. However, employment in manufacturing
reduced by 5 million between 2004–05 and 2009–10
(Table 13.3). The net increase in employment over
the decade 2000–01 to 2009–10 was around 6 million, that is, a 13 per cent increase over 10 years.
Manufacturing in India contributes to only ~11 per
cent of total employment. This compares unfavourably to other emerging economies where the share
of employment in manufacturing range from 15 per
cent to 30 per cent.

TABLE 13.1
Rate of Growth of GDP at Factor Cost at 2004–05 Prices (Per cent)
2007–08

2008–09

2009–10PE

2010–11 QE

2011–12 AE

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

5.8

0.1

2.5

Industry

9.7

4.4

8.4

7.2

3.9

Mining and Quarrying
Manufacturing

3.7

2.1

6.3

10.3

4.3

9.7

7.6

3.9

8.3

4.6

6.3

8.3

Electricity, Gas and Water Supply
Construction

10.8

Services

5.3

10.3

GDP at Factor Cost

9.3

–2.2

4.8

10.5

9.3

9.4

8.4

6.9

6.7

Source: CSO.
TABLE 13.2
GCF in Industry
(` Crore at 2004–05 Prices)

Mining
Manufacturing

2004–05

2005–06

2006–07

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

CAGR
(Eleventh Plan*)

37,322

52,259

60,456

68,372

57,045

65,984

70,389

3.9%

3,44,517

4,04,928

4,74,405

6,11,928

4,20,506

5,98,445

6,40,982

7.8%

Construction

54,445

57,531

95,799

1,15,157

88,523

86,290

98,426

0.68%

Total Industry

4,89,584

5,79,391

7,07,029

8,81,464

6,65,067

8,52,999

9,13,051

6.6%

Share of GCF in Industry as
% to Total GCF

48.4

51.8

54.9

42.5

Source: Economic Survey 2011–12; *CAGR has been calculated for a period of four years.

49.6

48.3

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 13.3
Employment by Sector
(in Millions)
Sectors
Agriculture

1999–2000

2004–05

2009–10

237.67

258.93

244.85

Manufacturing

44.05

55.77

50.74

Mining

2.17

2.64

2.95

Electricity, Gas
and Water Supply

1.13

1.3

1.25

17.54

26.02

44.04

94.2

112.81

116.34

396.76

457.46

460.22

Construction
Services
Total

Source: Planning Commission.

13.8. One hundred and eighty-three million additional income seekers are expected to join the workforce over the next 15 years. Agriculture cannot be
expected to provide more jobs. Manufacturing must
provide a large portion of the additional employment
opportunities required for India’s increasing number of job seekers. Unless manufacturing becomes
an engine of growth, providing at least 70 million
additional jobs, it will be difficult for India’s growth
to be inclusive. Since the pattern of development of
the manufacturing sector so far has not delivered the
desired growth in output and employment, a change
in strategy is required. This Plan is a description of
the strategy, and the process for its implementation,
without which the national objectives cannot be
achieved.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE TWELFTH PLAN
AND BEYOND
13.9. In order to create a paradigm shift in the
manufacturing sector, it is essential to consider the
objectives over a longer timeframe, such as 15 years.
The National Manufacturing Policy, which was
introduced in 2011, states these objectives and these
are the underlying objectives that the Plan aims to
achieve as well. These objectives are:
1. Increase manufacturing sector growth to 12–14 per
cent over the medium term to make it the engine
of growth for the economy. The 2 to 4 per cent
differential over the medium term growth rate of
the overall economy will enable manufacturing

4.
5.

to contribute at least 25 per cent of the national
GDP by 2025.
Increase the rate of job creation in manufacturing to create 100 million additional jobs by 2025.
Emphasis should be given to creation of appropriate skill sets among the rural migrant and
urban poor to make growth inclusive.
Increase ‘depth’ in manufacturing, with focus on
the level of domestic value addition, to address
the national strategic requirements.
Enhance global competitiveness of Indian manufacturing through appropriate policy support.
Ensure sustainability of growth, particularly with
regard to the environment.

REALISATION OF OBJECTIVES NEEDS A
PARADIGM SHIFT
13.10. The Eleventh Five Year Plan as well as Plans
that preceded it aimed at establishing a strong manufacturing sector but this has not happened. This suggests that a radical change in the policy approach is
needed.
13.11. Comparison with the performance of other
countries shows that the countries that managed to
catch up with the earlier industrialised, high-income
countries were the ones whose governments proactively promoted structural change. Industrial policy,
and with a special focus on manufacturing, is back
on the national agendas of many countries and we
need to consider what lesson we can draw given our
particular circumstances. In other words, the critical question now is not whether there should be an
industrial policy but what should be the architecture
of the industrial policy.
13.12. Industrial policies, where they have succeeded, have generally not been an outcome of
Centrally planned economies but of economies that
have had the active involvement of private enterprises and other non-governmental stakeholders.
Successful strategies evolve from ongoing productive interactions between government and producers. Therefore, the government must improve the
process of interaction, collaboration and learning
amongst producers and itself. This is very different from the paradigm of Indian industrial policy

Industry 55

prior to India’s economic reforms commencing in
the 1980s. In that era, industrial planning was a topdown control activity with Government determining
who should produce what, where and how much and
also what technology they should use. The roadmap
for the Twelfth Plan and beyond can definitely not
be a return to this type of planning.

Nature of Industrial Policy
The Question of ‘Industrial Policy’
13.13. The Government of India needs a strategy to
accelerate the growth of the country’s manufacturing
and industrial sectors to meet the goals and obtain
the outcomes mentioned. The concept of ‘industrial
policy’ has varied across countries and also over time.
In India, industrial policy becomes assaulted under
a stifling system of bureaucratic controls through
licenses and quotas for industrial production. There
is no doubt that these controls were highly dysfunctional and needed to be dismantled but the mere
removal of these controls and reliance on markets
alone was not sufficient. The collapse of the Soviet
Union and the ascendancy of Western free-market
approaches to economic growth which was fashionable for a time in the 1990s implied abandonment of any concept of ‘industrial policy’ altogether.
However, this is not the recipe which delivered rapid
industrial growth for many of the post-war success

stories, whether we think of Japan or Korea or, more
recently, China. In planning a strategy for rapid
growth of industry in India we need to learn from
these success stories and apply them suitably to our
circumstances.
Paradigms of Industrial Policy
13.14. Countries that have succeeded in growing
the competitiveness and scale of their manufacturing sectors have adopted different policy approaches.
However, a common element in their approaches has
been a close coordination between producers and
government policymakers, with Governments playing an active role in providing incentives for domestic industrial growth and in relieving constraints on
industrial competitiveness. The process by which
this coordination has been achieved has differed
according to the political structure of each country’s economy (Figure 13.3). In Japan the coordination between Government and industry (and within
Government) was very successfully orchestrated
by MITI in partnership with Japanese industrial
associations. In South Korea, the Chaebol and the
Government collaborated to create world-class and
world-scale winners. In Singapore, the Government
identified industries to be developed and created
ecosystems (skilled human resources, tax regime,
Government incentives and so on) to support growth
of competitive enterprises in the country. In China,

Ineffective Models
Centrally Planned Economy
Input–output matrix with
control of investments and
outputs. The Indian approach
prior to the mid 1980s

Picking Winners

No Industrial Policy

Big bets on national
champions and
technologies

Leaving it completely to
the ‘market’

Rethinking ‘Industrial Policy’ and Our Approach
The three
‘rails’ of
manufacturing
policy

Stakeholder involvement
Implementation
Learning
FIGURE 13.3: New Approach to Industrial Policy

A national
ecosystem that
facilitates competitive
abilities of enterprises

Twelfth Five Year Plan

the large State Owned Enterprise (SOE) sector has
enabled the Chinese Government to adopt a very
muscular ‘industrial policy’. Along with preferential
treatment to domestic companies, large investments
in technology development/acquisition, massive
investments in infrastructure and restraints on its
exchange rate, China’s industrial policy has been
remarkably successful. Germany’s manufacturing
sector remains very successful in spite of high labour
costs and a strong currency because collaboration
between stakeholders in the German industrial system is deeply embedded in policymaking processes
and also within industrial enterprises.
13.15. A deeper analysis of such successes (Japan,
Korea, China and Germany) of ‘industrial policy’
and also of its failures (India, the Soviet Union and
some instances in Latin America) reveals the essence
of successful industrial policy. Firstly, ‘industrial policy’ is a web of ongoing changes that facilitates the
growth of a competitive industrial/manufacturing
ecosystem in the country. Secondly, Governments
have a key role in facilitating the process of learning
and collaboration between producers and policymakers. Thirdly, and this is key, it is the quality of
this process of collaboration and the speed of learning and execution in the system that enables the system to improve its competitiveness faster than other
countries’ systems. Government policymakers must
have the skills and orientation to facilitate and coordinate, rather than to control. Industrial policy will
not produce a competitive manufacturing ecosystem
if the orientation of the Government and its functionaries is to control and micro-manage. It will also
fail if Government and its functionaries do not master the skills and build institutional capabilities for
better coordination within Government, smoother
collaboration with industry (which must be organised in line with the industrial–political economy
of the country, as mentioned before) and, above all,
faster learning.
13.16. The paradigm we must adopt is to build an
ecosystem for rapid learning and capability building,
which will encourage entrepreneurship and support
innovation, and which will provide the system-wide
processes to support collaboration and build stronger

value chains with depth. This paradigm requires a
change in the mindset of Government functionaries from being ‘controllers’ to ‘facilitators’, from
‘resource allocators’ to ‘knowledge managers’ and
from ‘scheme managers’ to ‘continuous learners’.

Essential Features of a Manufacturing
Ecosystem that Learns
13.17. A dynamic manufacturing ecosystem has
three features that enable it to learn and grow.
1. Firstly, it must have depth (value addition) in
manufacturing processes. A manufacturing sector, no matter how large, that is composed mostly
of low value addition assembly industries, cannot create new technological capabilities. It may
compete on low costs on account of scale and low
labour costs, but it can easily lose these advantages
to other countries which have even lower labour
costs. Also, merely having R&D capabilities, without the wherewithal around them to convert ideas
into manufactured products will not enable the
growth of manufacturing industries.
2. Second, it must combine four capabilities:
human skills, embodied technology in hardware,
knowledge (intellectual property) and a large
and demanding customer base. All four components grow together to create a productive and
competitive industry.
3. Third, it must have a range of different sized
firms, especially small and medium sized ones.
Small firms provide the first stages for skill development. They take up larger numbers of people
into the industrial workforce with less capital
investment, and they provide nurseries for experimentation too. Some of these small firms can
grow into specialised, internationally competitive,
medium sized firms. Such firms are the backbone
of the German industry, and also the strength of
India’s internationally recognised automotive
component, pharmaceutical and IT sectors.
13.18. Firms operating in such an ecosystem would
be able to flourish in an open competitive global
economy. While there is a case for special support for strategically chosen industries for a limited

Industry 57

period, the only way the industry can demonstrate
competitiveness is to be able to export to global markets within a defined period.

such processes has been realised by some sectors
of Indian industry too, such as the auto industry,
steel industry and so on.

13.19. In addition to the three features described
above, there are five processes that enable the ecosystem to learn.

The Architecture of a Strategy to Accelerate
Growth of Manufacturing

• Firstly, learning is accelerated through the interaction of the diverse components of the system: R&D
with producers, both with customers, producers
with institutes for skill development, and interactions amongst adjacent sectors and technologies that spur new combinations and innovations.
Thus complexity breeds further technological
development and growth. This requirement translates into the strategies for building clusters, and
linking research and development institutes with
producers.
• Second is the process of Innovation. Innovation
can be spurred by several enablers that create
‘safe-failing’ spaces for experimentation. These
enablers include early stage risk capital, incubators and quick exit/bankruptcy laws. Analysis
reveals that the Indian industrial ecosystem has
inadequate support systems for experimentation
and innovation.
• Third is a regime of Standards. Standards are an
embodied learning of the ecosystem. They enable
firms, small ones in particular, with a base of
knowledge, and also act as means to reduce transaction costs with their customers and suppliers,
domestically and globally.
• Fourth is an IP regime. Like Standards, a good IP
regime provides a base of knowledge for researchers and producers to develop upon further without having to reinvent the wheel. An IP regime
also provides incentives for taking risks by assuring rewards.
• The fifth category of processes that enable systemwide learning and continuing improvement are
a class of processes such as total quality management, total productive maintenance, business
excellence and so on. In fact, such processes have
been the foundations for the rapid, country-wide
growth of productivity and competitiveness of
the Japanese and Korean industry. The power of

13.20. Manufacturing enterprises, unlike IT and
financial services enterprises, involve the production
and movement of material goods. They, therefore,
require good physical infrastructure to be competitive
and this means improving transportation, uninterrupted power and adequate land to build. Moreover,
the materiality of manufacturing activities also results
in more regulations—of safety, pollution, factory
inspections, labour conditions—and hence a more
complex administration structure too. The quality and efficiency of the physical and administrative
infrastructure is a basic requirement for productive
manufacturing enterprises. This is a major weakness
in India at present. The thrust in Government’s New
Manufacturing Policy (2011) to create good infrastructure for manufacturing enterprises along transportation corridors is, therefore, overdue.
13.21. Good physical infrastructure and smoothly
functioning administrative infrastructure are
threshold requirements for Twenty-first century
manufacturing enterprises to compete in the international arena. However, these will not be sufficient.
Competitive manufacturing, requires the development of complex capabilities—technologies, skills
and management abilities to coordinate diverse
interactions and processes of learning. Such capabilities can be learned and improved. Continuous
improvement in these capabilities is the key to sustainable competitive advantage, even absent advantages from raw materials required for manufacturing,
as Japan and Korea have demonstrated. Therefore,
the thrust of Government strategy must be on the
enrichment of the composition of these capabilities
in the country’s manufacturing ecosystem.

Three Components of India’s Manufacturing
Strategy and Plan
13.22. India’s Manufacturing Plan strategy in the
Twelfth Plan must be built around three components. The first are capabilities and processes that

Twelfth Five Year Plan

go across many, if not all sectors of manufacturing,
and that build into the ecosystem the processes for
rapid learning and building of capabilities.
13.23. The second component has to be the plans
to strengthen the performance of selected sectors.
The selection of these sectors is done by a combination of top-down and bottom-up analysis. From
the top, certain sectors appear more important to
meet the goals of the Plan for more employment, for
example, to produce goods that India needs for its
strategic security. On the other hand, the capabilities created by Indian entrepreneurs in some sectors
provide potential for more growth, and they should
be supported. For example, the pharmaceutical and
auto parts sectors. Thus the Plan, at present, has
identified 18 such sectors.
13.24. India’s sectoral strategy has to be broad-based,
covering many sectors, to achieve the large-scale
growth that India needs in manufacturing. India
cannot achieve its goals by ‘picking winners’. In each
of these sectors, a sector strategy is required to grow
capabilities and relieve constraints. Such sector strategies should be formulated jointly by the associations
of producers in the sector (and other principal stakeholders too) and the relevant Government department. They should describe the opportunity for the
sector and the actions required from the producers
themselves, along with support from Government
policies.
13.25. The third, vital, component of the Strategy is
the institutional ability for effective consultation
and collaboration between producers and public
policymakers and implementers and the systemic
reform of existing systems and processes within the
Government. The strength of this process has been
found to be the common factor in the success stories of all countries that have built large, competitive
manufacturing sectors.
13.26. Lack of co ordination amongst government
ministries, and the relatively poor quality of interaction between business associations and government—which is constrained by the competition
amongst associations, and the orientation, by and

large, towards lobbying and financial sops—prevents
improvement in the process of collaborative learning
and capability building that India needs to grow its
manufacturing sector.
13.27. The challenges to developing and implementing a cohesive manufacturing strategy in democratic
India are many. Cohesion can be brought about
through more effective coordination amongst agencies, and more effective consultation amongst stakeholders. Apart from this, the Government will also
require specialised skills such as consensus building and programme management to manage this
process. Government should consider a ‘Backbone
Organisation (BBO)’ to facilitate this process.

ISSUE IDENTIFICATION AND STRATEGIES TO
ADDRESS THE VARIOUS CROSS-CUTTING
ISSUES
13.28. The focus of this Plan has specifically been on
transforming the approach to align the varied stakeholders to a common national goal, instead of having
silo-limited views on individual sectors and individual goals (Figure 13.4). In order to achieve this coordination between the various sectors, and to identify
the underlying causes of the slow progress of manufacturing, a set of thematic ‘cross-cutting’ issues were
identified in addition to the major sectors of manufacturing. The ‘cross-cutting’ issues affect the growth
of manufacturing across sectors. They fall into two
categories: one category is those issues that ‘industry’
ministries and industrial enterprises have responsibility to address, albeit in collaboration with other
stakeholders; and the other category is those broader
issues that affect the economy overall in which the
responsibility primarily lies with other ministries.
13.29. In the first category is the weak development of
human resources, of which a vast quantum is essential
to achieve our goals. Another key issue, common to
all sectors, is depth within the country of technology
in the sector’s supply chain. Yet another is a set of the
infrastructural challenges, both physical and administrative, related to acquisition of land and water management, and the business regulatory framework, in
which industry has a key role to play in developing
and implementing solutions in consultation with

Industry 59

other stakeholders. These cross-cutting issues have
been identified in the National Manufacturing Policy
recently approved by the Cabinet. This Plan describes
the actions to be taken in all these areas and a process
for their implementation and monitoring.
13.30. The second category, that of external inputs to
industry that affect the economy as a whole too, and
which are managed outside industry, includes four
principal constraints on the growth of manufacturing: transport infrastructure, power, cost and availability of credit, and the exchange rate. Transport
infrastructure and power have a direct bearing on
the competitiveness of manufacturing. Energy and
logistics are critical requirements for competitive
manufacturing operations. While significant investment were made in transportation infrastructure in
the Eleventh Plan, Indian industries continue to suffer from severe infrastructure handicaps compared
with the infrastructure available to manufacturers
in other countries. Ports are already close to fullcapacity utilisation resulting in extremely inefficient
turnaround times and similarly roads suffer from
congestion resulting in heightened costs. Unreliable

and inadequate power supply continues to be a serious impediment in India in spite of the considerable
efforts made to enhance power generation capacity
in the country. Improving the supply and quality of
both transport infrastructure and power are essential
requirements for attaining the targeted growth rates
for manufacturing in the Twelfth Plan and beyond.
13.31. Adequate availability of low-cost credit is
a vital requirement for sustainable manufacturing
growth. Continued monetary tightening due to the
recent turn of global events has resulted in a high
cost of capital, adversely impacting manufacturing
investment and growth in India. Cost of capital is key
for ensuring competitiveness, especially of exports,
of the manufacturing sector and needs to be carefully
managed through a more balanced blend of fiscal
and monetary measures. Specifically for MSME’s,
access to credit continues to remain a challenge and
besides a host of measures to facilitate greater flow
of credit to this segment detailed in Section 5, the
overall pool of available capital needs to be enlarged
to include alternate sources of capital such as private
equity, venture capital and so on.

Focus given not only to ‘vertical’ sectors by also to ‘horizontal’ issues that cut across sectors
Technology & Depth
Human Resource Development
Business Regulatory Framework
Environment Sustainability
Land and Water

Cross-cutting
Groups

Clustering and Aggregation
MSMEs
Boosting India’s Manufacturing Exports
Role of PSEs

Sectoral Groups
FIGURE 13.4: Focus on Sectors as well as Cross-cutting Issues

Aerospace

Defence Equip.

Gems & Jewellery

Food Processing
Industries

Paper

Leather and
Leather Goods

Capital Goods
& Engineering

Cement

Textiles & Jute

Steel

Ship-building
& Repair

Mineral Expl.
& Development

Drugs and
Pharmaceuticals

Petrochemical
& Chemical

Fertilizer

Automotive

National Investment and Manufacturing Zones

Twelfth Five Year Plan

13.32. Finally, the exchange rate is an enormously
important factor affecting the international competitiveness of a country’s manufacturing sector.
Large fluctuations in exchange rates can disrupt the
management of supply chains. Monetary and fiscal authorities need to be cognisant of the impact
that such fluctuations have on the growth of
manufacturing.

TECHNOLOGY AND DEPTH
13.33. A principal objective of the Twelfth Plan must
be to increase ‘depth’ in manufacturing, to increase
domestic value addition, and meet national strategic
requirements. The technological depth of the country’s manufacturing sector goes up when it becomes
an active player in more parts of the manufacturing
value chain (research, development and production).
Depth defined in these terms increases synergies
across the value chain and also strengthens the overall trade position. It may be noted that depth is not
necessarily required in all sectors. There is merit in
being part of a global value chain but substantial part
of industry must have technological depth.
13.34. Depth in technology is extremely important
for a country to sustain its competitive advantage
in a global economy. It is not only important from
the point of view of greater value addition, but it is
also required to attract new industries and maintain
competitive advantage of current industries.
13.35. The key requirements for improving technology and depth are to:
• Provide an enabling environment for domestic enterprises to invest in technology creation,
technology absorption and achieve higher value
addition
• Ensure availability of demand for products developed and/or manufactured indigenously
• Provide enabling environment for foreign enterprises to invest in manufacturing and research
activities in the country, in the areas in which the
country needs foreign technology
• Mitigate the risks of MSMEs investing in technology development and technology upgradation

Status and Key Challenges
13.36. Lack of depth in technology is one of the
foremost issues affecting the growth of manufacturing sector in the country. India’s R&D spend is
0.9 per cent of GDP, whereas China, UK and Israel
spent about 1.2 per cent, 1.7 per cent and 4.3 per
cent, respectively. India needs to increase its R&D
expenditure to improve its depth. The private sector finances 70 per cent of the total R&D spending
of China, 65 per cent in United States and 75 per
cent in Korea and Japan, while Indian private sector
funds only 25 per cent of the total R&D spend. As
majority of private sector funding of other countries
is towards industrial R&D, Indian corporate sector
needs to increase its spending on industrial R&D
(see chapter on Science and Technology).
13.37. The key challenges faced by Indian industries
are:
• The Indian Industry has not given sufficient
importance to the documentation of knowledge
and creation of IP. As a result, not only were
opportunities lost to create IP, but we lost IPs to
other countries, such as in traditional agricultural products (IPs filed by western countries on
neem, turmeric and basmati rice, which India has
contested). Our regulatory framework, speed of
award of IPs and the enforcement of IP regulations needs improvement. India’s approach on IP,
hence, needs to distinguish between shaping the
framework for IP creation and improving its IP
management processes.
• Though there is an improvement in the industry-academia collaboration in creating patents/technologies, still there is a large scope for
improvement.
• While FTAs signed with other countries are
favourable for some products, they often create a
distortion in the market in terms of inverted duty
structure for other products.
• Many segments of the industry, especially
MSMEs, have limited information and access to
risk capital for sourcing/developing and internalising new technologies.
• The weak attention to standards not only invites
dumping of sub-standard products by other

Industry 61

Box 13.1
Examples of Weak Domestic Standards Leading to Influx of Sub-standard Products in the Country
A) Absence of standards
In the absence of technical standards, it becomes easy to import poor-quality products into the country. This hurts the domestic
industry as the domestic industry is unable to match the price of these poor-quality products; it also exposes consumers to
the harmful effects of spurious products. In the absence of such standards, it would not be possible to make such technical
regulations which would curb import of poor-quality products. Some of the examples include mobile telephones, batteries for
the mobile telephones, digital blood pressure measuring equipment, decorative lights (imported from China during Diwali
festival), medical equipment and so on.
Mobile telephones: Lack of manufacturing standards and testing/sampling labs are prompting dumping by foreign
manufacturers. For example, till 2009, there was no standard mandating all imported mobile phones to have an IMEI number.
As a result, Chinese handsets without IMEI numbers had a market share of about 13 per cent at that time.
B) Lack of a clear framework for voluntary and mandatory compliances
In some situations, where Indian Standards exist for products or processes, the Central Government has not notified them
for mandatory compliance.
Toys: Standards have been laid out for safety of toys such as quality of plastics and paints, electrical and mechanical hazards,
migration of heavy elements (Lead, Cadmium) and so on. However it is not mandatory to comply with, and hence toys from
other countries are being dumped in the Indian market.
Structural steel: This is used in building damns, bridges and so on. Standards in the manufacturing of structural steel are
voluntary and lack the need to specify end use. The lack of compliance to such voluntary guidelines and the absence of the
need for requisite certification lead to dumping of poor grade structural steel.

countries (refer to Box 13.1), but also makes it difficult for the industry participants to benefit from
each other’s learning and improve their technology depth.
• Absence of national agenda and policy framework
to support innovation.

A Systems Improvement Framework
13.38. It is essential to set the context before moving to the recommendations. Government support is
essential to enable a country’s industrial ecosystem
to gain depth because technological learning takes
a long time, requires large investments and is risky.
Support to the enterprises should be in such a way
that it motivates and enables enterprises to learn and
develop complex capabilities and not become complacent and inefficient, which was the outcome of the
industrial policy adopted by India until the 1980s.
13.39. Table 13.4 and Table 13.5 capture the generic
policy levers that should be moved for faster growth
of manufacturing over the next five years. The specific policy interventions must be tailored to fit the

requirements of sectors by a process of industry—
Government consultation which, as has been emphasised before, will be the key to ‘get it right’. MSMEs
and large enterprises will require different kind of
interventions from Government.
13.40. MSMEs play a critical role in innovation,
thanks to their nimbleness and their ability to
experiment with new technologies on small scales.
However, they often suffer from lack of funds,
inability to take risks associated with technology
developments and the difficulty of attracting skilled
manpower. Policy interventions for MSMEs must be
tailored to their conditions. Government policies for
MSMEs should therefore help them improve their
technological capabilities by focusing on:
• Providing access to risk capital
• Setting up of standards for the industry
• Improving Industry/research institute/academia
interaction, mostly in clusters
• Stimulating demand/providing scale through
preferential treatment in government purchases

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 13.4
Processes That Enable Learning
Process that Enables Learning

Policy Levers

1. Interaction between diverse components of
the system—R&D, producers, customers,
Government, institutes of skill development and so
on.

•
•
•
•

2. Creating ‘safe-failing’ spaces for experimentation
by firms

• Access to risk capital, technology funds
• Subsidy on interest costs
• PPP model of funding

3. Creating a regime of ‘Standards’

• Setting up a system of National Standards benchmarked to International
Standards

4. IP regime, which helps firms to build on each
other’s innovation

• Effective ‘IP’ regime
• Improving awareness of IP

5. System-wide improvement: Processes such as
‘Total Quality Management’

• Mainly the firm’s role to adopt such tools and increase organisational
learning
• Nation-wide, and State-wide campaigns to improve ‘Total Quality’ in
all enterprises, including MSMEs, should be sponsored by Government
through institutions such as Quality Council of India

Cluster development
FDI and JVs
Industry/research institute/academia partnership
Higher education in the country

Source: Planning Commission.
TABLE 13.5
Manufacturing Ecosystem Infrastructure
Ecosystem
Infrastructure

Policy levers

1. Physical
infrastructure

• Cluster development
• Special manufacturing zones (NIMZ)

2. Improving
capabilities

• Skill development
• Total quality management
• JV, Technology transfer, FDI

3. Creating the
manufacturing
ecosystem

•
•
•
•

Developing MSMEs
Common facilities through clusters
Developing Standards
Availability of quality human
resources
• Demand availability for manufactured
products

Source: Planning Commission.

competitive products for domestic as well as global
customers. They compete with global manufacturers
in local as well as in global markets. The Government
policies for large enterprises can focus on:
• Improving IP regime
• Ensuring human resource availability by establishing institutions for technology education and
research, educational institutions and so on
• Ensuring access to critical raw materials

Strategies for Change
13.42. Some high impact strategies for India at this
time to accelerate the development of technological
depth in the manufacturing sector have been analysed. These should receive special attention in policymaking and implementation.

• Modular industrial estates/laboratories near premier technical institutions with the required plug
and play facilities.

13.43. Creation of coherence amongst existing institutional agencies towards developing national priorities for indigenous technology development.

Setting Up of a Technology Acquisition and
Support Fund

13.44. Several countries like China and Singapore
have followed a comprehensive approach to identify critical technologies to be developed indigenously and have formulated mechanisms to

13.41. On the other hand, large enterprises handle
complex technologies and manufacture globally

Industry 63

ensure that these technologies were funded and
incubated.
13.45. In India, we have various agencies like the
Department of Science and Technology, NMCC
and the Planning Commission working in this area.
Connections between these agencies remain weak
as they continue to function in silos, resulting in a
cluttered approach to technology development. To
make this process more robust and comprehensive
(including funding and incubating projects), the present process/institutional arrangements should be
reviewed and fine-tuned/restructured. The industry,
as key stakeholders, should be involved and consulted in the design of new arrangements.

Create ‘Safe-failing’ Spaces for Companies to
Engage in Innovation

capital goods if they are used in the factory of the
manufacturer. Enterprises having R&D facility
separately from manufacturing facility will not be
able to claim Cenvat benefits on inputs and capital goods used for R&D. This anomaly should be
removed and the Cenvat benefits to be available
for inputs and capital goods used in R&D, even if
the R&D is carried out in a different premises, as
long as linkage between manufacturing and R&D
activities can be established. Due to this lacuna,
assesses with sizeable investments in R&D facilities outside their factory of manufacture will not
be entitled to avail Cenvat credit on investments
and certain operating expenses. Consequently,
this forms a disincentive to setting up of R&D
centres by increasing the costs of setting up such
centres.

13.46. Government participation in funding of
research through a ‘Technology Fund’ or ‘Technology Upgradation Fund’ is an important instrument for reducing the risk for firms in investment
in research. The structure of the ‘Technology Fund/
Technology Upgradation Fund’ has to evolve over
a period of time. Traditionally such funds have
been operated in the form of Government grants
or schemes. However, they can be more effective in
producing outcomes if they were managed by professionally managed investment entities.

13.48. The tax incentives should be provided in such
a way that they do not penalise existing enterprises
that do not operate in special economic zones or
particular locations/States. To ensure a ‘level playing
field’ to all domestic manufacturers and to provide
a wider stimulus by the incentives, the tax incentives should be available for all enterprises involved
in a specific activity rather than for a few enterprises
operating in some specific locations. Knowledge
sharing should be improved between the industrial
and financial sectors.

13.47. The ways in which the Government could
provide/redesign fiscal incentives for R&D activities
are:

13.49. The financial sector works with many industrial sectors and thus can see patterns and, with
its perspective, obtain insights that are not available to people within industrial institutions.
There are several programmes like Small Industry
Business Research Initiatives (SIBRI), Technology
Development Board (TBD), Biotechnology Industry
Partnership Programme (BIPP) and Biotechnology
Industry Research Assistance Programme (BIRAP)
which promote early stage innovations and PPPs.
These institutes should work more often and closely
with financial sector institutions to share knowledge
that can improve policies for the manufacturing
sector.

• Tax credit instead of tax incentives: With the
imposition of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT)
of 20 per cent, companies are unable to avail full
benefit of weighted deduction. Equivalent benefits
of weighted deduction on R&D spend should be
treated as tax credit and be allowed to be set off
against Tax and/or MAT payable.
• Credit on inputs/capital goods used for R&D outside the factory premises: The Cenvat Rules provide that credit can be availed on inputs and

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Strengthen the IP Regime and Systems to
Leverage IP
13.50. A strong intellectual property regime is a prerequisite for creation of global IP from India. It has
also become a requirement under WTO. While the
importance of IP for creation of innovations in the
industry is well understood, the question is whether
developing countries will get penalised given that
they are starting with a low base compared to developed countries. Various alternatives like ‘utility
model’ of patents (as China has) to manage this need
to be examined to put in place an efficient model that
can help generation and protection of incremental
innovations in Indian manufacturing.
13.51. Given the need for a strong IP regime from a
long-term point of view, the following steps need to
be taken:
• Improve IP management and protection
mechanisms.
• Develop global information database on IPs
accorded.
• Strengthen and modernise the process of patent
examination and according patents.
13.52. Also, in order to leverage the benefits of IP:
• Build awareness about IP through education and
training.
• Create national IP mission to continually evolve
the IP strategy of the nation.
• Encourage joint IP filings by industry/academia/
research institutes.
• Encourage the formation of companies specialising in IPs (through tax incentives).
• Exempt income tax for the income generated
from domestic IPs.

Strengthen Partnership between Industry
and Academia/Other Research Institutes to
Create IPs Domestically
13.53. Industry–academia partnerships are relatively
weak in India compared to many other countries.
The partnership should aim for building an ecosystem which can create a virtuous cycle of education and research leading to IP creation and its

subsequent commercialisation. Such aspect in turn
will incentivise and inspire further innovation. Some
of the policy measures that Government can use to
accelerate the development of industry–academia
partnership are:
• Joint ownership of IP arising out of these
collaborations.
• Align the goals and annual planning processes of
central research institutions with that of industries through industry associations.
• Incentivise Central/State Research institutes to
create joint IPs with Industry.
• Tying up a certain percentage of their budget to
the number of collaborative IPs created.
• Incentivise university and industry for forging
successful partnerships in university’s governance, infrastructure, course curriculum design,
faculty/students development and research.
• Create cluster innovation centres at universities
with the aim to foster a favourable ecosystem and
enforce industry–academia linkage.
• Provide an institutional framework for active
interface between funding agencies, academia and
industry.

Clusters (and NIMZ) Can Provide Enabling
Infrastructure to Improve Technological
Depth
13.54. Clusters play a critical role in propagating
technological depth by facilitating technological
learning and manufacturing through the presence of
the entire ecosystem in the same geographical location. The National Manufacturing Policy, which outlines creation of NIMZs, was cleared by the Cabinet
in November 2011. It ensures that business is provided with the ecosystem required for growth, not
only in manufacturing, but also for investments in
research and development. The attractiveness of
NIMZs will be even higher for new high-technology
industries, which will benefit from the localised presence of the entire value chain of participants. Also,
the benefits of industrial clusters to MSME participants are also well understood, and the MSME
Ministry is using the cluster approach to drive the
growth and depth of MSME industries.

Industry 65

Improve Technical Standards, Voluntary
Compliance and Conformity Assessment
13.55. Standards are a form of embodied technical
knowledge accessible to all types of business that
enables more effective product and process development. They promote and enable the diffusion of
technology in a form that is readily assimilated by
firms with the complementary capabilities to take up
and use the new methods. Standards, therefore, constitute one of the important foundations for the technological depth in manufacturing, and are accorded
high importance by the policy planners in the developed world.
13.56. During the Twelfth Five Year Plan, the focus
on technical regulations should be on:
• Developing a policy on technical regulations.
• Capacity building of regulators (BIS).
• Review of technical regulations to identify the gap
vis-à-vis national standards.
• Sensitising the industry regarding the need to
provide scientific data to regulators to formulate
effective technical regulations.
• Setting up of helpdesks in industry bodies and
export promotion councils for information
dissemination.
13.57. In addition, voluntary compliance initiatives
must be strengthened:
• Promoting and funding a ‘Standards Cell’ in
industry associations and Standards Developing
Organisations (SDO).
• Capacity building of SDOs.
• Capacity-building programmes for the training
of technical staff in the industry for writing company- and industry-level standards.
13.58. Government should also create a databasebased/software-based system to track the changes in
technical standards/voluntary compliances globally
and alert Indian manufacturers of development.
13.59. While the Standard-setting process sets the
standards to be followed, conformity to the standards is assessed by conformity assessment agencies.

While many conformity assessment agencies have
sprung up in the last few years, it is important that
these conformity assessment agencies are of world
class and their certificates are acceptable across the
world.
13.60. To achieve these, the following steps are
envisaged during the Twelfth Five Year Plan period:
• Promoting the acceptance of Indian conformity
assessment globally
• Capacity building for inspection bodies/certification bodies
• Developing regulation on conformity assessment
13.61. Quality Council of India, set up jointly by the
Government of India and the top industry associations—CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM, has been working to
• Establish and maintain an accreditation structure
in the country
• Help representing India’s interest in International
forums
• Spread the quality movement through the country
13.62. The Twelfth Plan will focus on strengthening
the capabilities and role of the QCI.

Removing Anomalies in Duty Structure
• Remove special schemes that allow import of finished goods at concessional custom duty: In almost
all promotional schemes where import duties are
reduced (nil duty project imports, certain defence
purchases, SAD exemption under ITA Agreement
for IT products and so on), imports get the benefit of reduced duties/nil duty. This erodes the
level of protection which would have otherwise
been available, thereby, creating a systemic disadvantage for local manufacturers. It is therefore
recommended that import of finished goods at
concessional custom duty under special schemes
be discontinued.
• Inverted duty structures (Higher duty on intermediate products vs. final products): For specified purposes, presently there is higher duty on

Twelfth Five Year Plan

intermediate goods (used by the domestic manufacturer for assembly/manufacture of goods), as
compared to duty on finished goods. This in turn
leads to higher input cost for the domestic manufacturer. It is therefore recommended that duty on
intermediate goods be brought in line or set lower
than applicable for final products.

companies with foreign partners can provide access
to technology in areas in which domestic expertise
is inadequate. The Government must identify the
areas, in consultation with the industry, in which
FDI and Joint Ventures can help to bring technology. Several problems that are impeding FDI/JVs
need to be addressed. Some these are:

13.63. The Government has corrected, as best possible, the issues related to inverted duty structures
(illustrated above) raised by industry. It must review
any new case that is brought to its notice and must
undertake a study of effective rate of protection
across sectors.

• The ambiguity in the characterisation of income
arising to foreign investor on transfer of technology from the perspective of direct-tax obligations. This leads to uncertainty with regards
to its taxability in the hands of foreign investor
thereby discouraging the flow of technology from
outside India. The foreign investor is required
to obtain PAN to enable the payer to withhold
taxes at appropriate rates. Also, the foreign investor is required to file its annual return of income
before the tax authorities in India for the purpose
of claiming credit with respect to the taxes withheld by the payer in India. Such additional compliances could become quite cumbersome for
the foreign investor in India especially where the
foreign investor does not have any operations in
India.
• The R&D cess paid by the importer cannot be
adjusted against any output taxes paid by the
importer, resulting in additional cost of 5 per cent
for the technology importer.
• Service tax paid on import of technology cannot
be adjusted against taxes paid on output, if the
manufacturing is outsourced.
• Limitation on technology cost as percentage of
total investment available for state tax exemptions.

13.64. Some issues regarding CST/VAT retention
and VAT/SAD were also analysed:
• CST/VAT Retention: Interstate movement of
goods by domestic manufacturers carries added
cost in the form of central sales tax (on interstate
sales)/retention of input VAT credits (on interstate stock transfers). This can be avoided in case
of imports by executing sales in the course of
import or through directly consigning the goods
to the customer’s state. This creates disadvantage to domestic manufacturers. Therefore, CST
on interstate sales and provisions with respect to
retention of input VAT on interstate stock transfers should be abolished.
• VAT vs. SAD: VAT rates have been increased
from 4 per cent to 5 per cent, however there has
been no consequential increase in the rate of SAD
on imported products which is levied in lieu of
VAT. Therefore, SAD should be increased to 5 per
cent to reflect the pan-India based trend of revision of the VAT/CST rate bracket of 4 per cent to
5 per cent.
13.65. In order to resolve the aforesaid issues, it is
necessary for the Central and State Governments to
quickly build consensus on the design of a comprehensive GST and implement the same at the earliest.

Encouraging FDI and Joint Ventures
13.66. FDI (investments by foreign companies
in Indian ventures) and Joint Ventures of Indian

Preference for Domestic Products in
Government Procurement
13.67. The cost of any manufacturing activity
(excluding raw materials and utilities) depends on
the maturity of manufacturing technology used
and the magnitude of the demand. For a matured
technology, the cost of manufacturing will be
relatively low, due to the learning curve effects.
Similarly, due to scale effects, the unit cost of manufacturing goes down with the increasing demand.
Therefore, a domestic enterprise using new indigenous technology will have a cost disadvantage

Industry 67

compared to a global enterprise that has the benefits of matured technology. Unless there is some
incentive provided to domestic enterprises to offset this handicap, developing indigenous technology will be difficult.
13.68. Therefore, Governments in many countries,
developing as well as developed, provide preference
in Government procurement to domestic enterprises. However, to ensure that this policy measure
does not lead to development of substandard quality products or create inefficiencies in the domestic
enterprises, the preference in procurement can be
made applicable with minimum quality standards;
a cap on the permissible price differential between
domestic and imported products, and also a sunset
clause.
13.69. Some ways in which the preference for indigenous products can be provided in Government purchases are:
• In sectors of strategic importance, procurement
should be done only from those vendors, who
have locally established manufacturing base.
• A multi-tier tax structure can be introduced,
which offers concessional tax rates for products
with higher local value addition.
• A certain percentage of Government procurement to be reserved for enterprises using domestic manufacturing/domestic IP; and a certain
percentage of it can be reserved for firms in
MSME Sector.
13.70. However, as a prerequisite to implementing
this procurement strategy, streamlining of procurement functions is essential. Public procurement
organisations must be clear about how national
policy goals should be translated into procurement
practices without compromising quality. ‘Least cost’
is not always the right strategy and needs to be balanced by other guidelines (life-cycle costs such as
service agreements, continuous improvement contracts and so on). A balanced approach should be
taken to determine the weight assigned to price versus other qualifying criteria.

Aligning Investment Obligations Under
‘Offset Policy’
13.71. Offsets as a policy tool should be encouraged for public procurement in sectors where the
Indian industry does not have existing technology or capability. The obligations of investments of
foreign companies under ‘Offset Policy’ should be
targeted towards investment in industries in which
the country needs to improve technological depth.
Articulation of clear objectives for an offset programme, not just for defence industry but also for
the economy as a whole can become an instrumental
lever to further investment and growth of the country’s manufacturing sector.

Encouragement of Local Value Addition in
Critical Natural Resources
13.72. Some natural resources like good-quality coal
and iron ore are becoming short in supply in the
global economy with growing demand from developing economies especially China and now India.
Domestic availability of some of these raw materials provides us a competitive advantage which we
should leverage to build domestic industries that
add value to these resources, thus creating additional
jobs and improving our trade balance. Going further
up the value change Government policies and duty
structure should be designed in a way to incentivise
value addition of steel rather than exporting steel in
raw material form.
13.73. In general the trade-off between export of
inputs which are in demand elsewhere in the world,
and use of those inputs for improving the competitive position of domestic user industries is a tricky
one, while promoting entrepreneurial freedom and
free trade. These trade-offs must be understood
and sensitively managed to ensure competitive and
sustainable growth of domestic manufacturing.
Examples of vulnerabilities that have developed for
Indian industries, when longer term consequences of
policies have not been foreseen, are the virtual disappearance of production of intermediaries for generic
drugs which China is now dominating, and also the
dwindling of Indian capital goods industries (refer to
Box 13.2), where too Chinese industry is becoming a
big international supplier. Chinese industrial policy

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Box 13.2
Dwindling Indian Capital Goods Industry
The capital goods industry can be considered as the ‘mother’ of all manufacturing industry and is of strategic importance
to national security and economic independence. It is in the interest of User Sectors that the capital goods industry be
strengthened since it is well established that the presence of a strong domestic industry increases competition and helps in
reducing the capital cost of projects. And most importantly, in economical maintenance of plant and machinery. Imported
plants come at lower cost but the foreign suppliers make up for that in their high priced spares and maintenance contracts.
However, Indian capital goods industry is facing severe competition from Chinese companies over the last few years. In the
case of machine tools, imports account for about two-thirds of the domestic requirements and is increasing further. The
import of power-generation equipment from China at much lower cost is also making the domestic industry uncompetitive.
The major factors responsible for increasing Chinese competitiveness are:
•
•
•
•
•

Artificially depreciated Chinese currency
Tax advantages and Government subsidies given by the Government
Much lower interest rates
Simpler labour laws
Better infrastructure leading to lower cost of power, transportation and cluster approach helping specialisation of labour
and engineering skills

This is further complicated by the absence of level playing field for Indian manufacturers:
• All domestic manufacturers of capital goods are rendered uncompetitive due to additional burden of sales tax, entry tax,
octroi, VAT and other local duties and levies.
• For specified projects (Oil and Gas, mega nuclear/hydel power, fertiliser, refinery and so on) zero/5 per cent customs duty
applies on capital goods.
While it may be preferable from user industry point of view to allow the import of capital goods at lower costs in order to
improve their competitiveness, this will result in over reliance of Indian industry on other countries for key strategic inputs,
exposing itself to vagaries to the policies of these countries. Also, this does not help in building technological depth of the
Indian industry and manufacturing ecosystem.

has evidently done far better than India’s in building
depth in China’s industries.

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, JOB
CREATION AND SOCIAL PROTECTION
13.74. One of the primary objectives of the plan is
to increase the competitiveness of Indian manufacturing. Human resources are of critical importance
for the growth of knowledge and technology, value
addition and improvement of competitiveness in
manufacturing through processes of continuous
improvement. In fact, the human resource is the only
‘appreciating resource’ in a manufacturing system.
It is the only resource that has the motivation and
ability to increase its value if suitable conditions are
provided, whereas all other resources—machines,
building, materials and so on—depreciate in value
with time. The best enterprises view their people as
their prime asset and the source of their competitive
advantage. Nations that have achieved sustainable

competitiveness in manufacturing even when they do
not have raw materials required, such as Germany,
Japan and South Korea, have created systems for the
continuous improvement of the capabilities of their
human resources.
13.75. India must invest in and build its human
resource capabilities to catch up with other countries
that have moved ahead and thereafter sustain competitive advantages in manufacturing. Indeed the
contentious debate of ‘labour’ versus ‘capital’ in the
enterprise, as well as disputes between the institutions that represent the people working in the enterprise and owners of the capital could be reframed if
employees were seen as assets, with value that can
appreciate, rather than as labour costs.
13.76. The purpose of this section is to propose a
set of holistic changes in key areas that require close
involvement and buy-in from various stakeholders.

Industry 69

Consensus about these holistic changes is more
likely to be achieved if, as mentioned before, the primary challenge was reframed as the development of
human assets to build India’s manufacturing ecosystem and strengthen India’s manufacturing enterprises, rather than merely management of costs of
labour.
13.77. Challenges in meeting the objectives lie
broadly in three areas:
• From a skill development perspective, there is
a significant gap between the existing training
capacity and people entering the workforce. A
very small proportion of total manufacturing
workforce is currently skilled.
Moreover, less than 25 per cent of the total
number of graduates are estimated to be employable 1 in manufacturing.
• The total training capacity in the country is about
4.3 million for all sectors including manufacturing.2 The Apprentice Training Scheme (ATS),
which is supposed to provide a bridge from education to employment, has very low penetration
and is suffering from significant administrative
issues.
• For entrepreneurs and other employers, the perceived lack of flexibility of changing the size and
nature of the workforce can act as a retardant in
making investments that could lead to greater
employment opportunities. Furthermore, the
complexity of labour laws and the administrative
mechanism of the laws make it harder to do business in the country.
• By 2025, an additional 8 million management
workers3 (supervisors and above) are estimated to
be required. Well-trained management/supervisory staff are critical for improving the productivity and industrial relations in large as well as small
manufacturing enterprises.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
13.78. Human resources should be managed as
a source of sustainable competitive advantage.
Government policy changes should induce and support such firm level strategies. The key stakeholders
who will need to work together to make the necessary changes to the system in key areas mentioned

above are: Government (at the Centre and State
level), Industrial organisations and the unions.
13.79. The strategies for meeting the objectives are
in the following categories:
• Inducing job creation by reducing the cost of generating employment.
• Developing a supply of qualified human resources
to meet the demand from additional job creation.
• Enhancing skill levels of current workforce to
improve productivity.
• Improving the state of manufacturing management in the country.
• Providing social protection to low-income
workforce.
• Improving industry–workforce relationships.
Inducing Job Creation by Reducing the Cost of
Generating Employment
13.80. There are two major barriers to employment
generation: limited flexibility in managing the workforce and cost of complying with labour regulations.
Both these barriers must be removed in order for
jobs to be created at a much faster rate.

Limited Flexibility in Managing the Workforce
13.81. The recommendations to increase the level of
flexibility while ensuring fairness are:
• Companies should be allowed to retrench
employees (except categories such as ‘protected
workmen’ and so on) as long as a fair severance
benefit is paid to retrenched employees. This
severance benefit should be higher than what is
currently mandated—and the value should be
arrived at through tripartite dialogue between
Government, employers’ associations and
employees’ associations.
• In order to ensure that there is sufficient liquidity to pay the severance benefit to the retrenched
employees, a mandatory loss-of-job insurance
programme could be put in place. This will especially be useful in situations where the retrenchment is due to bankruptcy or exit of the employer
and will reduce the justification for requiring
prior permission to shut down businesses.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

• The threshold level of employment for the
Chapter VB of the Industrial Disputes Act and
the threshold for applicability of the Factories Act
should be raised to at least 300 which was the level
in 1983.
• The process of engaging contract labour should be
reformed—employers should be allowed freer use
of contract labour while ensuring that the rights of
contract workers are protected, which is not the
case at present.
Cost of Complying with Labour Regulations
13.82. The traditional enforcement approach which
is based on inspection—prosecution—conviction
creates incentives for rent-seeking behaviour, especially if the laws are complex or have provisions that
are contradictory. The complexity of compliance
impacts smaller enterprises much more. They cannot bear the high administrative costs.
13.83. Recommendations to improve compliance
and also contain the cost of complying with labour
regulations are:
• Simplification of labour laws: The implications of
labour laws should be detailed through a series of
ready reckoners that are easily available and regularly updated so that inspectors and employers
have a common set of rules to look at.
• Improvement of administration: Higher investment should be made in the training of inspectors
to ensure that they are able to efficiently identify
incidences of actual non-compliance rather than
harass employers.
• Facilitating easier filing: Filing of reports should
be made a once a year activity with an online
option. As far as possible, the interface between
enterprises and Government should be computerised to increase transparency and efficiency and
remove scope for rent seeking.
• Developing a self-certification model: While
ensuring that regulations governing labour welfare must be complied with, a self-certification
model should be developed where appropriate.
• Additionally, fiscal incentives to encourage permanent job creation should also be considered,
after evaluating their implications and potential

impact. For example, skill building and training costs of permanent employees can be considered for accelerated tax benefits (subject to a
ceiling on percentage of salary paid to permanent
employees).
Developing a Supply of Qualified Human
Resources to Meet Demand from Additional
Job Creation
13.84. The manufacturing sector may need more
than 90 million people by 2022. However, the current capacity for skill development is ill equipped to
meet this demand.

13.85. Role of industry: To enable the industry to play
its role in defining the requirement of manpower
both in terms of quality and quantity, Sector Skills
Councils envisaged in the National Skills Policy are
being set up. These councils will identify skill development needs in their sector, evaluate the gaps,
create plans for skill development and improve the
quality of the training system. The councils are also
expected to establish sector specific Labour Market
Information Systems (LMIS) to assist in planning
and delivery of training.
13.86. Private sector participation in skill development: For the private sector to play a role in augmenting the skill-development capacity in the
country, effective PPP models are needed. Existing
ITIs should be clustered together in projects with
total training capacity of at least 1,00,000 each to
allow private sector service providers to leverage
scale benefits leading to long term financial sustainability. For inducing the private sector to participate in creation of additional capacity, scalable and
sustainable business models with direct linkages to
employment should be deployed. The NSDC has
created such models. They should be implemented
across 20–30 projects specific to manufacturing in
partnership with industry associations and from
funding through NSDF.
13.87. Improving ITIs: We need to improve privatesector involvement in upgrading existing ITIs and
also improve their curriculum and content through
the sector-skills councils.

Industry 71

13.88. Attracting students: As a long-term strategy, it
is important to make acquisition and improvement
of skills an aspiration for people, especially youth.
This could be achieved by recognising high-skill persons at the national and State levels along with recognition of other worthy citizens. For example, an
unsecured loan scheme should be created for those
who aspire to undertake vocational training. Large
enterprises could also provide special incentives and
recognition for acquisition of high skills.
13.89. Overall coordination: A number of initiatives
have already been taken by various Government ministries to tackle issues related to skill development
both at the Central and the State level. Coordination
between these initiatives should be improved. The role
and performance of the National Skill Development
Coordination Board should be assessed. To ensure
that skill-development activities are aimed towards
areas of maximum impact, it is important to put in
place an information system that provides data on
availability and requirement of skilled resources.
Enhancing Skill Levels of Current Workforce to
Improve Productivity
13.90. Training and skill building of the existing
workforce is an important element of the strategy
for increasing productivity of manufacturing in
India. Training of employees can be incentivised by
allowing tax deductions for expenditure incurred on
training. Currently, skill building is predominantly
achieved by in-house training of workers by each
enterprise. However, clusters and NIMZs provide
opportunities for shared infrastructure to provide
training for skilled and semi-skilled workers.

13.91. A number of existing initiatives are focused
on setting up tool rooms which are necessary for
SMEs. These tool rooms can be made more effective
by periodic performance audits by independent agencies and also by operating them on a PPP model in
collaboration with industry associations. Just as tax
incentives are provided for investments in critically
required infrastructure assets, fiscal measures including tax benefits on training expenditure may also be
considered for investment in critical human assets.
MSME Sector alone needs to skill 42 lakh persons in

the Twelfth Plan period, thus, requires to increase its
current training capacity from 4 lakh person per year
to at least 17 lakh persons per year by 2017.
13.92. Apprenticeships can be an effective way of
ensuring that entry-level workers have the skills
required to join the formal workforce. While there
should be no obligation to employ apprentices, the
current apprenticeship model needs to be reformed
by simplifying workflow for engagement of apprentices by employers, inclusion of new trades and
recording compliance through e-filing, removing
NOC requirement for out-of-region candidates.
Further, it is proposed to make all graduates eligible for apprenticeships and the duration of courses
should be reduced to a minimum of three months
and should be converged with MES. Outdated curriculum needs to be updated and outsourcing of
classroom trainings should be allowed.
13.93. Changes in the Apprenticeship Act may have
to be made. In the meantime, a new model of incompany training should be deployed. In this model,
companies should be allowed to take trainees for a
period of up to six months.
Improving the State of Manufacturing
Management in the Country
13.94. There were a total of approximately 5 million
managers in the manufacturing sector in 2008. If the
manufacturing sector grows at the targeted 12–13
per cent, 8 million more managers will be needed by
2025. Well-trained managers are extremely important for improving the productivity of manufacturing
enterprises and maintaining harmonious industrial
relations. Currently, only a very small portion of
graduates from engineering and management institutes take up careers in manufacturing. Consequently,
there is a significant gap between supply and demand.

13.95. The quantity and the quality of management
in the manufacturing sector can be improved by the
following initiatives:
• Increasing collaboration between manufacturing companies and engineering/management
institutes for joint projects in which staff and

•

•
•

Twelfth Five Year Plan

students of the institutes can get some hands-on
experience.
Encouraging enterprises (especially larger ones)
to run good graduate engineering programmes
which can be a source of management talent for
themselves as well as the manufacturing sector
generally.
Scaling up programmes such as Visionary
Leadership for Manufacturing (VLFM) at the
national level.
Setting up centres of excellence for manufacturing management through MoUs between institutes, government bodies and industry partners.
Business schools that focus only on manufacturing management should also be encouraged.
Creating a PPP model for engineering and management colleges with partnership with industry
associations and employers with focus on manufacturing management.
Launching a campaign focused on attracting management talent to the manufacturing sector.
A large source of potential managerial/supervisory staff is the current workforce. Support
should be provided to enable deserving members
of the workforce to be promoted to management
positions.

13.96. Recent reviews with many sectors of industry
reveal a crying need for better supervisors and foremen—the first and second levels of supervision—
who are the backbone of productive and harmonious
manufacturing enterprises. Development of supervisors and foremen, through suitable programmes,
collaboratively designed and managed by industry
and educational and training institutions must be
ensured along with the emphasis on development of
skilled workmen and good managers.
Providing Social Protection to Low-income
Workforce
13.97. Formal sector workers can leverage collective bargaining to obtain social security; however,
the informal workforce is dependent on government actions to improve social protection for them.
A number of social security schemes have been
launched in the recent past. However, the existing
coverage represents a very low percentage of the

total number of workers in the manufacturing sector. For example, the New Pension Scheme (NPS)
that was launched in May 2009 to increase pension
coverage, particularly to the informal sector, has less
than 2,00,000 voluntary subscribers—this is far less
than the total intended coverage for such a scheme.
Limited access to social security is exacerbated for
those with low or uncertain incomes.
13.98. Unemployment benefits: Low income workers in transitional phases of unemployment are
particularly vulnerable as they are unlikely to have
significant savings. To help overcome the problems
associated with social protection for temporarily
unemployed workers, which include contract workers at the end of their contracts, a solution could be
for these workers to be part of a ‘sump’ as permanent
employees of contract agencies that are provided with
Government support to ensure skill upgradation of
these workers. The focus should be on creating a
pool of workers who can be available to employers
and ensuring that those that are unemployed have
avenues for training as well as financial assistance.
For example, the Automotive Mission Plan has
recommended the formation of a Supplementary
Unemployment Benefits Fund to be created by automotive companies for providing compensation to
laid-off workers. Such funds in other sectors too can
be utilised to finance the creations and sustenance of
the ‘sumps’ that could be the ‘win-win’ solution out
of the ‘fairness–flexibility’ dilemma.
13.99. Increasing penetration of existing schemes: To
ensure that existing schemes reach the entire workforce, it is important to increase awareness of these
schemes through communication programmes. The
distribution channels for these schemes should be
evaluated and measured regularly and private sector
participation should be encouraged too. Financial literacy of the workers in the informal sector should also
be improved so that they make better informed decisions about participating in social-security schemes.
Improving Industry Workforce Relationships
13.100. Strong and effective industry relations
can enable managements of enterprises and their

Industry 73

workers to collaborate in increasing the productivity and competitiveness of the manufacturing
sector. Unions have a critical role to play in ensuring inclusive growth of the manufacturing sector,
especially by working towards social protection for
the workforce. They can also play valuable roles in
other areas such as skill development. The National
Skill Development Policy has recommended that
trade unions contribute in areas such as developing
competency standards, course design, improving
awareness of and promoting participation in skill
development among the workforce. To ensure that
unions can play a broader and more effective role,
it is important to invest in capacity development of
unions through training of their leadership.
13.101. The multiplicity of unions in the same enterprise for the same type of workers can lead to interunion rivalries and can weaken collective bargaining.
Therefore, legislation that enables one union per
enterprise is strongly recommended. The union
leadership should also be held accountable for any
illegal behaviour by union members during negotiations. The practice of withholding recognition of
unions should be discouraged. Strong gain-sharing
systems can help to improve productivity.
13.102. The Government has a crucial role in
enabling good industrial relations by providing
platforms for the industry and the workforce to participate in policy development and implementation.
Since labour figures in the concurrent list in India,
both the Central and State Government’s role in
such platforms should be that of an impartial facilitator focused on creating consensus amongst employers and employees around solutions. In especially
contentious areas such as changes in labour laws,
the Government should enable the development of
consensus positions between the various interested
parties. The ‘backbone organisation’ described in the
Way Forward Chapter should have the capabilities
to effectively assist in such a process of consensus
creation.

BUSINESS REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
13.103. Countries that have performed better than
the others in terms of thriving business have, to a

great extent, done so on account of the quality of the
business regulatory environment, which is an important factor distinguishing better performing countries from others. The key objectives of streamlining
of business activities through the regulatory framework should be:
• Low compliance cost for doing business in India
• Simple regulatory environment, saving time and
energy for the businesses; and
• Ensuring fair competition
13.104. The country must improve regulations and
implementation in many subjects to make India generally a more attractive country for doing business.
These include land and environmental regulations,
labour laws and their administration and so on. It
should be noted that, in the context of India’s federal
structure, the ability to mandate specific reforms to
the regulatory framework from any centralised apex
body is fairly constrained. Therefore, while nodal
agencies may be set up to focus attention on matters
that must be attended to across the country, and this
section and others mention some, it is imperative that
the role of such agencies in the process of making
improvements across the country fits the country’s
federal and decentralised political structure. Such
agencies cannot and must not usurp local authority.

Status and Key Challenges
13.105. The present regulatory environment is seriously deficient for the reasons enumerated below:
• Weak institutional architecture for business regulations in the country
– Despite that high priority of the business regulatory reform agenda in the country, there is no
dedicated authority that can guide the whole
process of reform in a structured, planned,
cogent and systematic manner, which could
mandate the respective departments of the
Union, State and Local Governments to comply
in a timely, result oriented and predictable way.
• Ambiguous nature and vast scope of business
regulations: there are vast numbers of business
regulations at different levels of Government in
existence in the country. There are instances of

•

Twelfth Five Year Plan

contradictory as well as overlapping business
regulations on account of these being administered by the different tiers as well as layers of
Government.
Absence of national repository of business regulations: despite the advancements in Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) and its
ever-growing applications and usage, there is no
dedicated online repository to track all the business regulations and procedures.
Lack of coherence in business regulatory governance across country; business facilitation is often
mentioned as part of the agenda at the national as
well as State levels. But there is lack of coherence
in all such efforts. There are wide variations in
Government-business transactions taking place in
different locations of the country. It has also been
found that there is a lack of predictability and
standardisation in terms of timelines as well as
process adopted by different State Governments
when it comes to facilitating business.
Lack of defined mechanism for consultation
between Government and industry: the interface
between Government and the industry is also not
well defined. There are periodic consultations
among various industry collectives and specific
Government departments located at different
levels, but such consultations are not structured
enough to be guided by a well-defined and outcome-oriented process.
Inherent limitations of regulatory system in country: lack of periodic-review clauses in regulations
and Lack of Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA).
There have been recommendations for regulatory
reforms earlier as well, but due to absence of any
one dedicated agency accountable for the reforms,
they could not be implemented.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
Follow-up Over Previous Administrative and
Regulatory Reform Endeavours
13.106. Lack of implementation of earlier recommendations on regulatory reforms has contributed to the current situation of business-regulatory
framework in the country, both at the Central and
State level. All these recommendations need to be

reviewed and a repository of all these documents
needs to be created. After this an enquiry can be
taken up to check the extent to which these recommendations have been implemented or are pending
by the public authority or department.
13.107. There is a need for a process for responding
to the existing recommendations. In such a system
once a certain expert group or commission of enquiry
has submitted its report, the respective departments
are required to prepare a response. That response is
put up in the public domain along with the original
recommendations. This makes it easier for various
stakeholders to understand the extent to which the
recommendations have been accepted along with the
reasons for non-acceptance, if any.
Establishing Enabling Institutional Architecture
• Formulating national policy on business development and regulation
– The policy should also provide the principles
of optimal business regulatory governance. It
is recognised that there will be a special role of
the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers in the
aforementioned policy making process because
in the final analysis, the actual adoption of the
policy will entirely be dependent on the political leadership.
• Drafting and enacting ‘National Business
Development and Regulation Bill’.
• Building institutional architecture for looking
after the business-regulatory reforms in the country: a dedicated institution can be set up for this
purpose. The institution should be set up at the
national level as well as at State level.
• Enabling institutional architecture for ensuring
competitiveness in manufacturing. The same is
required in both, Central as well as State level.
– At the Central level the National Manufacturing
Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has been
entrusted with this responsibility.
– Similar institutions may be set up at State level;
to be called State Council on Manufacturing
Competitiveness and Competition Reforms.
• In June 2011, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
has set up a Committee to draft National

Industry 75

Competition Policy (NCP). In February 2012, the
Drafting Committee submitted a Draft National
Competition Policy and comments of all stakeholders have been invited. Once this policy is
approved by the Union Cabinet, further steps are
required:
– Building consensus on the policy
– Creating institutional framework for operationalising the policy, as recommended by the
Committee
– Creating incentive and disincentive mechanisms for States to implement NCP
• Operationalisation of National Manufacturing
Policy and development of State manufacturing
plans in line with National Manufacturing Plan.
Systematisation of Business Regulatory Governance
• Mapping and classification of all existing business regulations and procedures and providing
an online one-stop shop—‘National Business
Facilitation Grid’ for all information related to
business regulations and procedures in India.
Design principles of this on line portal can be
finalised through a consultative process. The
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is
the nodal agency for the NBFG repository.
• A system of mandatory reviews of existing regulations at periodic intervals should be established
and operationalised. This will achieve the desired
goal of making the regulatory system intrinsically
strong and up to date.
• A decentralised Single Window System should be
established with appropriate geographical spread.
The Single Window System, governed by a common minimum standard, should, rather than being
a coordination office, be endowed with access to
relevant information and sufficient delegation of
powers from all concerned regulators, including
Central, State, Local and Sector regulators. This
would help reduce the start-up time for businesses
by providing all requisite approvals and licenses, if
any, through the Single Window System.
– Recognising the wide variations with business
procedures at the country level, it is recommended to benchmark the execution timelines
and processes that are undertaken by different

Government entities to facilitate business
requirements.
– A team of Business Facilitiation Officers
(BFOs), in each of the partcipating regulatory authorities, may be asked to aid the Single
Window System, and the BFOs could be made
accountable for defaults or deviations resulting in aggravated costs of compliance to businesses. The desirability and feasibility of such
a Single Window System should be determined
through a consultative process.
eBiz Mission Mode Project
13.108. The eBiz Mission Mode Project, under the
National e-Governance Plan, aims to create a business and investor-friendly ecosystem in India by
making all business and investment related regulatory services across Central, State and Local governments available on a single portal, obviating the need
for the investors or the business to visit multiple
offices or a plethora of websites. It in envisaged that
the services offered on eBiz will eventually cover the
entire life cycle of a business—right from its establishment, through its ongoing operations, to even
its possible closure. Once operational, this project
will also create a platform for multiple Government
agencies to cross validate their information.

13.109. The project is being implemented as a
10-year PPP with M/S Infosys. The first-year pilot
includes 8 Central Departments and States (Andhra
Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and
Delhi) covering 29 core services. Five more states
(Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and
Rajasthan) and 21 more services will be added during
the next two years of the pilot phase. An end-to-end
solution providing the services under the Andhra
Pradesh Single Window Act will also be provisioned
on the eBiz platform by September 2013 along with
the payment solution gateway.
Adopting Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)
• Tool of RIA should be developed for Indian
context through a consultative process and due
research reflecting upon global experiences with
its adoption and usage.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

– The parameters of RIA should be clearly spelt
out for evaluation (which should gradually be
expanded to include the following eight elements: policy coherence; cost of doing business;
competition; innovation; SMEs; consumers;
labour; environment and commons).
• Process of doing RIA should involve a wide stakeholder consultation.
• RIA has be to be mandated in the country in ex
ante as well as ex post manner.
• It is recommended that Policy Coherence Units
(PCUs), for conducting RIA, be established under
the respective State Planning Boards and at the
national level. Such policy analysis functions can
be connected with the capabilities of the proposed
backbone organisation.
Making Businesses More Responsible Towards
Society
• Considering the importance of the subject, ‘business responsibility’ should be included as a separate subject under the Government of India
(Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, and Ministry
of Corporate Affairs can be entrusted with the
responsibility of carrying out these activities.
• Redefining the contract of business and society
and developing new rules of the game for corporate conduct.
– Needs to be done through a widespread consultative process.
• Stronger role of business associations in responsible business.
– Business associations should be encouraged to
develop and impose rules of conduct on their
own members.
– Business associations should be entrusted with
the responsibility of overseeing the compliance
to rules of corporate conduct.
– Such associations should provide their members a process for debating and agreeing on
voluntary imposed norms, assistance to members to develop capabilities to conform to
these norms and, very necessarily for such
associations to become trusted by stakeholders as effective institutions for self-governance,
internal governance that disciplines errant
members.

• Disclosures on the adoption of ‘National
Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental
and Economic Responsibilities on Business’
(NVG) principles should be made mandatory for
businesses. Adoption of NVG principles can be
made mandatory for all public–private partnership projects by the relevant authority at the time
of project inception. This will help in mainstreaming these principles.
• Establishing the required institutional architecture for facilitating adoption of NVG principles.
Awareness and implementation of NVG principles is currently the responsibility of the Indian
Institute of Corporate Affairs. The IICA’s abilities
in this respect should be further strengthened.
Developing an Ongoing Process of Stakeholder
Consultation
13.110. For achieving the objectives of a stakeholder
consultation, it is imperative to have capacity, building both ends: at the Government side as well as at
the industries. A process of productive consultations,
and the roles of representative institutions of employers and unions in these consultations, in improving
the productivity of the country’s manufacturing ecosystem, and its sustainable competitiveness, cannot
be overemphasised. The competitiveness of German
and Japanese manufacturing industries, in spite of
high-wage costs and expensive currencies, in contrast
to the relative decline of US and UK manufacturing industries, is attributed to the better collaborative processes in the former countries. The following
actions must be taken to achieve this objective:

• Passing a legislation mandating stakeholder consultation and also defining the process that needs
to be followed.
• Measures to strengthen industry associations and
their structure to enable them to convey the view
of industry in a constructive manner.
• Similar capacity building for stakeholders, such as
labour unions.
13.111. Developing a Business Regulatory Governance
Mechanism to choose appropriate regulatory alternatives among self-regulation, co-regulation and public
regulation.

Industry 77

• Currently there is no structured modality exploring various alternatives for achieving regulatory
objectives.
• Detailed analysis should be undertaken to determine which alternatives to regulations are feasible
as well as beneficial for Indian context.
• As each form of regulation has merits and demerits, a desirable combination of all three regulatory
alternatives may be evolved gradually.
• Such mechanism will serve as a ready reference
one-stop shop for the policymakers as well as the
business community while arriving at the choice
of appropriate mode of regulation.
Capacity Building for Carrying Out Regulatory
Reforms
13.112. Since carrying out the aforementioned regulatory reforms requires a tremendous effort, capacity
needs to be built in order to implement them. The
capacity-building framework needs to incorporate
the following:

• Developing resources such as modules, guidelines, methodologies, reference manuals, checklists, case studies and so on as reference material
for regulators.
– These resources should also be available
through an online-knowledge portal.
• Training programmes for regulators need to be
arranged.
• A review may be initiated to determine the feasibility of expanding the roles of institutions
functioning under the aegis of the Ministry of
Corporate Affairs, namely, Indian Institute of
Corporate Affairs, Competition Commission
of India, Institute of Chartered Accountants of
India, Institute of Company Secretaries of India
and Institute of Cost Accountants of India.

• Procurement and use of natural resources
• Industrial processes and activities
• Product use and disposal
13.114. The air, water and land are affected through
the environmental impacts created through the
operations of manufacturing units.

Key Objectives
13.115. Rapid ecologically sustainable industrial
growth with focus on
• Mainstreaming and promoting green business:
an environment has to be created wherein being
green is not viewed as just an obligatory expectation of a company, but as an area of primary focus
for the company to develop further and be recognised as a leader.
• Protecting natural resources: natural resources
have to be prolonged to their fullest use to maintain the aim for continual economic growth and
lessen environmental impacts.
• Addressing funding issues: which act as a constraint for movement towards a more sustainable
industrial model.

Status and Key Challenges
13.116. The Central Pollution Control Board has
identified 17 highly polluting industries, the majority of which are manufacturing industries. MSMEs,
in particular, can have a significant impact on the
environment as they are generally liable to be
equipped with obsolete, inefficient and polluting
technologies and processes. Seventy per cent of the
total industrial pollution load of India is attributed
to MSMEs.

ENSURING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
WITH INDUSTRIAL GROWTH

13.117. New technologies leading to cleaner processes and operations are not being developed at a
fast enough pace to address the urgent need for environmental protection.

13.113. The rise in growth in the resource intensive
manufacturing sector is enabled and facilitated by an
ever-increasing rate of material use leading to manifold impacts to the environment. The contribution
of the manufacturing sector to environmental degradation primarily occurs during the following stages:

13.118. The current ecosystem does not encourage
and facilitate the mainstreaming and scaling up of
new technologies for widespread use, mainly due to a
lack of financial support, resources and Government
assistance.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

13.119. The waste management and recycling industry in India is currently vast but largely unorganised.
In this space, it is necessary to mainstream the industry
and ensure that the livelihoods of all people dependant on this industry are supported and upgraded.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
Organised Waste Management and Recycling
• Development of a National Waste Management
and Recycling Programme
– This is an overarching framework to create and
mainstream the organised waste management
and recycling industry.
– Structured frameworks and guidelines for recycling industry to be developed to integrate it
with the existing waste management rules and
guidelines.
– Development of industry and sector specific
recycling standards.
• Promotion of PPP model for waste management
and recycling
– Establish facilities for reuse, recycling and
reprocessing of wastes from various sectors
should be encouraged by providing incentives
and ensuring the process for setting up PPP
facilities.
• R&D funding
– Promoting new technologies and processes for
waste management and recycling.
– This should be aligned with the overall technology fund as discussed earlier.
• Building institutional capacity
– Local institutional bodies must have their
capacity built on recycling and waste
management.
Creation of a Green Technology Fund
• For usage in three key areas: technology upgradation, promotion of green entrepreneurs and funding for R&D.
• This could be disbursed in the form of concessional loans, grants and so on.
• This fund should be a part of the overall technology fund proposed for improving depth in
manufacturing and must ensure focus on commercialisation of new technology areas.

Promotion of Green Products
• Development of a framework and guidelines for
promotion of green products
– Definition of the specifications
– Creation of/assignment of a new/existing entity
to perform this task on a regular basis
– Identification of top 100 green products (based
on assessment of maximum environmental
impact) and setting of standards for the same
• Promoting green public procurement through
price incentives on Government tenders
• Encourage and develop voluntary rating
programmes
• Creation of centres of excellence to promote green
products and processes
• Incentive programmes for creation of Life Cycle
Inventories
• Incentives for export of green products
Environmental Regulatory Reforms and Market
Based Instruments
• Strengthening regulatory institutions together
with bringing institutional reforms
– Moving towards load-based standards from
concentration based regime.
• Implementing polluters-pay principle, with specific pollution loads beyond a defined benchmark
should be priced and paid for by industry.
– Reforming the existing environmental clearance process.
– Institutionalise the concept of cumulative
impact assessment of the region.
– Introducing technology assessment while
appraising new projects.
– Process for administering the clearances needs
to be streamlined—should include considerations of decentralisation, requirements and
tenure of clearances.
• Establishing integrated chemical-management
policy and regulatory regime
– Set up a regulatory process to assess all chemicals, register and phase-out toxic chemical
products and replace them with non-toxic/lesstoxic substitutes.
• Market-based instruments and emission trading
– Initial pilot Emissions Trading System to limit
particulate matter emissions.

Industry 79

– Scale up the emissions market to address additional pollution problems at the State and
national levels.
– Monitoring technology for all types of pollutants be made as affordable as possible for
industry; waiving of applicable taxes and excise
duties, as well as direct subsidies to monitoring
technology wherever their installation is mandated by the State pollution boards.
Sustainable Environment Management in MSMEs
• Reconstitution of regulatory bodies
– Inclusion of stakeholders/associations.
– Sector-wise product sub-groups need to be
formed as part of PCBs.
– Grievance Redressal Mechanism should be
established at each PCB.
• Creation of common infrastructure for MSMEs in
clusters
– Central Grant Scheme for soft infrastructure,
unit level technology upgradation assistance,
portion of project cost for Common Effluent
Treatment Plants.
– State Grant Scheme with provision for arranging land for CETPs, time-bound speedy legal
clearances, provision for equity participation in
SPVs by SPCBs/State agencies.
Disclosure on Performance
• Short-term action to increase voluntary disclosure
of environmental sustainability performance.
– Development of reporting standard-based
on several existing sustainability reporting
initiatives.
– Incentives for voluntary disclosure.
• Long-term steps to compare environmental sustainability performance of organisations with
industry-specific benchmarks.
Development of Environment Sustainability
Benchmark Index, Espeacially for Identified Highly
Polluting Sectors
Organised Waste Management and Recycling
• As covered in the chapter on Environment, the
development of a National Waste Management
and Recycling Programme and the promotion of

PPP model for waste management and recycling
are required.

WATER ISSUES
13.120. With its increasing population and industrial
activity, India is moving towards perennial water
shortages. The current per-capita water availability is
estimated at around 1,720.29 m3 per capita according to data from the Central Water Commission
and as per the World Water Development Report—
one of the United Nations, India has been ranked
133 (Out of total of 182 countries) in terms of total
renewable per capita water resources.
13.121. The total water demand is projected to
increase by 22 per cent by 2025, and 32 per cent by
2050. A major part of the additional water demand
will come from the domestic and industrial sectors.
The water demands of the domestic and industrial
sectors will account for 8 per cent and 11 per cent of
the total water demand by 2025.

Key Objectives
• Improve the governance and management of
water in order to ensure availability of water for
all purposes.
• Improve the management of water by industry, in
particular in terms of utilisation and pollution.

Status and Key Challenges
• Inadequate storage capacity
• Governance deficit and fragmented institutional
framework
• Inadequate water management by and for
industry
– Water intensity high as compared to global
benchmarks—to the extent of ~30–50 per cent.
– Recycling water in industry is not common and
its proliferation is not happening at the scale as
required.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
13.122. Strategy on improving overall governance
and management of water has been covered in detail
in the section on Water Resources. The proposed
draft National Water Framework Bill will provide
the broad overarching national legal framework of

Twelfth Five Year Plan

general principles on water which will necessitate
the requisite administrative frameworks needed for
greater clarity on demand management, protection
of water resources, improving efficiency of water use
and so on.
13.123. Specifically, strategic measures to ensure
availability for and efficient utilisation of water by
industry have been outlined below.
Water Management in Industry
• Create equity-based and efficiency-based Water
Pricing Regime for industries
– Overcome lack of a clear policy framework
based on cost-recovery principles.
• Current pricing regime is undervalued for all
users.
• This would overcome wide variations in tariff
structure due to current determination by various
States.
• All Indian cities currently operate a mix of measured/metered or unmeasured/unmetered tariffs.
– Potentially two different pricing regimes in
two-tier tariff system/IBT tariff system.
• Enforce ‘Water returns’
– Annual return to be filed by water users on
similar lines of tax returns—should include
key measures like water utilisation per unit
produce, effluent discharge details, rain water
harvested, water reuse details, fresh water consumption and so on.
– Mandatory for major water using industries
and businesses.
• Promote reuse and recycle of wastewater in
industry
– Regulations and incentives through national
frameworks and a system of water returns
• Industry specific standards
– Promoting rain-water harvesting in industry,
both within and beyond the fence through
incentives and regulation.

LAND ISSUES
13.124. Among all the traditional factors of production for any economic activity, land being natural,
immovable and non-renewable, is a distinct resource.

It needs to be looked at from Industry’s perspective
as a tangible resource with supply and demand issues
and the linkage in the form of land acquisition for
industrial demand.
13.125. Land in India has a special significance
because it carries a huge tangible and emotional
value for owners and also for those whose livelihoods
depend on it. This makes it very important to consider the land acquisition process in a critical manner.

Key Objectives
13.126. The key objectives with regard to solving the
various issues and challenges related to land pertain
to:
• Improving the management of land as an asset in
India.
• Setting up a more transparent, fair and efficient process of land acquisition for industry
development.
13.127. By achieving these key objectives, we would
be able to ensure a more productive utilisation of
land, and in particular, be able to spur industrial
development, which has in many instances been hindered as a result of poor land management and land
acquisition processes.

Status and Key Challenges
13.128. India has sufficient land for all uses—agriculture, industry, human dwelling, infrastructure and
other uses—as long as it is used with prudence and
productivity. Currently industry utilises only about
2–4 per cent of all land in India. Even at heightened
industrial activity in the future, it is expected that
there would be sufficient land for all users, including
industry. However, there are some critical issues that
need resolution in order for land to become a wellmanaged resource, especially from the point of view
of Industry.
13.129. Land is inherently an imperfect market,
because land is an immobile asset. Hence, no two
pieces of land are alike and can be differentiated.
This gives rise to a monopolistic power with the

Industry 81

landowners. Furthermore, the value of a piece of
land effectively changes when we change its usage
and due to development of surrounding areas. In
addition, the owner is often emotionally attached to
his land. In India, land is considered a very important asset from an emotional perspective.

13.132. In addition, there are some restrictions on
usage of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes. Non-Agricultural Use Clearance (NAC) from
the local/State Government is necessary before agricultural land can be considered for other uses.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
13.130. A major characteristic of land ownership in
India is that the land holdings are typically small.
Typical industrial usage requires development of
large tracts of land. Consequently, industrial development has as a prerequisite need to acquire land
from a large number of owners in order to develop a
contiguous piece of land for industrial use.
13.131. Another problem in the land market is the
incomplete, outdated and inaccurate land records,
which give rise to disputes and litigation. Since
industrial projects require large amounts of land and
land holding in India is fragmented, industrialists
have to deal with a large number of landowners and
consequently face substantial risk of litigation.

13.133. A three-pronged approach should be undertaken for tackling the land issues. This includes the
development of an institutional framework to support the various actions, a drive to create Land Use
Policies to manage land better, and a reformed process of land acquisition (Figure 13.5).
13.134. A National Land Use Policy should be developed to take care of the growing requirements of land
for sectors other than agriculture. State Governments
should formulate appropriate Land Use Policy in
alignment with the National Land Use Policy. The
main features of this policy should be Land Mapping
(record of types and quanta of land available), Land
zoning and Digitisation of Land Records. The Land

3-part strategy to tackle land issues
Institution Framework
National regulator. lay down
guidelines, monitor the functioning
of the sector and provide oversight
Land development corporations:
independent commercial entity licensed
by the Regulator to acquire and develop
land on behalf of the end-users (industry)

Land Use Policy
National Land Use Policy to be
developed: Land mapping, zoning,
digitization of land records
State Governments should
formulate appropriate Land Use
Policy in alignment with the
National Land Use Policy

Process for Land Acquisition and R&R

Execution of land acquisition by
LDCs through SPVs: based on certain
considerations on
Valuation of land —open-offer price/
multiples of historical price
Compensation for land
R&R programme

FIGURE 13.5: Strategy for Land Issues

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Use Policy should also look at measures to optimise utilisation of land by benchmarking current
utilisation efficiency with global benchmarks, and
setting standards and incentives for more efficient
utilisation.
• There is a need to establish an independent and
autonomous regulator which can lay down guidelines, monitor the functioning of the sector and
provide oversight. The regulator should
– encourage State and local Governments to
define zoning of land, ear-marking them for
different uses, and encourage digital land
records
– define guidelines for valuing various types of
land for different uses
– Establish norms for setting up and operating Land Development Corporations (LDCs)
and monitor adherence to the norms by these
institutions
– lay down the guidelines for acquiring land by a
corporate body
– establish norms for process of land acquisition,
compensation and relocation and rehabilitation of various stakeholders for different project characteristics
• Value of land can be determined, as per the guidelines laid down by the regulator, in the following
ways:
– Open-offer price: Land owners will be asked to
submit their application for sale of land in a
reverse-auction process.
– Multiple of historical price: The regulator can
set a price based on a multiple of the historical
land prices, as mentioned in the land records of
the government.
• The acquiring agent for land should be an independent commercial entity—Land Development
Corporation— that has been licensed by the regulator to acquire land. The role of LDC would be
to acquire and develop the land on behalf of its
clients (end users) in exchange of the process and
maintenance fee. A State can have multiple LDCs
and each LDC will execute projects through SPVs.
The operations of the LDC will be under the purview of the regulator.

• The process of land acquisition will be guided by
the regulatory framework applicable for the project characteristics as defined by the LDC in its
SPV. The role of local/State Government authorities in supporting the acquisition process should
be laid out clearly by the regulator based on project characteristics. The acquisition process may
vary depending upon
– minimum per cent that the SPV needs to
acquire from individual landholders before
regulation mandates compulsory acquisition of
land from other owners
– nature of consent required from different
stakeholders
• Compensation for land needs to factor the
following:
– upfront payment
– annuity income stream
– participation in the future appreciation due to
growth as a result of land development
In addition to the above factors, the land owner
needs to have the flexibility to choose a compensation package
– an owner can choose to take the full value in
upfront compensation or take a part of it as
annuity payouts (determined by prevailing
financial indicators of the time)
– however, every land owner will necessarily
have the component of ‘participation in future
appreciation’ as part of the compensation
• The LDC has to operate a rehabilitation and resettlement programme with combination of different
elements which have been defined by the regulator based on the project characteristics; these
include elements like.
– alternative dwelling, if displaced
– skill development
– assistance in employment/income-generating
opportunities
– community development
• The Industry must be responsible for payment of
cost of land acquisition, including market price,
share of the appreciating value and cost of the
comprehensive R&R.
• There should be a timeframe defined for land
acquisition, and the LDCs must interface

Industry 83

2 Land Zoning and
Valuation
Zoning
Capital value/
Annuity income/
Emotional/intangible
value
1 Regulator

Ownership
Funding
Mandate
3 Acquiring Agency

Project Characteristics
Purpose

- Public goods
- Social resources
- private business

Stakeholders

Development - Short term
- Medium term
timeframe - Long term
- Agriculture
Type of land - Forest
- Barren, tribal
- Small
Size of land - Medium
- Large

Owner

Tenant

Tertiary
user

Community
at large

Process of acquisition

Compensation

Rehabilitation and Resettlement

Impact on - Mild
community - Severe
FIGURE 13.6: Description of Land Acquisition Process

appropriately not only with the local selfgovernance bodies, but also other grass-root level
organisations in order to build awareness about
the land acquisition process.
13.135. A description of the process of land acquisition, the role of the institutional framework and the
other modalities related to land acquisition is provided in Figure 13.6.

CLUSTERING AND AGGREGATION
Introduction
13.136. Industrial clusters are increasingly recognised
as an effective means of industrial development and
promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Status and Key Challenges
• For MSME participants, clusters play an important role in their inclusiveness, technology
absorption, efficiency improvement and availability of common resources. Ministries dealing with
MSME enterprises have been using Cluster programme as one of the key policy tools in administering Industrial Policy. There are around 7,000
clusters in traditional handloom, handicrafts and
modern SME industry segments.

• The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs) adopted the cluster
approach as a key strategy for enhancing the productivity and competitiveness as well as capacity building of small enterprises (including small
scale industries and small scale service and business entities) and their collectives in the country.
The Ministries have been administering hard and
soft interventions to help the cluster participants.
While hard interventions will include investments
in infrastructure like common facilities, common
testing centres, roads, the soft intervention will
include training, capacity building, skill improvement, marketing inputs, product design and
development and so on.
• In order to assess the level of intervention
required, MSME Ministry has carried out a diagnostic study of about 471 clusters. However, the
follow-up on these studies have been weak.
• Today, the cluster programmes are administered by various ministries (textiles, leather,
food, MSME, heavy industry [auto]) under various names with different terms and conditions.
This apart from putting the cluster participants
through procedural hurdles also makes it very
tough to learn from each other and improve the
efficiency of these schemes.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

• Though many of the cluster schemes make it
mandatory to have an SPV, a Project Management
Agency and Cluster Associations, the capacity
of these aggregators needs urgent improvement.
These cluster aggregators provide the crucial link
between the Ministry and the cluster participants.
The cluster aggregators also need to have soft skills
required to impart a vision to cluster participants,
and see beyond their immediate requirement.
• The current amount allocated for soft interventions is grossly inadequate.
• The current cluster initiatives are mainly focused
towards MSME Sector. Other industries can also
benefit from cluster programmes as demonstrated
by the automotive industry clusters.
• There is a deficit of trust between the various
participants in clusters today, which needs to be
addressed.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
• It may be desirable to set up a Cluster Stimulation Cell (CSC) at apex level (to be located in
DIPP/NMCC) to monitor the performance of
clusters and share best practices across them.
The CSC should also develop a cluster manual
which may define clusters, development strategies adopted across the clusters, share best
practices and develop a communication channel. The constitution of a CSC will considerably
reduce the coordination problems across the
clusters and within clusters across different sectors. The CSC should.
• Undertake mapping of clusters to identify the key
bottlenecks and the means for overcoming the
same. It would also enable devising an appropriate strategy and support mechanisms for including the clusters in the growth trajectory.
• Maintain information about all the clusters along
with the cluster participant profile, employment
generated and so on.
• Evaluate the performance of these clusters on
predetermined range of various performance
parameters.
• Identify best practices and ensure sharing the best
practices across clusters, in areas like
– Building trust among participants
– Cluster branding

– Building innovation at cluster level
– Suggesting fiscal incentives to provide to
clusters
– Increasing competitiveness of cluster players
– Effectively leveraging the common facilities
13.137. However, the effectiveness of the CSCs
depends entirely on the way they are structured and
run. If CSC is set up as a hierarchical organisation
controlling clusters, it will lead to suboptimal results
as the line ministries are the best agencies for implementing cluster programmes. On the other hand, If
CSC is structured as knowledge organisation, with
the responsibility of enabling clusters to improve
their performance, CSCs can play an effective role
in improving the performance of clusters across the
country.
13.138. Today there are several agencies playing critical roles in developing and supporting clusters:
• Implementing ministries like MSME, Textiles,
Leather, Food Processing and Heavy Industries
• State Governments
• Department of Science and Technology and
National Innovation Council in the areas of technology upgradation and innovation
13.139. Normally, clusters, especially for MSMEs,
develop on their own and Government may play a
facilitating role to accelerate their growth. However,
going forward the State Governments should have
devolved powers to create clusters while the Central
Government’s role should be to stimulate learning across the system. Hence, the CSC is envisaged
as knowledge partner to these agencies. The roles of
CSC will complete a crucial missing link in the cluster support ecosystem.
• Provide assistance to State Governments in the
cluster formation through strengthened DICs at
district level besides NGOs and reputed institutions that have capacity to undertake this type of
work.
• Develop strategies for growing different types of
clusters (for example, hub-and-spoke, MSME,
high tech and so on) for the different sectors.

Industry 85

• The CSC should undertake this exercise and
include details on the approach to be employed
for each type of cluster and sector.
• The scope of soft interventions should be
expanded to include capacity building of Cluster
associations, initiatives aimed at improving market linkages, improving product quality, improving access to credit, encouraging innovation, skill
development and so on.
• The allocation of funds for soft interventions
should be increased accordingly.

PROMOTING MSMEs
13.140. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSME) sector has emerged as a highly vibrant and
dynamic sector of the Indian economy over the last
few decades. It is estimated that this sector contributes about 45 per cent of manufacturing output
and 40 per cent of total exports of the country and
employs about 69 million persons in over 29 million
units throughout the country. Within the MSME
Sector there is a significant concentration of Micro
Enterprises, both in terms of working enterprises
and employment (refer to Table 13.6). There are over
6,000 products ranging from traditional to high-tech
items manufactured by the MSMEs. The sector also
covers the enterprises established in khadi and village industries and coir sector (plans for these sectors are detailed in Annexure 13.3).
TABLE 13.6
Registered MSMEs—Manufacturing
Micro

Small

Medium

Working Enterprises

94.9%

4.9%

0.2%

Employment

69.2%

26%

4.8%

13.141. Recognising the contribution and potential
of the sector, the definitions and coverage of MSE
Sector have been broadened significantly under
Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development
(MSMED) Act, 2006 (refer to Table 13.7). Service
sector, an important emerging sector, has also been
included under this Act, depending on its category
into Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The criteria of investment limit in plant and machinery is
the only parameter, used to categorise the enterprises
in the sector in the country.

TABLE 13.7
Definition of MSME
Nomenclature and
Classification of MSME
(Manufacturing)

Ceiling on Investment in
Plant and Machinery
(in INR)

Micro

25 lacs

Small

5 crore

Medium

10 crore

13.142. It is important to recognise though that
a broad band of differentiation exists within the
MSME Sector across indicators such as turnover, employment and so on. Further discussion on
MSMEs also needs to specifically address organised
and unorganised segments. Classification based on
investment in plant and machinery only superficially
institutes a numeric threshold for describing a funnel
of growth. Schemes and interventions based on such
concretised classifications, however, may not be able
to necessitate real growth as such definitions create perverse incentive structures that might thwart
firms from graduating from small to medium, such
as service tax exemptions for firms with less than 10
lac revenue, exemption from central excise duty for
firms with an annual turnover of less than `1.5 crore
and so on.

Key Objectives
13.143. The objectives for the MSME Sector are:
• Promoting competitiveness and productivity in
the MSME space
• Making the MSME Sector innovative, improving
technology and depth
• Enabling environment for promotion and development of MSMEs
• Strong presence in exports
• Improved managerial processes in MSMEs

Status and Key Challenges
13.144. MSME Sector has been consistently registering a higher growth rate than the overall growth
of the industrial sector. During the first four years
of the Eleventh Plan, MSME Sector exhibited a
growth rate of 13 per cent on an average. There
are some inherent challenges faced by the sector
which have a strong impact on its growth. These

Twelfth Five Year Plan

relate to (i) availability of credit and institutional
finance (ii) outdated technology and innovation,
(iii) need for skill development and training, (iv)
inadequate industrial infrastructure, (v) marketing
and procurement.
13.145. The Plan explores various aspects of MSME
Sector, relating to the growth of the sector. These
may be classified under six important verticals to
provide theme-based focus, while devising any strategy for the sector. These are (i) finance and credit
(ii) technology (iii) infrastructure (iv) marketing
and procurement (v) skill development and training (vi) institutional structure, however, keeping in
view of the unique status of the khadi and village
industries and coir sector in the Indian economy, it
was decided that there will be separate recommendations for these sectors. Similarly, concerns of unorganised sector and special areas and groups would
be given due consideration while formulating any
programmes/schemes under the aforementioned six
major verticals.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
Credit and Finance
13.146. Credit is a crucial input for promoting
growth of MSME Sector, particularly the MSE
Sector, in view of its limited access to alternative
sources of finance. Access to information, simplification of loan procedures and interest subvention for micro enterprises are enabling features
for timely and affordable credit to MSMEs. The
Plan should provision resources for promoting
e-platforms for information flow and simplification
of procedures. To address the risk perception of
banks, particularly for lending to MSEs, the Credit
Guarantee Scheme needs to be strengthened, with
enhanced budgetary support. There should be substantial increase in the number of MSEs covered
under the Performance and Credit Rating Scheme
which is a facilitating factor for easy access to credit
with liberal terms.

13.147. The reach of the MSEs to the banking network has to be substantially enhanced through setting up of branches near clusters. While there has

been an effort to facilitate credit to clusters by financial institutions such as SIDBI, reach and thereby
coverage needs to be increased. In fact, a clustercentric approach is the best bet for addressing the
credit needs of the MSME Sector because of reasons
of operational convenience and trust building.
13.148. Access to finance needs to be enlarged
through alternative sources of capital such as private
equity, venture capital and angel funds. This is crucial for facilitating the growth of knowledge-based
enterprises which have high potential in the Indian
context. Further, prospective enterprises in emerging
areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, aerospace and defence applications would also require
such alternative sources of finance since traditional
channels are unable to meet their needs.
13.149. There has to be aggressive market intervention, such as promoting companies for market making and ensuring scaling up of operations of SME
exchange. The Plan has to provide resources for such
market interventions.
Technology Upgradation and Support for
Emerging Sectors
13.150. Technology will be the foremost factor for
enhancing the global competitiveness of Indian
MSME Sector. The Prime Minister’s Task Force on
MSMEs has identified low technology, generally
used by the MSME Sector, as a major cause for poor
competitiveness of the sector. Strategies for improving technological capability of MSMEs have been
previously discussed in the section on improving
technology and depth in domestic manufacturing.

13.151. The main focus needs to be on developing
appropriate technologies for various manufacturing processes to bring down cost, develop collaborations between private and public sector on boosting
R&D, and facilitate absorption of globally competitive technologies. Also, separate schemes of the ministry for installation of plants and equipment’s with
advanced technologies viz. CLCSS and NMCP components may be merged into one scheme, skill development and capacity building.

Industry 87

13.152. Lack of skilled manpower and information
as well as lack of reach to modern technology are
affecting the growth of the MSME Sector. Among
its major recommendations, the Prime Minister’s
Task Force has identified lack of skilled manpower
as a road block for the growth of the MSME Sector.
The Ministry of MSME has been mandated to provide skill to 42 lakh persons during the Twelfth Plan
period. Strategies for this, including enhancing training capacities for skilling and industry-led skilling
and training programmes have been covered previously in the Human Resources Development Section.
Infrastructure Development
13.153. Cluster-based intervention has been
acknowledged as one of the key strategies for comprehensive development of Indian industries, particularly the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs). The
Ministry of MSME has adopted the cluster approach
as a key strategy for enhancing the technical and
physical infrastructure as well as capacity-building
of micro and small enterprises and their collectives in the country. Since 1994, Ministry had also
been supporting creation and upgradation of industrial infrastructure in the States under Integrated
Infrastructural Development (IID) Scheme, which
was subsumed under MSE-CDP in October 2007.

13.154. Land and infrastructure constraints are a
major problem, particularly in metros and bigger cities. As production processes of majority of MSEs can
be accomplished in flatted factories, flatted factory
complexes may be encouraged by providing financial support likewise. Accommodation problem of
industrial workers may be addressed to a great extent
by supporting dormitories (in or around industrial
estates/areas). SPVs may run the dormitories on sustainable basis.
13.155. Maintenance of industrial estates (mainly
maintenance of roads, drainage, sewage, power distribution and captive power generation, water supply, dormitories for workers, common effluent
treatment plants, common facilities, security and so
on) is a critical component for successful functioning
of the industrial enterprises in any industrial estate/
industrial area. It would be appropriate to handover

maintenance of industrial estates to the industry
associations, local bodies, State Government agencies, SPVs on self-sustaining basis. World over hightech and innovative enterprises start in Modular
Industrial Estates. To encourage such ventures,
modular industrial estates are proposed to be set up
near centres of excellence like IITs.
13.156. The Cluster Development Programme of the
Ministry of MSME (MSE-CDP) may be continued in
the Twelfth Plan period with streamlining of interventions and also ensuring the sustainability of clusters developed. The Programme should also address
the requirements of the large unorganised manufacturing sector.
Marketing and Procurement
13.157. Marketing and procurement are the other
areas where MSMEs face more challenges than
opportunities. The challenges range from procurement of raw materials to lack of market information.
MSMEs face several constraints in the marketing
and procurement front due to their limited manoeuvrability in such wide ranging activities either on
account of lack of finance or on account of lack of
awareness. While marketing of products of MSMEs
mostly depends upon the market forces and individual efforts of the enterprises, Government and its
organisations can play the role of a facilitator to help
MSME Sector in these endeavours.

13.158. There are multiplicity of market development assistance programmes to support MSMEs,
like participation in domestic and international trade
fairs, bar coding, packaging and standardisation
within the Ministry. There is a need for rationalisation and consolidation of such programmes under
different broad heads.
13.159. However, schemes especially in areas of
use of ICT for creating cluster-level, State-level and
national-level B2B portals with connectivity to international markets and marketing infrastructure may
be required in the Twelfth Plan such as setting up of
testing facilities and establishment of information
dissemination centres and display-cum-exhibition
centres.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

13.160. The plan allocation for such schemes can be
made under the infrastructure vertical and technology vertical (ICT Scheme), respectively. The vacant
land available in the premises of MSME DIs and
DICs can be put to use for construction of displaycum-exhibition centres and establishment of information dissemination centres.
13.161. Setting up of marketing organisations in
clusters in PPP mode through formation of SPVs,
which would form the focal point at the cluster level
for all marketing-related activities, such as e-marketing, branding, advertising, barcoding and so on
could be considered in the Twelfth Plan.
13.162. National Small Industries Corporation
(NSIC), the autonomous outfit of Ministry of MSME
may be the apex organisation to coordinate market
development activities under different schemes.
13.163. The Government has recently introduced
a Public Procurement Policy for the MSME Sector.
Further, there is also need for inclusion of private
sector in the procurement policy for the MSME
Sector. An offset under defence purchases has vast
potential for MSME Sector. There is need for setting up a mechanism in the Ministry of Defence to
ensure that the offsets under defence purchases are
suitably focused to support SMEs in upgrading their
capacities.
13.164. All new and existing schemes should
be merged into one scheme, namely Marketing
Development Assistance Scheme.
Institutional Structure
13.165. The Institutional and legal framework for
promotion and development of Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprise (MSME) Sector of India is
spread both at the National and State level. The primary responsibility for the development of MSMEs
lies with the State Governments and Government
of India supplements their efforts through a range
of initiatives. The Prime Minister’s Task Force in its
report have made significant recommendations on
liberalising the policy regime for the MSME Sector,
viz. introduction of insolvency act, liberalisation

of labour laws, liberalisation of apprenticeship act,
strengthening of district industry centre and so on.
13.166. The following issues need to be immediately
addressed to unshackle the growth of the MSME
Sector (i) environmental issues, (ii) labour issues,
(iii) exit policy, (iv) amendment of MSMED Act (v)
restructuring of the DICs and MSME-DIs.
13.167. On the environmental issues, it is recommended that policies be made uniform pan-India
with appropriate relaxation of the controls for the
MSMEs. Regarding the labour issues, the immediate
need is to consolidate the plethora of labour laws and
acts into one user-friendly law. The enactment of
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development
(MSMED) Act, 2006 is a harbinger for the growth
of the MSME Sector. However, there is an urgent
need to strengthen the various provisions of the Act
along with enactment of the rules under the various
sections.4
13.168. However, the implementation of the process
of filing of Entrepreneurs’ Memorandum is still very
tardy. Application of e-governance for streamlining of the procedures and for that purpose setting
up of an information and database network among
the DICs, MSME-DIs and the Ministry may be
considered.
13.169. The provision regarding the delayed payment under the MSMED Act was another facilitator for ensuring regular cash flow to the micro and
small enterprises against the supplies made. The
Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils
(MSEFC) stipulated under the Act to be set up at the
State level where foreseen as facilitators to the MSEs.
13.170. However, most of these MSEFCs are not
operating efficiently. In fact, in some States they
are yet to be constituted. The group recommends
immediate action for upscaling the activities of these
MSEFCs and introduction of an information and
communication network for operation and monitoring of these MSEFCs. A budget of `100 crore may be
allotted for ICT enabled upscaling of the EM filing
and MSEFC operations.

Industry 89

THE UNORGANISED SECTOR

BOOSTING MANUFACTURING EXPORTS

13.171. The Prime Minister’s Task Force on MSMEs
have stated that no discussion on MSME can be
completed without a full treatment of the unorganised sector. More than 94 per cent of MSMEs are
unregistered with most of them being in the informal/unorganised sector. The Task Force has commented that in addition to the growth potential of
the sector and its critical role in the manufacturing
and value chains, the heterogeneity and the unorganised nature of the Indian MSMEs are important
aspects that need to be factored into policy making
and programme implementation.

13.174. In order to achieve the desired growth rate
for the manufacturing sector, it is necessary to have
a high growth rate for the country’s exports as well.
Considering this, the Department of Commerce has
come up with a strategy paper on doubling India’s
exports.

13.172. Policies/programmes for the larger sized
MSMEs need to address issues relating to growth,
marketing, access to raw material, credit, development and technology upgradation. Programmes for
the micro and small enterprises in the unorganised
sector need to address similar issues for improving
their productivity and competitiveness. In addition,
they must address requirements of social safety nets
for workers in these, more vulnerable enterprises.
The future strategy should focus on providing social
security to the unorganised workers in the MSME
Sector in terms of the mandate under Unorganised
Workers Social Security Act (UWSSA).5
13.173. The policies for the MSME Sector would
have to be devised especially in the areas of skill formation and credit and technology upgradation, and
should meet the special needs of the informal sector. Instead of consigning these responsibilities to
other departments, the Ministry of MSME will have
to actively provide an enabling environment for the
unorganised sector to flourish and integrate with the
organised sector. Towards this, it is suggested that
separate approaches/schemes for the unorganised
sector be built into the broad verticals—credit, technology, skill formation and so on. For example, some
of the important suggestions can be incorporated
into the flagship MSE-CDP Scheme as these can be
done on a cluster basis. Apart from this, the Ministry
may work out the modalities of how enterprises in
the sector can be registered.

13.175. The recent spiral of exchange rate depreciation of Rupee, while has exerted pressure on imports,
has made Indian goods more competitive in international markets. However, this has not materialised
into a much needed spurt in exports, largely due to
falling global orders and declining domestic demand
on account of rising prices, especially of fuel. Over
time, repricing of Rupee, if sustained, will incentivise
domestic manufacturing. However, it is important
to consider that demand for two of India’s biggest
imports, oil and gold, is not as sensitive to prices.
Exchange rate depreciation will therefore have to
be supported and balanced by fundamental changes
in the ecosystem that can sustainably boost Indian
exports and also overall domestic manufacturing.

Key Objectives
• Accelerating the rate of growth of manufacturing
exports
• Building a brand image for Indian products
• Increasing technology intensity of products being
exported from India

Status and Key Challenges
• Low level of production
– Output is the most important determinant
of exports. Therefore, quantum, quality and
competitiveness of domestic manufacturing is
very important for export performance of the
manufacturing sector. Unfortunately, India’s
manufacturing is growing at a very low rate as
compared to other developing countries.
• Very low share of high tech exports
– High-tech products have better terms of trade
due to high income elasticity. However, India’s
share in the global trade of high tech products
is very low, and has been between 5–8 per cent
during 2003–09.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

• Non-tariff barriers being placed by countries
– There is a lack of information and clarity on
procedural norms and regulations of various
countries regarding specification as well as
methods of sampling, inspection and testing.
Several conformity assessment issues also have
the effect of restricting trade.

•
•

Strategy and Key Recommendations
13.176. For achieving the above mentioned objectives, a stable and comprehensive policy for promotion of exports is required. Following specific action
points can be considered for achieving the above
mentioned objectives:
Accelerating Rate of Growth of Indian Exports
• Providing world-class infrastructure at ports
and airports. For promoting exports, adequate
infrastructure at all major ports and air ports
is required. Further, deepening of draughts at
berths, anytime working in ports, deployment of
shore mobile cranes for cargo, LPG and CNG connection through pipes, and making them available
in every town are also required.
• Dedicated export berths for automobile industry
at Chennai port and one more port on west coach,
equipped with facilities to handle ~5l vehicles by
2010 and space for parking are required.
• Ranipat, Gurgaon and Unmao should be notified
as town of export excellence as this would enhance
infrastructure development there.
• Providing an enabling mechanism for facilitating
exports is required.
• Reduction of transaction cost for exporters
– Export procedure to be simplified and human
interface with exporters to be reduced
• Addressing non-tariff barriers to ensure fairness
to exporters
– Indian standards need to be in line with international standards and technical regulations
– Review of our existing standards and their
benchmarking with international standards is
required
– More improved labs with international
accreditation
• Reform of the FTA process to include improved
consultative process with stakeholders

•

•
•
•

•

– Include better input taking mechanism from
industries and associations
Improving fiscal incentives to exporters
Attracting FDI in country
– Linking FDI investment with market access
and giving preferential incentives for investment in areas where Indian domestic market is
non-existent
– Reduction of threshold limit for offset obligation should be considered
Ensuring availability of funds to exporters
– For example, reduction in ECGC premium,
availability of pre-shipment and post-shipment
credit
Market strategy to capture unexplored markets
and products
Move to higher value-added products exported to
traditional markets
Focus on Asian and African countries
– Market access through quota system should be
negotiated with competing countries
– Conducive trade agreements need to be put in
place
Focus on globally dynamic products
– Products which are gaining significant share in
global trade

Building a Brand Promotion Strategy to
Coalesce the Brand Values of the Indian
Manufacturing Sector
• Initial survey of existing product-promotion strategy and product perception—through IBEF
• Initiate study to benchmark Indian products
with competitors in terms of quality and price; all
stakeholders should be consulted in this exercise
• A logo and a standard brand kit should be
developed
• Focus required on strong PR initiative
– Participation of Government and industry
should be ensured at major national and international trade fairs, seminars and exhibitions
Focus on Moving Towards ‘High-tech’ Exports
from Current Low Tech Exports
• Identify the sectors having high technology and
high export growth potential

Industry 91

– Frequent consultations among export promotion councils, industry associations and major
technology agencies required
– CII is already in partnership with many agencies for development of technology. Department of Commerce may partner with these
efforts to assist R&D for manufacturing exports
– Need to focus on measures to promote these
identified sectors

REFORMING THE ROLE AND MANAGEMENT
OF PSEs
13.177. Public-sector enterprises occupy an important space in manufacturing. While PSEs like SAIL
and BHEL have performed very well in competition
with private-sector enterprises, there are also many
PSEs that have performed very poorly. In an economic environment that has changed considerably
since the early days of India’s post- Independence
development journey, the need for PSEs as well
as the systems for their governance and management should be re-evaluated. Considering this, the
Roongta Committee was set up to examine a range of
issues of the PSEs and suggest a roadmap for reforms
and further development of these enterprises.
13.178. Major recommendations of the Roongta
Committee are given below

Strategy and Key Recommendations
13.179. A fundamental problem facing CPSEs which
inevitably affect their performance is that they are
expected to compete in the market with privatesector companies while having much less freedom of
manoeuvre. To deal with this problem it is necessary
to consider some fundamental changes as outlined
below:
Change in Corporate Governance Structure in
CPSEs
• Setting up a strategy and business development committee by every CPSE Board. The committee needs
to set direction for the company towards diversification, acquisition, joint ventures, new business entry
and review of organisational structure and so on.
• Introduce a system of annual self-evaluation for
board of CPSEs.

• Changing the board composition to have 50 per
cent board members as independent directors.
• Role of Government director should be equivalent to independent directors on matters where
Government has no views as Government. These
directors should be paid sitting fees for attending board committee meetings. Their evaluation
should also be based on their performance as
Directors of board of CPSEs.
• Reform the process of selection of independent
directors to make the process more efficient.
For this DPE/PSEB can formulate a panel of
approved names, out of which independent directors can be appointed for CPSEs. Full-time CEOs
of successful enterprises should also be eligible to
be appointed as independent directors provided
there is no conflict of interest.
• Streamlining the process of appointment of
CMDs and full-time directors, in particular the
mechanism of obtaining vigilance clearance
Process of selection of CMDs/CEOs of Maharatna
and Navratna Companies to be different from
current process. A separate body may be constituted within PSEB and the selection criteria
should be more focussed on leadership quality,
strategic thinking, capability to manage external environment and so on, apart from domain/
sectoral expertise. Selection of CMD should be
made three months before the term of incumbent
CMD. Vigilance-clearance process also needs to
be reformed in line with the previous point.
• Tenure of CMD/Functional director should be
minimum made three years irrespective of the age
of the person.
• Reforming vigilance function in CPSEs.
Change in Human Resource Strategy for CPSEs
• All CPSEs should undertake a comprehensive
manpower planning exercise to identify key skill
and talent requirement across all levels within
an organisation from a medium term and a long
term perspective.
• CPSEs should develop a leadership pipeline for its
key positions and a leadership development strategy.
• To fill the immediate gaps at the higher level in
CPSEs, an extension of two years may be allowed

Twelfth Five Year Plan

at DGM and above level, subject to certain
conditions.
• Autonomy in recruitment policy.
• Autonomy in compensation policy.

Government investment in the industry is missed or
Government’s investments, when they have outlived
their necessity, become a drag on the performance of
the units and a drain on the public exchequer too.

Review of Memorandum of Understanding for
CPSEs
• Current MOU System to be modified and greatly
linked to the organisation’s approach towards
diversification, acquisition, formation of JVs,
new/strategic business, usage of ICT, R&D initiative, HR development and organisational changes.
• Physical performance parameters, if included
in MOU should be benchmarked with industry
parameters including those in private sectors.
CPSEs should be encouraged to reach to these
standards within a defined timeframe.

• For this purpose, a Single Holding Structure
(SHS) for all new government-owned companies
can be established.
– The SHS can be in the form of holding company owning different stakes in different
Government companies.
– The management can be a mix of senior incumbent bureaucrats and members chosen for their
integrity, expertise and domain knowledge in
industry, economic or commerce.
– The SHS can be self-managed like a mutual
fund. The board of the SHS would appoint the
board of the company it has invested into to the
extent of its investment.
– SHS would earn income through dividends
from entities it invested into or through divestiture of its stake.
– The performance of the SHS entity could be
monitored by an empowered group of ministers to whom it would be accountable.

Joint Ventures, Public–Private Partnership and
Procurement
• CPSE board should be empowered to select the
partner for JV and companies for acquisition.
• Process of entering into partnership and JVs need
to be simplified. Current restriction of minimum
ownership of 51 per cent in case of JV to be done
away with.
• Disinvestment through privatisation of loss making CPSEs may be considered.
• Creation of a Public Sector Land Development
Authority for the purpose of developing surplus
lands with CPSEs and unlocking their real value.
Technology Mapping for CPSEs
• Every CPSE to have a technology policy, clearly
indicating the commitment of the enterprise in
using/sourcing/developing type of technology as
per needs of the organisation.
• A technology committee may be set up in every
CPSE to identify the technology needs and finding alternative ways of developing or finding such
technology.

13.180. There is a need for changing the governance
model for CPSEs in sectors in which private-sector
investments are not forthcoming. Government
should be able to enter or exit from any such
investment in good time. Otherwise, the benefit of

13.181. The above mentioned model can be used to
fill gaps where there is not enough Indian presence
in sectors and which the Government considers strategic and vital to India’s future.

NATIONAL INVESTMENT AND
MANUFACTURING ZONES (NIMZs)
13.182. NIMZ is a new concept which is an integral part of the recently approved National Manufacturing Policy of DIPP. The NMP is a policy
solution for a number of challenges discussed in this
document, and is a policy tool to be applied to select
zones designated for promoting manufacturing.

Key Objectives
13.183. Creation of dedicated zones for manufacturing in the nation to
• Promote investments in manufacturing
• Make the country a hub for both domestic and
international markets

Industry 93

• Promoting ease of development of manufacturing
units

Concept and Approved Strategy
13.184. The National Investment and Manufacturing
Zones (NIMZs) will be developed as integrated
industrial townships with state-of-the art infrastructure and land use on the basis of zoning; clean and
energy-efficient technology; necessary social infrastructure; skill development facilities, and so on to
provide a productive environment to persons transitioning from the primary sector to the secondary
and tertiary sectors. These NIMZs would be managed by SPVs which would ensure master planning
of the zone; pre-clearances for setting up the industrial units to be located within the zone and undertake such other functions as specified in the various
sections of this policy.
13.185. To enable the NIMZ to function as a selfgoverning and autonomous body, it will be declared
by the State Government as an industrial township
under Art 243 Q1(c) of the Constitution. In sum,
the NIMZs would be large areas of developed land,
with the requisite ecosystem for promoting world
class manufacturing activity. They would be different from SEZs in terms of size, level of infrastructure
planning, and governance structures related to regulatory procedures and exit policies.
13.186. The administrative structure of NIMZ will
comprise of a Special Purpose Vehicle, a developer,
State Government and the Central Government.
The Central Government shall, by notification in the
Official Gazette, notify an NIMZ. An SPV will be constituted to exercise the powers conferred on, and discharge the functions assigned to it under this Policy
to manage the affairs of the NIMZ. Every SPV shall
be a legal entity by the name of the NIMZ. This SPV
can be a company, including a Section 25 company
depending upon the MOU between stakeholders.

Role of Central Government
• Expenditure on master planning for the NIMZ.
• Improve/provide external physical infrastructure linkages to the NIMZs including—rail, road
(national highways), ports, airports and telecom.

• Viability gap funding through existing schemes
will be provided for internal infrastructure development in the zone including infrastructure for
skill development.
• The Central Government, through its institutions
and schemes, will provide institutional infrastructure for productivity, quality (testing facilities and
so on) and design capabilities, encouraging innovation and skill development within the NIMZ.
• The Central Government will be responsible
for the technology acquisition and development
interventions in the policy.
• The Central Government will put in place a jobloss policy for units in the NIMZ.
• The Central Government will undertake, along
with the State Government concerned, the promotion of domestic as well as global investments
in NIMZs.

Role of State Governments
13.187. The State Governments would play the lead
role in setting up of the NIMZs. In particular, the
State Government would be responsible for providing/facilitating the following infrastructure:
•
•
•
•
•

Land
Power connectivity
Provision of bulk requirements of water
Road connectivity (State roads)
Sewerage and effluent treatment linkages, from
edge of NIMZ, to the final disposal sites
• Appropriate infrastructure to address the health,
safety and environmental concerns

Institutional Framework for Implementing
NIMZs
• The Department of Industry Policy and
Promotion (DIPP) will be the nodal department
of the Government of India for the NIMZs.
• Board of Approval constituted by DIPP will scrutinise applications for setting up the NIMZ, and
subsequently monitor and expedite the progress
of implementation.
• The administrative structure of NIMZ will comprise of a Special Purpose Vehicle, a developer,
State Government and the Central Government.

Twelfth Five Year Plan

• The SPV would be constituted for each NIMZ and
will be responsible for its development and management. It will also be empowered to issue/expedite approvals and pre-approvals.

The Major Benefits for Units within NIMZ
• Job-loss policy will enable units to pay suitable worker compensation in the eventuality of
business losses/closures through insurance and
thereby eliminate the charge on the assets.
• The transfer of assets belonging to a firm which
has been declared sick will be facilitated by the
SPV of the concerned NIMZ.
• Exemption from capital gains tax.
• Skill up gradation programmes for new employees as well as for the existing employees in coordination with NSDC.
• Soft loans from multilateral institutions will be
explored for funding infrastructure development.
• The developers of NIMZs will be allowed to raise
ECBs for developing the internal infrastructure.

Special Incentives for Green Technologies in
NIMZs
•
•
•
•

Environmental audit will be mandatory
Water audit will be mandatory
Exemption from water cess
Ten per cent one-time capital subsidy for units
practicing zero water discharge
• Rainwater harvesting will be compulsory
• Under renewable energy appropriate incentives
under existing schemes will be available
• Incentive to obtain green rating for buildings

Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project
13.188. The DMIC is proposed to be developed
on either side along the alignment of the 1,483 km
long Western Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor
between Dadri (UP) and JNPT (Navi Mumbai).
Running across the six States of Uttar Pradesh,
Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and
Maharashtra, the project seeks to create a strong economic base with a globally competitive environment
and state-of-the-art infrastructure to activate local
commerce, enhance investments and attain sustainable development.

13.189. Initially, seven investment nodes/cities have
been taken up for development:
13.190. DMIC is conceived as a model industrial
corridor comprising global manufacturing and commercial hubs, that is, self-contained, state-of-the-art,
industrial cities. These cities will have world-class
physical infrastructure like high speed road and rail
connectivity for freight movement between the ports
and production/consumption centres, logistics hubs,
international air connectivity, reliable power and
water, waste management and recycling.
13.191. With the view to taking the project forward
to the implementation stage, the Cabinet in its meeting held on 15 September 2011 has approved the
financial and institutional structure and financial
assistance for the development of industrial cities
in the DMIC. This inter alia includes creation of the
‘DMIC Project Implementation Fund’ of `17,500
crore over the next five years for the development
of industrial. The Government of Japan has also
announced their financial support for the DMIC
project to an extent of US$ 4.5 billion for projects
with Japanese participation in the first phase of the
project.

STRATEGIES FOR THE VARIOUS
MANUFACTURING SECTORS
13.192. The objectives of the Plan will be met by the
performance of enterprises in select sectors. The
selection of the sectors that are included in the Plan
has been on a ‘bottom-up–cum–top-down’ process.
India’s New Manufacturing Plan is not made on a
blank slate. Manufacturing enterprises are operating in the country in a large variety of sectors. They
are competing with one another and with enterprises
from abroad too. They understand the constraints in
India on their competitiveness and growth, as well
as opportunities before them. Therefore, associations of enterprises in various sectors were encouraged to prepare plans for their sector’s growth, along
with the central Government ministry/department
responsible for the sector. They have indicated what
the enterprises (and their associations) will themselves be responsible for and the support required
from Government.

Industry 95

Sector Coverage
13.193. Some sectors have been identified as critical
in achieving the overall manufacturing goals. The
key characteristics of these sectors are:
Sectors of Strategic Importance
13.194. It is essential for the country to develop
domestic manufacturing capabilities in certain sectors for ensuring national security and self-reliance.
Industries such as Defence Equipment, Aerospace,
Capital Goods, Electronics Systems Design and
Manufacturing (ESDM) and Shipbuilding and Ship
Repair are sectors where greater focus is required to
increase indigenisation in production.
Sectors for Basic Inputs
13.195. Availability of high-quality raw material and
production inputs is essential for ensuring sustained
growth of the manufacturing sector. Industries
which are engaged in the production of steel, cement,
fertilisers, and in the exploration and development of
Minerals, underpin this growth. Significant impetus
is required towards developing production capacities
in these sectors.
Sectors for Depth and Value Addition
13.196. These are knowledge-intensive and technologyintensive industries with high growth potential.
Developing competitive advantage in them through
increasing depth and value addition in domestic
manufacturing will contribute to long-term sustained economic growth. While India has developed
good technological capability in certain sectors in
this category (automobiles, pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals), it lags behind significantly in others
(electronics, chemicals and paper).
Sectors for Employment Generation
13.197. Industries such as textiles, food processing,
leather goods, and gems and jewellery are less capital intensive and more labour absorptive in nature.
These are high employment generating industries
that are currently dominated by MSMEs. They lack
the deployment of sophisticated technologies in their
manufacturing processes and instead rely heavily
on manpower. Maximum growth in employment is
likely to come from these industries and hence their

success is imperative for the country to achieve its
job-creation goals.
13.198. The definition of the sectors was influenced
by the way the ministries are organised. However,
most of the growth and employment data available
under NIC classification does not follow this sector definition. Therefore, we have attempted to correlate the Plans for the sectors (in the way we have
defined in this Plan) to the industrial segments as
per NIC classification to arrive at the likely scenarios
for manufacturing growth rate and employment that
will be achieved if the recommendations suggested
in this Plan are implemented. The Table 13.8 provides the likely growth rate and employment figures
that would be achieved on a ‘business as is’ basis with
the manufacturing sector growing as per its historical growth rate (Scenario 1).
13.199. Under Scenario 2, we consider the manufacturing growth rate provided the manufacturing
strategy is implemented. Targets for sectoral growth
rates6 in manufacturing were derived by the respective working groups. This then provided the starting point towards identifying the supporting and
enabling conditions that would need to be effected
to realise the requisite outcomes. One such condition is that capital investment in the economy needs
to be labour supplementing and not labour displacing; to reflect this we have deflated the growth rate
of labour productivity in Scenario 2. As can be seen
from the following table, in Scenario 2, the creation
of 70 million additional jobs is a possibility, provided
the manufacturing strategy recommendations are
implemented, while a ‘business as usual’ approach
will not create the requisite additional employment
opportunities.
13.200. The Plan is a living process to shape and to
strengthen the productivity and competitiveness
of a large industrial ecosystem so that much faster
growth of industrial output and more employment
can be created across the country. Actions will be
required in all States, and in many industrial sectors, to meet the ambitious national goals for the
country’s industrial sector that this Plan has laid
out. This Plan cannot be ‘the last word’ on all that

12.2%
6.8%
9.7%
11.1%
6.0%
7.7%
6.3%

Coke, petroleum products, and nuclear fuel,
rubber and plastics

Chemicals and chemical products

Other non-metallic mineral products

Basic metals

Machinery and equipment and others

Electrical machinery and apparatus, telecom
and others

Motor vehicles and other transport
equipment

Furniture and other manufacturing

4.7%

6.3%

6.0%

12.8%

8.1%

1.9%

13.6%

9.0%

7.5%

5.8%

12.0%

4.6%

7.3%

3.8%

50.5

4.3

1.5

1.3

3.8

1.4

4.3

1.7

0.8

1.6

3.6

0.9

7.3

8.4

4.1

5.5

60.01

4.76

1.63

2.09

4.68

1.19

7.22

2.20

0.95

1.72

5.52

0.90

8.57

8.00

4.12

6.46

68.83

4.47

1.59

3.34

5.33

0.84

12.22

2.66

1.03

1.64

8.34

0.79

9.20

6.56

3.61

6.94

6.3%

13.0%

12.8%

16.8%

10.3%

13.6%

12.0%

10.7%

8.7%

12.0%

24.0%

11.5%

4.7%

8.8%

74.91

5.02

2.37

2.20

7.25

1.86

7.61

2.66

1.16

2.08

5.82

2.22

10.94

12.07

4.35

7.29

123.59

5.43

4.18

3.82

16.67

2.71

14.03

4.36

1.73

2.69

9.57

8.25

17.34

19.14

4.17

9.50

GDP CAGR Employment Employment
as per
2016–17
2024–25
Manufacturing
Plan

Scenario 2: Growth rate as per
Manufacturing Plan

Note: *Contribution to Manufacturing GDP as per GDP Data series provided by CSO—2009–10. Basis of GDP CAGR Eleventh Plan estimates provided in the Annexure.
Employment figures are in millions. Employment for 2009–10 does not include employment of 0.20 million for recycling and medical, precision and optical instruments,
watches and clocks.
^ The key variables and assumptions are part of Annexure 13.1.

Total

2.7%
10.6%

Paper, publishing and others

1.3%
2.2%

Wearing apparel

Wood and others

3.9%

Textiles

Leather products and others

1.7%
9.2%

Tobacco products

7.3%

Employment Employment Employment
2009–10
2016–17
2024–25

Contribution to GDP CAGR
Manufacturing
11th Plan
GDP
8.7%

Scenario 1: Manufacturing
Growth as per Historical
Growth Rates

Eleventh Plan*

Food products and beverages

Manufacturing Sectors (Excluding Mining)

TABLE 13.8
Manufacturing GDP by Sector and Employment Projections

Industry 97

is required to be done. Just as many stakeholders,
many sectors and many industry ministries have
come together to start this comprehensive, collaborative process, others are expected to join too.
Thus, the snowball will grow into a larger and faster
movement. Indeed, the preparation of this Plan has
already brought forth demands from sectors that
did not join the first wave to come on board too. In
the directions set by the Plan, they see opportunities for their growth too. For instance, biotechnology, which focuses on industrial enzymes, alternate
energy, seed manufacturing, diagnostics, vaccines,
discovery research and clinical services and biotech
drugs, is emerging as an important focus area for
the country.
13.201. While we have not included this as a separate section (this is included in the Drugs and
Pharmaceuticals Section), the policies needed for the
sector would be given due importance in the ongoing planning process. More such sectors are likely to
join the planning process as we go along.
13.202. With this in mind, the process of planning
has been designed as an ongoing activity with periodic reviews to ensure that right policies are provided to encourage new emerging industrial sectors
and reviewing policies of existing sectors based on
the changing global and domestic economic and
industrial environment.
13.203. While there are certain common challenges
and underlying solutions across sectors, which have
been articulated in the previous section, each sector also has its unique constraints that need to be
addressed. These sector-wise recommendations
have been attached as an annexure to this document
(Annexure 13.2).

STRATEGIES FOR HIGHEST IMPACT
13.204. The overall manufacturing strategy outlined
in the chapter details many initiatives and actions
that address the key challenges in each sector as well
as focuses on capitalising on the opportunities that
lie within. Also, recommendations have been formulated to relieve the cross-cutting constraints across
sectors. A few high-impact strategies emerge, which

would serve well to further the overall growth of
manufacturing in India (Box 13.3).
13.205. The Central and the State Governments are
responsible for implementing the various policyrelated and institution-related recommendations.
This categorisation can be seen in Box 13.4.

WAY FORWARD
Principles of Policy Implementation
13.206. Research on success of countries that built
effective implementation systems to create sustained
competitive advantage across multiple manufacturing sectors provides some principles for a robust
implementation process.
• Build an implementation system, don’t just do the
task: Explicit attention to the process of policy
development and implementation has been lacking to a large extent in the Indian context. An
effective implementation system is not limited to
the success of a single initiative. It builds broadbased capabilities across several industries.
• Systemic experimentation and learning help to
progressively and rapidly improve implementation: Even carefully designed programmes are
likely to face challenges from unforeseen changes
in the environment. Therefore, it is important
to have learning and feedback mechanisms in
place to ensure that implementation effectiveness improves through successive cycles. Good
policy development (and implementation) should
follow the PDCA cycle (Plan—develop strategy;
Do—implement strategy; Check—diagnose issues
in strategy and its implementation; Act—rectify
issues identified).
• Prioritise, sequence and create momentum through
results: Often it takes time for results of policy recommendations to become visible. When results
are not visible, the implementation process may
lose momentum. Therefore, to build momentum,
some early wins must be targeted. They build confidence and commitment to the process.
• Performance measures for government programmes have to be defined consultatively: The old

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Box 13.3
Strategies for Highest Overall Impact
Policy and Process Interventions
• Align stakeholders in the process of development and implementation of industrial policies.
• Simplify processes for doing business in India by mandating a ‘Regulatory Impact Assessment’ and operationalising single
window clearance across the country.
• Create a level-playing field for Indian manufacturers through fiscal measures by correcting anomalies in duty structures.
• Boost demand for domestic manufacturing, regardless of ownership of enterprises, through public procurement backed
by minimum threshold quality parameters.
• Bring down the cost of finance.
Technology Upgradation Measures
• Improve Government–industry and industry–academic collaboration.
• Encourage technology transfers through FDI/JVs.
• Improve technical standards and voluntary compliance, across the industry.
• Encourage adoption of ‘green technology’.
• Modernise MSMEs through technology adoption and adequate access to finance.
Infrastructure Creation
• Improve transport and power infrastructure.
• Set up NIMZs (National Investment and Manufacturing Zones).
• Make industrial clusters more effective by creating both, the ‘hard’ physical infrastructure as well as the ‘soft’ infrastructure
for knowledge creation and sharing.
• Design an effective land-acquisition process for industrial development.
Human Capital Formation
• Modernise labour regulations and institutions.
• Improve skill availability through Skill Councils.
• Ensure social protection to all employees in the manufacturing sector by creating ‘sump institutions’ for workers in
transitory phase and develop innovative insurance systems for the informal sector.
• Improve ‘industrial relations’ through streamlining of consultative processes and representative institutions.
• Improve the quality of manufacturing managers/supervisors.

management adage—‘you can’t manage what you
don’t measure’—is especially true with regards to
complex Government programmes. The need for
performance measures is well accepted. However,
it is also very important to define these measures
appropriately. A key difference between public sector and private sector programmes is that
the value required to be produced by public programmes is generally more intangible than in private programmes where shareholder value and
profit may be good measures. Outcomes of public
programmes must deliver against expectations of
diverse public stakeholders.
Therefore, it is imperative that time is spent,
upfront, to define outcomes in consultation with
key stakeholders. Failure to do this causes the system to adopt simplistic measures of performance

against expenditure targets, which are not good
indicators of the outcomes that were desired.
• Coordination between Government departments
is critical: Given the complexity of policy issues
relating to manufacturing, most solutions are
likely to require coordinated actions between a
number of Government departments. While the
default solution is to create another agency/committee to oversee this coordination, this is not
always the optimal solution. Before setting up
such an agency/committee, the tasks required to
be performed by such an agency/committee must
be analysed and the existing system of agency/
committees must be mapped to eliminate any
overlaps and redundancies.
Otherwise additional agencies/committees can
increase the clutter in the system rather than

Industry 99

Box 13.4
Key Recommendations for Manufacturing
Category

Central Governments

State Governments

Policy
recommendations

•
•
•
•

Develop National Land Use policy
Reform the existing environmental clearance processes
Initiate Reforms in labour laws
Create a ‘Sump’ for transitory workers and ‘job loss
insurance
Mandate Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for all
regulatory changes in the country
Develop functional National Business facilitation and
development policy
Develop functional competition Act
Evolve a Single Holding Structure for all PSEs
Create a National IP Mission
Develop Policy on technical regulations
Mandate minimum 30% local value addition for capital goods
Provide preference to local content in PSE purchases of
capital goods
Rationalise the import of second hand capital goods
Make changes in ECB and FDI policy and removal of sectoral
cap for banking sector (Steel)
Accord ‘deemed exports’ status to Steel Industry
Prepare policy on fuel usage in Transport sector
Evolve National Policy on Vehicle Retirement and End-oflife solution
Develop integrated chemical management policy and regime
Passing of MMDR bill

• Reforming the existing
environmental clearance
processes
• Developing State Land Use
policy
• Initiate reforms in labour laws
• Developing State business
facilitation and development
policy
• Developing State Competition
Act
• Mandate Regulatory Impact
Assessment (RIA) for all
regulatory changes in the State
• Mandate minimum 30% local
value addition for capital goods
• Provide preference to local
content in PSE purchases of
capital goods
• Improve the performance
of power generating and
distributing companies in the
States
• Streamlining the administration
of sales tax, VAT and so on

Institution-related
recommendations
(new institutions)

• Create RBOs mandated and empowered for integrated Water
Resource Management
• Establish an independent and autonomous regulator for
Land
• Establish functional National-State Business Facilitation and
Development Commissions
• Establish functional national state institutions for promoting
business responsibilities, competitiveness and competition
reforms
• Establish cluster stimulation cells
• Establish speciality chemical forum
• Constitute domestic council for leather industry
• Create National Aeronautics Commission
• Create National Discovery and Development Center for
Pharma Industry
• Develop institutional mechanisms enabling expert study
of techno-economic policy issues relating to national raw
materials security

• Development of State maritime
policies and boards
• Strengthen land management at
State level
• Establish/strengthen State-level
cluster stimulation cells

Strengthening
of existing
institutions

• Strengthen capabilities of
− Local bodies for recycling and waste management
− Standard developing organisations
− Inspection bodies/certification agencies/regulators in the
areas of Technical Standards
− Scale up of operations of SME exchange

• Strengthen capabilities of
micro and small enterprises
facilitation centers in States

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

100

Twelfth Five Year Plan

improve its performance. Since coordination is an
essential function to improve system performance,
coordination/oversight should be accountable for
performing its task and its performance must be
measured too.
• Stakeholder consultations are key to improve the
quality of policy development and implementation:
Rather than seeking to a priori design a detailed
plan in an unpredictable environment, it is better to create effective forums to identify problems,
and for joint teams to be formed to tackle them.
These forums should be broad-based and inclusive to ensure that all stakeholders can contribute
to the process.

A Two Track Process of Implementation
13.207. The Manufacturing Plan makes many recommendations developed through a managed, participative process with structured involvement from
a diverse set of stakeholders (Figure 13.7). Previous
experiences of implementation in India have shown
that the inability of various stakeholders to work
together is a root cause of failure of policies.
13.208. The conventional response to this has been
to try and create a structure with a chain of command. However, this becomes untenable when there
are many stakeholders and owners who cannot all be
included within such a structure. The recommended
approach for policy implementation, based on the
principles enunciated before, is characterised by
three ‘L’s: enable local action, create lateral connections; and focus on learning. Local actions and lateral
connections require a process of implementation that
coordinates multiple entities in a consultative manner. Learning requires a process that systematically
distils lessons from experience to improve the ongoing evolution of policies and their implementation.
13.209. Therefore, a two-track approach for implementation and learning is recommended: the first
track delineates the steps required to convert the
recommendations of the Plan to implementation
and the second track concentrates on the systemic
changes that need to be undertaken to strengthen the
process of consultation, learning, policy making and
ongoing implementation.

13.210. The ‘third rail’ that provides the power
to accelerate learning and institutional capacity
improvement is an ongoing process of evaluation
and learning, which must be proactively facilitated
through the creation of a ‘backbone’ organisation
and other means. This approach is schematically
represented in Figure 13.7.
Collaboration and Implementation
13.211. Two root causes identified for poor implementation are: inadequate consensus amongst
stakeholders for policy changes and very poor coordination amongst agencies in execution.

13.212. Wide-spread consensus-building processes,
therefore, need to be institutionalised within the
Indian manufacturing system to ensure successful
implementation of plans.
13.213. This consensus cannot be commanded. We
need another mechanism specifically designed to
bring people with different perspectives together:
to listen to each other, to distil the essence of their
shared aspiration for the country and the critical
principles they will adhere to in the work they have
to do together as partners in progress.
13.214. Hence, there is a need to establish an effective
‘backbone’ capability which will provide strength to
multi-stakeholder policy and implementation processes.
13.215. The ‘backbone’ capability neither requires
an organisation with large amounts of resources and
manpower nor one with the power to command topdown. The ‘backbone’ capability must essentially
comprise of small catalytic units located in many
parts of the system, which can provide the ‘tools and
techniques’ to the various States and ministries to
effectively coordinate, design and implement their
programmes. The backbone network (and its units)
must rely on ‘learning by doing’ to enhance its own
capacity and to transfer knowledge to other stakeholders tackling specific systemic issues.
13.216. The India Backbone Implementation
Network will provide these institutions with tools

Industry 101

Implementation Tracks

Learning
2
1

Manufacturing
Plan

Categorize and Prioritize
Recommendations on
the basis of Impact and
Feasibility

Process for
Implementation

Implementation

Define, Develop and
Induce the Process for
Implementation

Doing

Creating enabling
mechanisms for
Implementation
– Inducing State
Consultation
– Ensuring Sectoral
schemes align with
overall strategy

Changing

Identifying and Inducing
Systemic Reform

• Ensuring Accountability
• Designing an Effective
Consultation Process
• Developing principles
for key policy actions
such as scheme design
and implementation
• Structuring of
implementation agency

FIGURE 13.7: Two Connected ‘Tracks’ for Implementation and Systems’ Improvement

and assistance to fulfil their coordination functions
more effectively. This has been discussed in detail
in Volume I of the Plan document, in the section on
Collaboration and Implementation, under the chapter on Governance.
A ‘Movement’ of Learning and Improvement
13.217. The distinction between creating yet another
‘organisation’ and stimulating a ‘movement’ is crucial. For widespread acquisition of capabilities, across
a large, diverse, and democratic system, a movement
of learning and change is required.
13.218. Japan was able to improve the quality of all is
enterprises, in the public and private sectors, through
the TQM movement. Relevant principles, techniques
and tools were provided by many persons and organisations, notable amongst them were Professors
Deming and Ishikawa, and Taichi Ohno of Toyota.
These principles and tools were deployed by the
movement. The subjects of the IBIN Movement are
stakeholder collaboration and implementation. IBIN
must play a catalytic role, and it must be designed for
it. Strategic functions such as high-stake partnership
brokering and project management are capabilities

that should rest within IBIN and can be managed
with a compact team. Some amount of time will
have to be invested in identifying staff and partners
with the appropriate skills and character required
for the work of IBIN and its units. Given that India
has never quite had an organisation like the proposed IBIN, the enrolment process of partners will
need to be very deliberate about selecting the right
individuals and organisations for the job, keeping in
mind how these selections will impact stakeholder
perceptions of IBIN and, therefore, willingness to
solicit services of IBIN and its units. Empanelment of
partner organisations should be based on established
guidelines/principles with a rigorous selection process whereby partners should expect to be challenged
and evaluated, even being dropped from IBIN’s panels if deemed necessary.
13.219. Further to develop project management and
stakeholder-alignment skills, IBIN needs the support of quality policy analysis to ensure consistency
in implementation in the present federal structure
(refer to Figure 13.8). Thus, IBIN could be well positioned to drive policy coherence at the central level
and ensure nation-wide consistency in actions and

102

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Capabilities of the BPO

Program Management

Policy Analysis

Stakeholder Alignment

FIGURE 13.8: Capability Map

policies. For this IBIN’s units at the Centre and in
the States will use tools such as Business Regulatory
Impact Analysis (BRIA) to analyse the need and relevance of existing as well as new regulations on the
basis of set criteria, developed though a consultative
process, and relevant to the Indian context.
13.220. As mentioned ‘backbone’ units should form
at several nodal points in the institutional structures of governance in the country where coordination and management of implementation are key
responsibilities. These will be in State Governments
and they will be within national missions that bring
together several agencies to produce integrated outcomes. In each of these, the three modules of capabilities described above may be required. Of these,
stakeholder-alignment and programme management would be required invariably. The third capability, policy analysis, may be required in some units,
not all. For example, it would be most likely required
in State level units, but perhaps not in units supporting missions.
13.221. A decision will have to be made about where
the central node of the ‘backbone’ capability (which
as mentioned before must grow and be distributed
across the country) will reside, taking into consideration how its location will impact stakeholder
perceptions of its purpose, neutrality and capabilities, and therefore the willingness of stakeholders
to solicit ‘backbone’ services or take part in IBIN
interventions.
Make Systemic Reforms
13.222. In the course of developing the Plan for
manufacturing, through intensive discussions with
stakeholders, ‘root causes’ for present problems in

the country with implementation of such ambitious
and complex programmes were located. Ways to
address some of these have been built into the Way
Forward for the Manufacturing Plan. However,
some root causes require broader institutional
changes. Efforts are being made by Government to
address these. Implementation of those changes by
Government will accelerate the implementation of
the many actions required to achieve the country’s
ambitious goals for its manufacturing sector. These
broader institutional changes, the benefits of which
will be in all sectors of the economy, are described
below.
Improve Architecture of Government
Programmes and Schemes
13.223. Schemes, especially those that aim to provide
financial incentives to encourage specific behaviours
from the private sector, are popular instruments of
manufacturing policy in the country. However, significant reforms are required in the architecture of
schemes to ensure that they effectively and efficiently
help to fulfil policy goals:
1. Change the role of the central Government ministry from micro-manager to scheme designer and
facilitator: The ministry’s role should be to act
as a knowledge partner and enabler to the project implementers (which will typically be in the
States). In order to be able to play this role effectively, the ministry will need to develop capabilities which are focused on scheme design and
creation of learning systems and networks from
which the States and other local implementers
can learn.
2. Establish strategic alignment of schemes: Schemes
should have strategic outcomes defined (such

Industry 103

as employment generation, number of patents,
output generation and so on) so that measures of
schemes’ performance are not limited to expenditures against targets.
3. Invest in good scheme design: While the Planning
Commission includes schemes in principle during the five-year plan process based on the strategic logic supporting them, the actual monies
should be released only when the scheme design
meets well-defined quality considerations. The
ministry should be provided funds to design the
scheme—which might require hiring consultants/experts or reaching out to numerous stakeholders—after which they should be provided
funds for the schemes only if the design can
demonstrate that the scheme will deliver on the
desired outcomes.
4. Establish an evaluation and feedback mechanism:
Schemes should be measured on productivity
of the money being spent—this allows various
schemes to be compared with each other. Also,
the ministry should demonstrate how learning
from implementing a scheme is being used in
improving it.
Reform Government Institutions
13.224. The Second Administrative Reforms
Commission has made several important recommendations that will improve the performance of
Government generally and that will substantially
improve Government effectiveness in growing the
country’s manufacturing sector. Since the recommendations are very well developed and explained in
the ARC’s reports, they will not be elaborated here;
however, the following may be highlighted:
• In its Report No. 10, the ARC has recommended
changes in the career structure of the administrative services that will ensure that senior postings
have adequate tenure. It has also recommended
an ‘up or out’ evaluation system so that only the
better officers will stay in service and move to
postings at the top. And it has provided for lateral
entry from outside Government, of suitably qualified personnel for such top positions.
• In its Report No. 13, the ARC has recommended
that policymaking functions of Government and

execution functions be separated and organised
in appropriate structures. For ‘execution’ functions, the ‘agency’ structure has been strongly
recommended. ‘Agency’ structures have enabled
several countries—UK, Sweden, Japan, Australia
and Thailand, to name a few—to substantially
improve Government’s performance.
13.225. The concept of ‘agencification’ is to carve out
of Government departments, ‘executive agencies’ to
carry out, under competitively selected professional
managers on fixed tenures, specific executive functions within a framework of policy and resources.
Each such agency is institutionalised in a framework
document which spells out its mandate, mission
and objectives, structure, accountability, standards
and targets, financial arrangements and so on and is
mandated to release an annual performance report
and accounts. The agency has the freedom to mould
its management style, strategy, operations, systems,
workforce and so on within broad Government
guidelines.
13.226. The advantage of the ‘agency’ structure is
that it leads to clarity about outcomes. It also allows
for an inculcated culture of service delivery, empowerment of frontline staff, greater accountability and
openness, improved management, transparency and
so on.
Role of Industry Associations
13.227. Industry associations have a vital role to
play in the evolution and implementation of the
Manufacturing Plan at the Centre and in the States.
They provide platforms for their members to come
together to analyse the constraints in the environment that must be addressed. Good-quality associations, that are democratic in their governance,
transparent in their functioning and represent their
industrial sector, or perhaps all industry, satisfactorily (that is, have large membership) can be invaluable partners of Government in the development and
implementation of plans for manufacturing growth.
Associations can also arrange platforms for consultations with Government and other stakeholders on
the lines described above and thus can facilitate the

104

Twelfth Five Year Plan

achievement of the country’s goals for its manufacturing sector.
Involve Commercial Banks in the Analysis
Process
13.228. Commercial banks, who provide finance
to manufacturing enterprises, large as well as small
ones, are a valuable (and neutral) source of insight
into constraints of different sectors. They should be
involved, more systematically, in the processes of
evaluation of sectoral performance and for developing solutions, along with other stakeholders.
Disseminate Information to Public Effectively
13.229. Government must become much more effective in communicating with the public. Citizens are
not aware of many schemes set up by Central and
State Governments for their benefit. Stakeholders,
who will be affected by new Government policies, realise only after the policies are announced,
that they have great concerns whereas Government
departments claim that the policies were posted on
their websites and views had been invited. Moreover,
with the ubiquity of electronic communications,
including 24 × 7 TV news, and the advent of social
media, Government’s communication processes
must be modernised, become more proactive, and
reach out to citizens more effectively.

NEXT STEPS
13.230. The immediate next steps for implementing
the Plan are:

• Take the Plan to the States: Much of the implementation of the Manufacturing Plan will be in
the States. Therefore, State Governments and
stakeholders in the States must be engaged.
• Put the implementation system in place: The
implementation system described in this section
will need to be instituted through the collaboration of various National and State agencies as well
industry associations. The DIPP, NMCC and the
Planning Commission will need to collaborate
to delineate their roles in the implementation
process.
• Ensure sectoral schemes align with overall strategy: The financial outlay of the Plan should be
aligned with the strategies identified in the Plan.
Rather than following the process where budgets
are determined as variances to previous year’s outlays, allocations should be designed and reviewed
in accordance to the strategies identified.
• Communicate the Plan to a broader audience:
Communication is critical to the successful implementation of any major change programme.
Communications must be designed to suit the
audiences for which they are intended. Some can
be delivered in the form of documents or presentations. Others should be delivered through interactive discussions where clarifications can be given
and even suggestions obtained. Industry associations can play a very important role in these. The
Planning Commission, DIPP and NMCC would
have to provide leadership and play a major role
in the communications outreach.

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ANNEXURE 13.1
Manufacturing GDP by Sector and Employment Projections
TABLE 13.9
Key Variables and Assumptions
Variable

Assumption(s)

GDP by Sector (Excluding
Mining)

National Accounts Statistics published by CSO provides GDP data series till 2009–10 for the
manufacturing sector. This data was then extrapolated basis the projected growth rates in the
economic survey report 2010–11 and adjusted for the slowdown in 2011–12 to estimate the overall
growth rate for the Eleventh Plan. The growth rate thus arrived at, has then been used to project GDP
for Scenario 1.
For Scenario 2, growth rates as per sectoral working-group reports have been considered. It is
important to note that NIC classification at the two digit level for capturing data related to individual
sectors under manufacturing does not correspond to the classification of sub-sectors (eighteen) in
the manufacturing strategy. Projected growth rates for the individual sectors as per the respective
working groups have been mapped on a best information basis. The outcome of this approach is an
average growth rate of 12 per cent for manufacturing sector as a whole during the Twelfth Five Year
Plan and till 2025.

GDP

GDP growth rate for the country is assumed to be at 9% for the model.

Employment by Sector
(Excluding Mining)

Employment data is quinquennial as published by NSSO. Employment data last available is for
2009–10. This has been used to calculate labour productivity, (GDPt/Employmentt) for 2009–10 for
each sector which is a key input variable towards projecting employment.
Reflecting recent trends in productivity, the labour productivity growth rate has been assumed to
be 6% p.a. under Scenario 1 and 5% p.a. under Scenario 2. Employment in manufacturing declined
between 2004–05 and 2009–10 despite an increase in output. Hence, it is important to consider a
long run view of the trend in labour productivity. As per Papola and Sahu (2012), labour productivity
in India grew by 3.8% p.a. between 1993–94 and 2004–05 and by 6% between 1993–94 and 2009–10.
It is important to note that in the unorganised segment which employs more than 80% of the
workforce, manufacturing sector productivity per worker was estimated to be almost one-twentieth
of that in the organised sector in 2006–07 (Papola et. al., 2011). Hence, a 6% growth rate has been an
outcome of declining employment combined with a concentration of manufacturing output in the
organised sector. This trend is not likely to be sustainable for the Indian economy, especially if the
objective of inclusive growth needs to be realised. The manufacturing strategy for the Twelfth Five
Year Plan aims to address systemic deficiencies in the economy with a clear focus on accelerating
both growth and employment. Hence historical labour productivity growth rates cannot be relied on
to project the likely impact of manufacturing strategy during the Twelfth Five Year Plan and beyond.
The moderate adjustment in labor productivity growth rate from 6% in Scenario 1 to 5% Scenario
2reflects the assumption that with increased focus on employment generation, capital investment will
supplement labour rather than displace it (contrary to the trend that has been observed historically).

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ANNEXURE 13.2
Sector-wise Recommendations

1. As indicated earlier, we have included Plans for 17 different industrial sectors, under four categories—sectors of strategic
importance, sectors of basic inputs, sectors of depth and value addition and sectors of employment generation. It is these sectors, which will have to achieve the Plan objectives, that is, growth and employment objectives. Following are the sector-wise
recommendations.

(A) SECTORS OF STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE
DEFENCE EQUIPMENT
Introduction
2. India has been rapidly enhancing its spending on defence. It is expected that India would become the third largest defence
spender after the US and China by 2014. Equipment spending by Ministry of Defence has increased by 15–20 per cent over the
last five years. With several large equipment and modernisation programmes in the pipeline, analysts are projecting an overall
spend of USD 80–100 billion in the next five years. This makes India one of the world’s most lucrative markets for military
products, and defence suppliers are gearing up to compete.
3.
•
•
•
•

The Indian defence equipment market can be divided into four large areas:
Land Systems
Naval Systems
Electronics Systems
Aerospace

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
• Progressive increase share of domestic procurement from 30 to 75 per cent in next 10 years.
• Ensure that 8–10 largest weapons programmes in the country have a targeted large percentage of locally manufactured
content.
• Build local IP in critical defence areas.
• Promote and track civilian applications of technologies and material developed during defence research.
• Support local defence manufacturers in building export capabilities.
• Enable creation of one million new direct and indirect jobs in the defence manufacturing space.
• Monitor implementation of Government’s offset policy in letter and spirit for large contracts.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
• Set up a National Defence Manufacturing Council.
• Set up a national defence manufacturing council under the aegis of the Prime Minister’s office to ensure that domestic
manufacturing gets due focus.
• Pass an Executive Order with decision to use Make/Buy and Make (Indian) mandatory for flagship large programmes with
appropriate funding to enforce Make or Buy and Make (Indian) classification for all flagship defence contracts and mandate
that the prime contractor be an Indian entity, which can be a JV between a local entity and relevant global vendors.
• Decide the right financial model for Indian entities working with the Government on these flagship programmes.
• Streamline the defence procurement infrastructure
– Need to streamline at the level of offset implementation, DPSU and OFB procurement and Ministry of Defence cantered
capital procurement.
– Centralisation of procurement systems and infrastructure for DPSU and OFB, creation of a centralised list of defence
vendors and providing guidance to new entrant in the system.
– Provide standardised contractual frameworks and clauses that can be accessed by the multiple contracting agencies to
reduce contract variation and complexity across the system.

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– Adopt more professional and specialised approach to enhance the offset facilitation process.
• Increase the FDI limit for foreign participation
– The current upper cap of 26 per cent on FDI in defence production needs to be relaxed to 49 per cent on case to case
basis. Specific technology transfer should be specified and post-contract technology should reside in the JV/country.
• Support for SMEs
– SME-specific support structure for upgradation of defence manufacturing facilities for deeper capability building, achieve
manufacturing certifications like ISO, developing IPs and in establishment of licensed defence units.
• Create enabling infrastructure for capability building
– Mechanisms to provide access to critical technologies available with research agencies or obtained through Transfer of
Technology (TOT) arrangements.
– Creation of a Centre of Excellence for Defence Electronics: to be modelled on a PPP model aimed at generation of indigenous IP.
• Vendor development
– Continuous development of vendor base by DPSU.

AEROSPACE
Introduction
4. Aerospace manufacturing is a high-technology industry that produces ‘aircraft, space vehicles, aircraft engines, propulsion
units, and related parts.’ Its value chain is characterised by a long project life cycle spanning R&D, engineering design, manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, repair and overhaul. India is one of the fastest growing aerospace markets.
5. The three segments of the Industry are:
• Defence
• Civil Aviation
• Space

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
•
•
•
•

Develop greater design and manufacturing capabilities in the defence space.
Become a global player in supplying advanced technology in space sector at a fair price in the global space market.
Drive dedicated technology development for civil aviation, develop greater manufacturing capabilities.
Become the international hub for maintenance, repair and overhaul needs.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
• Strengthening institutional architecture through a National Aeronautics Commission, if required
– All the knowledge residing in entities like aeronautics organisations, colleges, labs and so on should be synergistically
harnessed.
– Map indigenous capabilities, identify knowledge gaps, direct resources efficiently to address critical technology gaps.
– Formulate a national aeronautics policy to strengthen the aerospace industry.
• Strengthening of certification organisations
– Given the expected increase in the work in the sector, CEMILAC and DGCA must be strengthened.
– The government should facilitate certification of SMEs.
• Promotion of PPP model
– PPP model by forming JVs should be encouraged in order to fully exploit the knowledge base of the government and the
entrepreneurship of the private sector.
• Earmarking special aerospace economic zones may be considered
– Creating clusters to certify and quality test aircraft and system components.
– The growth in offsets could be efficiently utilised in the creation of such SEZs.

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SHIP BUILDING AND SHIP REPAIR
Introduction
6. Nearly 95 per cent of India’s foreign trade in terms of volume and more than 65 per cent in terms of value is through sea
routes. Currently, about 10 per cent of our trade is carried by ships with an Indian flag while the ships manufactured in India
carry even less cargo. India’s emergence as a major economic power would mean greater integration in terms of trade with the
rest of the world, requiring huge shipping tonnage. To ensure the safety of our vast coast line, the naval requirement of sophisticated and modern vessels is also growing rapidly. Therefore, shipbuilding is very important from a civilian as well as defence
perspective.
7. While the Indian seaborne trade has been growing rapidly, Indian shipping and shipbuilding sector has been lagging behind
despite their development potential. Indian registered ships form just about 1.1 per cent of the global shipping stock. Indian
EXIM trade is being increasingly serviced by foreign flagged vessels whose share in the Indian shipping market has increased
from 60 per cent in 1980s to about 92 per cent by 2009–2010. This is both a cause of concern and a huge opportunity for India’s
shipping and shipbuilding sector.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
• Medium and long term goals have been set for the Indian shipbuilding and ship repair industry. These are:
• To achieve 5 per cent share of the global shipbuilding market and 10 per cent share in the global ship repair industry by 2020.
• To be self-sufficient in ship repair requirements of the country and to emerge as a dominant ship repair centre displacing
Colombo, Dubai, Singapore and Bahrain.
• To develop a strong ancillary base for shipbuilding/ship repair in the country by 2020.
• To generate additional employment for 2.5 million persons (0.5 million direct and 2.0 million indirect) by 2020 in the core
shipbuilding as well as the ancillary and supporting industry sector.
• To develop strong R&D facilities and design capabilities for commercial shipbuilding.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
8. The key recommendations to enable the shipbuilding and ship repair sector to meet its mid-term and long-term goals are:
1.
2.
3.

Incentives: In the line of the erstwhile Shipbuilding Subsidy Scheme, some form of adequate financial/fiscal incentive
would need to be considered in order to facilitate the industries to achieve critical mass.
Infrastructure status to shipbuilding: Granting infrastructure status would enable the indigenous shipbuilding industry to
enjoy tax benefits and lower interest rates for investment in the technological development and modernisation.
Purchase preference for Indian built, Indian flagged vessels and Indian shipyards in Government/Defence purchase: On
the lines of global practice, promotion of the use of locally build vessels by local shipping companies would help To develop
domestic shipbuilding capabilities.
Offset scheme for Government procurement: In order to provide impetus to the ancillary industry in India, it should be
mandated that during the purchase of any ship from a foreign yard, the foreign yard would have to source a certain amount
of marine engineering goods from India. This can create a steady stream of orders for domestic marine engineering companies and help develop capabilities in the sector.
To examine the issue of incidence of taxes that disadvantages the domestic shipbuilding industry.

CAPITAL GOODS AND ENGINEERING
Introduction
9. The Prime Minister’s Group constituted under Chairman, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council in its Report
(Prime Minister’s Group Report—PMGR) identified capital goods as one of the sectors that is strategic for strengthening
national capabilities for the long term. The PMGR has recommended support for the following sub-sectors within the capital
goods sector: (i) machine tools, (ii) heavy electrical equipment’s, (iii) heavy transport, earth moving and mining equipment’s,
and (iv) high technology equipment’s like IT, telecommunications and electronics hardware. The PMGR has recommended
that a time-bound action plan should be prepared in each of these areas for building high class modern capacities with R&D
facilities, appropriate programme to encourage growth and development of these areas in the private sector together with

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strengthening of the existing public sector and revisiting the existing policies to protect and promote selected capital goods
industries.
10. PMGR has also recommended enunciation of a clear policy to provide incentives for acquisition of advanced technologies
strengthening the country’s technological capabilities in the long term. Need for a dedicated fund for acquiring technology for
tier-2 suppliers of priority sectors and an ‘offset policy’ as one of the means to boost domestic content in the total equipment
imported has been underlined. A review of the current FDI policy from the point of view of transfer of technology as well as
considerations of national security was also recommended. This can be done by giving preference to JVs instead of 100 per cent
foreign-owned companies.

Key Objectives
11. The Plan focuses on the following sectors: machine tools, earth moving, heavy electrical, metallurgical, textile, process plant,
mining, power plant and other industrial machinery and engineering sectors. The key objectives were to make the capital goods
sector globally competitive, reduce overseas dependence in strategic sectors, increase depth in manufacturing and enhance production levels, employment, exports and contribution to the national exchequer.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
I.

Investment inducement through clusters: Apart from common facilities for product development, design and testing, clusters should include enterprise management development through a common training centre promoted through SPVs.
II. Skill development support: Problem of skill deficit impacting the machine tools, electrical machinery and earth moving
equipment segments should be remedied through a two-pronged approach comprising skill development through public
agencies as well as with the help of private sector on a Public–Private Partnership mode.
The action steps suggested in the different sub-sectors of capital goods include upgradation of selected ITIs, polytechnic
institutions and engineering colleges and to establish centre of excellence for executive development.
III. Fund for Expansion/Modernisation of existing units; fund for technology transfer, acquisition of firms abroad: The industry
is considered high risk and not considered a preferred borrower. Therefore, low-cost funds are required to stimulate creation of additional capacity and for technology upgradation.
The following major recommendations for policy initiatives are proposed for the capital goods and engineering sector:
• Support for incentivising technology development/transfer and value addition in India
– Modify FDI policy to ensure transfer of technology by giving preference to JVs instead of 100 per cent foreignowned companies
– Develop indigenous facilities for design, development and testing of equipment
– Incentivise/mandate foreign players to increase value addition in India
– Preference in PSE/Government purchases for products having higher local content
• Substitute Imports: Calibration of duties and taxes to remove disadvantages for domestic players
– Regulate/ban import of second-hand machinery
– Address adverse tax structure for local manufacturers in India
– Modify Government tender terms to remove disadvantages to Indian firms against imports
• Promote exports by facilitating dedicated line of credit and brand development
12. Though many of the issues constraining the growth of the capital goods sector are common, there are specific sub-sector
issues that would require to be addressed with specific measures. The issues specific to machine tool, heavy electrical and power
plant equipment, earth moving and mining equipment and associated recommendations are as follows:

Machine Tools Industry
13. India’s share of machine tool production is at present only 0.8 per cent of world production. At present, about 70 per cent of
the requirement of machine tools is met through imports. There are 8–10 large companies (turnover above `100 crores), 10–15
medium companies (50–100 crores) and rest are small. HEC and HMT are two CPSEs in the machine tools sector. New investments have been few, due to low returns on investments. However, the machine tool industry has the potential to grow from
about 12 per cent per annum to 15–20 per cent. To achieve a market share of about 50 per cent by 2020, the industry will require
a set of policy, investment and technology development measures.

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14. The recommended measures, in addition to policy support, include Government support for capacity expansion. The measures include support for technology transfer, common facilities, R&D/incubation centres, business and market development
and cluster parks. Some of the major recommendations are as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Define a National Mission for Machine Tools
Introduce immediate fiscal incentives
Mission to indigenise critical mechanical elements and machine tool electronics
Measures to attract investment are a priority
Creation of modern state of the art capacities
Realise full potential of PSU capacities—currently, capacity in PSUs such as HMT and HEC not optimally utilised
Fillip to R&D and technology development is essential
Industry–academia–R&D linkages

Heavy Electrical and Power Plant Equipment
15. Heavy electrical and power plant equipment sector is growing at about 14 per cent. Its growth in two distinct segments,
that is, power plant equipment and electrical equipment for power transmission and distribution are being driven by the major
power addition programmes namely, Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP) and
Rajiv Gandhi Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) and transmission projects.
16. With increase in the requirements for meeting the planned additions and a shift towards setting up higher efficiency super
critical power plants in the country, the Indian domestic manufacturers have formed joint ventures (JVs) with foreign companies and are focusing on manufacturing higher efficiency equipment’s. The domestic industry has expressed concern about
contract with Chinese suppliers and the lack of capacity utilisation in BTG segment. The ‘Electrical Equipment Manufacturing
Industry’—Industry Report 2010 by IEEMA has highlighted concerns of limited high-voltage testing facilities, varied procurement guidelines of state utilities, persisting gap between Indian and international standards. Threat of rising imports issues
of inverted duty structure, critical raw material constraints and absence of appropriate clause to allow preference in domestic procurement on the lines of procurement guidelines of World Bank and ADB. Following are the sector-specific policy
recommendations:
1.

2.
3.

Ensuring utilisation of domestic capacity
a. Ensuring sufficient investment in power generation through appropriate Government policies to create adequate
demand potential for heavy electrical and power plant equipment
b. Creation of appropriate conditions enabling full capacity utilisation of domestic manufacturers of heavy electrical and
power plant equipment
c. Constituting a special vehicle for State Electricity Boards (SEB) facilitating replacement of old and ageing power plants
d. Facilitating availability of critical raw materials
Standardisation: Adoption of uniform ratings by Central Electricity Authority (CEA)/Ministry of Power (MoP) as standard ratings to be adopted for the Indian grid.
Testing facilities: Strengthening of R&D Infrastructure at national level for type testing of prototypes with a view to minimise development/commercialisation cycle.

Earth Moving and Mining Equipment Sector
17. The earth moving and mining equipment as well as the construction equipment industry (CEI) in India enjoys a positive
long-term outlook. Planned investment in infrastructure (more than US$1 trillion) and growing urbanisation will drive the
construction industry to grow at 16–17 per cent CAGR over the next 10 years. The growth opportunities are accompanied by
increasing competition from equipment’s from countries like Brazil and China.
18. The sector has evolved over the years and is at present in an intermediate stage of development. Some products manufactured in India by some of the MNC’s who have set up assembly plants in India are meeting the global standards. It is estimated that the domestic content is nearly 35 per cent in standard equipment whereas the domestic content is about 78 per cent
in high technology equipment’s. Over the years three Chinese companies have emerged as leading construction equipment

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manufacturers and have cornered a 12 per cent share of the market. Competition is likely to intensify as many Chinese players
have improved their distribution and after-sale networks in India.
19. Like its global counterpart, the domestic mining sector is now graduating into high-end technology products and is in
demand of transfer of such technology. A recent Industry Report by CII on the Indian Construction Equipment Industry
emphasises for (i) rationalisation of taxes to mitigate impediments for interstate movement of earth moving and construction
equipment, (ii) bridging skill gaps, (iii) prohibiting unregulated import of used equipment, and (iv) removal of ambiguity about
emission and safety standards.
Following are the major recommendations:
• Emission standards must be made applicable to earthmoving equipment’s and so on.
• Initiatives for indigenous development of certain equipments like dredgers are to be taken to achieve self-reliance in this area
• The existing competence and capability of Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) need to be, inter alia, strengthened by providing
support for transfer of technology

ELECTRONICS SYSTEMS DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING
Introduction
20. Electronics Systems Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) comprises semiconductor design; high-tech manufacturing;
electronics components; electronics systems design telecom products and equipment’s; IT systems and hardware and other
segments. Electronics, along with Information and Communications Technology (ICT), is considered a meta-resource: the
competitiveness of various industries often depends on their ability to integrate ICTE in their business processes. Electronics is
the largest and the fastest growing manufacturing industry in the world. It is expected to reach US$ 2.4 trillion by 2020.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
The key objectives for the ESDM Sector are:
• To achieve domestic production of USD 122 Billion by 2017 (growth of 30 per cent)
• To ramp up domestic value addition in ESDM manufacturing

Strategy and Key Recommendations
The strategies and key recommendations are:
Creating a level playing field
• Introduce Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme for improved value-addition
• Provide preferential market access to domestic industry in the ESDM sector and remove trade barriers through effective
negotiations in WTO
• Mandate Indian standards for ESDM to safeguard against substandard items
• Introduce reforms in Government procurement procedure for electronics hardware
Creating an enabling environment
• Set up a national electronics mission
• Promote exports of ESDM by providing appropriate incentives and brand development
• Promote sustainable growth through waste management practices
Providing support across the value chain
• Set up semiconductor fabs in India and encourage innovation, R&D and Indian IP by setting up of Electronics Development
Fund
• Promote the semiconductor chip design, electronics components and strategic electronics industry

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STEEL
Introduction
21. Indian iron and steel industry, with its strong forward and backward linkages contributes significantly to the overall growth
and development of the economy. The industry today directly contributes 2 per cent to India’s Gross Domestic Product and its
weightage in the official Index of Industrial Production is 6.2 per cent. India has become the world’s fourth largest producer of
crude steel, preceded only by China, Japan and USA. However, India has been lagging behind other major steel producing countries in terms of techno-economic efficiency of operations and hence Indian steel industries are not very globally competitive.
22. There is an urgent need to address its basic constraints irrespective of equity size and nature of operations. In 2010, our
per capita consumption of steel was only 51.7 kg, as against the world average of 202.70 kg. There is tremendous potential for
improvement in the domestic steel consumption given the economy’s large untapped markets, especially in rural areas. With a
GDP growth of ~9 per cent, the sector is expected to grow by ~10.3 per cent in terms of steel consumption. This translates to a
need an installed capacity addition of 142.3 MT of steel in the Twelfth Plan.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
• Increase capacities to ~142.3 MT in accordance with demand projections
• Ensure raw material security, especially in terms of iron ore and coking/non-coking coal

Strategy and Key Recommendations
Raw Materials
23. Iron ore is the basic raw material used in steel making. Though iron ore is abundantly available in the country, large scale
exports of iron ore have raised serious concerns about the future availability. Side by side, there is an urgent need to address the
problems of degradation of the environment, displaced population, transportation bottleneck and so on.
24. The domestic availability of coking coal, a critical raw material required by steel industry is limited and therefore the Indian
steel industry has to depend heavily on imported coking coal to meet its needs. To ensure raw material security and minimise
the impact of volatility in coal prices, it is desirable to acquire overseas coking coal assets and to increase the domestic production of coking coal and upgrade its quality.

Infrastructure
25. Given the rising demand anticipated in the Twelfth Plan period, the already overburdened domestic infrastructure and
more particularly in mineral rich states requires immediate attention. Apart from ensuring adequate rail–road connectivity,
National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NMIZs) proposed in the National Manufacturing Policy may provide an excellent option for future location for new steel plants due to close proximity to consumers. However, for this to happen, the perspective planning for NIMZs has to consider some of the NIMZs in the eastern region of mineral-rich states.

Financial Resources
26. The requirement of financial resources to create an additional capacity during the Twelfth Plan at reasonable costs will be a
challenging task. Softening of norms for external borrowings and having a special purpose long-term financing facility may ease
the situation.

Technology and Research and Development
27. Indian Steel Plants are less efficient in terms of specific consumption of raw material/consumables, energy/power consumption, environmental and pollution norms than those in advanced countries. It is essential to build up indigenous capacity to
develop technologies to suit indigenous raw materials, improve energy inputs norms and meet national emission and comply
with global standards on emissions and carbon foot print and so on. Several small units engaged in manufacturing iron and
steel products need to focus on domestic R&D to improve their technology and performance standards.
28. Improvement in raw materials is to be achieved through selection of appropriate beneficiation process and improvement
in operational practices of ore beneficiation/coal-washing circuit. Coal gasification of non-coking coals and recovery and

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utilisation of CBM, are the important steps to address the issues such as coal coke shortage and CO2 emission. To alleviate
the shortages of iron, there is a need to put up pellet plants. Due to increasing demand for high-strength steel, current Batch
Annealing Furnace (BAF) technology may get replaced with Continuous Annealing Technology.
29. The strategies for development of steel sector should not only focus on volume growth but also on quality of growth. It is
necessary to evolve an approximate sustainable development framework which balances the need for rapid growth of the steel
industry and also addresses the concerns on environment and climate change. There is a consensus that there exists a lot of
scope for the Indian steel industry to contribute to the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) as well as
National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) of 2008, which basically aims to reduce the emission intensity. Existing
plants need to evolve short-term and long-term action plan to phase out the old and obsolete facilities by State-of-art, clean and
green technologies with an aim not only to achieve higher standards of productivity but also to harness all waste energy.
30. The Steel Industry needs policy support from the States to achieve the object of the National Steel Policy to make India a
global producer.

Plan Assistance/Allocation for the Steel Industry
31. The Twelfth Plan’s new projects essentially focus promotion of beneficiation and agglomeration of low grade iron ore and
iron-ore fines and improvement of energy efficiency in secondary steel sector.

MINERAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
32. India is endowed with ample resources of a number of minerals and has the geological environment for many others. The
metals and minerals sector has a direct bearing on the growth, development, depth and sustainability of the manufacturing and
infrastructure sectors. Hence, its extraction and management have to be integrated into the overall strategy for the country’s
development. Raw material security and the ability to provide the range of metal-based mineral required in terms of quality,
standards and prices are keys to the process.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
33. The mining sector is strategically very important for India. The key goals that need to be met for this space are:
• Raw material security: for all the user industries
• Enhanced co-production of by-product metals for Technology Metals and Energy Critical Metals and Rare Earths Elements
• Ensuring sustainability of the environment

Strategy and Key Recommendations
34. The core function of the state in mining needs to be the facilitation and regulation of exploration and mining activities of
investors and entrepreneurs, provision of infrastructure and royalty and tax collection. In order for the State to achieve the key
objectives associated with the sector, a select set of reforms are essential. The major recommendations are as under.

Strengthening of Institutions
• Equip and position public agencies like the Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited, Atomic Minerals Directorate for
Exploration and Research, Indian Rare Earths Limited, Directorates of States and other organisations to conduct detailed
exploration at the State’s expense to enable the State Government to adopt a bidding route for exploration to a larger extent.
• Position GSI to emphasise on geospatial and multi-disciplinary work for the benefit of science, society and the nation, by
placing emphasis. An overarching mechanism to provide policy direction for geosciences is a must.

Encouraging R&D and Technology Development
• Engage IBM to drive process of giving special focus in select areas of mining.
• Strengthen the Mineral Process Laboratories of IBM and other research organisations must before the development of processes for beneficiation, elemental analysis of ores and so on.
• Inspire concessionaires to undertake deposit-specific process R&D.

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35. Develop an institutional mechanism for the direct lab scale research to commercialisation for the production of materials
of high purity,
• Reorient focus of organisations like Non-Ferrous Technology Development Centre, Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research
Development and Design Centre on process R&D for Technology and Energy Critical Metals.

Creation of Infrastructure
• Special emphasis needs to be given to linking infrastructure in mineral bearing areas.

Skill Development
• Review and upgrade existing training facilities for manpower to meet the requirements of the mining industry.

Ensuring Full and Productive Coverage of Survey and Exploration
• GSI needs to ensure that its regional surveys cover all major geo-scientific datasets
– All pre-competitive data must be available to facilitate entrepreneurs to take investment decisions.
• India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) needs to be fully explored and exploited. This requires sea-bed exploration and mining, and the Ministry of Earth Sciences and GSI need to cooperate at an institutionalised level to expedite and complete this
task.
• There is need to address all important aspects of Rare Earths including Mapping the potential sources, enhancing survey and
exploration indigenously as well as in joint collaboration overseas, scaling up R&D in extraction, re-cycling and research for
increase use in other alternative materials in place of Rare Earths.

A Database of Mineral Resources Needs to be Developed
• Consider an efficient IT system in GSI, IBM and State Directorates to ensure availability of a comprehensive and up-to-date
review of exploration data.
• For this purpose, create a National Geophysical Data Repository and a National Drill Core Library.
• Implement the National Tenement Registry and integrated it with the cadastral maps being digitised under the National
Land Records Computerisation Scheme.

Ensuring Availability of Financial Resources
• Access to “risk funds” from capital markets and venture funds needs to be facilitated since prospecting is a high risk venture.
• A suitable scheme for taking full advantage of the HTREL licence must be completed in consultation with the major financial institutions in India, including SEBI, RBI, CBDT and IVCA.

Ensuring Environmental Sustainability of Mining
• Promote a scientific and efficient process of small scale mining of small deposits
– Regulations related to safeguarding the ecology must be ensured and their compliance strengthened.
– A cluster approach must be adopted with a single lease model for multiple small deposits within a defined area
• Undertake all mining undertaken within the parameters of a comprehensive Sustainable Development Framework
– Under such a framework, no mining lease should be granted without a proper mining plan including an approved environment management plan.
– For this purpose, the IBM must acquire the expertise to approve Environment Management Plans and conduct
Environmental Impact Assessments. Thus, the IBM should be able to position itself as the internal environmental regulator as well as the official mining regulator for the sector.

Select Policy Changes in Line with the Overall Strategy
• Adopt an open-sky policy of non-exclusivity for reconnaissance work
• Introduce a new instrument called the High Technology Reconnaissance and Exploration License (HTREL) to attract large
investment and better technology
• Ensure higher value addition in the sector and curb non value-added exports
– Encourage mineral value addition through techniques of beneficiation, pelletisation, agglomeration and processing making use of fine.
– Incentivise export of minerals in value added form and develop is a coherent long-term strategy for this

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– In line with this, forge long-term relationships with countries with complementary resources, in terms of minerals and
technologies.
– Encourage the user industries to develop long-term linkages with mineral producing units.
• A fair and transparent process for land acquisition must be ensured. This is already under way through the LARR bill
36. The MMDR bill aims at enabling some of these key recommendations, and must be pushed for implementation at the
earliest.

FERTILISER
Introduction
37. The Indian fertiliser industry, given its strategic importance in ensuring the food security in the country has remained
under Government control. Through its impact on agricultural productivity, fertiliser usage directly impacts food security of
the country. Government has been consistently pursuing policies conducive to availability of adequate quantity of quality fertilisers throughout the country and their appropriate use. The annual consumption of nutrients (N + P + K), has increased by 62
per cent, from 17.4 million tonne in 2001–02 to 28.1 million tonne in 2010–11. The nutrients N, P and K accounted for 16.6, 8.0
and 3.5 million tonne respectively in 2010–11.
38. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in imports of urea and DAP because there has been hardly any investment for major capacity additions. Fertiliser consumption in India is highly skewed, with wide inter-regional, interstate, interdistrict and inter-crop variations. The average intensity of fertiliser use in India is much lower than most countries in the world.
39. Government introduced Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) for Phosphatic and Potassic (P and K) fertilisers with effect from
1 April 2010 with broad objectives of ensuring balance use of nutrients, introduction, and promotion of innovative and efficient
fertiliser products and allowing market dynamics in pricing of products.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
40. The key objective for the fertiliser sector is to ensure national food security by generating sustainable rapid growth in fertiliser use to increase agricultural production and productivity at the desired rate. In order to meet the growth targets in fertiliser
use, the following measures are needed:
• Ensuring adequate and timely availability of quality fertilisers to the farmers at fair prices
• Creating an attractive environment for improving indigenous fertiliser
• Rationalisation of the level of fertiliser subsidy disbursed

Strategy and Key Recommendations
Improving Fertiliser Use
41. For continuous rapid growth in fertiliser use to increase agricultural production and productivity, the Fertilisers Monitoring
System (FMS) should be strengthened. There is a need to produce and promote right kind of efficient fertilisers like customised,
water-soluble and fortified fertilisers.

Attracting Investment in the Sector
42. With rising demand and no major domestic capacity addition during the last few years, the industry has been exposed
to volatility of world markets. There is an urgent need to create a conducive environment for new investments in the sector.
Investment for revival of closed units of Fertiliser Corporation of India Ltd (FCIL) and Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation Ltd
(HFCL) will significantly bridge the demand–supply gap of urea.

Availability of Feedstock
43. The Government needs to ensure long-term supply of natural gas at reasonable prices with pipeline connectivity to attract
fresh investment in urea sector. For this, part of future gas finds need to be committed for the new investment in urea units and
incentivising alternative feedstock like coal, CBM and so on to enlarge the choice of raw materials. There is a need to explore the
possibility of investment in R&D for extracting potash from other resources in the country.

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Rationalising Subsidy
44. The burden of fertiliser subsidy has increased substantially during the last few years mainly owing to increase in international prices of inputs as well as finished fertilisers. A phased approach towards reforming the subsidy disbursement mechanism needs to be developed as under:
• Phase 1: Create information visibility of the movement of fertilisers along the supply chain
• Phase 2: Release subsidy to the retailer through transfer of subsidy directly to the retailer’s bank account on receipt of fertiliser from the wholesaler
• Phase 3: In the long run once Aadhaar enabled payments are operational, subsidy disbursement to the farmer can be made
directly into the bank accounts of the intended beneficiary

Joint Ventures Abroad
45. Rising imports of fertilisers are a cause of concern and require urgent attention. India, being one of the largest consumer of
fertilisers in the world, has significant impact in world trade and prices and is exposed to high volatility in prices. There is a need
to ensure long-term supplies of raw materials/intermediates to fertiliser sector by promoting investment and setting up JVs
in mining capacities of the countries with rich reserves of natural gas, rock phosphate and potash with appropriate buy-back
arrangement or long term off-take arrangements.

Setting up R&D Centre
46. R&D centres need to be encouraged especially in the area of catalyst efficiency, retrieval of elements from spent catalyst,
new fertiliser development, improving fertiliser use efficiency and so on.

Fertiliser Prices Regulatory Authority
47. With the implementation of Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) regime in non-urea sector and likelihood of extension to urea
sector, the fertiliser sector moved towards a free market system. Therefore, it may be necessary to consider a fertiliser prices
regulatory authority to oversee and regulate fertiliser prices in the interest of the agriculture sector.

Road Map for Sick CPSUs
48. Despite the overall health being fairly satisfactory. Three of the central CPSUs, three units BVFCL, MFL and FACT are
incurring losses due to outdated technology and, high energy consumption. There is a need to explore various possibilities for
their revival and sustainable operation to come up with a holistic revival plan for the sick CPSUs.

CEMENT
Introduction
Key Features of Cement Industry
• Cement production is one of the world’s most energy-intensive industries. Cement industry is in a way a scavenging industry and has been burning alternative fuels such as, residue derived fuel, municipal sewage wastes, agro wastes, plastic and
polythene wastes, paint sludge, shredded tyres and so on in the kiln and conserves fossil fuels.
• Because of low-value high-density product, cement movement is normally restricted to nearby markets and has very limited
international trade.
• Initial investment of setting up a plant is very high.

Production Trends
49. Global cement production has continued to be expanding at an average rate of 6.4 per cent in last five years from 2,568
million tonnes in 2006 to 3,294 million tonnes in 2010. Around 56 per cent of production originates in China. China (with
an average annual growth of 11.4 per cent) and India (with an average annual growth of 9.8 per cent) have been the drivers of
the growth in global cement output, with increase in production in rest of countries remaining virtually stable. Production of
cement in India has increased from 100.1 million tonnes in 2000–01 to 228.3 million tonnes in 2010–11. The demand for the
cement in India has been influenced mainly by the housing, infrastructure and irrigation and so on.

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Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
• Reducing environmental impact of industry and encouraging use of fly ash
• Modernisation of plants based on older technology and further improvement of plants

Strategy and Key Recommendations
Measures to Maintain Existing Capabilities
• Allocation of coal of better quality and consistency to cement plants and also speeding up privatisation of collieries for captive consumption of cement plants should be considered
• To ensure availability of limestone process of limestone mining lease approval/renewal need to be streamlined and simplified as well as encourage mining of limestone at remote areas
• Rationalising duty structure
– Simplification of excise duty to have specific rate or percentage of sale price with appropriate abatements
– Rationalisation of inverted duty structure to address any inversions

Reducing Environmental Impact of the Industry
• Incentivise non-polluting cement plants adopting newer technologies
• Grant cogeneration of power through waste heat recovery status of renewable energy
• Cement plants should be permitted to move waste from other states with minimum restrictions if they are following standing
guidelines
– Encouraging use of fly ash by ensuring availability of comprehensive data on fly ash generation, disposal, stock and its
pricing, setting standards for making composite cement and so on.

Upgradation of Existing Plants and Research in Further Developed Technologies
• Funding from corpus of clean energy fund for cement sector for development of processes for using alternate fuel and
municipal and solid waste and energy efficient technologies.
• NCCBM, which is primarily an R&D organisation would need support for development of infrastructure.

Development and Adoption of Nanotechnology
• Promoting collaborative research involving national and international laboratories on technologies to produce nanoparticles
and the latest characterisation techniques Establishing a well-equipped Centre of Excellence for development and adoption
of nanotechnology practices to cement and concrete through PPP mode.

Improving the Transportation Facilities for Cement Industry
• Rail transport: Railway should try and attain a share of 50 per cent in total dispatches of cement and clinker.
• Road transport: Load carrying capacity of trucks may be increased to 1 tonne.
• Inland waterways: Sufficient infrastructure need to be provided at IWT terminals/jetties to integrate with other modes of
transportation.

SECTORS FOR DEPTH AND VALUE ADDITION:
AUTOMOTIVE
Introduction
50. The automotive industry is also a key sector for the Indian economy. Owing to its deep forward and backward linkages, it
has a strong multiplier effect and acts as one of the drivers of economic growth. With the gradual liberalisation of the automotive sector in India since 1991, the numbers of manufacturing facilities have grown progressively. It produces a wide variety of
vehicles ranging from passenger cars to heavy commercial vehicles to tractors and other agricultural equipments and so on.
51. The competitive paradigm for the automobile sector world over is rapidly undergoing complete transformation on account
of environmental and energy security concerns. It is estimated that by 2020, electric vehicle (EV) and other green cars will

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represent up to one third of total global sales in developed markets and up to 20 per cent in urban areas of emerging markets.
The Indian auto sector which has close linkages with international auto industries will be deeply impacted by the evolving
trends.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
52. The Auto Policy of the Government had the following objectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Exalt the sector as a lever of industrial growth and employment and to achieve a high degree of value addition in the
country
Promote a globally competitive automotive industry and emerge as a global source for auto components
Establish an international hub for manufacturing small, affordable passenger cars and a key centre for manufacturing tractors and two-wheelers;
Ensure a balanced transition to open trade at minimal risk to the Indian economy and local industry
Conduce incessant modernisation of the industry and facilitate indigenous design, research and development
Steer India’s software industry into automotive technology
Assist development of vehicles propelled by alternate energy sources
Development of domestic safety and environmental standards at par with international standards

53. The Automotive Mission Plan 2006–16 laid down a 10 year road map for the industry The specific targets set up AMP are
as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•

To continue to be the world’s largest tractor and three-wheeler manufacturer in the world.
To continue as the world’s second largest two-wheeler manufacturers.
To emerge as the world’s fifth largest car producer (as compared to the seventh largest currently).
To become world’s fifth largest commercial vehicle manufacturer.
Automotive sector would double its turnover ratio to India’s GDP in 10 years.
To export USD 35 billion by 2016.

54. The industry is planning to take a mid-term review of the AMP in 2013 and come up with objectives and targets for beyond
2016.

Government Initiatives
55. Government has also decided to constitute National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM) and National Board for Electric
Mobility (NBEM) for fast policy and decision making at the apex level for promoting electric mobility and for encouraging
manufacture of electric vehicles in the country. Deliberations at the level of NBEM have been initiated to define short-term and
long-term objectives and to develop short-term/long-term plans.
56. To address the issue of lack of testing infrastructure, a Plan scheme—National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure
Project (NATRIP) was initiated in the Tenth Plan. With the coming up of NATRIP facilities (in the first year of the Twelfth
Plan), the industry would be in a position to adopt higher safety standards. NATRIP implementation Society (NATIS) is overseeing the implementation of NATRIP.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
• Providing an enabling environment to the industry to encourage growth, promote domestic competition and stimulate
innovation to achieve operational efficiency.
• Removal of taxation on interstate movement of goods to make the Indian market a genuine ‘free trade area’ domestically.
• A stable import tariff structure consonant with the AMP that encourages investments rather than trade in fully built vehicles.
• Continuation of lower excise duty (in future GST) for manufacture of vehicle types that are a national priority for the
country.
• Ensuring that the Free Trade Agreements being entered into with other countries do not distort markets for Indian automobile and auto component manufacturers.

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• Inadequate availability of skilled labour—to be addressed with partnership with NSDC.
• Government to prepare a strategy paper on utilisation of different fuels in the transport sector to meet our national priorities
of emission control, energy security as well as fuel efficiency
• Evolving the emissions and fuel availability road map beyond 2010
• Deepening competence in manufacturing of fuel efficient cars and electric vehicles including the hybrid segment.
• User incentives for adoption of EVs.
• Auto component industry needs to be supported by the Government by easing access to capital, logistic and infrastructure
development in auto component hubs and so on.
• To address the issue of road safety, an appropriate regulatory body would be required.

DRUGS AND PHARMACEUTICALS
Introduction
57. Indian pharmaceutical industry is one of the high performing knowledge-based segments of the Domestic Manufacturing
Sector. The soft patent regime prior to 2005 provided opportunity for this industry to consolidate its position and witness significant growth in generic production and exports. Indian pharmaceutical Industry has entered an era in which it has to play a
pivotal role in providing generic medicines to the world and also become a global hub for R&D activities. Despite our success,
we are still at the periphery of a vast unexplored opportunity. At this juncture, it is all the more important to recognise the challenges and opportunities and realign our strategies along with appropriate policy and institutional frameworks for shaping the
future of the Indian pharmaceutical industry.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
• The Indian pharmaceutical sector should grow to US$ 60 billion size in 2017 (CAGR of 18 per cent) and have a 5 per cent
share of the global pharmaceutical industry by the end of the Twelfth Five Year Plan. By 2020, the sector should be at US$
100 billion.
• Exports should be at INR 1,30,000 crores by the end of the Twelfth Five Year Plan.
• The sector should employ 1.5 million people by 2015, 1.898 million people by 2018 and 2.464 million people by 2022.
• Domestic R&D should be internationally competitive.
• Universal access of quality medicine at affordable prices.
• Improve domestic content in medical devices.
• Make all the CPSUs self-sustaining by 2020.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
58. The recommendations are summarised below:
• Capacity building of private sector to meet WHO–GMP standards and other international manufacturing standards.
• Enabling the Indian pharmaceutical industry to develop competence in advanced areas of drug manufacturing like dedicated research facility in bulk drugs , improving processes of manufacturing generics and new APIs.
• Developing common infrastructure in drug discovery and development, such as, manufacturing, distribution, exports, medical devices and so on.
• Appropriate coordination between relevant ministries/departments and stakeholders to build a coordinated strategy s to
tackle non-tariff barriers through counter measures and during signing of FTAs.
• Develop competencies for 2D Bar-coding for SMEs.
• Developing capacity of Central Drug Standards and Control Organisation to ensure timely clearance for new drug trials,
pharmaco-vigilance, and assistance to the willing industry members to shore up their technical capacities for better regulatory compliances and adequate number of labour inspectors.
• Developing, evolving and rationalising regulatory frameworks for biosimilar drugs, fixed-drug combinations, clinical trials
and early drug development.
• Developing the ecosystem to take advantage of the opportunity in clinical research and development of Clinical Research
Centres for high-risk trials such as Phase-I.
• Create a level-playing field for domestic manufacturers in the bulk drugs industry.

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59. Induce higher levels of research and development:
• Strengthening the NIPERs to boost patent filing from these institutes.
• Improving industry–academia linkages by creating a strong platform for incentivising innovation in producing safe, affordable medicine, arranging public–private partnerships with industry and leading academic partners.
• Providing incentives for New Drug Development.
60. Review the regulatory system including expanding tax deduction (to cover activities such as international patenting costs,
regulatory consultants, outsourced R&D services and patent litigation expenses), reducing approval timelines and so on.
• Improving access to quality healthcare promotion of unbranded generics through Jan Aushadhi Stores (JAS) Ministry of
Health needs to bring out legislation for prescription of medicines in generics nomenclature by the doctors on a mandatory
basis.
• Inducing greater level of domestic manufacture of medical devices by creating infrastructure and parks for setting up greenfield medical devices and equipment units and setting up a National Centre for Medical Devices.
• Enabling CPSUs to be self-sustainable by upgrading the existing manufacturing facilities to WHO–GMP compliance.
61. India, with its significant advantage of low cost of innovation, low capital requirements and lower costs in running facilities, well-established manufacturing processes, R&D infrastructure, is strategically well positioned to emerge as a major force to
reckon with in the pharmaceuticals sector.
62. Moving to a higher growth trajectory will require focussed institutional support and incentivise the clusters to foster innovation, encouragement to maximise investments in enhancing manufacturing capacities and aggressive drive for creation of
‘Brand India’ image in select segments including biopharmaceuticals/biosimilars and Indian systems of medicines.

CHEMICAL
Introduction
63. The domestic chemical industry is heterogeneous in nature comprising organic, inorganic, petrochemicals, dyes, paints,
pesticides and specialty chemicals manufactured in the small scale and large units (including MNCs). In the global context, the
industry is increasingly moving eastwards in line with the shift of its key consumer industries (for example, automotive, electronics and so on) to leverage greater manufacturing competitiveness and share of Asia in the global chemical industry has risen
from 31 per cent in 1999 to 45 per cent in 2009. With the current size of $108 billion, the Indian chemical industry accounts for
~3 per cent of the global chemical industry.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
• Ensuring optimal allocation of resources for adequate feed stock (coal, natural gas, naphtha and refinery cuts) to industry.
• Developing new and more energy efficient and environment-friendly/green technologies and processes.
• Clustering and providing common infrastructure to units.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
Ensuring Availability of Feed Stock
• Refinery configuration to focus on optimisation of availability feedstock and source feedstock from feedstock rich countries
through , long term contracts.
• NCL and IICT to take initiative towards development of processes to use bio-based raw material instead of crude-based ones.

Development of Common Infrastructure
• Set up Greenfield PCPIRs and R&D parks through public private partnership.
• Establish a site operator, with the right functional expertise, to market and manage each PCPIR.

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Focus on R&D
• Establish chemical sector specific council having representation of stakeholders to develop the innovation road map for
chemical industry.
• Develop dedicated innovation centres in universities for chemical industry.

Focus on Green Technology and Consolidation of Environmental Regulations
• Consolidation of rules governing environment protection for chemical industry.
• Development of green technologies—implementation of the related provisions and fiscal measures of the National
Manufacturing Policy.
• Central and State Government to work together to ensure more rigorous and transparent enforcement of pollution-related
and environment-related regulations in chemical units.

Human Resource Development
• Setting up specialised vocational training centres in the clusters for chemical industry.

Other Strategies
• Fiscal incentives to the chemical sector for tackling the threat from cheap imports.
• Simplifying the process of registration of pesticides to boost export possibilities.
• Better testing mechanisms for tackling the problem of spurious pesticides.

PETROCHEMICALS
Introduction
64. Petrochemicals are chemicals derived from petroleum or natural gas and they form an essential part of the chemical industry today. Due to its very nature, Petrochemicals is an ‘enabler’ industry playing a vital role in the functioning of virtually all key
sectors in the economy including packaging, agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare, textile and consumer goods. Petrochemicals
provide critical inputs which enable other sectors to grow. Even though this industry is capital and technology intensive, the
downstream sector is a major avenue for large-scale employment. The downstream plastic processing industry employs over
3.53 million people who derive their livelihood from this sector.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
• Developing new technologies
• Reducing the environmental impact of the sector
• Development of clusters

Strategy and Key Recommendations
Technology Upgradation
• Setting up a petroleum research and development fund under PPP model.
• Augmenting existing testing centres to act as certifying agencies for testing plastic products and raw materials to meet international as well as BIS standards.

Ensuring Sustainable Growth of the Sector
• Setting up a code of conduct for the industry and permitting certain types of industries, beyond a particular size only if they
can ensure zero discharge.
• Fiscal incentive to encourage use of renewable feedstock, adoption of green processes and build energy-efficient housing.
• Focus on recycling industry.

Creating Infrastructure
• Formation of industrial clusters/plastic parks—benchmarking with similar clusters in China, Singapore, Taiwan and so on,
and other areas which have successfully built such facilities over the years to serve as a blueprint on policy actions.

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Human Resource Development
• Specialised programmes for technical training, which can address the specific requirements of plastic industry.

Other Policy Initiatives for Promoting the Sector
•
•
•
•

Branding ‘made in India’ products for increasing export competitiveness of the sector.
Ensure strict and effective enforcement of the ‘Edible Oil Packaging (Regulation) Order’, 1998 by all State Governments.
Encourage use of plastic packaging in key applications, for example, milk packaging.
Encourage the use of plastic components in housing to reduce energy requirements.

PAPER
Introduction
65. The Indian Paper industry produces 10.11 million tons of paper per annum and accounts for 2.6 per cent of total world
production. The annual turnover of the Indian paper industry is nearly `30,000 crores and it employs about 3.70 lakh people.
Per capital consumption of paper in India is also very low. Most of the paper mills are in existence for a long time and hence
technologies used by them fall in a wide spectrum ranging from oldest to the modern.
66. As many as 30 large integrated paper mills, accounting for about 31 per cent of total domestic production, use woodbased/bamboo-based pulp. One hundred and fifty paper mills, contributing 22 per cent of domestic production, use agro-based
(bagasse and straws) and about 473 mills, accounting for 47 per cent of total production, use recycled fibre or waste paper for
paper production.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
• Developing new technologies
• Improving availability of raw material
• Development to be environmentally sustainable

Strategy and Key Recommendations
67. The deliberations of the woking group on Pulp and Paper Sector have shown that expected increase in demand of paper
in the country will require considerable increase in the indigenous production base of the paper sector in the next 15 years.
Clearly, this would require in-depth planning to address critical issues like non-availability of fibrous resources, technological
obsolescence and lack of economies of scale. The group has come out with a set of recommendations in respect of areas requiring improvement and focus. The key recommendations are given in the Box 13.5.

Box 13.5
Key Recommendations
• Ensuring availability of basic raw material and power
– Wood: Large scale promotion of agro based plantation and substantial improvement in productivity of agro based
plantation activity; Restoration of degraded forest land
• Bagasse: Review of incentives policy for use of bagasse in sugar mills,
• Identification and promotion of alternate lingo-cellulosic raw materials
• Setting up waste paper collection centres and creation of awareness
• Modernising entire RCF/WP bases industry to adopt state of the art technology
• Technology improvements for better energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact
– Improving energy efficiency of existing and designing of incentives for technology upgradation for paper industry
– Development of indigenous technologies to make agro-based industries competitive and environmentally sustainable
– Development of energy efficient technologies
– R&D institutes like CPPRI to be strengthened with appropriate funding support
• Support for indigenous manufacturing facility for capacity expansion.
• Fiscal measures to support the sector
• Rationalisation of duty structure to address inversions, if any
• Assistance to forestry/plantation

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68. The Indian paper and pulp industry has potential and also capabilities to service the growing demand in domestic and international market. It can also create huge employment avenues in rural India through agro-forestry and can provide direct employment in production at mills through capacity addition/expansion, provided the competitiveness of the value chain is ensured. This
warrants an enabling policy environment to gear up productive capacity, ensure varied raw material options, induce new technologies and promote local innovation.

(B) SECTORS FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION
TEXTILES
Introduction
69. The strength of the Indian textiles and clothing industry lies in its strong raw-material base, indigenous design capabilities,
presence in the entire value chain, large and growing domestic demand, and the availability of trained manpower at internationally competitive rates. The Indian Textiles and Clothing Industry consumes a diverse range of fibres and yarns but is predominantly cotton based.
70. The sector plays a pivotal role in the economy, contributing about 12 per cent of the manufacturing output, 11 per cent of
merchandise exports and employs about 45 million people. It has a major presence in the unorganised sector as compared to
the organised sector, both in terms of the workforce and number of enterprises.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
71. The growth of this Sector is crucial to the realisation of targets relating to total output and employment growth. The key
objectives of the Textile sector for the 12th plan period are:
• Achieve an annual average growth rate of 11.5 per cent in volume terms in cloth production and 15 per cent in value of
exports by increasing domestic value addition and technological ‘depth’ and by enhancing the global competitiveness.
• It is expected that training to 35 lakh persons would be provided.
• Additional employment to the tune of 15.81 million by 2016–17 would be created.

Strategy and Key Recommendations
72. Based on the lessons learnt in the Eleventh Plan and continuing with the thrust on technology up gradation and modernisation, the Twelfth Plan envisages critical interventions in the weaker segments of the textile value chain such as processing and
garmenting. The main elements of the strategy for the Textiles Sector would be as under:

Technology with Focus on Weaving and Processing Sectors
73. The benefits of the Technology Up gradation Fund Scheme (TUFS), have mainly been availed by the Spinning and
Composite Sectors. While investments in the spinning sector may be required to ensure yarn availability and domestic value
addition of cotton, it is also important to promote forward integration. A study by CRISIL has recommended that the interest subsidy for spinning should be allowed only when it is accompanied by matching investments in weaving or knitting.
Investment for technology up gradation in the downstream segments of weaving and processing is necessary to ensure that
maximum quantity of yarn produced in the country is converted into spinning products domestically.

Infrastructure
74. The Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) was launched in 2005 to neutralise the weakness of fragmentation in the
various sub-sectors of textiles value chain, and the non-availability of quality infrastructure, with only 9 projects completed of 40
projects sanctioned in the 11th Plan, impact of these Parks is yet to emerge.
75. There is little evidence of vertical integration in these parks, which specifically encourages both forward and backward linkages in the entire textile value chain. It would be prudent to focus on consolidation of the gains for existing Parks. The proposed
new scheme of setting up of Integrated Apparel Clusters, activities laid down in the Technology Mission for Knitwear and
Wovenwear should be subsumed in SITP.

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Cotton Sector
76. As per the evaluation study carried out by ICRA Management Consultancy Services Limited, trash content in Indian cotton has reduced from high levels of 4–8 per cent during the pre-TMC period to 1.5–3 per cent post modernisation under Mini
Mission-IV of the Technology Mission on cotton. Under Mini Mission-III, up-gradation/improvement in the Market Yards has
arrested the level of contamination. Based on the estimated cotton production of 438 lakh bales by the end of the terminal year
of the Twelfth Five year Plan, MM-III and IV should make efforts for modernisation of G&P factories and Market Yards.

Environmental Concerns
77. The major challenges faced by the textiles processing are availability of water, effluent treatment and disposal of the treated
water and solid effluents. A scheme for Common Effluent Treatment with Marine Outfall for the existing textile processing
clusters on a PPP mode needs consideration.

Jute
78. Dependence of Jute Mills on Government orders the Jute Mandatory Packaging Act is one of the major barriers to modernisation and product diversification within the industry. The Jute Sector must plan for a gradual phasing out of this order and
achieve more self-reliance through modernisation and diversification.
79. The major focus of interventions during the Twelfth Plan would be on aggressive implementation of Technology Mission
on Technical Textiles which would include implementation of regulatory framework in specified areas, encouraging indigenous production of specialty fibres and yarns, encouraging investment in high end technical textiles products, including FDI,
encouraging R&D in technical textiles, formulation and notifications of standards by BIS and ensuring availability of data base.

Silk
80. India is the second largest producer of silk in the world, a distant second to China, with 15.50 per cent share of the world
production.
81. The objectives in the Twelfth Plan would be to facilitate and create conducive conditions for achieving the targeted silk
production of 32,000 M.T. at a CAGR of 7.14 per cent by the terminal year of the Twelfth Plan. This would be done through
intensive efforts in R&D, technology transfer and enterprise development, creating an inbuilt pyramid structure of federated
farmers and farmer associations to synergise and synchronise the production processes. Also, efforts will be directed to develop
3rd Generation multivoltine crossbreeds to increase production and matching quality parameters of bivoltine silk and accelerate the growth in vanya silk production and explore better value realisation in domestic and international markets.

Powerlooms
82. The decentralised powerloom sector plays an important role in the textile economy in terms of fabric production and
employment generation. It contributes 62 per cent to the total fabric production in the country and provides employment to the
tune of 57.2 lakh persons.
83. The interventions required for Powerloom Sector development during Twelfth Plan period include Powerloom Cluster
Development Programme, setting up of Common Facility Centres, Yarn Bank, setting up of Design Development Centres in
the clusters, conducting awareness programmes/seminars/workshops/pilot activities and Distress Relief Fund Scheme for powerloom weavers. An exclusive provision for Powerloom Sector under TUFS for its modernisation and creation of an office of
the Powerloom Commissioner need to be considered.

Wool and Woollens Textiles
84. The woollen industry in the country is of the size of `10,000 crore and broadly divided and scattered between the organised
and decentralised sectors. India has the third largest sheep population in the world, having 6.40 crore sheep producing 43.30
million kgs of raw wool, out of which, about 85 per cent is carpet grade wool,
85. It has been estimated that the raw wool production and imports would double from 114.2 million kg in 2008–09 to 260.8
million kg by 2019–20. During the period 2009–10 and 2014–15, exports of woollen yarn fabrics and made-ups are expected to
record a CAGR of 11.6 per cent.

Industry 125

86. There is a need to have proper data base and action plan to reduce mortality rate of sheep, increasing coverage of shepherds
as well as sheep under insurance, faster development of CFCs, improvement in productivity in wool production. Thrust of the
scheme/programmes has to be oriented accordingly.

Human Resource Development
87. As per the study conducted by National Skill Development Corporation, with the overall growth of 9.5 per cent in the Textiles
and Clothing Sector, its incremental human resource requirement would be about 17.8 million by the end of Twelfth Plan.

FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Introduction
88. As a leading producer of food grains, milk, fruits and vegetables, India has the advantage of adequate food at the farm gate
to ensure food security for the nation and to even have a surplus for exports. Food processing industry in India has immense
potential for boosting the rural economy as it brings about synergy between consumers, industry and agriculture. A welldeveloped food processing industry is expected to increase farm-gate prices, reduce wastages, ensure value addition, promote
crop diversification, generate employment opportunities and boost export earnings.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
89. Following are the main objectives for the Twelfth Plan:
• Develop the food processing sector to enable containment of food inflation and food wastage
• Create 1 million additional jobs during the Twelfth plan period

Strategy and Key Recommendations
90. Based on lessons learnt during Eleventh Plan and keeping in view the priorities of the proposed Manufacturing Plan, the
strategy for 12th Plan has been devised based on three basic principles. Firstly, greater emphasis would be laid on decentralised
process of implementation with greater involvement of states in selection of projects vis-à-vis beneficiaries and monitoring
their implementation.
91. Secondly, instead of project implementation, focus would be on policy making and coordination so as to address critical issues impacting the value chain in the sector. Lastly, the existing focus on infrastructure development will be continued
with expansion of scope and depth so as to ensure sustainability of the value chains. The major recommendations in regard to
Twelfth Plan activities are in Box 13.6.
92. Adoption of a decentralised approach to instil greater involvement of states and appropriate coordination between states
and stakeholders is a well-conceived idea for development of Food Processing Sector. Launching a National Mission on Food
Processing (NMFP) will be appropriate vehicle to carry forward the idea of decentralisation.

Box 13.6
Key Recommendations
• Setting up of National Mission on Food Processing to improve coordination and implementation of schemes and to
enable greater involvement of state governments.
• Expanding and modifying existing infrastructure development schemes
– Mega Food Parks Scheme, Integrated Cold Chain Scheme
• Setting up and Modernisation of Abattoirs—Establishment of new abattoirs and modernisation of existing abattoirs
• Develop and strengthening of existing and new institutions
• Taking up a nation-wide skill development programme along the lines of special projects for skill development of rural
youths under SGSY of MoRD.
• Putting in place a network of food testing labs (Government/Private) through providing incentives.
• Encouragement for larger participation in Codex deliberations and setting up/strengthening of Codex Cell in FSSAI to
promote, coordinate and monitor related initiatives at the level of stakeholders
• Setting up of an Innovation Fund and Venture Capital Fund for Food Processing to promote innovations and technology
development

126

Twelfth Five Year Plan

93. Likewise shift of focus of the Ministry from project implementation to policy initiative is in right direction towards holistic
development of the sector. The policy to be effective will have to be comprehensive and should evolve through consultation
with the states and the industry.
94. While basic agricultural research has strong and large institutional network in the country, there is inadequate focus on the
food processing sector. There is an urgent need for building a bridge between agricultural universities, premiere technological
and industrial research institute and the private sector to actively undertake collaborative strategic research in this important
sector.
95. Apart from National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), the Central Food
Technology Research Institute (CFTRI) should play a more central, pro-active role to strengthen knowledge base of the industry through greater public and private partnership in technology development.
96. Another critical objective should be for the industry to reach international standards of food safety and quality. All efforts
should be made to harmonise Indian Food Standards with Codex. Enactment of the comprehensive legislation, the Food Safety
and Standards Act, 2006 in the recent past has already provided an enabling vista for taking the above aspects forward.
97. Last but not the least; it is required to recalibrate the existing schemes of MFPI for greater effectiveness. The proposed
Centrally Sponsored Scheme of NMFP has to be structured in such a manner so that it is efficiently managed. It may also be
worthwhile for new mega food parks to explore options of identifying one or more anchor industry(ies) to speed up their pace
of implementation.

LEATHER AND LEATHER GOODS
Introduction
98. The leather and leather products industry occupies an important position in the Indian economy in view of its massive
potential for employment generation, potential for growth both in domestic and export markets. The leather industry is spread
in different segments, namely, tanning and finishing, footwear and footwear components, leather garments, leather goods
including saddlery and harness and so on.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
•
•
•
•
•

To increase the number of employed in the industry–ensuring the availability of trained/skilled labour
To improve the export competitiveness of our products and facilitating exports
Improving the scale of businesses in the sector
Ensuring clean processes (environmental pollution)
Improving the social conditions

Strategy and Key Recommendations
Attracting Large Scale Investments through FDI and Domestic Companies
• Promoting the model adopted China and Vietnam to build a strong leather industry, Promotional activities in foreign countries to be carried out in various formats, print campaign, investment meet, missions for collaborations on raw materials and
so on.

Skill Development Initiatives
• Establishment of new Footwear Design and Development Institutes (FDDI) to skill deficit in the sector.
• Support to Artisans’ scheme—360 degree intervention plan.
• Placement linked Skill Development Programme and Training of Trainers—For providing employment opportunity and to
fill the demand of operators in the footwear sector and improving the quality of training.

Industry 127

Ensuring Environmental Sustainability
• Animal Husbandry Measures, Slaughter and Skin Collection Improvement Measures and Rural Tanning Improvement
Measures.
• Technology Upgradation and Modernisation, environmental impact upgradation and technology benchmarking of
Tanneries.

Improving Export Competitiveness
• Brand Building and Indian Leather Mark
• Constitution of Domestic Council—Footwear and Leather Products Development and Promotion Council (FLPDPC)

Others
• Improving the availability of raw-materials

GEMS AND JEWELLERY
Introduction
99. India’s Gem and Jewellery (G&J) industry is an important foundation of the country’s export-led growth. It is a leading foreign exchange earner and one of the fastest growing sectors accounting for 16.67 per cent of India’s total merchandise exports
during FY 2010-11. India now accounts for nearly 55 per cent of world net exports of cut and polished diamonds in value terms,
90 per cent in terms of pieces and 80 per cent by cartage. The industry employs about 2 million highly skilled workforce out of
which one million are exclusively engaged in export production.
100. India is known to be the largest consumer of gold in the world. It is estimated that the current annual demand for gold in
the country is well over 800 tonnes. Naturally India is also the largest fabricator of gold.
101. In the diamond segment, the industry is importing rough diamond from countries such as Belgium, UK, UAE, Israel, Hong
Kong, Switzerland and other mining countries. The polished diamond is exported to countries such as UAE, Hong Kong, USA,
Belgium and Israel.

Key Objectives Under the Twelfth Plan
• To ensure access and availability of raw material to the industry
• To make Indian products attractive at global markets

Strategy and Key Recommendations
Secure Raw Material Sources:
1. Diamond
• Restrict the export of rough diamonds from domestic mines and invest in diamond reserves abroad through PPP to
ensure the sustained availability.
2.

Gold
• Explore possibility of free import of precious metal gold for manufacturing exports.
• Examine option of permitting import of gold as per international practice in place of current practice of import by
canalilising agencies to erratic supply and frequent shortages.

Coloured Gem Stones
• Commissioning exploration programmes and surveys to ascertain availability of coloured gemstones in India.

Training and Development
• Create Sector Skill Council, under the aegis of NSDC, GJEPC and other critical stakeholders. Develop and administer ‘Train
the Trainer’ programmes, create training infrastructure and roll out the training programmes.

128

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Research and Development and Technological Upgradation
• Documentation of existing tacit knowledge of traditional artists.
• Develop a Design Centre of Excellence and Product Development at Mumbai.

Infrastructure Facilities
• Setting up Gem Bourses, jewellery parks/clusters, Gem trading centres and G&J training centres in some key cities across the
country.

Marketing and Brand Promotion
• Creation of a fund with contribution of industry to promote ‘Made in India’ brand image across the globe.
• Approprite measures by Government of India to have access in the untapped market for G&J products.
• Government should encourage the participation of the industry in international trade forums.

Regulatory and Fiscal
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Introduction of Turnover based taxation system for Indian Gem and Jewellery industry.
Relaxation in EPC norms for import of machineries from Italy.
Allowance of External Commercial Borrowings for working capital as well.
RBI to allow financing for retail jewellery business abroad.
Create dollar fund to refinance banks to finance industry at competitive international rate.
Introduction of adequate credit guarantee mechanism for Gem and Jewellery Sector.
Decrease of transaction cost—Introduction of regulatory control like IRDA to monitor the different transaction charges that
an exporter pays to the different government agencies and financing institutions.

KHADI AND VILLAGE INDUSTRIES
102. The broad targets for development of Khadi and Village industries sector during the 12th Plan period are to achieve at
least 11 per cent growth in Khadi sector and 13 per cent growth in Village Industries. The strategy for achieving targets are to
develop product-wise clusters of Khadi and Village Industries products and develop their domestic as well as export market,
introduce innovations in design and technology, creation of entrepreneurship and growth in manufacturing in rural non-farm
sector to prevent migration by enhanced allocation for PMEGP. The Khadi Reform Programme has been taken up in the 11th
Plan for up scaling marketing of Khadi Products and improving earning of Khadi artisans. The reform also includes introduction of Khadi mark, strengthening Khadi Institutions, market promotion of Khadi products and participation of private party
in the form of partnership in the existing establishment of Central Silver plants. The process has been slow and needs to be
stepped up in the 12th Plan. Also, outcomes need to be clearly defined.
103. Although the PMEGP is the flagship Programme under KVIC, it is yet to be evaluated in terms of its efficacy. A quick evaluation is warranted before any major up-scaling. Likewise an evaluation of the cluster based initiative by the name of SFURTI
is also necessary to evaluate how shortcomings can be overcome while taking up the proposed expansion and introduction
of Heritage Clusters. Since the Textile Ministry has been implementing such clusters in Handloom and Handicrafts sectors it
would be desirable to ensure convergence whenever possible and avoid duplication.

COIR INDUSTRY
104. Coir Industry is mostly confined in Southern states namely, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Enterprises in this sector
are usually in Micro and Small sector. At present, products manufactured in the Coir Sector are for limited uses. R&D initiatives have been made by the Central Coir Research Institute in Kalavoor and the Central Institute of Technology in Bangalore to
develop innovative products for diverse uses. Under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (Bharat Nirman), it has already
been decided to use Coir geo-textiles for construction of rural roads in nine States. In future, the project is likely to be extended
to all the 28 States of the country. The coir industry is likely to face problems in catering to the huge requirements. Hence it may
be required to infuse appropriate technology to improve quality and up-scaling manufacturing capacity in the Twelfth Plan to
meet the requirements.
The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) outlays (GBS) for the sectors discussed above are given in Annexure 13.3.

Industry 129

ANNEXURE 13.3
Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) Outlays (GBS) for Industry Sector
TABLE 13.10
Ministry/Department-wise Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) Outlays Industry Sector
(` Crore)
S. No.

S. No. of
Annex. 3.2

Ministry/Department

Budgetary
Support

IEBR

Outlay

Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals

2,890

3.00

2,893.00

Department of Pharmaceuticals

2,968

127.00

3,095.00

Department of Fertilisers

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

Ministry of Corporate Affairs

Ministry of Food Processing Industries

5,990

0.00

5,990.00

Department of Heavy Industry

4,680

17,543.00

22,223.00

Department of Public Enterprises

0.00

50.00

Ministry of MSME

24,124

1,890.00

26,014.00

Ministry of Mines

2,332

18,221.00

20,553.00

Ministry of Steel

200

90,975.00

91,175.00

Ministry of Textiles

25,931

0.00

25,931.00

NOTES
1. According to NASSCOM—for all graduates (not only related
to manufacturing).
2. Aon Hewitt Survey.
3. ASI 2008–09 data shows ~9 per cent of workforce at supervisory and above levels. Assumption of 9 per cent continued
for calculating managerial staff requirement in 2025 (organised and unorganised).
4. Recommended changes include (i) Defined limit of investment in plant and machinery for classifying the micro, small
and medium enterprises may be deleted from the MSMED
Act, 2006 and should be announced through Notifications.
(ii) The monetary limit of penal provisions of MSMED Act,
2006 should be provided in Rules instead of in the Act. (iii)
Delayed payment of earnest money/security money should be
included for payment of penal interest in case of MSEs as per
provision in Chapter 5 of MSMED Act, 2006. (iv) Amount
of award given by Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation
Council should be realizable as arrear of land revenue.
5. The UWSSA provides for a National Social Security Board
at the Central level and for welfare schemes to be formulated

1,484

15,437.00

16,921.00

12,601

0.00

12,601.00

233

0.00

233.00

by the Central Government on matters relating to (i) health
and disability cover, (ii) health and maternity benefits,
(iii) old age protection, and (iv) any other benefits as may be
determined by the scheme (Indira Gandhi National Old Age
Pension Scheme, National Family Benefit Scheme, Janshri
Bima Yojana, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and so on.
are among the welfare schemes notified in Schedule 1 of the
Act under the Central Government). The Act provides a State
Social Security Board at the state level to recommend suitable schemes in the State sector and monitor social welfare
schemes for unorganized workers. Schemes relating to (i)
Provident Fund (ii) Employment Injury Benefit (iii) housing
(iv) educational schemes for children (v) skill up gradation of
workers, (vi) funeral assistance and (v) old age homes, is to be
formulated and administered by the State Governments.
6. It is important to note though that the overall condition of
the economy will be a key driver of sectoral growth rates. And
emerging economic realities, especially globally, are likely to
create some restraints in the growth of domestic manufacturing. Hence, deliberate effort is needed to implement the manufacturing strategy to boost the Indian manufacturing sector.

14
Energy
TABLE 14.1
Energy Intensity for Total Primary Energy*

INTRODUCTION
14.1. India is the fourth largest consumer of energy
in the world after USA, China and Russia but it
is not endowed with abundant energy resources.
It must, therefore, meet its development needs by
using all available domestic resources of coal, uranium, oil, hydro and other renewable resources, and
supplementing domestic production by imports.
High reliance on imported energy is costly given
the prevailing energy prices which are not likely to
soften; it also impinges adversely on energy security.
Meeting the energy needs of achieving 8 per cent–
9 per cent economic growth while also meeting
energy requirements of the population at affordable
prices therefore presents a major challenge. It calls
for a sustained effort at increasing energy efficiency
to contain the growth in demand for energy while
increasing domestic production as much as possible
to keep import dependence at a reasonable level.

ENERGY INTENSITY OF GDP
14.2. Energy intensity, defined as the energy input
associated with a unit of gross domestic product
(GDP), is a measure of the energy efficiency of a
nation’s economy. India’s energy intensity has been
declining over the years (See Table 14.1) and is
expected to decline further.
14.3. Falling energy intensity implies that the growth
in energy used is less than the growth of GDP, which
in turn implies that energy elasticity, that is, the ratio
of the growth of energy to the growth of GDP is less
than unity. In fact, this elasticity has been declining
over the years. Total primary energy–GDP elasticity

Period

Energy Intensity
(Kgoe/US$)**

1981

1.09

1991

0.99

2001

0.85

2011

0.62

* Energy intensity indicated is energy required to produce a unit
of GDP.
** kgoe: Kilograms of oil equivalent.
Source: Planning Commission.

was around 0.73 during the period 1980–81 to 2000–
01 and it declined to 0.66 in the period 1981–81 to
2010–11. The elasticity of commercial energy is
higher than that of total primary energy because of
the ongoing shift from non-commercial to commercial energy. However, even this elasticity declined
from a level of 1.09 in the period 1980–81 to 2000–
01 and to 0.91 during 2000–01 to 2010–11. The
decline in share of non-commercial energy could
be attributed to increased availability of clean fuels
and replacing traditional fuels such as wood and
cow dung cakes to meet household energy needs.
The Twelfth Plan continues to focus on enhancing
household access to cleaner forms of energy with an
aim to promote sustainable development.
14.4. A National Mission on Energy Efficiency
(NMEE) has been launched to improve energy efficiency in all areas of the economy including power,
transport, urban housing, consumer goods and

Energy 131

industries. As a part of Clean Energy Mechanism,
which is a global initiative, a number of measures are
being planned for improving efficiency in lighting
by use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and superefficient appliances. A strategy has also been devised
to improve the share of energy-efficient modes of
transport. This improvement in efficiency will lead
to reduced energy intensity of GDP and lower elasticity of energy against GDP. It is estimated that during the Plan, the elasticity may further improve by
about 10 per cent by the end of the Plan.
14.5. Table 14.2 shows energy intensity of some
select countries for the year 2010, with GDP measured in terms of 2010 USD purchasing power parity (PPP). India’s energy intensity using PPP GDP
is 0.191, which is on par with the world average but
higher than most of the European countries. China’s
energy intensity is roughly 1.5 times that of India.
TABLE 14.2
Energy Intensity
S. No

Country

Energy Intensity
(Kgoe/US$)

United Kingdom

0.102

Germany

0.121

Japan

0.125

Brazil

0.134

USA

0.173

China

0.283

South Korea

0.189

India

0.191

Source: World Energy Outlook 2011.

EXPANDING ACCESS TO ENERGY
14.6. Higher levels of GDP will obviously require
higher levels of energy as an input but in addition
to this requirement India’s energy planning must
allow for the need to expand access to clean energy
at affordable prices for the bulk of the population. Village electrification and connection of rural
households to electric supply under Rajiv Gandhi
Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) is a critical instrument. The supply of kerosene/liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) at affordable prices is equally
important.

14.7. There is ample evidence of unmet demand
in rural areas indicating the need to expand access
even as we expand total supply. The NSS 66th
Round Survey conducted by National Sample Survey
Organisation (NSSO) for 2009–10 shows improvement in access to cleaner forms of energy by households for cooking and lighting purposes as compared
to the NSS 61st Round Survey for 2004–05. Access
to electricity in this period increased from 92 per
cent of urban households to 94 per cent and from 55
per cent of rural households to 67.3 per cent. Since
2009–10, 1.40 crore below poverty line (BPL) households have been provided electricity connection
under RGGVY. If we add only the number of BPL
households connected during last three years to the
NSSO data, the estimated household electrification
level as on 31 March 2012 would be of the order of 75
per cent. However, the availability of electricity supply continues to remain an area of concern, particularly in rural areas, where consumers get supplies for
less than eight hours a day in certain states. Though
67 per cent of the rural households are reported to
have access to electricity in 2009–10, their per capita consumption of electricity is only around 8 units
per month, which is just one-third of reported consumption of 24 units in urban areas. This is because
of poor quality of electricity supplies and reflects significant unmet demand.
14.8. Achieving universal access to electricity is one
of the most important goals and the Government
plans to provide electricity to each and every
household in the country in the next five years by
extending RGGVY programme to every habitation irrespective of the size of the population. Subtransmission, distribution network and renewable
sources will need to be expanded suitably in consultation with the State Governments to realise this
objective. Adequate investments in the distribution
networks will improve the quality of electricity supply for the existing consumers as well as the targeted
consumers in the next five years
14.9. The percentage of all households using LPG as
cooking fuel increased from 57 per cent of the households in 2004–05 to around 66 per cent in 2009–10.
Access to LPG supplies in rural areas increased from

132

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.3
Household Access (%)
Energy Source

61st Round 2004–05
Rural

Electricity
LPG

Urban

66th Round 2009–10
Total

Rural

Urban

Total

54.9

92.3

65.2

67.3

93.9

75.5

8.6

57.1

21.9

15.5

66.2

31.2

Note: Access to energy data for Census 2011 shows primary energy sources for lighting in 2011 as 55.3 per cent rural, 92.7 per cent urban
and 67.2 per cent overall, as against 43.5 per cent rural, 87.6 per cent urban and 55.8 per cent overall in 2001. The difference in NSSO
and Census data is possibly due to differences in questionnaire. It will need to be further looked into.

8.6 per cent in 2004–05 to around 15.5 per cent in
the year 2009–10. Besides, per capita consumption
reported in rural areas was just 0.3 kg per month as
compared to 1.8 kg in urban areas. Since the disparity between urban and rural per capita total consumption is much lower it is reasonable to assume
that potential in rural areas is much higher, but is left
unsatisfied because of insufficient access. Women
being the main energy users and primary energy
suppliers are worst affected by restricted LPG supply. This poses one of the most difficult barriers to
the empowerment of women. Table 14.3 shows the
access levels in 2004-05 and 2009–10.

ENERGY DEMAND AND SUPPLY
14.10. The demand for energy during the Plan will
increase as the economy grows and as access in rural
areas expands. Table 14.4 presents estimates of the
total primary energy demand projected to the end of
the Thirteenth Plan. The annual average growth rate
of the total energy requirement is expected to accelerate from 5.1 per cent per year in the Eleventh Plan
to 5.7 per cent per year in the Twelfth Plan and 5.4
per cent per year in the Thirteenth Plan. The faster
growth in supply in the Twelfth Plan is in part a
reflection of the need to meet suppressed demand.
14.11. The demand for non-commercial energy is
expected to decline with increasing expansion of
the network and access to commercial energy. As
shown in Table 14.4, whereas commercial energy is
expected to grow at 6.91 per cent in the five years
up to 2011–12, non-commercial energy is projected
to grow at only 2.6 per cent in the same period. The
growth of non-commercial energy is projected to
decline to around 1.5 per cent in the next 10 years.

14.12. Table 14.5 shows the share of each energy
source in total domestic production and also its
share (including imports) in the total commercial
energy consumption. The most important point
to note is that coal remains the dominant source of
primary energy. Domestic production of coal and
lignite account for two-third of total production of
commercial energy in 2000–01 and is projected to
be about the same in 2021–22. As a percentage of
total consumption of commercial energy, the share
of coal and lignite is projected to increase to 57 per
cent, from a level of 50 per cent in 2000–01. While
share of oil in total commercial energy consumption
is expected to decline from 37.5 per cent in 2000–01
to 23.3 per cent in 2021–22, the share of natural gas
and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is projected to rise
from 8.5 per cent to 13 per cent in the same period.
The combined share of oil and natural gas in energy
consumption was 24.7 per cent in 2011–12 and is
expected to be about the same in 2021–22.
14.13. The supply from renewables is expected
to increase rapidly from 24,503 MW by the end of
the Eleventh Plan to 54,503 MW by the end of the
Twelfth and 99,617 MW by the end of theThirteenth.
This fourfold increase in the next 10 years is expected
to continue in subsequent years as policies provide
a strong incentive for the renewables. Nevertheless
the base is small and the share of renewables in
total commercial energy used will remain small. It
is expected to rise from about 1 per cent in 2011–12
to 1.43 per cent in 2016–17 and just under 2 per
cent in 2021–22. Though small, the share of renewable energy in India is comparable with that in
many other countries: USA (1.7 per cent), Indonesia
(1.4 per cent), Thailand (1.0 per cent) and China

Energy 133

TABLE 14.4
Trends in Supply of Primary Commercial Energy
(in mtoe)*
2000–01
(Actual)

2006–07
(Actual)

2011–12
(Provisional)

2016–17
(Projected)

2021–22
(Projected)

130.61

177.24

222.16

308.55

400

DOMESTIC PRODUCTION
Coal
Lignite

6.43

8.76

10.64

16.80

Crude Oil

33.40

33.99

39.23

42.75

Natural Gas

25.07

27.71

42.79

76.13

103

Hydro Power

6.40

9.78

11.22

12.90

Nuclear Power

4.41

4.91

8.43

16.97

Renewable Energy

0.13

0.87

5.25

10.74

Total Domestic commercial Energy

206.45

263.28

339.72

481.84

642.00

Non-commercial Energy 1

136.64

153.28
(1.93)

174.20
(2.6 %)

187.66
(1.5 %)

202.16
(1.5 %)

Total

343.09

416.56

513.92

669.50

844.16

Coal

11.76

24.92

54.00

90.00

150.00

Petroleum Products

77.25

98.41

129.86

152.44

194.00

8.45

12.56

24.80

31.00

IMPORTS

LNG
Hydro power
Total Net Imports

0
0
89.01

0.26

0.45

0.52

0.60

132.04

196.87

267.76

375.60

Total Commercial Energy (growth over
the previous five years)

295.46

396.32
(5.01 %)

536.59
(6.25 %)

749.60
(6.91 %)

1017.60
(6.30 %)

Total Primary Energy

432.01

549.60
(4.09 %)

710.79
(5.28 %)

937.26
(5.69 %)

1219.76
(5.41 %)

*mtoe: million tons of oil equivalent.
Source: Planning Commission.
Note: Figures in brackets are annual average growth rates over the previous five years’ period.

(0.5 per cent). Brazil at (3.1 per cent) is significantly
higher. We have made a good start but there is need
to do more.
14.14. Even though domestic production of energy
resources is projected to increase, import dependence will continue at a high level. The main area of
import will be crude oil, where nearly 78 per cent of
the demand will have to be met from imports by the
end of the Twelfth Plan. However, import dependence for coal is also estimated to increase from 18.8
per cent in 2011–12 to 22.4 per cent by the end of
the Twelfth Plan and 25.9 per cent by the end of
the Thirteenth Plan. It is estimated that the import

dependence for coal, LNG and crude oil taken
together in the terminal year of the Twelfth Plan
is likely to remain at the Eleventh Plan level of 36
per cent. However, this assumes that we are able to
realise projected domestic production levels of coal,
petroleum and natural gas. If this is not achieved, the
level of import dependence would increase further if
the GDP growth rates projected are to be maintained.

ENERGY PRICING
14.15. Energy pricing is an economically important
but also politically sensitive issue, which will pose
major challenges in the Twelfth Plan. While the
political sensitivity of energy prices is self-evident,

134

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.5
Share of Each Fuel in Total Energy Production and Consumption
(in percentage)
2000–01
Actual

2006–07
Actual

2011–12
(Provisional)

2016–17
(Projected)

2021–22
(Projected)

Coal and Lignite

66.38

70.65

68.53

67.52

66.82

Crude Oil

16.18

12.91

11.55

8.87

6.70

Natural Gas

12.14

10.52

12.60

15.80

16.04

Hydro Power

3.10

3.71

3.30

2.68

2.65

Nuclear Power

2.14

1.86

2.48

3.52

4.67

Renewable Energy

0.06

0.33

1.55

2.23

3.12

Coal and Lignite

50.36

53.22

53.45

55.41

56.90

Crude Oil

Share in Commercial Energy Production

Share in Total Commercial Energy Supply
37.45

33.41

31.51

26.04

23.29

Natural Gas

8.49

6.99

10.32

13.46

13.17

Hydro Power

2.17

2.53

2.17

1.79

1.73

Nuclear Power

1.49

1.24

1.57

2.26

2.95

Renewable Energy

0.04

0.22

0.98

1.43

1.97

the economic role of rational energy pricing is not
adequately appreciated. Rational energy prices help
to balance consumer energy demand with producer
supply, providing incentives to reduce consumption on the one hand and to stimulate production
on the other. As a general rule, energy prices should
be aligned with the global energy prices, especially
when large imports are involved.

14.17. Over the years, India’s energy prices have
become misaligned, and are now much lower than
global prices for many products. The extent of misalignment is substantial, leading to large un-targeted
subsidies. The implications of price misalignment
are discussed in the individual sections relating to
different sources of energy.

ENERGY SECURITY
14.16. Misalignment of energy prices poses both
microeconomic and macroeconomic problems. At
the microeconomic level, underpricing energy to the
consumer reduces the incentive to be energy-efficient
and also promotes leakage of subsidised products for
sale in open market and also (in case of kerosene)
adulteration. Underpricing to the producer reduces
both the incentive and also the ability to invest in the
sector, depressing production and increasing reliance on imports. This obviously undermines energy
security. At the macroeconomic level, misalignment
either hits producers as stated above, leading to
excessive import dependence with implications for
the balance of payments, or if producers are sought
to be insulated, it necessitates a subsidy, which places
a burden on the budget.

14.18. Energy security involves ensuring uninterrupted supply of energy to support the economic
and commercial activities necessary for sustained
economic growth. Energy security is obviously
more difficult to ensure if there is large dependence
on imported energy. This calls for action in several
areas.
1. First, and most importantly, the domestic production of coal, oil and gas and other energy
sources has to be stepped up. Some of the recent
issues in this regard have been availability of
land, clearances for environment and forest and
implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and
Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition
of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Uncertainty about

Energy 135

production sharing contracts has also posed
problems. Management strategies and procedures will have to be devised for ensuring
effective implementation of fuel development
projects while meeting the requirements of
above policies and legislations.
Second, a stable and attractive policy regime
has to be provided to ensure substantial private
investment including foreign investment in oil
and natural gas blocks and new capacities for
renewable energy. Producers must have clarity
in the price they will receive and an assurance
of a stable tax regime. Since oil exploration is a
global industry the terms India offers must be
comparable with those offered elsewhere. In this
context the entire structure of New Exploration
Licensing Policy (NELP) contracts for oil and
gas need to be reviewed.
Third, investments in renewable energies need
to be strongly emphasised. By present projections, the share of renewable energy in total
energy consumption will only reach 2 per cent
by 2021.
Fourth, investments in energy assets in foreign
countries, especially for coal, oil and gas and
uranium should be stepped up.
Fifth, to meet any possible disruption in oil
supplies, on which we are import-dependent
to the extent of more than 80 per cent, storage
capacities need to be created. The Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) countries have generally created these
capacities to the extent of 90 days of their domestic demand. We have created the capacity for 5
million tonnes. It has, however, not been fully
utilised so far. There will be a need to increase
this gradually and utilise it fully. Innovative ways
will have to be found to fill up these tankages.

3.2. POWER SECTOR
14.19. The electric power sector consists of a mix of
plants depending on different primary fuels, including conventional sources like coal, lignite, natural
gas, oil, hydro and nuclear power; and non-conventional sources like wind and solar power, and agricultural and domestic waste. However, coal remains
the dominant primary energy source used in power

generation accounting for 67 per cent of total generation. The power sector is currently at a crucial
juncture of its evolution from a dominantly public
sector environment to a more competitive power
sector, with many private producers and greater
reliance on markets, subject to regulation. The performance of the power sector shows many positive
features, especially relating to the pace of addition to
power generation but there are numerous problems
relating to fuel supply which need to be resolved as
also problems relating to the financial viability of the
operation of the distribution companies (Discoms).

REVIEW OF THE ELEVENTH PLAN
14.20. The Eleventh Plan was the period in which
the Electricity Act of 2003, which was enacted during the Tenth Plan period was to be fully operationalised. The objectives of the Act are “to consolidate
the laws related to generation, transmission, distribution, trading and use of electricity, and taking
measures conducive for the development of electrical industry, protecting interests of consumers
and supply of electricity to all areas, rationalisation
of electricity tariff, ensuring transparent policies
regarding subsidies, promotion of efficient and environmentally benign policies, constitution of regulatory commission and establishment of Appellate
Tribunals”. While substantial progress was made in
setting up the institutional structure, there are several important areas where reforms have yet to take
place. These are:
1. Open access to consumers, which is mandated
under the Electricity Act, remains ineffective due
to reluctance of state utilities to comply.
2. Trading of power at very high rates and its purchase by utilities even though not willing to pass
on the higher cost in the form of consumer tariffs. This has a distortionary effect and threatens to jeopardise the financial viability of the
Discoms.
3. Energy audit of power utilities has not been
undertaken.
4. Electricity retail tariffs have remained static for
many years because of political pressure, widening the gap between the average tariff and average cost of supply.

136

Twelfth Five Year Plan

5. The distribution companies suffer from serious
financial stress. Losses of the distribution utilities
remain high. The annual loss of the State power
utilities (without subsidy) was `33,698 crore during 2007–08 and increased to `59,891 crore in the
year 2009–10 (provisional). The State Discoms
cannot sustain such high losses indefinitely.

Physical Achievements
14.21. An important gain in the Eleventh Plan was
the ramping up of the pace of addition to generation capacity. The Eleventh Plan aimed at a substantial increase with a target for additional capacity
of 78,700 MW. Actual achievement in the Eleventh
Plan was 54,964 MW. Sector-wise and mode-wise
capacity addition achievements are given in Table
14.6. This is 30 per cent lower than the original target, but it is more than twice the addition achieved
in the Tenth Plan. More importantly, the pace of
capacity creation picked up in the Eleventh Plan,

and there is at present about 90,000 MW of generation capacity currently under construction
which would achieve commercial production in the
Twelfth Plan. If these projects proceed to completion as scheduled, and a strong effort is made to
initiate new projects in the first year of the Twelfth
Plan, we could reasonably expect to achieve addition to capacity in the Twelfth Plan of the order of
80,000–1,00,000 MW.
14.22. While the pace of addition to generating
capacity is commendable, there has not been comparable progress in delivering fuel and the availability
of both coal and gas to the new power plants is not
assured. Resolution of this problem must have high
priority in the Twelfth Plan.
14.23. The main physical milestones achieved in
the power sector during the Eleventh Plan are summarised in Box 14.1.

TABLE 14.6
Installed Capacity Addition during the Eleventh Plan (in MW)
Type

Target

Actual

Central

State

Private

Total

Central

State

Private

Total

8,654

3,482

3,491

15,627

1,550

2,702

1,292

5,544

Thermal

24,840

23,301

11,552

59,693

12,790

14,030

21,720

48,540

Nuclear

3,380

–

3,380

880

–

36,874

26,783

15,043

78,700

15,220

16,732

23,012

Hydro

Total

880
54,964

Source: Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

Box 14.1
Achievements in Power Sector during the Eleventh Plan
• Capacity addition during the Eleventh Plan period has been at 54,964 MW which is 69.8 per cent of the original target and
88.1 per cent of the reduced target of 62,374 MW set in the Mid-term Appraisal (MTA). It is more than 2.5 times that of
any of the earlier Plans.
• Total installed capacity as on 31 March 2012, including renewable energy sources of the country is 1,99,877 MW. The
share of renewable energy capacity is about 12.2 per cent
• Approximately 69,926 circuit km (ckm) of transmission line. 1,50,362 MVA capacity of alternating current (AC) substations
and 1,750 MW capacity of high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) substations were added to the existing transmission systems.
• Total number of villages electrified till March 2012 was about 5.6 lakhs, indicating that more than 93 per cent village
electrification has been achieved. However, a large number of small habitations still remain unconnected.
• Various activities under different schemes of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and Ministry of Power (MoP) have
resulted in saving in avoided power capacity of 11,000 MW.
• Works relating to 18 units for life extension aggregating to 1,931 MW and 69 units for repair and maintenance (R&M)
aggregating to 17,435 MW have been completed during the Eleventh Plan.

Energy 137

Electricity Generation
14.24. The Eleventh Plan estimated a terminal year
(2011–12) requirement of electricity generation
from utilities at 1,038 billion units (BU), implying
growth rate of 9.1 per cent (CAGR) per annum over
the gross generation level of 670.65 BU in 2006–07
(the terminal year of the Tenth Plan). As against the
above, the actual generation from utilities in 2011–
12 was 876.88 BU, a shortfall of about 16 per cent,
implying an annual growth rate of only 5.51 per cent
for power from the utilities. The mode-wise and
sector-wise energy generation for 2011–12 is given
in Table 14.7. After allowing for captive generation
of about 110 BU in 2011–12, the growth rate in total
power generation is likely to be 5.7 per cent (CAGR)
over the Eleventh Plan period, against the Plan target
of 9.5 per cent. This has resulted in a demand–supply gap. On 31 March 2012, it was estimated that the
peak deficit gap was 11.1 per cent and energy deficit

was 8.5 per cent. These deficits are lower than the
corresponding deficits of 13.8 per cent and 9.6 per
cent respectively at the end of the Tenth Plan, but
there is a clear need to step up capacities and energy
availability as the economy grows.
14.25. The actual cumulative capacity as on 31
March 2012 was 1,99,877 MW, including 24,503
MW of renewable sources of energy, the details of
which are given in Table 14.8.
14.26. The Eleventh Plan has clearly succeeded in
creating the precondition for achieving much larger
addition to capacity in future. The performance of
the private sector exceeded targets (see Table 14.6)
whereas the Government sector fell short, with the
shortfall being the generation in the Central sector. The share of the private sector in the total
installed capacity has risen to about 42 per cent

TABLE 14.7
Mode-wise/Sector-wise Break-up of Generation
(in Billion Units)
Type
Hydro
(Incl. Bhutan Import)

Central

State

Private

55.97
(5.28)

71.02

8.81

296.93
271.98
2.88
21.27

130.84
87.63
6.45
35.10

281.04
225.18
18.76
37.09

Thermal
(a) Coal
(b) Lignite
(c) Gas
Nuclear

32.29

Total
(Incl. Bhutan Import)

369.28
(5.28)

–

367.95

139.65

Total
135.80
(5.28)
708.81
584.79
28.09
93.46
32.29
876.88
(5.28)

Source: CEA.
TABLE 14.8
All-India Cumulative Generating Capacity (as on 31 March 2012) (in MW)

Centre
State/UTs
Private
Total

Hydro

Thermal

Nuclear
4,780.00

RES (MNRE)*

Total

9,085.40

45,817.23

0.00

59,682.63

27,380.00

55,024.93

–

3,513.72

85,918.65

2,525.00

30,761.02

–

20,989.73

54,275.75

38,990.40

1,31,603.18

24,503.45

1,99,877.03

* MNRE: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Source: CEA.

4,780.00

138

Twelfth Five Year Plan

of the incremental capacity in the Eleventh Plan.
The capacity addition program has benefited from
increase in the potential of the domestic equipment suppliers like Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
(BHEL), and also increased imports. BHEL has now
the potential to deliver about 15,000–20,000 MW of
new capacity per year as against 6,000 MW per year
a few years ago. Further, more private-sector equipment manufacturers are also entering the market
and the total capacity may increase to about 40,000
MW per year by 2016–17.

of coal-based capacity addition in the Twelfth Plan
is expected be based on supercritical technology.
For the Thirteenth Plan, it has been decided that all
coal-fired capacity addition shall be through supercritical units. Higher stream parameters of 565/593
degree centigrade are being adopted for supercritical units which would lead to design efficiency of
over 40 per cent and lower CO2 emissions by about
5 per cent as compared to a typical 500 MW subcritical unit.

14.27. The Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs)
Programme, which brings in private investment
into power generation, was a major initiative of the
Eleventh Plan. So far power purchase agreements
have been signed for four UMPPs of 4,000 MW each
on the basis of competitive tariff-based bidding.
They are based in Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), Mundra
(Gujarat), Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and
Tilaiya (Jharkhand). Out of these, one unit of 800
MW of Mundra by Tata Power has been commissioned in March 2012. 12 more supercritical UMPPs
are being planned covering Chhattisgarh, Gujarat,
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra
and Karnataka. An important element of this programme is the induction of supercritical technology, which is an important shift towards energy
efficiency. Unfortunately, some of these projects
are plagued with uncertainties regarding fuel supply because they were based on imported coal and
changes in government policies in the countries
where the coal mines were located have raised the
cost of coal whereas the power tariff is based on a
competitive bid which does not contain a provision
for passing on such increases.

14.29. Initiatives have been taken by the Government
for developing indigenous capacity/capability for
manufacturing of supercritical boilers and turbine
generators as indigenous manufacturing capacity is
considered vital to support large-scale induction of
supercritical units envisaged. BHEL has entered into
a technology collaboration with M/s Alstom and
Siemens for supercritical technology for boilers and
turbine generators respectively. BHEL has intimated
that it had augmented its manufacturing capacity to
20,000 MW per year by March 2012. Further, setting
up of joint ventures (JVs)/subsidiary companies by
international manufactures of supercritical boilers
and turbine generators was encouraged. As a result,
several JVs have come up in the country for setting
up manufacturing facilities for supercritical boilers and turbines generators. Manufacturing capacities which may come up are indicated in Table 14.9.
The Government of India has also approved the
policy of encouraging domestic production of supercritical plants by bulk-tendering of such units. Two
bulk orders—11 × 660 MW supercritical units for
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and
Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and 9 × 800
MW supercritical units for NTPC—were approved
and being implemented.

Super Critical Projects under Construction

Transmission

14.28. Thermal power stations based on present-day
subcritical technology have efficiency of about 38
per cent. To improve energy efficiency further, it was
decided that new thermal power plants should be
based on supercritical technology. Already, eleven
supercritical units with a total capacity of 7,400 MW
have been installed. Large number of supercritical
units are under construction and about 50 per cent

14.30. A programme for construction of 88,515 ckm
transmission lines for evacuation of power from
generating stations was envisaged at the beginning
of the Eleventh Plan based on the target for capacity addition that was planned. When the capacity
target was scaled down to 62,374 MW at the time of
the Mid-Term Appraisal (MTA), the target for transmission was scaled down to 68,673 ckm. Details of

Ultra-Mega Power Projects

Energy 139

TABLE 14.9
Planned Manufacturing Capacity MW Per Annum
Joint Venture

Boilers

Turbine-Generators

Remarks

L&T–MHI

4,000 MW

Production for boiler and turbine commenced

Alstom–Bharat Forge

–

5,000 MW

All manufacturing facilities for manufacture of
turbines to be completed by June 2013

3,000 MW

All manufacturing facilities to be completed by
April 2013

–

Probable date of completion of facilities—
December 2012 (2,000 MW) and December 2014
(additional 2,000 MW)

Toshiba–JSW
Gammon–Ansaldo

4,000 MW

Thermax–Babcock and
Wilcox

3,000 MW

All manufacturing facilities to be completed by
September 2012

BGR–Hitachi Boilers
Private Limited

5 Boilers per annum
(~3,000 MW)

All manufacturing facilities to be completed by
January 2013

BGR–Hitachi Turbine
Generator Private Limited
Doosan Chennai Works
Private Limited

5 Turbine Generators per All manufacturing facilities to be completed by
annum (~3,000 MW)
July 2014
2,200 MW
(Both subcritical and
Supercritical)

the achievement of transmission lines at the end of
the Eleventh Plan are given in Table 14.10. The addition achieved during the Eleventh Plan is 69,926 ckm
which is greater than the scaled-down target.

Distribution
14.31. Distribution is the weakest link in the power
system with large losses leading to financial unviability. The cash losses of utilities selling power directly
to consumers, after accounting for subsidy from the
State Governments, increased from `17,620 crore
in year 2007–08 to `42,415 crore in year 2009–10.
The cumulative book losses (on accrual basis) of
State Discoms have increased from `79,339 crore
as on 31 March 2009 to `1,06,247 crore at the end
of year 2009–10. The net worth of the Discoms has
decreased from `31,972 crore to `14,786 crore as on
31 March 2010. While some of the States have shown
improvements in the financial health of their utilities, others are yet to demonstrate the impact of the
policy initiatives.

DCW Pvt. Ltd. is 100 per cent subsidiary of
Doosan Korea. Company incorporated in India
on 20 July 2000
Existing facility–Chennai Additional facility
acquired at Mannur village, Kancheepuram
district
Production from additional facilities to start by
Sept-2012.

14.32. Distribution companies have not been able to
recover the cost of supply through tariff, and the gap
between Average Cost of Supply (ACS) and Average
Revenue Realised (ARR) has widened and the same
has been increasing over the years. This gap is partly
a reflection of lower tariff, but it also reflects high
aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses
which reduce the average revenue realised. The
trends in AT&C for all States are shown in Table
14.11. The position is especially serious in the special category states, which have losses (2010–11,
Provisional) varying between 29.17 per cent in the
case of Uttarakhand to 74.30 per cent in Jammu &
Kashmir. Himachal Pradesh with AT&C loss of
13.53 per cent is an exception. The non-special category states have generally performed better, though
the losses are still unacceptably high in several of
these, for example, Jharkhand (45.11 per cent), Bihar
(49.99 per cent), Chhattisgarh (36.41 per cent), Uttar
Pradesh (37.86 per cent), Odisha (44.35 per cent)

140

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.10
Cumulative Achievement of Transmission Lines at the End of the Eleventh Plan
Transmission System
Type/Voltage Class

Unit

At the End of the Tenth Plan
(March 2007)

Addition during the
Eleventh Plan

At the End of the Eleventh Plan
(March 2012)

765 kV

ckm

1,704

3,546

5,250

HVDC + 500 kV Bi-pole

ckm

5,872

3,560

9,432

400 kV

ckm

69,174

37,645

1,06,819

230/220 kV

ckm

1,10,805

25,175

1,35,980

Total

ckm

1,87,555

69,926

2,57,481

25,000

Transmission Lines

Substations
765 kV

MVA

400 kV

MVA

92,942

58,085

1,51,027

230/220 kV

MVA

1,56,497

67,277

2,23,774

Total

MVA

2,49,439

1,50,362

3,99,801

HVDC
Bi-pole link capacity

5,000

1,750

6,750

Back-to-back capacity

3,000

Total

8,000

1,750

9,750

Source: CEA.

and Madhya Pradesh (41.10 per cent). In contrast,
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Delhi and Tamil
Nadu show relatively good performance in containing AT&C losses.
14.33. Due to unsustainable levels of AT&C losses
and other inefficiencies in metering, billing and collection, the utilities are not able recover the cost of
supply resulting in widening of gap between average
cost of supply and tariff. Table 14.12 shows recent
trends in financial parameters of major States.
14.34. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)
of India has carried out a study involving 24 utilities
on issues impacting financial health of power distribution utilities in India and has pointed out the
need for rationalisation of tariffs charged for various consumers. Unless the measures to contain these
inefficiencies are taken, the Discoms will not be able
to break even. Further, default in payments, nonmetering of consumers, inadequate energy auditing,
inadequate investments in upgradation of the distribution system are some of the other issues that need

to be addressed. This situation is a cause of serious
concern and remedial steps need to be taken on priority basis in the Twelfth Plan to ensure that utilities
generate adequate surpluses to support their ongoing projects.

Restructured Accelerated Power
Development and Reform Programme
(R-APDRP)
14.35. To address the problems of distribution
losses, the Central Government had launched the
APDRP scheme in 2002–03 as an Additional Central
Assistance (ACA) scheme to finance the modernisation of sub-transmission and distribution networks
with the objective to reduce AT&C losses to 15 per
cent. This programme was not effective in reducing
losses. A Re-structured APDRP was approved as a
Central scheme in 2008 with a total outlay of `51,577
crore over the Eleventh Plan period. The focus of the
programme is on actual, demonstrable performance
in terms of AT&C loss reduction. The coverage of the
programme is for the urban areas—towns and cities
with a population of more than 30,000 (10,000 for

Energy 141

TABLE 14.11
Aggregate Technical and Commercial Losses of State Power Utilities (within State)
(in Percentage)
S. No

State

2007–08
(Actual)

2008–09
(Actual)

2009–10
(Actual)

2010–11
(Provisional)

Special Category States
1

Arunachal Pradesh

78.31

74.27

63.14

65.48

Assam

36.77

35.37

38.24

45.13

Himachal Pradesh

19.52

16.20

17.39

13.53

Jammu & Kashmir

73.43

70.69

72.03

74.30

Manipur

86.75

83.55

69.23

67.74

Meghalaya

39.74

35.27

43.19

37.93

Mizoram

38.38

46.43

42.89

42.08

Nagaland

51.20

55.85

58.02

55.98

Sikkim

46.87

46.81

51.37

46.81

Tripura

41.44

40.08

37.52

41.19

Uttarakhand

35.37

29.35

28.61

29.17

Non-Special Category States
1

Andhra Pradesh

20.61

19.39

18.32

16.78

Bihar

47.60

41.66

42.39

49.99

Chhattisgarh

35.17

37.78

46.62

36.41

Goa

17.69

17.81

16.18

15.57

Gujarat

26.43

25.46

26.87

18.25

Haryana

29.01

28.43

29.50

26.72

Jharkhand

54.18

54.23

49.07

45.11

Karnataka

31.63

24.79

23.69

23.64

Kerala

44.80

34.98

28.81

29.72

Madhya Pradesh

46.64

45.78

42.93

41.10

Maharashtra

30.67

28.75

27.44

23.47

Orissa

41.68

42.20

39.71

44.35

Punjab

22.36

19.76

19.97

18.35

Rajasthan

40.18

32.99

33.06

25.60

Tamil Nadu

19.25

20.19

19.11

18.27

Uttar Pradesh

38.89

35.29

36.69

37.86

West Bengal

20.67

28.81

26.13

28.87

Delhi

34.58

17.92

20.78

15.76

special category States). Private distribution utilities
are not covered under the programme which has been
a point of criticism by some States. Projects under the
R-APDRP scheme were to be taken up in two parts.
Part A focused on establishing reliable and automated

system for sustained collection of accurate baseline
data, and the adoption of IT in the areas of energy
accounting and auditing and consumer-based services. Part B includes projects to strengthen the distribution system, including activities like automation

142

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.12
Viability of Major State Utilities Not Improving
(Excluding Delhi and Odisha)
2007–08
Actual

2008–09
Actual

2009–10
Provisional

2010–11
RE

72.86

74.55

74.33

76.21

Revenue from sale of electricity (` crore)

1,31,220

1,48,605

1,63,475

1,92,827

Total cost of electricity sold (` crore)

1,74,452

2,12,292

2,35,701

2,61,467

Energy sold/energy available (%)

Commercial losses without subsidy (` crore)

33,290

52,452

60,172

59,050

Average cost of supply (paise/kWh)

405.86

464.48

480.37

485.67

Average tariff (paise/kWh)

305.29

325.13

333.17

358.18

Gap between the cost of supply and tariff (paise)

100.57

139.35

147.20

127.49

Source: Power Utilities of various States and UTs.

and validation of baseline system, project evaluations,
capacity-building and development of franchisees in
the distribution sector and consumer attitude surveys. Projects under Part B would be taken up after
the baseline data is established (Table 14.13).
14.36. The status of R-APDRP at the end of the
Eleventh Plan is as follows:
• Under Part A of R-APDRP, 1,402 projects at
an estimated cost of `5,196.50 crore have been
approved for 29 States/UTs.
• Part A SCADA projects for 63 towns of 15 States
have also been sanctioned at an estimated cost of
`1,443.48 crore.
• Under Part-B of R-APDRP, 1,086 projects at
an estimated cost of `24,776.17 crore have been
approved for 20 States.

• All Part A projects have been awarded except in
one State. These are under implementation and at
a stage of advanced progress in several States.
• Part A of R-APDRP is to be completed by utilities
in three years after its approval. Presently, there
are no projects which have completed three years’
time since they were sanctioned. However, it has
been observed that State procurement policy and
procedures have delayed the appointment of IT
consultants in some of the States.

Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana
(RGGVY)
14.37. RGGVY was launched by the Government
of India in April 2005 as a comprehensive scheme
for providing access of electricity to all rural households. The scheme involved electrification of all
un-electrified villages plus a free connection for

TABLE 14.13
Details of Year-wise Progress Achieved on Restructured APDRP (as on 31 March 2012)
(` Crore)
Year

Project Sanctioned
Part A

2008–09

1,947.70

2009–10

3,183.00

2010–11

715.40

2011–12

793.88
6,639.98

Total

Source: Ministry of Power.

Part B
0.00

Budget Allocation
Total

Loan

1,947.70

3,059.28

6,242.28

12,915.31

13,630.71

8,801.58
24,776.17

Grant

Actual Releases
Total

Loan

Grant

Total

350.00

0.00

1,650

1,730

1,331.46

1.26

1,332.72

3,600

100

3,700

2,246.42

100.00

2,346.42

9,595.46

1,959

2,034

1,600.00

67.87

1,667.87

31,416.15

7,209

256

7,465

5,177.88

519.13

5,697.01

Energy 143

TABLE 14.14
Status on RGGVY Progress during the Tenth and the Eleventh Plan
Year

Un-electrified Villages (No.)

BPL Households (lakh)

Target

Achieved

% Achieved

Target

Achieved

%Achieved

2005–06

10,000

9,819

98.2

0.17

5.7

2006–07

40,000

28,706

71.8

6.55

16.4

2007–08

10,500

9,301

88.6

16.21

101.3

2008–09

19,000

12,056

63.5

30.85

61.7

2009–10

17,500

18,374

105.0

47.18

100.4

2010–11

17,500

18,306

104.6

58.84

125.1

2011–12

14,500

7,934

54.7

34.45

66.2

1,04,496

92.6

275*

194.25

70.6

Tenth Plan

Eleventh Plan

Cumulative
(as on 31 March 2012)

1,12,795*

* Revised coverage including Phase II projects.
Source: Ministry of Power.

BPL households. The scheme provided a subsidy
of 90 per cent of the total project cost and balance
10 per cent of the project cost was to be provided
by the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) as
loan. Initially, Phase I of the RGGVY scheme was
approved for implementation with a capital subsidy
of `5,000 crore during the remainder of the Tenth
Plan period. Subsequently, the scheme was approved
to be continued in the Eleventh Plan with a capital
subsidy of `28,000 crore. As on 31 March 2012, out
of the total of 1,12,795 villages to be covered under
RGGVY (including Phase II projects), works in
1,04,496 villages have been completed and only 8,299
un-electrified villages remain; 6,000 villages are
targeted to be electrified during 2012–13. In addition, about 10,000 remote villages are to be covered
by the MNRE through non-conventional sources.
Overall, by the end of Eleventh Plan, out of the total
5,93,732 villages in India (Census 2001), 5,56,633 villages (93.8 per cent) have been electrified as per CEA
report. Some of the villages which have been electrified, that is, connected to the grid, have not yet been
energised. The gap is primarily in the States of Bihar,
Jharkhand, Odisha and Assam. Most of the projects
are expected to be completed during 2012 except in
the north-eastern region and in areas involving difficult terrain.

14.38. The year-wise targets and achievements for
RGGVY during the Tenth and the Eleventh Five
Year Plan are given in Table 14.14.
14.39. Studies were carried out to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of electrification in Odisha. Other
such studies are also underway. The key findings of
the studies are:
1. Electrification has altered the household energy
mix through substitution of traditional kerosene-based lighting source by electric light. This
has resulted in energy and financial savings of
households as families would no longer be subject to exorbitant price of kerosene.
2. Security within the villages as well as the quality
of living of masses have improved.
3. Electrification has enhanced livelihood generation in the field of agriculture and related
activities, small shops and other entrepreneurial
activities.
4. Availability of electricity during post-sunset
time allowed for extension of study hours for
students.
5. Increased mobility and overall comfort, especially for women, have enhanced safe spaces and
reduced the drudgery of household chores.

144

Twelfth Five Year Plan

14.40. The RGGVY programme has several deficiencies in implementation. Firstly, nearly 6,000
villages electrified till December 2011 were still not
energised due to lack of supporting network or other
resources. Secondly, access to electricity in rural
areas is still limited, especially in smaller hamlets.
The traditional approach to policy and planning in
power has assumed gender neutrality, thus failing to
recognise that the needs of men and women can differ. Attention needs to be paid to livelihood activities
of women and to their concerns of safety, security
such as street lighting, healthcare, education and
so on. Thirdly, poor financial health of utilities and
high cost of power act as a disincentive for States to
give new connections. Fourthly, some States do not
have supporting network and are unable to provide
energisation. Fifthly, a viable revenue model is yet
to emerge. This has hindered larger access to new
consumers.
14.41. Some of the other areas of concern are:
1. In certain States, even the minimum required
hours of supply of six hours to eight hours could
not be met.
2. There is a need to upgrade transformer capacity
as the current average demand of BPL and above
poverty line (APL) consumers is in the range
of 300 to 500 watts and 0.5 to 1.15 KW, respectively. There have been several complaints of frequent burning of transformers.
3. The progress of release of APL connections is
slow on account of poor supply of electricity,
long delays in processing of applications and
inadequate transformer capacity.
4. In many States, the distribution company takes
a long time for issuing the first bill which can be
anywhere between three to six months. Because
of this delay, the total bill comes to around
`1,000 to `1,500 which a rural household finds
difficult to pay. This leads to a permanent high
level of outstanding bills.
5. In most of the operating States, no franchisee
was found in any of the surveyed villages and
the Discoms had their own mechanism of meter
reading, billing and so on.

6. As far as project preparation is concerned, it has
been observed that in most cases, the detailed
project reports (DPRs) were prepared in a hurried manner and quality was compromised.
7. As far as the socio-economic impact is concerned, it is found that electrification has so far
not generated substantial employment opportunities or economic development in the rural
areas except in a few cases.
8. The number of actual BPL families in the villages
in many cases has been higher than the number
indicated in the DPR.

Status on Open Access
14.42. The Electricity Act, 2003, mandates that nondiscriminatory open access for interstate as well as
intra-state transmission and distribution networks
be provided by the utilities. Effective implementation
of open access is crucial for opening up consumer
choices as well as encouraging a healthy trading
function in the country. The open access at interstate
level is fully operational. Starting from 17 BUs of
energy transacted through Short-Term Open Access
(STOA) at the interstate level in 2004–05, the volume has grown to 55 BUs in 2010–11. While carriage
and content separation at interstate level has been
largely addressed by design, a point of concern has
been the adequacy of carriage. Therefore, adequacy
issues with respect to carriage need to be specified.
Little progress has been made in the implementing
of open access at intra-state transmission and distribution network level.
14.43. An inter-Ministerial Task was constituted
under the chairmanship of Member (Energy),
Planning Commission in February 2008 to examine the status and make recommendations on the
measures for operationalising the provisions of the
Electricity Act, 2003 in respect of open access. The
Forum of Regulators (FoR) has issued model regulations for intra-state open access in September
2010. Adoption of these model regulations by State
Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) would
go a long way in successful implementations of intrastate open access. Further, a Second Task Force was
constituted in February, 2010 to review the progress made on the recommendations of the previous

Energy 145

Task Force and suggest further course of action on
the issues upon which there was no consensus in the
First Task Force. The report of the second task force
has been received and States have been asked to take
necessary action to implement the recommendations. Recommendations of the Task forces on open
access are given in Box 14.2.
14.44. At the State level, Discoms need to create distribution control centres and empower them so that
open access at the distribution level becomes a reality.
The request for open access is given at the State level
to the State distribution control centres. If these can
be empowered to take a quick decision in accordance
with the prescribed guidelines and norms for providing open access, the decisions will not be delayed.

Such an empowerment of the State distribution centres is, therefore, is important for the open access.

Financial Performance
14.45. The approved Eleventh Plan power sector
budgetary outlay for the public sector (Central and
State sectors) was `5,72,648 crore which was 15.71
per cent of the total Plan outlay. Summary of the
year-wise investment made during the Eleventh Plan
is shown in Table 14.15.
14.46. The Table indicates major shortfalls in case
of central power sectors. This is primarily because
the pace of capacity addition of NTPC and National
Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has
been lower than the expected. The internal and

Box 14.2
Recommendations of Task Force on Open Access

REGULATORY AND SYSTEM CHANGES
1. SERCs to regulate the tariffs of all consumers of 1 MW and above in accordance with the provisions of Sections 42, 49 and
86 of the Act and fix only the wheeling charges (in conformity with section 42, read with section 62 of the Act) and open
access surcharge.
2. Tariff to be charged by the discoms for providing standby supply should not exceed the maximum UI rate for the applicable
hours plus a 5 per cent administrative charge thereon or alternatively, the bulk consumers may directly handle the UI
supplies with the respective State Load Dispatch Centres (SLDCs) and to act as independent entities with financial and
operational autonomy.
3. SLDCs should be upgraded in a time bound manner to enable open access, under section 42.
4. SERCs should ensure enabling arrangements such as metering and settlement.
5. Regulators should meet bulk consumers to take proactive action for encouraging open access. Timelines should be
provided for the same.
6. The trading margin fixed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) should apply in a seamless manner in
any one transaction emanating from a generating company and terminating with a discom through multiple traders and
should not exceed the maximum margin allowed to a single trader.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
7. To earmark a specified proportion, say, 25 per cent of the Centre’s discretionary allocation of 15 per cent of central public
sector undertakings’ (CPSUs’) generating capacity which may be made available for direct sale by CPSUs to open access
consumers. As for new and upcoming capacity of CPSUs, 75 per cent of the discretionary quota may be reserved for sale
to open access consumers and the sale price should determine by bidding. 75 per cent of the profits made by the CPSUs
on this account may be transferred to the respective states where open access consumers are located.
8. Scheme of UI charges should be reviewed to ensure that UI does not become a vehicle for gaming in scheduling. For this
a mechanism should be evolved to facilitate corrective measures against gaming including stiff penalties.
9. Commencing from the Twelfth Five Year Plan, the Central Government should release Accelerated Power Development
and Reforms Programme (APDRP) assistance only to States that comply with the above and enable consumers to exercise
their statutory right to open access. A package of incentives and disincentives should also be formulated by Power Finance
Corporation (PFC) and REC for States to operationalise open access.

146

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.15
Outlay/Expenditure: Centre, States and UTs (` Crore)
Sector

Eleventh Plan
Approved
Outlay

2007–08
(Actual)

2008–09
(Actual)

2009–10
(Actual)

2010–11
(RE)

2011–12
(RE)

Eleventh
Plan Likely
Expenditure

Per cent
Utilisation

States and UTs

2,25,385

27,243

31,577

34,059

43,749

48,068

1,84,696

81.95

Central Sector

3,47,263

29,596

42,242

44,528

46,746

70,390

2,33,501

67.24

All India

5,72,648

56,839

73,819

78,587

90,495

1,18,458

4,18,197

73.03

Source: Planning Commission.

extra budgetary resource (IEBR) of the power sector
CPSUs was 63 per cent of the original Plan targets.

TWELFTH PLAN PROGRAMME
Addition to Generation Capacity
14.47. The Working Group on Power has estimated
a capacity addition requirement of 75,785 MW corresponding to 9 per cent GDP growth during the
Twelfth Plan period. However, in order to bridge the
gap between peak demand and peak deficit, and provide for faster retirement of the old energy-inefficient
plants, the target for the Twelfth Plan has been fixed
at 88,537 MW. As shown in Table 14.16, the share of
the private sector in the additional capacity will be 53
per cent, compared to a target of 19 per cent in the
Eleventh Plan. Since the growth rate of GDP for the
Twelfth Plan is likely to be 8.2 per cent and not 9 per
cent, the target for capacity addition contain an element of slack of about 10 per cent.
14.48. The share of power based on non-fossil
fuel plants is very low at present and should be

increased over time to promote low carbon growth
strategy. The share of coal and lignite in the additional capacity being created during the Twelfth
Plan is 79 per cent, up from 76 per cent in the target from the Eleventh Plan which actually ended
up at 79 per cent. The projected capacity addition
in non-fossil fuel plants covers addition of hydro
capacity of 1,0897 MW and nuclear capacity of
5,300 MW. Besides this, 1,200 MW import of hydro
power from Bhutan has also been considered. In
addition, it is planned to add a grid interactive
renewable capacity addition of about 30,000 MW
comprising of 15,000 MW wind, 10,000 MW solar,
2,100 small hydro, and the balance primarily from
bio mass planned. Details of the projected Twelfth
Plan capacity addition, sector-wise and mode-wise,
are given in Table 14.16.

Power Generation
14.49. The Working Group for the Twelfth Plan has
estimated a requirement of 1,403 BU by the year
2016–17, after taking into account energy conservation measures and demand–supply management.

TABLE 14.16
Sector-wise and Mode-wise Capacity Addition (Provisional) during the Twelfth Plan (MW)
Sector

Hydro

Total
Thermal

Thermal Breakup

Nuclear

Total

Coal

Lignite

Gas/Lng*

250

827.6

5,300

26,181.6

Central

6,004

14,878

13,800

State

1,608

13,922

12,210

1,712.0

15,530.0

Private

3,285

43,540

43,270

270

0.0

46,825.0

10,897

72,340

69,280

520

2,539.6

5,300

88,536.6

–

30,000

10,897

72,340

69,280

520

2,539.6

5,300

1,18,536.6

Total (Excluding RES)
Renewables
Total (Including RES)

* Addition of gas capacity is provisional and will depend upon the availability of gas. This will be reviewed during the MTA.

Energy 147

Without such measures, the generation requirement
is projected at 1,463 BU. Even if the moderate level
of 1,403 BU is taken as the Twelfth Plan target, the
projected growth rate in power generation will be
9.8 per cent.
14.50. The projected change in the mix of generation by fuel supply by the end of 2030 is given in
Table 14.17. The share of renewables in electricity generated is expected to rise from around 6 per
cent in 2012 to 9 per cent in 2017 and 16 per cent
in 2030. However, the share of hydro electricity is
expected to fall from 15 per cent in 2012 to 11 per
cent in 2030. The share of nuclear power, another
clean source from a carbon emission perspective is
expected to rise from 3 per cent in 2012 to 5 per cent
in 2017 and to 12 per cent in 2030. Taking all these
clean energy sources together, the share of hydro,
renewables plus nuclear energy is expected to rise
from 26 per cent in 2012 to 39 per cent by 2030.

Renovation and Modernisation and Life
Extension of Thermal Power Plants (R&M
and LE)

R&M of Hydro Plants
14.52. The normal life expectancy of hydro plants is
about 30–35 years after which they need life extension. Many of the existing hydro power stations
could be modernised to generate reliable and higher
yield by restoration and modernisation schemes.
These involve adopting modern equipments like
static excitation, microprocessor-based controls,
electric microprocessor, high speed static or numerical relays, data logger, optical instrumentation for
monitoring vibrations, air gaps, and silt contained
in water and so on. These measures would improve
availability of hydro power stations and minimise
outages. Routine maintenance activities are not
included in these schemes. Only activities which aim
at increasing the efficiency of the unit and improve
availability or steps required to meet environmental
norms, or aimed at renovating obsolete equipment
controls and instrumentation, are included in R&M
scheme.

Exploitation of Hydro Electric Potential

14.51. Coal-based thermal plants are the backbone
of the Indian power sector. Most of the old and
smaller size non-reheat type units are on the verge
of retirement. R&M and LE is an economical option
to supplement the capacity addition programme
which was initiated in 1984 as a Centrally Sponsored
Programme during the Seventh Plan. It continued
till the Eleventh Plan and CEA has recommended for
its continuance during the Twelfth Plan also.

14.53. Hydro power plants, particularly storagebased, are generally planned for their ability to meet
peak power demand. Estimated hydro potential in
India is about 149 GW including the plants of less
than 25 MW capacity. The total capacity developed and under development put together so far
is about 32 per cent of this potential. A major part
of the unexploited potential is in North-East and
Himalayan regions. With the deployment of latest
technologies we can harness the remaining potential
without damaging the ecology. Table 14.18 shows

TABLE 14.17
Changing Structure of Fuel for Electricity
Capacity (%)

Generation (%)

2012

2017

2030

2012

2017

2030

Coal

Oil

Gas

Hydro

Renewables

Nuclear
Total Clean Energy (4 + 5 + 6)

148

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.18
Status of Hydro Electric Potential Development
(In terms of Installed capacity—above 25 MW)
Region

Total potential

Capacity developed

Capacity Under
development

Total Developed+
Under development
(%)

Capacity yet to be
developed
(%)

Northern

52,263

15,479

5,416

20,895
(40)

31,368
(60)

Western

8,131

5,552

400

5,952
(73)

2,179
(27)

Southern

15,890

9,367

570

9,937
(62.5)

5,953
(37.5)

Eastern

10,680

2,908

2,713

5,621
(52.6)

5,059
(47.4)

North Eastern

58,356

1,200

2,852

4,052
(7)

54,304
(93)

1,45,320

34,506

11,951

46,457
(32)

98,863
(68)

All India

the status of hydro potential development in the
country (above 25 MW).

Peaking Power and Reserve Plants
14.54. The generation system must be designed to
meet base load as well as peak load of the power system and have the ability to respond dynamically and
efficiently to variations in demand within a short
time. Since our system has wide variation in demand
during peak and off-peak periods there is a need
for peaking support with very high ramping rate.
Peaking power can be provided by reservoir-based
hydro plants or gas-based generation. Apart from
the above, an optimal power system should have
adequate reserves to meet the contingency of outage
of certain operating generation capacity. It is important to set up these capacities to meet peaking power
demand. It will be necessary to start up 2,000 MW of
peaking gas-based plants, despite the limitations on
availability of gas improvement.
14.55. Since it is expensive to carry unutilised capacity, and power from gas is likely to be especially
expensive, the ability to meet peak loads is critically
dependent on introducing time of day metering with
a sufficient difference between peak and off-peak
tariffs.

Pollution and Ash Utilisation
14.56. An important positive development in
the power sector is that the utilisation of ash has
increased impressively from 9.63 per cent in 1996–97
to 56 per cent in 2010–11. This is the consequence
of deliberative planning to reduce adverse environmental impact as the coal-based capacity expanded.
There are 13 thermal power stations in the country
which have achieved 100 per cent or more ash utilisation during the year 2010–11. The ash generation
by coal/lignite-based thermal power stations is estimated to increase to 170 million tons per year by the
end of 2010–11 and reach to a level of about 300 million tonnes per year by the end of the Twelfth Plan.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)
has issued notifications for achieving 100 per cent
utilisation of fly ash. The quantity of fly ash which
has to be disposed off in ash ponds shall be reduced
significantly which will help in addressing problems
of pollution. All project developers will have to meet
the stringent requirement of environmental norms
for setting up thermal power plants to minimise air
and water pollution.

Captive Power Plants
14.57. A number of captive power plants (CPPs),
including coal-based power plants of varied type

Energy 149

and size, exist in the country. These are either
used in process industries or for in-house power
consumption for large units. Capacity addition of
around 13,000 MW of captive power is likely to be
commissioned during the Twelfth Plan. Surplus
power, if any, from CPPs is fed into the grid. The
tariff for the surplus power is regulated. The captive
power capacity generators find it profitable to supply electricity to the grid as the fixed cost has already
been recovered by them from the power supplied
for their captive use. The variable costs plus additional margins which is provided by the utility is
found attractive by them for supplying power surplus to their use.
14.58. The installed capacity of CPPs has increased
from 22,335 MW at the beginning of the Eleventh
Plan to 36,511 MW (provisional) in March 2012,
adding a total of around 14,000 MW addition of captive capacity during the Plan period.

Fuel Supply Problems
14.59. Although the pace of creation of generation
capacity has picked up considerably, the fuel supply
capability has not kept pace and serious fuel supply
problems have arisen in the last year of the Eleventh
Plan. Since 80 per cent of the additional generating
capacity will be coal-based, resolution of coal supply
to the power plants coming on stream will be crucial.
With 50 per cent of the new capacity being created
in the private sector fuel supply agreements have to
be legally binding with credible penalties to reassure
bankers and other financiers financing the establishment of capacity. The problems of coal supply are
discussed in coal sector.
14.60. Availability of gas is also a problem as gas has
yet to be ensured for 5,156 MW of gas-based projects commissioned during the Eleventh Plan period
which are currently stranded/operating at a very low
plant load factor (PLF) due to non-supply of gas. In
addition to these projects, at least 2,538 MW of additional gas based capacity is expected to come up during the Twelfth Plan and as mentioned above, there is
need for 2,000 MW of gas-based capacity to deal with
peaking requirements. The requirement for coal, lignite and gas/LNG for power sector at the end of the

TABLE 14.19
Fuel Requirement during 2016–17
Fuel

Requirement

Availability

Coal

730 Million Tonnes

550 Million Tonnes

Lignite

46 Million Tonnes

Gas/LNG

207 MMSCMD*

102 MMSCMD*

Source: Planning Commission estimates based on Working
Group Reports on Power and Petroleum and Natural Gas.
*In addition, about 17,500 MW gas-based capacity is under
various stages of construction for which additional gas requirement is about 84 MMSCMD.

Twelfth Plan period has been shown in Table 14.19.
Clearly domestic supply of both coal and gas needs
to be augmented by imports. Since imports will be
at much higher prices, some method must be found
to make the higher priced fuel acceptable to generators. If domestic prices cannot be fully aligned with
import prices, some resort to price pooling will be
necessary and the scope for such price pooling must
be urgently explored.

Expansion in Transmission System and
Capacity
14.61. The large expansion in production and consumption of electricity has to be supported by a
significant expansion and strengthening of the
transmission network. Technological developments
for transmission lines of 765 KV and 1,000–1,200
KV are of great relevance to reduce land requirement and transmission losses. Greater reliance will
have to be placed on gas insulated substations which
need about 20 per cent of the space required for
conventional stations. This is an area where public
investment can be supplemented by private investment and a good start has been made in the Eleventh
Plan. It is important to build a policy framework
within which more private sector investments will
be forthcoming in the Twelfth Plan. A policy framework for public–private partnership (PPP) and a
standardised documentation is being prepared for
use by the States.
14.62. A total of about 1,07,440 ckm of transmission lines; 2,70,000 MVA of AC transformer capacity
and 12,750 MW of HVDC systems are estimated as
needed during the Twelfth Plan. Table 14.20 gives

150

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.20
Transmission Line at the End of the Twelfth Plan Period
Transmission System Type/
Voltage Class

Unit

HVDC Bipole lines

ckm

765 kV

At the end of Eleventh
Plan

Expected addition during
Twelfth Plan

Expected by end of
Twelfth Plan

9,432

7,440

16,872

ckm

5,250

27,000

32,250

400 kV

ckm

1,06,819

38,000

1,44,819

220 kV

ckm

1,35,980

35,000

1,70,980

Total

ckm

2,57,481

1,07,440

3,64,921

765 kV

MVA

2,5000

1,49,000

1,74,000

400 kV

MVA

1,51,027

45,000

1,96,027

230/220 kV

MVA

2,23,774

76,000

2,99,774

Total

MVA

3,99,801

2,70,000

6,69,801

Transmission Line

Sub-Station

HVDC
Bi-pole link capacity

6,750

12,750

19,500

Back-to-back capacity

3,000

Total

9,750

12,750

22,500

the transmission programme to be taken up during
the Twelfth Plan period and also gives the anticipated cumulative achievement at the end the year
2016–17.

Creation of a National Grid
14.63. The power system in the country is demarcated into five regions. Four regional grids have been
operating in synchronous mode as a single system for
the past few years. Only the southern grid is yet to be
connected to the rest of the system. The high voltage
link to connect southern grid is under construction
and likely to be completed by January 2014. Once
this is achieved, all the five regional grids will operate
as a single system in synchronous mode. This will be
the largest single such system in the world, both in
terms of the grid size and system capacity of around
2,00,000 MW, though, at a given point of time, actual
power flow may be lower than this level.
14.64. The capacity for transfer of power across
regions at the end of the Eleventh Plan is shown in
Table 14.21. The total capacity to transfer power
which is currently about 27,750 MW and this is

expected to increase by 136 per cent to 65,550 MW
by the end of Twelfth Plan. The specific line which
is under construction for connecting the southern
region is the Raichur–Sholapur 765 KV line. In fact,
these are two single circuit lines and the total transmission capacity of these two lines would be about
4,200 MW. Three HVDC systems and a number of
765 KV lines and substations shall be implemented
during Twelfth Plan. The Aurangabad–Wardha 400
KV QUAD DC, line which is part of the transmission system for evacuation of power from Mundra
Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) has been
planned and designed in such a way that the lines
would be converted into a 1,200 KV S/C lines by a
later date.
14.65. There is a three-tier structure for load dispatch, namely, State Load Dispatch Centre, Regional
Load Dispatch Centre and the National Load
Dispatch Centre. The Government of India notified Power System Operation Corporation Limited
(POSOCO) as the designated entity to operate
RLDC/NLDC with effect from 1 October 2010.
A Forum of Load Dispatchers (FOLD) has been

Energy 151

TABLE 14.21
Inter-Regional Flow of Power at the End of Twelfth Plan Period
Region

End of Eleventh Plan

End of Twelfth Plan (Tentative)

Eastern/Southern

3,630

Eastern/Northern

12,130

17,930

Eastern/Western

4,390

12,790

Eastern/North Eastern

1,260

2,860

Northern/Western

4,220

14,420

Western/Southern

1,520

7,920

132/110 KV Lines

600

North Eastern/Eastern–Northern/Western

–

6,000

27,750

65,550

Total

constituted as approved by the Forum of Regulators
(FOR) in January 2009 for harmonising practices
across different load dispatch centres.

Evacuation of Power from the North-East
14.66. The North-East has very large potential for
producing hydro power—close to 50,000 MW—
but the pace of implementation has been poor. The
evacuation of power from the North-East poses a
major challenge for several reasons. First, the entire
capacity has to be evacuated through a narrow strip
of about 25 km in West Bengal. Although no forest
clearance is needed, land acquisition issues could
pose problems, which need to be tackled. Second,
the number of hydro power plants coming up in the
region, especially in Arunachal Pradesh, is expected
to be spread over the Twelfth and Thirteenth Plans
but the transmission system has to be devised as a
onetime operation and may therefore have redundancy initially. This will increase the costs of transmission. Thirdly, a number of States including
Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Manipur do not
have adequate 132/220/400 KV systems and this may
cause problems in evacuation of power. Fourthly, the
distribution system is inadequate and consequently
leads to large power losses.
14.67. The road map for the development of power
sector, strengthening of overall transmission system
and sub-transmission system of North-East Region
(NER) and Sikkim was brought out in Pasighat
Summit of North Eastern Council on 17 January

–

2007. As a follow-up to the recommendations of
the summit, a subgroup under the chairmanship
of Member (Power Systems), CEA was constituted to suggest the road map for strengthening the
transmission system in the region. Subsequently a
comprehensive review was taken at the Member
(Energy), Planning Commission level to find out
the modalities and source of funding to realise the
objective.
14.68. Based on the recommendation of CEA and
in consultation with each State of NER and Sikkim,
Power Grid has prepared detailed project reports for
comprehensive schemes for strengthening of transmission, sub-transmission and distribution system in
each state of NER and Sikkim and also for interstate
transmission system in NER in June 2010. The estimated cost of the above schemes is about `11,348.50
crore. The schemes were to be implemented in two
phases by 2015–16. Considering the strategic importance of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, a separate
scheme for strengthening of transmission system for
these two has been formulated at an estimated cost
of about `3,014 crore. The Planning Commission
has conveyed its in-principle approval to this
scheme recently. Funding for this project will be
provided jointly by the Ministry of Development of
North Eastern Region (DoNER) and from the NonLapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR). For the
strengthening of transmission systems in the remaining six states, Ministry of Power is exploring the possibility of tying up funds from the World Bank.

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Twelfth Five Year Plan

14.69. Integration of Indian electricity grid with
countries such as Bhutan and Nepal would result in
optimisation of electricity resources on a large scale
and provision of additional benefits and opportunities to the selling and buying countries. This will
enhance hydro-thermal mix in generation, and
reduce carbon emission and dependence on fossil fuels. An electric grid interconnection between
India and Bangladesh through a Berhampur (India)–
Bheramara (Bangladesh) 400 KV DC, 125 km line
along with 1 × 500 MW HVDC back to back asynchronous link at Bheramara is being developed for
facilitating exchange of power up to 500 MW between
the two countries. The capacity of this interconnection can be upgraded in future. The asynchronous
link ensures that any fluctuations or disturbances on
one side would not affect the other side.

Challenges in Transmission Sector
14.70. The proposed rapid expansion of the capacity
to transfer capacity poses some serious challenges,
viz. right of way, flexibility in line loading and regulation of power and improvement of operational efficiency. Following measures may be implemented to
meet the above challenges:
• Upgradation of transmission lines
• High capacity 400 KV multi, circuit/bundle conductor line
• High Surge Impedance Loading(HSIL) line
• Compact towers
• Increase in current: High Temperature Low Sag
(HTLS)
• Reduction in land for substation
• Regulation in power flow/FACATS devices
• Improvement of operational efficiency with condition based monitoring and private maintenance
• Development of 1,200 KV AC system
• Creating adequate evacuation and transmission
facilities for renewable power including construction/strengthening of interstate transmission.

utilities. The viability of the power sector as a whole
is therefore critically dependent on the health of the
distribution sector. Unfortunately, as the Eleventh
Plan experience amply demonstrates, the financial
viability of the system is under severe strain. Poor
financial health of utilities has resulted in underinvestment in the distribution network causing poor
upkeep and maintenance. Consequently the quality
of supply is hampered, leading to customer dissatisfaction and poor recovery. This, in turn, leads to further deterioration of financial health of utilities. This
vicious cycle needs to be broken.
14.72. It is absolutely vital that the distribution system is made financially viable during the Twelfth
Plan. The key focus of the Twelfth Plan must be
to strengthen the performance of the distribution system to achieve improved financial viability
of Discoms and to expand access to power in rural
areas. This calls for concerted attempts at AT&C
loss reduction, introduction of smart grid to allow
effective demand side management (DSM), greater
private sector participation to achieve management
efficiency and so on. Since distribution is entirely
the domain of States, the responsibility for improving distribution lies almost entirely with State
Governments. The Central Government can incentivise action in a manner which allows the States
leeway for experimenting with different ways of
obtaining better results.
14.73. The Government had constituted the Shunglu
Committee in July 2010 to study issues relating
to the financial viability of the Ds and give recommendations on how to improve the situation. The
Committee has since given its recommendations. In
order to examine these recommendations, and suggest a strategy for the turnaround of the distribution
sector in the Twelfth Plan, an Expert Group under
the chairmanship of Member (Energy), Planning
Commission was set up to look into the problems
being faced by the State Discoms.

The Distribution System
14.71. The distribution segment plays a crucial role
in the overall functioning of the power sector because
it is the part of the system which generates the revenues needed to pay generation and transmission

Debt Restructuring Policy
14.74. The Expert Group gave extensive recommendations for improving the financial health of
the discoms during the Twelfth Plan. Based on the

Energy 153

recommendations of the Expert Group, the Cabinet
has approved a debt restructuring plan which can be
summarised as follows:
1. a. 50 per cent of the outstanding short term liabilities (STL) as of 31 March 2012 to be taken
over by State Governments by way of bonds
to participating lenders shall be first converted into bonds to be issued by Discoms
duly backed by the State Government guarantee. The State Government will take over
the liability during the next two to five years
by issuance of special securities in favour of
participating lenders in a phased manner
keeping in view the fiscal space available till
the entire loan (50 per cent of STL) is taken
over by the State Government.
b. The State Government would provide full
support to the Discoms for repayment of
interest and principal.
2. Balance 50 per cent of the STL will be rescheduled by lenders and serviced by the Discoms with
a moratorium of three years on principal and
would be backed by a State Government guarantee. The best possible terms are to be extended
for the rescheduled loans to improve viability of
Discoms’ operations.
3. The restructuring/reschedulement of loan is
to be accompanied by concrete and measurable action by the Discoms/States to improve
the operational performance of the distribution
utilities. In order to make the effort meaningful,
the State Government/Discoms have to commit
themselves and carry out certain mandatory and
recommendatory conditions contained in part
(c) of the Scheme.
4. To set up a Transitional Finance Mechanism in
support of the restructuring effort of the State
Government for their distribution utilities having the following features:
a. For providing liquidity support by way of
a grant equal to the value of the additional
energy saved by way of accelerated AT&C
loss reduction beyond the loss trajectory
specified under Restructured Accelerated

Power Development and Reform Programme
(RAPDRP).
b. The eligibility of grant would arise only if the
gap between ARR and ACS for the year has
been reduced by at least 25 per cent during
the year judged against the benchmark for
the year 2010–11.
c. This scheme would be available only for three
years beginning 2012–13.
d. Incentive by way of capital reimbursement
support of 25 per cent of principal repayment by the State Government on the liability taken over by the State Government
under the scheme. The amount to be reimbursed only in case the State Government
takes over the entire 50 per cent of the shortterm liabilities corresponding to the accumulated losses outstanding as on 31 March
2012. Detailed guidelines for the Transitional
Finance Mechanism as outlined above would
be worked out by the Ministry of Power in
consultation with Ministry of Finance.
5. The Scheme would be applicable to all State
Discoms having accumulated losses and facing
difficulties in financing operational losses.
6. For removal of difficulties in interpreting or
implementing the Scheme, Ministry of Power may
be authorised to issue clarification, after interministerial consultations, wherever required, with
the approval of the competent authority.
14.75. Effective implementation of the restructuring
package during the Twelfth Plan would send a powerful signal that the power sector is on the path of
financial viability.

Restructured APDRP
14.76. The challenge of providing power to all
involves considerable investment in distribution. The Working Group for the Twelfth Plan has
assessed a total investment requirement for the distribution sector at `3.06 lakh crore. Some of the key
initiatives proposed during the Twelfth Plan are:
1. The population norms under R-APDRP for
including a city under R-APDRP may be relaxed

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Twelfth Five Year Plan

by lowering the existing population threshold.
More extensive coverage will bring uniformity
in billing and customer service of the utility across all its service areas. R-APDRP may
also cover assistance to private distribution
companies.
A National Electricity Fund (NEF) had been set
up. This will now be operationalised. It will provide interest relief to the distribution utilities to
cover loans taken from financial institutions for
development of the distribution sector.
Utilities and regulators shall make an action
plan to eliminate the gap between the average
cost of supply and average tariff realised through
improved tariff implementation and adoption of
multi-year tariff framework.
Time of Day (TOD) metering shall be taken up
by all the utilities for effective demand side management (DSM).
Load shifting arrangement by regulators and
improvement in energy efficiency and its measurement by BEE in the agriculture sector shall
contribute towards DSM and ease out the pressure on utilities.
Open Access shall be provided to consumers
with more than 1 MW load in accordance with
the Electricity Act, 2003. This was mandatory
with effect from 1 January 1 2009 but it has not
been operationalised due to reluctance of State
Governments and the utilities to give the necessary freedom to large customers to choose their
own sources of supply. In fact, under the law, the
State electricity regulator should not set tariffs
for large customers leaving them to be determined through negotiations.
To improve safety, counter theft and improve
aesthetics, underground cabling work shall
be taken up by the utilities for towns under
R-APDRP in selected areas.
Moving towards a smart grid in a manner relevant to our needs will be a key focus area in the
distribution sector in the Twelfth Plan. A number of pilot projects will be taken up.
Phased installation of smart metres, extending
SCADA system to 100 more towns, and integration of renewable into the grid.

The Role of Private Investment and
Participation in Distribution
14.77. The experience of privatisation in Delhi,
Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Surat shows
that transmission and distribution losses can be
reduced, network efficiency increased, and service levels improved. The experiences in Bhiwandi,
Maharashtra of franchising have also indicated
positive gains with network losses going down from
63 per cent to 19 per cent in Bhiwandi and service levels improving. The Franchise model is now
being expanded to Nagpur, Aurangabad, Jalgaon in
Maharashtra and Agra in Uttar Pradesh. An alternative model is public–private partnership (PPP) in the
distribution segment for which necessary concession
agreements are being designed. The Twelfth Plan
will have to place a major emphasis on expansion of
Franchise or PPP or privatisation in different utilities
as a strategy to reduce network losses and improve
efficiency of service and consumer satisfaction.

Separation of Rural Feeders
14.78. An important initiative to improve the availability of power in the rural areas and have more
effective management of power for the agriculture
sectors where the requirements may be for limited
hours, has been to separate rural feeders for lighting and agriculture loads. This was initiated by
Gujarat utilities and has subsequently been taken
up by Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka,
Maharashtra and a number of other States. A World
Bank study on the efficacy of these reforms is underway. According to the initial indications, the benefits
have been found to be more in the field of improved
lighting in the villages with varying degree of success
on reducing T&D losses.

Universal Electrification
14.79. The RGGVY was started with an aim to provide electricity connections to all villages and free
connections to BPL families (Annexure 14.1). It
has certainly provided increased access of power to
a large number of households as indicated in paragraph 3.1.8. Clearly, there is still a large population
which is not using electricity either because of lack of
network in the villages or absence of connectivity to

Energy 155

the household. There are also a large number of habitations left uncovered. To provide power to all during the Twelfth Plan would require dealing with the
large backlog in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Odisha, Assam and some of the North Eastern States.
14.80. Connectivity by itself is only a part of the programme. In many States there is also a real shortage
of power. Besides, RGGVY focuses only on household supply and does not address the needs for
providing electricity for small industries and agriculture, which need three-phase supply. This, in turn,
requires strengthening of the rural network and not
just the last mile connectivity to households, which
is what RGGVY covers. States are often unable to
invest in this. For effective universal access, the
RGGVY programme will be restructured.

Human Resource Development and Capacity
Building
14.81. The present power scenario demands a very
comprehensive and pragmatic approach to attract,
use, develop and conserve valuable human resources.
Technically trained work force comprising of skilled
engineers, supervisors, artisans, managers and so
on are required in every sphere of the power supply industry. A growing concern over environmental degradation and depletion of the conventional
energy sources has made the task of electricity generation even more challenging and therefore, quality
standards of the staff are becoming increasingly vital.
14.82. For a capacity addition of about 1,00,000 MW
(including renewables) in the Twelfth Plan, the additional work force requirement shall be of the order
of 4 lakh out of which nearly 3 lakh will be technical. Therefore, all Central sector utilities, State sector utilities, and IPPs would need to create required
training infrastructure for providing O&M training.
Additional training infrastructure shall be created
by organisations like NPTI and training institutes of
other utilities. These should augment their existing
training institutes for meeting the increased training
requirement of the power sector.

R&D in Power Sector
14.83. The power sector being highly technologyintensive, R&D plays a major role in its

developmental plans. In the present scenario, R&D
initiatives are particularly required in four different
conventional sectors, viz. generation, transmission,
distribution and environment.
14.84. Thermal, hydro, renewable energy and distributed generation are the key areas in the generation
sector. Design and development of the equipment,
real-time simulators and controllers, creation of data
bank, automation pilot plant demonstration, development of alternative materials, equipment performance, biological efforts and exploratory studies are
required in the transmission sector. R&D initiatives
in smart grid and distributed generation are required
for improvement of distribution sector. Major PSUs
involved should be encouraged to do the necessary
R&D. Further clean development mechanism for
bulk utilisation of fly ash, control of SOx, NOx and
mercury in coal-based thermal power plants need
immediate attention for clean and green energy.
14.85. R&D in distribution and rural electrification
needs more thrust. The key research areas may be
AC/DC micro-grid demonstration for improving
reliability and power quality, energy storage scheme
for improving the reliability of sensitive loads, development of intra-operable standards and protocol
for energy metering, load research, I.T. applications
in distribution and smart grid and so on. R&D initiatives are also required for enhancing material
strength and durability and for standardisation on
their specifications. A key initiative for R&D in the
Twelfth Plan may include setting up of a technical
cell in CEA, which will focus on best practices, R&D
in data collection and specific projects and technical
support to States for consultancy and implementation. The research projects will include support to
universities.

Project Implementation
14.86. Land is increasingly becoming a scarce
resource and availability of land is posing a serious
challenge for future power plants. The optimum utilisation of land is therefore crucial. Design changes
are required to reduce land requirement. Similarly,
availability of water has become scarce. To meet
future water demand of thermal power, technical

156

Twelfth Five Year Plan

measures for reducing water consumption, creation
of large reservoirs/dams of potential rivers to retain
flood water and encouraging coastal power plants
will be undertaken.
14.87. Achievement of the generation capacity targets depends critically on supporting infrastructure
in different transport sectors like railway, highways
and roads, inland waterways and gas pipelines.
Railways need to enhance their capacity for coal
evacuation from coal fields by expanding proposed
dedicated freight corridors and also ensure rail connectivity to all ports having coal unloading facilities. Roads and highways need to be augmented for
transportation of over dimensional consignments
and changes in Motor Vehicle Act may be required
to accommodate consignments, with safeguards, of
above 49 million tonnes and also include hydraulic axle trailers. Accordingly, load classification for
roads and bridges may be reviewed and toll plaza
building on highways may be designed keeping these
requirements in view.
14.88. Coal handling arrangements at ports must be
expanded to handle the larger quantities of imported
coal required for power stations. Increase of draft,
creation of roll-on/roll-off berths and mechanisation
shall improve the load handling capabilities of ports.
All these ports must be given priority in effective
road/rail connectivity.
14.89. Adequate manufacturing capacities of main
plant equipment including that for large supercritical thermal sets shall be available indigenously to
meet the capacity addition requirement of the country during the Twelfth Plan. Regarding balance of
plants construction agencies and construction equipment/techniques, the capacities and capabilities have
to be further developed and enhanced. There is no
shortage of key material except Cold Rolled Grain
Oriented Steel, higher grade Cold Rolled Non Grain
Oriented Steel and thick boiler steel plates. There is
a need to set up plants to produce Cold Rolled Grain
Oriented Steel, augment indigenous capacity for
tubes and pipes, create short circuit testing facilities
for transformers, augment manufacturing facilities
for gas-insulated substations and create indigenous

capacity for thicker boiler water plates. It should be
possible to set up domestic capacity in these areas
which is internationally competitive.

Management of Energy Demand and Energy
Efficiency
14.90. Improving energy efficiency is an important instrument for containing the demand for
energy and several initiatives are possible in this
area. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and
the Ministry of Power (MoP) had introduced a
number of schemes during Eleventh Plan for promotion of energy efficiency in India. The schemes
of BEE include Standards and Labelling (S&L),
Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), Energy
Efficiency in Existing Buildings, Bachat Lamp Yojana
(BLY), SDA strengthening, Energy Efficiency in
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Agriculture
and Municipal Demand Side Management (DSM)
and Contribution to State Energy Conservation
Fund (SECF). Schemes implemented by the Ministry
of Power include Energy Conservation Awards and
National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
(NMEEE). These schemes are estimated to have
achieved savings equivalent to 11,000 MW of avoided
power capacity during the Plan. Details of savings
projected to be realised through various measures are
given below, along with Plan for the period 2012–17.
Energy Efficiency in Equipment and Appliances
14.91. Large energy inefficiencies exist in consumer
and industrial appliances. The S&L Programme was
quite successful during the Eleventh Plan period and
it is anticipated that by the end of the Eleventh Plan,
total savings in avoided capacity addition would be
7,315 MW. Under this scheme, a large number of
appliances were covered initially under the voluntary
labelling categories, out of which four appliances/
equipment are under the mandatory labelling program. The Eleventh Plan has already envisaged coverage of 21 appliances under S&L. This programme
will be continued and expanded during the Twelfth
Plan.
Efficiency in Transport
14.92. As on 2010–11, there were a total of 13.3 million passenger cars in India which consumed about

Energy 157

9 mtoe. An additional 1.1 million passenger cars are
added every year. In the transport sector, a labelling scheme is envisaged which is aimed at achieving
energy efficiency. This will cover:
• Introduction of fuel economy norms effective from the first year of the Twelfth Plan. This
will be mandatory from 2015 under the Energy
Conservation Act.
• Technical study for two- and three-wheelers and
commercial vehicles (Trucks and Buses) to finalise additional S&L Programme. Norms for these
will be modified.
14.93. The targeted energy saving by the end of the
Twelfth Five Year Plan is 4.3 mtoe in the sector.
Energy Efficiency in Industries
14.94. The total commercial energy consumed by
industry including SMEs stands at about 40–50 per
cent of the total commercial energy consumption
in the country. Hence energy efficiency measures
would yield substantial benefits in this sector. The
projected energy saving potential in the Twelfth Plan
is 13.18 mtoe which consists of a saving of 6.2 mtoe
from the seven energy-intensive industries (DCs),
1.75 mtoe from SME sector and 5.23 mtoe from thermal power stations sector.
National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
(NMEEE)
14.95. NMEEE is one of the eight Missions created
by India’s National Action Plan for Climate Change
and is based on the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.

The Mission will enable transactions in energy efficiency. Specific initiatives envisaged by the NMEEE
include:
• Perform Achieve and Trade scheme—a marketbased mechanism to enhance energy efficiency
(see Box 14.3 for details). The scheme is expecting
an energy saving of 3.5 million tons of oil equivalent (mtoe) in seven selective industrial sectors
and 3.1 million tons of oil equivalents in thermal
power stations by 2014–15;
• Market Transformation for Energy Efficiency
(MTEE)—CDM roadmap, Standards and
Labelling, ESCO promotion, capacity-building;
• Financing Energy Efficiency—tax exemptions,
revolving fund, Partial Risk Guarantee Fund; and
• Promotion of performance contracting business
model—enabling upgradation of existing buildings, streetlights, municipal pumping and so on
through Energy Service Companies which invest
in the upgradation and are paid through sharing
of the resultant savings in the energy bill.
14.96. Fans and Lights are the major users of electricity in homes and offices across the country.
Energy consumption by fans and lights is expected
to occur rapidly because of increasing incomes and
enhanced access to electricity. During the Twelfth
Plan period the introduction of ‘super-efficient’
lights and fans will be incentivised so as to accelerate
their development and adoption to enable lower the
rate of growth of electricity demand while enhancing
services to households.

Box 14.3
Perform, Achieve and Trade Mechanism
The Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) mechanism is a market-based mechanism to incentivise improvements in energy
efficiency in eight energy-intensive industries (including TPS) by setting up standards and certification of energy saving
achieved which can be traded. The vision for PAT scheme during Twelfth Plan covers the following points:
• While implementation of the first cycle of PAT is to achieve the set target of 6.6 mtoe by 2014–15, widening and
deepening the scope of PAT during the second cycle of PAT envisages including other energy-intensive sectors like
efineries, Chemicals, Petrochemicals, Automobile Manufacturing, Sugar, Glass and so on to reduce the threshold energy
consumption limit;
• Fiscal instruments like Partial Risk Guarantee Fund (PRGF) and Venture Capital Fund for Energy Efficiency (VCFEE)
which have been proposed in NMEEE for successful implementation of PAT scheme will be expanded in order to provide
confidence to the financial institutions and to equity investors to invest in energy efficiency products and companies.

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Twelfth Five Year Plan

14.97. Major R&D programmes may be initiated in
selective areas and selective sectors for developing
new customised energy-efficient technology through
indigenous development of applications of already
available energy efficient technologies/concepts.
14.98. The total projected saving in the year 2016–
17, that is, end of the Twelfth Five Year Plan is of the
tune of 11.43 mtoe in which 10.41 mtoe is contributed by thermal energy. The rest, which is equivalent
to 11.96 BU of electricity saving is estimated at busbar in 2016–17.

Policy Reforms in the Power Sector
14.99. The Twelfth Plan must push for policy
reforms in several areas, the most important of
which are listed below:
1. Resolution of fuel supply problems related
to availability of coal and gas for the plants
expected to come on stream in the Twelfth Plan
will be critical. These are discussed in the section
on Coal and Gas in this Chapter.
2. The introduction of open access must have top
priority. State Governments, SERCs and Discoms
need to conform to the Electricity Act, which prohibits tariff regulation for consumers of 1 MW
and above. These consumers must be free to purchase electricity through open access in a competitive market. Where cross-subsidy is required,
an open access surcharge may be levied. The Act
requires phased implementation of open access to
all consumers. By the end of the Twelfth Plan, all
consumers up to 0.25 MW may be covered.
3. There is a need to develop ancillary power markets and CERC should come out with a framework for implementation of such market. To
facilitate further development of power market,
jurisdiction issues regarding forward and future
market products may be clarified in the policy/
Act. Development of markets can be expanded
further by permitting short-term procurement
for three months in advance by the Discoms.
Also, long-term procurement and medium-term
procurement by the Discoms may be encouraged and impediments, if any, may be identified
and removed.

4. Strengthening of NLDC/RLDCs/SLDCs is vital
for effective grid management and for implementation of open access. It is necessary to separate the management of POSOCO from PGCIL.
The State Governments must take steps to
upgrade and modernise the SLDCs which must
be made functional and financially independent
in accordance with the Electricity Act.
5. Spinning reserves need to be facilitated for grid
stability at the regional level to accommodate
infirm renewable energy injection into the grid.
The State Governments need to contract additional capacity for this purpose.
6. Suitable incentives for low-cost transmission,
linking the renewable energy generation sources,
development of smart grid for evacuation and
transmission of renewable power and creation
of spinning reserves may be done through the
National Clean Energy Fund.
7. There is a need to strengthen measures for
increasing share of renewable energy over time.
SERCs should provide long-term trajectory for
renewable purchase obligations and issue relevant regulations within a specified timeframe.
Further, for the procurement of renewable
power, demand of more than one distribution licensee may be pooled at the State level or
jointly among States and procurement through
competitive bidding route under section 63(a)
of Electricity Act 2003/National Tariff Policy
should be made permissible.
8. Power procurement and allocation of power
must be done in line with the Tariff Policy and the
guidelines/standard bid documents (SBD) issued
by Government of India under the Electricity
Act, 2003. The National Electricity Policy (2005)
may need to be suitably amended to ensure State
Governments abide by these provisions.
9. Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF)
should be made a multi-member set-up comprising representation from all stakeholders. The
office of Ombudsman should be funded by the
SERCs.
10. Reforms in the distribution sector should include:
a. Prepaid metres to those categories of consumers who are chronic defaulters, 100 per

Energy 159

cent spot billing, spot collection, semi or fully
automatic meter reading and standardisation
of metering protocols for extensive use of
automated meter readings.
b. Institution of Chief Electrical Inspectorate
to Government of India/State Government
(CEIG) to be strengthened and to work out
a scheme for delegation of authority of mandatory inspection including self-certification
to the CEIG to liberalise it from unnecessary
controls.
c. Separation of rural feeders to control losses
and improve power availability. Dedicated
feeders may be extended to energy-intensive
consumers at their cost.
11. The State Government should clear all the outstanding dues to the utilities, and ensure timely
payment of subsidy. State Governments with
financially strained Discoms should be encouraged to undertake restructuring of the debt as per
the package recently approved by the Cabinet.
This includes restructuring of short-term loans
of Discoms with poor financial health, sharing
by concerned State Governments of the burden of the utilities to the extent of 50 per cent of
such short-term loans, provision of special market bonds and relaxation of FRBM norms for
the State Governments. Financial restructuring
should be supported by regular revision of tariff through adoption of regulations suggested by
Forum of Regulators, including automatic tariff
adjustment with change in fuel prices and other
reform measures to ensure regular revision of
tariff and simultaneous investments in reducing
AT&C losses.
12. There is a need for an independent oversight
over programmes like RGGVY and R-APDRP
on a concurrent basis. These should be incorporated in these schemes for the Twelfth Plan.

3.3. COAL AND LIGNITE SECTOR
14.100. Coal is the mainstay of India’s energy sector
accounting for over 50 per cent of primary commercial energy supply in 2010–11. This share will actually increase to 57 per cent over the next 10 years.
The gap between the demand and the domestic

supply of coal has made it imperative to augment
domestic production both from the public sector and
the private sector and to expedite the reform process for realising efficiency gains through increased
competition in the sector during the Twelfth Plan.
An important feature of the Eleventh Plan was the
attempt to augment domestic coal production from
captive mines. However, the programme has slipped
and expected production from captive blocks fell well
short of the projected target of 104 million tonnes in
the terminal year of the Plan because only 29 captive
blocks could start production out of the 195 blocks
allocated so far. The main impediments in the progress of captive mining are reported to be similar to
those in other PSU-held blocks like delays in forest and environmental clearances, problems of land
acquisition and R&R, allocation of a block to more
than one user and so on. CIL will continue to play a
major role in meeting the coal requirements of the
country but the growth in CIL production will not
be enough to meet the rising demand. Hence, efforts
need to be made to ensure that additional captive
coal blocks start producing in Twelfth Plan to meet
the rising coal demand. It is also necessary to plan
for larger imports of coal.

REVIEW OF THE ELEVENTH PLAN
Coal Demand and Production
14.101. The target for coal production at the end
of the Eleventh Plan was initially set at 680 million
tonnes and revised downwards to 630 million tonnes
at the time of the MTA. The actual achievement was
only 540 million tonnes. Since demand in the terminal year (2011–12) of the Eleventh Plan was around
640 million tonnes there was a large demand–supply
gap of 100 million tonnes which was only partially
met by imports. This has adversely affected the coal
supplies to end consumers, particularly the power
sector. It is estimated that out of capacity addition of
41,894 MW, around 25,000 MW of coal-based capacity commissioned is being sub-optimally utilised
because of inadequate availability of domestic coal.
14.102. The widening gap between demand and supply has to be met by imports because of which the
share of imports in the total coal demand is likely to

160

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.22
Details of Coal and Lignite Production
Sl. No.

Parameter

Tenth Plan
2006–07

Eleventh Plan (2011–12)

Eleventh Plan % CAGR

Initial

MTA

Latest

Initial

MTA

Latest

Coal Demand (million tonnes)

474.18

731.10

713.24

640.00

9.53

8.98

6.98

Coal Production (million tonnes)

430.84

680.72

629.91

539.99

9.58

7.89

4.62

Imports

43.08

51.00

83.33

90.00

3.43

14.11

15.88

Imports as per centage of total demand

9.00

6.98

11.68

14.06

Lignite Production (million tonnes)

31.28

54.96

42.59

41.64

12.04

6.72

Source: Ministry of Coal.

increase to around 14.06 per cent in 2011–12 as compared to just 9 per cent in the year 2006–07. Details
of coal imports in Eleventh Plan are given in Table
14.22.

Lignite Production and Demand
14.103. The Eleventh Plan envisaged lignite production to reach 54.96 million tonnes in the terminal
year of the Plan (2011–12) from 31.13 million tonnes
in 2006–07 yielding a growth rate of 12 per cent. The
projected production of 54.96 million tonnes was
expected to come from lignite mines spread in three
contributing States with their respective share as
24.23 million tonnes from Tamil Nadu, 22.26 million
tonnes from Gujarat and 8.47 million tonnes from
Rajasthan. However, actual production in 2011–12
was 43.10 million tonnes combined from all the three
states. This shortfall is mainly due to non-starting of
several mines under Private and State Sector and due
to delay in commissioning of lignite-based power
plants and certain mines under the Central Sector.
As far as NLC is concerned, thinning of lignite seam
thickness and the washout zone encountered in Mine
I is the main reason for the shortfall of 2.42 million

tonnes in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, in Barsingsar Mine
under NLC at Rajasthan, though the mine is ready in
all respects to give full production, it was warranted
to limit its production to cope with the demand of its
linked TPS which has certain teething problems. The
lignite based capacity addition in the Eleventh Plan
is 1,490 MW against the target of 2,280 MW.

Coal and Lignite Reserves
14.104. The inventory of geological resources of
India’s coal and lignite reserves as on 1 April 2010
has been shown in Table 14.23. This is 15.09 per cent
higher than the reported reserves level of 255 billion
tonnes in January 2007. Corresponding increase in
lignite reserves level is 9.6 per cent from 38.27 billion
tonnes reported level in 2007. The accretion of coal
resources over the years has been shown in Table
14.24.

Review of the Central Sector Schemes
14.105. The schemes implemented with budgetary support from the Ministry’s plan covered
regional/promotional exploration, detailed drilling
in non-CIL blocks, Environmental Measures and

TABLE 14.23
Inventory of Coal and Lignite Reserves as on 1 April 2012
(billion tonnes)
Coal
Lignite
Source: Ministry of Coal.

Proved

Indicated

Inferred

Total

118.145

142.169

33.183

293.497

6.18

25.76

10.02

41.96

Energy 161

TABLE 14.24
Accretion of Coal Reserves
(million tonnes)
Reserves
as on

Proved
Category

Accretion in
Proved Category

Inferred
Category

Indicated
Category

Total
Reserves

Reserves
Accretion

1 January 2005

92,960

–

1,17,090

37,797

2,47,847

–

1 January 2007

97,920

4,960

1,18,992

38,260

2,55,172

7,325

1 April 2008

1,01,829

3,909

1,24,216

38,490

2,64,535

9,363

1 April 2009

1,05,720

3,891

1,23,570

37,921

2,67,211

2,676

1 April 2010

1,09,798

4,078

1,30,654

36,359

2,76,810

9,599

1 April 2011

1,14,002

4,204

1,37,471

34,390

2,85,862

9,051

Source: Coal Directory of India.

Subsidence Control scheme (EMSC), R&D schemes,
Conservation and Safety measures and development
of transport infrastructure in the coal fields and
so on.

Regional/Promotional Exploration
14.106. Exploration for coal and lignite in the country is taken up in stages. In preliminary exploration,
geological surveys are undertaken by the Geological
Survey of India (GSI) to identify potential coal and
lignite areas. Regional promotional exploration aims
at widespread drilling to establish broad framework
of the deposits to facilitate planning for detailed
exploration and subsequent projectisation and mine
development. While regional exploration drilling
target for Eleventh Plan was 1.94 lakh metres which
was revised to 1.47 lakh metres, promotional drilling target was 4 lakh metres. Against the envisaged
targets, achievement will be 1.14 lakh metres (about
78 per cent) in case of regional drilling, establishing
7.07 Bt of coal and 2.95 lakh metres (74 per cent) in
case of promotional drilling, establishing 20.05 Bt of
coal resources.
14.107. In case of lignite, regional exploration drilling achievement is likely to be 1.32 lakh metres
against a target of 1.48 lakh metres during Eleventh
Plan mainly by NLC and by other agencies, viz.
GMDC and RSMML establishing 1.85 Bt of lignite
resources. Achievement in promotional exploration
is likely to be 2.74 lakh metres (78 per cent) against a
target of 3.50 lakh metres establishing 3.22 Bt of lignite resources.

14.108. 2D HRSS surveys were not a part of the
exploration programme of Eleventh Plan. However,
in view of trends worldwide, these surveys were considered as a part of regional (promotional) exploration by Subcommittee on Energy Minerals. The
National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI),
a premier organisation for geophysical studies in
the country, was therefore, inducted to carry out
these surveys in coal and lignite bearing areas. It is
expected that a total of 31 Line kilometre (L.km) in
coal areas and 94 L.km in lignite areas HRSS survey
will have been carried out during the Eleventh Plan.

Detailed Drilling in Non-CIL Blocks
14.109. Detailed exploration surveys focus on
establishing adequate geological resources data for
projectisation and mine development. The blocks
outside the purview of CIL have been proposed to be
explored in detail for reducing the time lag between
offering the blocks to potential entrepreneurs and
starting of the operation by them through budgetary support. The cost of exploration, in turn, will be
recovered from entrepreneurs who have been allotted the blocks. CMPDI and its contractual agencies
including MECL have been able to progress well in
detailed exploration activities and are expected to
achieve 8.09 lakh metres against a target of 13.50
lakh metres in non-CIL blocks establishing 5.2 Bt of
private coal reserves.
14.110. Regarding detailed exploration in CIL
blocks as against a target of 5 lakh metres, the actual
achievement has been 11.2 lakh metres (224 per cent)

162

Twelfth Five Year Plan

of exploratory drilling achieved by CMPDIL and by
contractual agencies including MCCL and 9.01 billion tonnes of coal reserves were proved during the
Eleventh Plan. SCCL has achieved 2.99 lakh metres
of actual drilling against a target of 3.39 lakh metres
and estimated 0.91 billion tonnes of coal reserve
through detailed exploration.

awarding of contracts to set up washeries by the CIL.
The coal washing capacity at the end of the Eleventh
Plan is as indicated in Table 14.25.
TABLE 14.25
Coal Washing Capacity by the end of
Eleventh Plan Period
(in million tonnes)

Productivity and Benchmarking
14.111. Traditionally, the output per man shift
(OMS) has been measured as tonnes in coal mines
and it has improved significantly for all the three
PSUs operating in coal and lignite mining. While
overall OMS in case of CIL improved from 3.54
in year 2006–07 to 4.92 in year 2011–12 this was
still lower than the target of 5.54 in the terminal
year of the Eleventh Plan. In case of SCCL this has
improved from a level of 2.39 to 3.80 over the same
period, which is significantly higher than the target of 2.67. This significant improvement in overall
OMS level is for both opencast and underground
mining operations. This could be due to the outsourcing of some of the activities, particularly in
the opencast mining operations. In case of NLC,
the improvement is marginal because lignite production level could not increase due to delays in
the completion of lignite-based power plants. One
of the important areas to improve productivity is
benchmarking of operations and equipment productivity. Productivity of equipment and machinery used in opencast and underground mining has
significantly improved during the Eleventh Plan
period.

Clean Coal Technologies
14.112. Coal beneficiation is one of the prime clean
coal technologies aimed at supplying washed coal
to the pulverised coal combustion boilers of power
plants. The MoEF’s directive aimed at restricting the
use of coal of not more than 34 per cent ash content
at thermal power stations located far away from pit
heads and load centres and critically polluted areas,
has also contributed to improvement in economics
of operations of such power stations. The CIL envisaged building 20 new washeries with a capacity of
111 mt in the Eleventh Plan. However, coal washing
capacity did not grow as planned due to delays in

Coking
Coal

Non-coking
coal

Public

24.22

17.22

Private

5.66

78.74

29.88

95.96

7.18

40.95

Total
Washed Coal Production

Coal Bed Methane
14.113. The potential of Coal Bed Methane/Coal
Mine Methane was recognised in a new policy of
Government of India in 1997. The Ministry of Coal
(MoC) and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Gas (MoP&NG) are working together for the development of Coal Bed Methane and the Government
has offered 33 blocks in four rounds of bidding for
CBM covering 17,416 sq. km of area. One block in
Raniganj coalfield has commenced commercial production in 2007 and two blocks are in advanced stage
of commencing production. The Director General
of Hydrocarbons (DGH) is the regulator for CBM
activities in the country. The CBM/CMM clearance
house has been established in CMPDIL, Ranchi,
in collaboration with United States Environment
Protection Agency (USEPA) which will provide
information for development of CBM/CMM in
India. The current level of production, being only 0.2
mmscmd, is confined mostly to the private sector.
There is no separate pricing regime for CBM and the
gas prices are determined by the developer, subject
to Government approval.

Research and Development
14.114. A total of 29 R&D projects were implemented during the Eleventh Plan. Out of these, 16
projects have already been completed by September
2012. Remaining 13 projects are likely to slip into
the Twelfth Plan period. Some of the major projects
under implementation are:

Energy 163

• Development of CMPDI capacity for delineation
of viable coal mine methane (CMM)/abandoned
mine methane (AMM) blocks in the existing and
potential mining areas having partly de-stressed
coal in virgin coal seams.
• Recovery and utilisation of coal methane in Jharia
and Raniganj coalfields.
• Development of immediate roof fall prediction system in underground mines using wireless network.
• Demonstration of cost-effective technology for
dry beneficiation of coal by all airjig.
• Demonstration of coal dry beneficiation system
using radiometric technique.
• Assessment of prospect of shale gas in Gondwana
basin with special reference to CIL areas.
• Development of indigenous catalyst through
pilot-scale studies of coal to liquid (CTL) conversion technology.
• High resolution seismic monitoring for early
detection and slope failures in opencast mines.
• Application of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).
• Integrated communication system to locate
trapped miners in underground mines.
• Development of self-advancing (mobile) goaf
edge supports (SAGES) for de-pillaring operations in underground coal mines.

Also substantial time is taken by Railways to build the
critical rail links and that is affecting the movement
of coal to the end users. Four critical rail links that
have been pending for years are the Tori–Shivpur–
Katholia rail link in North Karanpura coalfield (CCL
command area), the Bupdevpur Baroud rail link connecting coal blocks in Mand Raigarh coalfield, the
Jharsuguda–Barpalli railway line in IB valley coalfield and the Sattapalli–Bhadrachalam rail link (SCCL
command area). Commissioning of these lines would
facilitate movement of around 125–130 million
tonnes of coal to end users. Construction of Tori–
Shivpuri line was delayed due to delays in getting forest clearance. Railways have changed the alignment
of the line to bring down the forest land involved and
MoE&F has cleared the project recently with certain
conditions. Railway Board is yet to approve the implementation of the Bupdevpur Baround rail link. CIL,
State Government and Railways are in discussion to
implement other critical links in Mand–Raigarh area
in joint venture to facilitate coal movement from the
upcoming mines. The SCCL and Railways were not
able to sort out the differences in the implementation
of Sattapalli–Bhadrachalam link project but this issue
has been resolved recently and SCCL has agreed to
provide funds to the Railways to implement the project on turnkey basis.

Conservation and Safety in Coal Mines
14.115. Safety of miners and safe mining operations
are of paramount importance in coal mining. These
two schemes are under the statutory provisions of
Coal Conservation and Development Act (CCDA)
and were being implemented as a part of non-Plan
scheme during the Tenth Five Year Plan through
reimbursement of cess collected under CCDA. The
Ministry of Finance has taken a view that cess collected under CCDA is a revenue of the Government
of India, which is reimbursed back to coal companies for implementation of these schemes. Therefore,
these schemes are treated as Plan schemes during the
Eleventh Plan.

Development of Transport Infrastructure in
Coal Field Areas
14.116. Development of infrastructure in coalfields
is essential to ensure the timely evacuation of coal
produced in mines to the rail heads or railway yards.

Environmental Measures And Subsidence
Control
14.117. The purpose of this scheme is to improve
environmental conditions in old mined-out areas,
particularly Jharia and Raniganj coalfields through
implementation of a number of schemes for mitigating the damage caused by unscientific mining, carried out before nationalisation of coal mines. Under
the scheme, a Master Plan proposal for Jharia–
Raniganj coalfields with a total outlay of `9,773.84
crore was taken up to deal with fire, rehabilitation
of uncontrollable subsidence-prone inhabited areas
and diversification of roads/railway lines within
command area of BCCL and ECL. Recently, the
Cabinet has approved the scheme. For implementation of the Master Plan, Jharia Rehabilitation and
Development Authority (JRDA) for BCCL areas and
Asansol Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA)
areas have been notified as implementing agencies by

164

Twelfth Five Year Plan

the respective State Governments of Jharkhand and
West Bengal. A High Powered Central Committee
under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Coal) with
representatives from other Ministries/Departments,
State Governments of Jharkhand and West Bengal
and concerned coal companies, has been monitoring the implementation of the Master Plan.
Demographic surveys and land acquisition by JRDA
and ADDA are in progress.

Integrated Coal and Lignite Resource
Information System (ICRIS and ILRIS)
14.118. ICRIiS and ILRIS are coal and lignite
resources structured on the UNFC pattern approved
in October 2004 and are under progress at different
data centres in CMPDI/Singareni and NLC. These
projects need to be continued during the Twelfth
Plan with enhanced outlays for successful completion, maintenance and regular updating.

Application of Information Technology
14.119. Information Technology (IT) has been used
by the coal industry in India for improving productivity and decision making. Some of the applications
already in use are:
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP).
• Real-time trip counting system at opencast mines
with latest technologies like GPS, GIS, GSM,
RFID, Wi-Fi and so on.
• Proximity warning system for HEMM at opencast
mines.
• Truck movement monitoring system at weighbridges and coal handling plants mines with latest
technologies like GPS, GIS, GSM, RFID, Wi-Fi,
and so on.
• Online underground air and gas monitoring systems (CH4, CO, Temperature).
• UG communication system and miners’ tracking
with warning system for the miners entering the
unsafe areas.
14.120. An SAP-ERP system in coal mines in the
country has been introduced by SCCL with effect
from July 2008 covering business processes related
to Purchase and Stores, Marketing and Dispatches,
Quality Management, Human Capital Management,

Finance and Accounts, and Costing. The CIL is also
in the process of adopting such a system in the near
future.

Financial Performance of Coal Sector
14.121. The approved Eleventh Plan outlay of
`37,100 crore for MoC was planned to be financed
through an IEBR of `35,774.37 crore, and a GBS of
`1,326.00 crore. The budgetary support sought for
the Ministry’s plan schemes covered regional/promotion exploration, detailed drilling in non-CIL
blocks, Environmental Measures and Subsidence
Control Scheme (EMSC), R&D schemes, conservation and safety measures and development of
transport infrastructure in the coal fields. These
schemes were proposed to be funded by subsidence
excise duty collected under CCDA, IEBR of CIL
and budgetary support. Actual expenditure during
the Eleventh Plan is `26,337.62 crore which is only
63 per cent of the approved outlay. This comprises
`26,374.20 crore of IEBR of three PSUs namely CIL,
SCCL and NLC and balance `1,500 crore GBS for
Ministry of Coal funded schemes. The major shortfalls are in the reported expenditure of CIL and NLC
whereas SCCL is expected to spend `3,707.59 crore
against the approved IEBR of `3,340 crore. The financial performance of the coal sector is summarised in
Table 14.26.

THE TWELFTH PLAN
Coal Demand
14.122. Total demand for coal grew by around 6.6
per cent during the Eleventh Plan against domestic
production growth of only 4.61 per cent, and the gap
was filled from higher imports. The projected GDP
growth targeted during the Twelfth Plan will lead
to a high demand for coal in the next five years on
a business-as-usual basis. However, increased efficiency measures, including introduction of supercritical technology in power plants will reduce the
demand for coal. The trend growth for coal demand
during the Twelfth Plan is therefore likely to be similar to that in the Eleventh Plan.
14.123. Ministry of Coal has projected two scenarios
of coal demand during the Twelfth Plan. Scenario I

Energy 165

TABLE 14.26
Financial Performance of the Coal Sector
(in ` Crore)
Sl. No.

Sector

The Eleventh Plan Outlay
Approved

MTA

Anticipated

17,390.07

16,090.68

13,460.78

3,340.00

3,802.07

3,707.59

CIL

SCCL

NLC–Power

12,051.41

6,140.61

6,246.36

NLC–Mines

2,826.00

2,334.39

1,483.67

Total NLC

14,877.41

8,475.00

7,730.30

Total IEBR

35,607.48

28,367.75

24,898.40

1,326.01

4,225.80

1,416.19

36,933.49

32,623.55

26,314.59

Central Sector Schemes
Total MOC

projects a demand of 1,204 mt in the terminal year of
the Twelfth Plan and Scenario II projects 980.5 mt.
Scenario I implies 13.5 per cent CAGR and Scenario
II implies a growth rate of 8.9 per cent. Scenario II
is considered realistic, based on specific consumption in each consuming sector observed in the past
few years. From this scenario, total coal demand will
reach 980.50 million tones, an increase of 186 million tonnes over the Twelfth Plan period as shown in
Table 14.27.
TABLE 14.27
Coal Demand during the Twelfth Plan
(in million tonnes)
Sector

Eleventh Plan
Twelfth Plan
(2011–12)
(2016–17)
Annual Plan
Demand Projection
Demand Projection
Scenario II

Coking Coal

46.67

67.20

Power Utility

412.00

682.08

Power Captive

40.00

56.36

Cement

28.89

47.31

Sponge Iron

30.47

50.33

Others*

81.97

77.22

Total non-coking

593.33

913.30

Grand Total

640.00
(6.6 %)

980.50
(8.9 %)*

* Annual average growth rate during the Twelfth Plan period.
Source: Working Group on Coal and Lignite.

14.124. The total demand by the power sector
including that from captive power plants is expected
to be 75 per cent of the total coal demand during the
terminal year of the Twelfth Plan. The share of the
steel sector is expected to be 6.85 per cent of the projected demand and the shares of cement and sponge
iron sectors are expected to be 4.8 per cent and 5.1
per cent respectively and balance 7.9 per cent is estimated to be consumed by the brick and others sectors. Cumulative annual growth rate of coal demand
during the Twelfth Plan is projected to be around 8.9
per cent. Coal demand for Eleventh Plan and Twelfth
Plan is given in Annexure 14.2.
14.125. The total addition to electric generation capacity in the Twelfth Plan is targeted at
88,536.6 MW, which includes 69,280 MW of coalbased capacity. The estimates for coal requirements
of the power sector have been computed considering the fact that 40,000 MW of capacity based on
Supercritical technology will be added in the Twelfth
Plan and efficiency measures are also being taken.
Further, power generation capacities were running
at very high PLF so far, in view of high demand–supply gap. With the planned increase of new capacities and the pace of setting up new power capacities
getting accelerated, the PLF of the power plants is
likely to go down. Taking all these factors together, it
is estimated that the total demand for coal from the
power sector may be 738.44 mt in the terminal year
of the Twelfth Plan 2016–17. Taking into account

166

Twelfth Five Year Plan

the requirements of steel, cement and other sectors
of the economy, the total coal demand is estimated
at 980.50 mt. The quality of coal available from the
MCL and IB valley mines has been poor and a large
portion of coal during the Twelfth Plan will be provided by these mines. If the overall quality of coal
available from domestic mines deteriorates, the total
coal demand may go up.

Coal Production
14.126. The initial years of the Twelfth Plan are
likely to see continuing constraints on coal availability reflecting the difficulties experienced in
increasing production in the last two years of the
Eleventh Plan. Delays in obtaining E&F clearances,
land acquisition and R&R issues continue to plague
coal production and remedial action is urgently
needed. There is an urgent need to take effective
measures to step up coal production. The Working
Group on Coal in the most optimistic scenario
(Scenario II) has suggested domestic production
for the Twelfth Plan period from various sources as
shown in Table 14.28.
TABLE 14.28
Coal Production
(in million tonnes)
Sector

Eleventh Plan
(2011–12)

Twelfth Plan
(2016–17) Projection
Scenario II

CIL

435.84

615.00

SCCL

52.21

57.00

Captive Blocks

36.04

100.00

Others

15.91

23.00

540.00

795.00

Grand Total
Source: Ministry of Coal.

14.127. The incremental production envisaged in the
optimistic Scenario of the Twelfth Plan works out
to 255 million tonnes over the production level of
540 million tonnes during the Eleventh Plan. Major
contribution has to come from the CIL, which is
expected to add incremental production of 185.5 million tonnes yielding a cumulative annual growth rate
in coal production of 8 per cent. This is much higher
than the actual growth rate of 4.6 per cent achieved
in the Eleventh Plan. Details of coal production in

the Eleventh Plan and envisaged production during
the Twelfth Plan period are given in Annexure 14.3.
14.128. A number of initiatives are being taken
to promote faster extraction of coal. The policy on
competitive bidding for allocations of captive blocks
has been finalised by the Ministry of Coal and is
expected be made operational during 2012–13. This
should result in allocation of new coal blocks.

Import Requirements
14.129. The level of imports at the end of the Twelfth
Plan is projected to increase from 137 million tonnes
of Indian quality coal at the end of the Eleventh Plan
to 185 million tonnes at the end of the Twelfth Plan
based on total coal demand of 980 million tonnes
and domestic supply of 795 MT. If domestic supply
does not match the target growth rate of 8 per cent
per year, the import demand will be higher. The projected level of imports of around 185 million tonnes
is large keeping in mind that international trading in
coal is only around 900–1,000 million tonnes (15–16
per cent) of the total consumption of over 6,000 million tonnes world over, and there are competing
requirements from other countries like China who
have large coal-based capacities. The international
availability of coal is going to be restricted due to
concerns on climate change. International prices of
coal are also likely to remain high because of taxes
which are being imposed by several coal-producing
countries including Australia and Indonesia.

Underground Mining
14.130. Only 15 per cent of India’s coal production is
from underground mines. The industry aims to reach
a total coal production of 30 per cent from underground mines by 2030. There is a clear trend towards
underground mines as this has positive implications
for the environment. However, the extraction of coal
from the underground mines is lower than that from
the opencast mines. In forest areas, underground
mining is clearly feasible and will sharply reduce
the impact of ecological degradation. It is, however,
feasible only if the pool reserves and the seam thickness permits its exploitation accordingly. The share
of coal production for underground mines in major
coal producing countries is given in Table 14.29.

Energy 167

TABLE 14.29
Share of Underground Production in Total Production
Sl. No.

Country

Percentage (%)

China

USA

Australia

India

14.131. Considering the emerging hurdles in forest clearance and land acquisition in future, serious efforts need to be made to increase the share of
underground production considerably by the end of
the Twelfth Plan by focusing on long wall technology and productivity in underground mines. Indian
coal companies must accept the challenge of transplanting the international best practices with more
effective management. CIL can have joint ventures
or formulate PPP projects with appropriate terms
with renowned international players to shore up the
underground production level in the Twelfth and the
Thirteenth Plans.

Lignite Demand and Production
14.132. The Twelfth Plan envisages lignite demand
of 68.60 million tonnes in the terminal year 2016–17
of the Plan which includes production from Tamil
Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan—27.20, 21.60 and
19.80 million tonnes respectively. The additional
lignite-based power generation capacity during the
Twelfth Plan is envisaged as 2,280 MW. It is stated
that projected lignite production of 68.60 million
tonnes would almost be adequate to meet the growing demand for various sectors consuming lignite.
The projected shortfall would be around 10 million
tonnes which needs to be met by either taking up
new mines or improving the production levels from
the existing mines.

Ministry of Coal issuing a notification for pricing of
coal on GCV basis with effect from 31 January 2012,
replacing the earlier system of pricing on the basis of
useful heat value (UHV) which takes into account
the heat trapped in ash content also, besides the heat
value of carbon content. The revised GCV system
has 17 bands of calorific values with a bandwidth of
3,000 kilo calorie each instead of the existing seven
grades of A, B, C, D, E, F and G. The revision to
GCV is likely to increase the prices of domestic coal
to some extent. This is desirable adjustment because
domestic thermal coal continues to be underpriced
compared to internationally traded coal prices.
International coal prices of thermal coal are currently about three to four times higher than domestic coal but this reflects the fact that imported coal
is of higher calorific value and better quality. After
adjusting for these differences, international coal
prices are a little over twice the domestic prices as
shown in Table 14.30. It must also be noted that the
volume of coal traded is small compared to international production which makes international prices
a less reliable guide. Table 14.30 compares domestic
coal prices of thermal coal in India with the domestic sale price of thermal coal in other countries. The
comparison shows that Indian coal is underpriced
even on this basis. It is necessary to plan for a steady
upward price adjustment over the Twelfth Plan
period.
TABLE 14.30
Price Comparison of Domestic Coal with other
Countries
Country

China

Calorific
Value K
(Cal/Kg)

Price
(US $ per tonne)

Price
(in `/Mk Cal)

5,000–6,000

636

USA

5,000–6,000

363

India

3,500–4,000

342

Coal Pricing
14.133. Globally, pricing of coal is based on gross
calorific value (GCV) of coal. The Integrated Energy
Policy which was based on the Integrated Energy
Policy Report of the Planning Commission, and
was approved by the Cabinet in December 2010,
had proposed adoption of this pricing system. This
was finally implemented in January 2012 with the

14.134. The price differential between domestic
and imported coal creates distortions in the power
sector. Since Coal India is not in a position to provide domestic coal to meet the demand of all power
generating units expected to come on stream in the
Twelfth Plan, increased reliance on coal imports is

168

Twelfth Five Year Plan

necessary. However, power generators supplying
power with PPAs at a regulated tariff will not be
able to pass on the higher cost of imported coal.
There is a need to consider a mechanism of price
pooling under which Coal India undertakes to
meet the full FSA requirement using a combination of domestic and imported supplies, pooling
the price of its imports with its domestically produced coal to give coal to power generators at a
uniform price.

Coal Movement Constraints
14.135. Currently the share of rail in movement of
coal in the country is around 52 per cent. The share
of other modes of transportation is 15 per cent by
merry-go-round (MGR), 7 per cent by belt/rope
and 27 per cent by road. Against this, the coal movement matrix in the terminal year of the Twelfth
plan (2016–17) is envisaged to show a 58 per cent
share of rail, 25 per cent share of road, 11 per cent
of MGR and 6 per cent of belt/rope. This includes
planning for movement of 800 million tonnes of
indigenous coal and coal products and 166 million tonnes of imported coal which is equivalent to
about 250 million tones of domestic coal. To realise
this objective, average wagon requirement is envisaged at 446.4 rakes per day out of which 165.6 rakes
per day will be required for imported coal. The
annualised growth in rail loading is expected to be
7.1 per cent.
14.136. Some of the important identified railway
infrastructure projects are at North Karanpura,
Mand–Raigarh and at Ib Valley coalfields. These
projects were initially proposed during the Eleventh
Plan but could not be implemented due to delays in
land acquisition and clearance from Environment
Ministry. The current status of these projects is given
in paragraph 14.116. In addition to these, a few more
feeder lines have been suggested for improving rail
movement during the Twelfth Plan in potential coalfields. Completion of these projects should have top
priority in Railway Planning.

Coal Quality and Beneficiation
14.137. Coal washing is one of the practices being
promoted as a measure to encourage implementation

of clean coal technologies. While coking coal washing has been in practice for quite some time in the
country, washing of non-coking coal, particularly for
power generation, has come into focus only recently.
Use of washed non-coking coal has increased manyfold over the last 10 years. Currently coking coal
washing capacity is around 29.88 million tonnes
comprising of washery capacity of 22.18 million
tonnes of CIL, 2.04 million tonnes of SAIL and 5.66
million tonnes of TISCO. However, the actual total
washed coal production from all these washeries is
much below the capacity at 7.03 million tonnes, with
an approximate raw coal feed of 15.5 million tonnes.
It has been observed that performance of CIL managed washeries is not satisfactory and the output of
washed coal from CIL washeries is only 3.89 million
tonnes.
14.138. Non-coking coal washing capacity in the
country is around 96 million tonnes, comprising of
17 million tonnes of CIL and 79 million tonnes of
others. In this case also, the output of washed coal
is below capacity at around 36 million tonnes, with
a raw coal feed of around 52 million tonnes. Thus,
utilisation of existing washery capacity is suboptimal
and suitable measures need to be taken to optimally
use existing capacity. The CIL proposes to set up 20
more washeries with an aggregate capacity of around
111 million tonnes in the Twelfth Plan.
14.139. Considering the need to increase the level
of washed coal, it is proposed to enhance washeries capacity in Twelfth Plan period. Coking coal
washing capacity is likely to increase from the existing level of around 30 million tonnes in 2011–12 to
49 million tonnes by the end of 2016–17. Similarly
the non-coking coal washing capacity is planned to
increase from about 96 million tonnes by the end of
the Eleventh Plan to around 175 million tonnes by
the end of the Twelfth Plan.
14.140. There has been some progress in dealing with
the problems of oversized coal. Coal companies are
establishing Coal Handling Plants (CHPs) and feeder
breakers. Coal India Ltd. is now supplying almost 99
per cent of crushed coal to the power sector. Further,
deployment of surface miners in different projects

Energy 169

is also helping in producing sized coal for supply to
the consumers. A total of 212 CHPs (74 major CHPs
and 138 mini CHPs/Feeder Breakers) with a total
capacity of about 277 million tonnes per annum are
operating in different subsidiary companies of the
CIL. Further, 50 surface miners deployed at CCL,
SECL and MCL produced about 103 million tonnes
of sized coal in the year 2010–11, which has helped
augment supply of sized coal.

Exploration for Coal and Lignite
14.141. Coal and lignite exploration efforts should
not only aim at expanding the resource base through
regional exploration but also at upgrading the
known resources remaining under ‘Indicated’ and
‘Inferred’ categories through detailed exploration to
facilitate their projectisation for mining. Significant
accretion of resource in coming years is envisaged
in the intermediate and deeper levels (beyond 300m
of depth). As such there is also an emerging need to
fully bring out the potential of coal resources which
are at greater depths, for other forms of exploitation
like CBM, underground gasification (UCG) and so
on to augment the coal resources.
14.142. With ever increasing demand of steel in the
country the requirement of coking coal is projected
to increase from 69.47 million tonnes to 85.06 million
tonnes at the end of the Twelfth and the Thirteenth
Plans. There is a need to focus exploration efforts
on the prime coking coal resources available beyond
300 m of depth to bring them to ‘Proved’ category.
14.143. Against a target of 1.94 lakh metres for
regional exploration during the Eleventh Plan, 1.14
lakh metres (78 per cent) of drilling will be achieved
and 7.07 billion tonnes of coal resources are likely to
be established. In promotional exploration, against
a target of 4 lakh metres of exploratory drilling,
2.72 lakh metres (68 per cent) are expected to be
achieved, establishing 20.05 Bt of coal resources. The
Twelfth Plan envisages taking up 1.05 lakh metre
regional explorations drilling to establish resource
base of around 6.8 billion tonnes. The corresponding
programme under promotional exploration envisages promotional drilling of 4.80 lakh metre covering an area of 1,204 Sq. Km. to establish resources

of 16.64 billion tonnes. Similarly a drilling target of
54.46 lakh metres is envisaged for detailed drilling in
the Twelfth Plan which includes 19.03 lakh metres
in non-CIL blocks. The envisaged coal resource
establishment under detailed drilling is 76.80 billion
tonnes including 16.22 billion tonnes under detailed
drilling in non-CIL blocks.

Royalty on Coal and Lignite
14.144. According to a decision taken by the
Government, royalty rates have to be revised periodically once in every three years. Based on the above
decision, Ministry of Coal had set up a Committee
to suggest revision in royalty rates in 2009. The
Committee suggested ad-valorem royalty on coal and
lignite instead of the earlier system of combination
of specific and ad-valorem duty on various grades of
coal. The Government has accepted the suggestion
and approved the suggested royalty regime based on
ad-valorem basis with effective royalty rates of 14 per
cent on raw coal prices and 6 per cent on lignite with
effect from April 2012.

Amendment to the Coal Mines Act
14.145. The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973
does not allow private companies to mine coal
for sale to third parties though captive mining is
allowed for specified end use sectors. This is a limited opening which is helpful but unlikely to attract
big investment. Unless large investment and technology in the sector comes in, mining coal by a host
of small players would not increase production to
desired levels.
14.146. Development of large coal blocks holds the
key to rapidly increase production. There are political sensitivities in opening up the coal sector to private investment, but it is simply not logical to keep
private investment out of coal, when it is allowed in
petroleum and natural gas. Besides, the energy security of the country needs full involvement of all concerned in producing coal. Hence, amendment to the
Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act is needed. A Bill
to amend the Act for this purpose was introduced
in Parliament in 2001 but has not been pursued.
Allowing private sector mining does not involve privatisation of Coal India but only entry of new mining

170

Twelfth Five Year Plan

companies. This issue needs to be considered in the
interest of energy security.

New Initiatives to Expand Coal Availability
14.147. Given the importance of coal to India’s
energy security, it is necessary to give priority to a
number of policy initiatives in the Twelfth Plan
which can address obvious weaknesses:
1. Coal exploration must be stepped up to ensure
availability of more coal mining blocks for both
private and public sectors. Either CMPDIL
ought to be made an independent organisation,
or a new independent organisation should be
created to develop and maintain the repository
of all geological information in the country on
the lines of CEA for power sector, or the DGH
for petroleum and natural gas sector.
2. To expedite clearances, a coordination committee at the Centre and State level may be set up
(single window concept), involving senior representation from the concerned departments
for quick environment clearances. Even if statutory clearances can only be given by the relevant
agency, the establishment of a coordinative
mechanism will expedite the decision-making.
3. Enactment of a central legislation to ensure uniform R&R policy and speedy land acquisition on
appropriate terms is absolutely necessary.
4. There is a need to incentivise coal availability
from captive coal mining blocks. The decision
to allocate all future coal blocks on the basis of
transparent bidding should be implemented
in the first year of the Twelfth Plan. Further,
we must create an institutional mechanism for
planning and development of common infrastructural facilities with participation of coal
mining companies and the respective State
Governments.
5. In several cases, development of captive coal
may be in a position to produce coal in excess
of their requirement. At present the terms of
allocation of coal blocks do not permit sale to a
third party except with permission. If they could
be encouraged to produce more than their consumptive use it would avoid the need to import
much more expensive imported coal. This will

8.
9.

be done by making surplus coal available to CIL
subsidiaries at a price which provides adequate
incentive for the captive block owners. The principle on which such coal should be priced can be
approved by the Cabinet.
Coal companies should develop a comprehensive plan for increasing the share of production
from underground mines and suitable policy initiatives such as cost plus pricing, fiscal incentives
and so on need to be introduced to improve the
potential returns currently available from underground mining activities. It is suggested that the
share of underground mining be increased from
the existing 10 per cent to a considerable level by
the end of the Twelfth Plan in the next five years.
In view of the availability of increased coal
imports for the Twelfth Plan period the Ministry
must ensure that mechanisms are in place which
will be up and appropriate mix of long-term and
sport contracts.
A coal sector regulator should be set up on a priority basis.
Finally it is not clear whether the present structure on which the operating coal companies are
subsidiaries of CIL as the holding company is
desirable. The industry would be better served if
the subsidiaries were spun off as separate public
sector companies encouraged to develop their
own strategies of coal development including
joint venture activity and acquisition of assets
abroad. A High Level Committee should be
appointed to examine this option and submit a
report within six months.

Benchmarking of Productivity
14.148. The Twelfth Plan envisages an improvement
in productivity per person from 4.92 tonnes per
person in CIL to 7 tonnes per person and from 3.8
tonnes per person in SCCL to 4.93 tonnes per person.
This will still leave India well below other producers, as countries like USA, Australia and China have
productivity levels of about 14 tonnes per person for
combined underground and opencast mines. The
targets set to realise the productivity level mentioned
above envisage productivity levels of 14.0 tonnes
per person for CIL and 14.83 tonnes per person in
SCCL in the terminal year of the Plan for opencast

Energy 171

operations, and only 1.10 and 1.83 tonnes per person for CIL and SCCL, respectively for underground
operations . Thrust would be given on improvement
of operational efficiency of the coal mining companies by establishing benchmarks for different mining
operations and work force productivity comparable
with international standard. The productivity norms
of different heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM)
benchmarked earlier for both availability and utilisation in different coal companies would be examined
so that these become comparable with international
standards.

3.4. PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS SECTOR
14.149. Managing the petroleum and natural gas sector will present critical challenges in the Twelfth Plan.
The demand for petroleum products is expected to
expand while the scope for increasing domestic production is limited. Oil prices in world markets are
expected to be volatile but generally high. The oil
and gas import bill is likely to be around 6–7 per cent
of GDP during the year 2011–12. Unfortunately,
domestic prices of certain petroleum products have
not been adjusted in line with world prices, with the
result that there is large ‘under-recovery’ by the oil
sector. Important steps were taken in 2012 to adjust
diesel prices and to put a limit on highly subsidised
LPG, but even after these adjustments, under-recoveries remain large and the subsidy provided in the
budget covers only a fraction of this. Continuing this
scale of under-recovery is simply not viable. Prices
of sensitive petroleum products like diesel, kerosene
and LPG will therefore have to be adjusted periodically to reduce the under-recoveries which are currently borne by the Government and upstream oil
companies. This is not consistent with developing
a healthy petroleum sector capable of investing in
exploration and production.

REVIEW OF THE ELEVENTH PLAN
Demand for Petroleum Products
14.150. Demand for petroleum products grew at an
annual rate of 4.15 per cent during the Eleventh Plan
period which is close to the upper-case scenario that
was envisaged at the start of the Eleventh Plan as
shown in Table 14.31. The elasticity of POL demand
with GDP growth during the Eleventh Plan has been
0.53 which is slightly higher than 0.49 for the Tenth
Plan. The use of FO/LSHS and LDO in power, fertiliser and general trade has declined. Also, increased
availability of natural gas has replaced naphtha that
was extensively used in the fertiliser industry. LPG
consumption in India has increased from 10.85 million tonnes in the year 2006–07 to 15.36 million
tonnes in the year 2011–12, growing at a rate of 7.21
per cent per annum CAGR.

Exploration, Production and Refining Sector
14.151. Both oil and gas production targets have
slipped by large percentages during the Eleventh Plan
period. Against the crude oil production target of
206.73 MMT in the Eleventh Plan, the actual achievement is only 177 MMT, that is, 14 per cent below the
target. The actual natural gas production was 212.54
BCM as against the production target of 255.76 BCM,
with a shortfall of about 17 per cent of the Eleventh
Plan targets. The balance recoverable reserve position as on 1 April 2011 of O + OEG was about 2015
million tonnes, which has increased by 10.5 per cent
from 1,847 million tonnes as on 1 April 2007.
14.152. In contrast to the large slippage in oil exploration and production, addition to refining capacity
is likely to be 88.42 per cent of the target. Some of the
refinery projects like MRPL expansion and Paradip
refinery projects have also slipped into the Twelfth

TABLE 14.31
Consumption of Petroleum Products
Consumption
Actual
Working Group
Eleventh Plan

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12

CAGR (%)

128.95

133.6

137.81

141.75

147.98

4.15

Base

116.35

119.1

121.99

126.97

131.77

2.93

Upper

117.56

121.95

127.79

136.59

141.79

4.45

172

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.32
Physical Performance of Petroleum and Natural Gas Sector
Sl.
No.

Item

Eleventh
Plan Target

Crude Oil Production (MMT)

206.73

34.12

33.51

33.69

37.68

38.09

177.09

ONGC

140.06

25.94

25.37

24.86

24.42

23.72

124.30

OIL

18.99

3.10

3.47

3.57

3.58

3.85

17.57

PVT. JVC

47.71

5.08

4.67

5.26

9.68

10.53

35.22

Gas Production (BCM)

255.76

32.42

32.85

47.50

52.22

47.56

212.54

ONGC

112.39

22.33

22.49

23.10

23.32

114.33

OIL

16.42

2.34

2.27

2.42

2.35

2.63

12.01

PVT. JVC

126.95

7.74

8.09

21.99

26.77

21.61

86.20

240.96

148.97

177.97

185.39

193.39

213.07

–

Refining Capacity (MMTPA)

Hydrocarbon Reserve
Accretion (O + OEG)

Actual
2007–08

1,847

Actual
2008–09

Actual
2009–10

Actual
2010–11

Actual
2011–12

Total in the
Eleventh Plan

213.07*
2,014.81#

* Refining Capacity estimate as on 1 April 2012. # HCRA as on 1 April 2011.

Plan due to delays in providing captive power equipment by BHEL to these refineries. Table 14.32 gives
the target and achievements of various physical
parameters during the Eleventh Plan period.

exploration, in the ninth round of NELP (NELP-IX),
34 exploration blocks were offered in October 2010,
of which 18 PSCs have already been signed with the
awardees. Details of blocks awarded under the nine
NELP rounds are shown in Figure 14.1.

New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP)
Programme

Equity Oil, Gas from Overseas Assets

14.153. The NELP programme is a major initiative
aimed at attracting private investment into oil and
natural gas. There have been nine rounds of bidding,
starting with a first in 1998, and a total investment of
US$ 15.88 billion has been made by various operators
in E&P sector till 2010–11. Out of 235 Production
Sharing Contracts (PSCs), 73 were signed during
the Eleventh Plan period. To step up the pace of

14.154. Oil PSUs (OVL OIL, GAIL, IOCL, BPCL and
HPCL) have invested `59,108 crore (US$ 13 billion)
up to 31 March 2011 on acquisition of assets abroad,
mainly in oil producing assets. There are nine major
production assets in Russia, Sudan, Brazil, Syria,
Vietnam, Venezuela and Colombia. Production
from overseas oil and gas blocks is presently about
10.22 per cent of India’s domestic production. The

No. of PSC signed

40
30

32
24

III

10
0

V
VI
NELP rounds

VII

VIII

FIGURE 14.1: Exploration Blocks awarded in NELP Rounds

Energy 173

TABLE 14.33
Share of Overseas Hydrocarbon Production
Year

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12 #

66.53

66.35

81.19

89.93

85.64

Total Domestic oil and gas (MMTOE)
Overseas production of OVL (MMTOE)
Overseas production as a percentage of Domestic (%)

8.8

8.78

8.87

9.43

8.75

13.23

10.93

10.49

10.22

Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas/ONGC Videsh Ltd. (#) Prov.

share of overseas vis-à-vis indigenous production of
oil and gas is given in Table 14.33.

Policy Initiatives during the Eleventh Plan
14.155. Various policy initiatives were taken to
address the issues relating to attaining hydrocarbon energy security. Major policy initiatives taken
by the Government during the Eleventh Plan are as
follows.
Regulatory Measures
14.156. The Government has set up Petroleum and
Natural Gas Regulatory Board with effect from 1
October 2007 to regulate downstream activities
of oil and gas sector under the PNGRB Act, 2006.
However, the mandate of PNGRB is fairly narrow
and deals largely with pipelines. PNGRB is currently
empowered to give authorisation to entities for laying, building, operating and expanding any pipeline
as common or contract carrier and expanding city
gas distribution projects.
Allocation of Natural Gas
14.157. Natural gas produced from NELP blocks is
subject to Government-prescribed allocation to different uses and also Government approval of the
pricing formula. The Government has prioritised
allocation of gas produced from NELP blocks in the
following order:

•
•
•
•

Fertiliser plants producing subsidised fertilisers
LPG plants
Power plants
City Gas Distribution (CGD) for CNG and
domestic PNG
• Steel, petrochemicals, refinery, captive power
plants and CGD for industrial and commercial
customers

14.158. An Empowered Group of Ministers has allocated 93.336 MMSCMD of gas on a combination of
firm and fallback basis from the blocks producing
gas under NELP.
Strategic Storage of Crude Oil
14.159. The Government is in the process of creating strategic crude oil storage capacity for 15 days at
Vishakhapatnam (1.33 million tonnes), Mangalore
(1.50 million tonnes) and Padur (2.5 million tonnes)
through a Special Purpose Vehicle, namely, Indian
Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd. (ISPRL). The storage would be further upgraded at other suitable
locations by an incremental capacity of 12.5 million
tonnes during the Twelfth Plan period.
Promoting Bio-Fuels
14.160. A programme of 5 per cent blending of
ethanol with petrol is already underway with effect
from November 2006 targeting 20 States and 4 UTs.
Subject to availability, the percentage of blend can
be enhanced to 10 per cent as specification for petrol with 10 per cent ethanol blend is already given
by the BIS. At present, the EBP Programme is successfully running in 14 States and three UTs; OMCs
have been able to contract 55.87 crore litres of ethanol against the requirement of 105 crore litres of
ethanol for 5 per cent blending in the entire notified
area.
Pricing of Petroleum Products
14.161. In 2002, the Government dismantled the
Administered Pricing Mechanism, and announced
that prices of all petroleum products would be deregulated. This decision, however, was not fully implemented after the prices of crude oil in international
market rose sharply leading to increase in international prices of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene.

174

Twelfth Five Year Plan

On 25 June 2010 the Government announced that
the price of petrol was fully deregulated and the oil
companies were free to fix it periodically. However,
diesel price deregulation was deferred to be implemented later. Prices of LPG and kerosene remained
under price regulation by the Government. The
continuance of price control reflects the political
sensitivity of the issue despite the evident economic
desirability of implementing the Integrated Energy
Policy.
14.162. The under-recovery by oil companies
because of the inability to adjust oil prices is shown
in Table 14.34. The amount of under-recoveries on
sensitive petroleum products was `1,38,541 crores
(excluding the under-recoveries of `4,890 crores
incurred by OMCs on sale of petrol) in the year
2011–12 including the under-recoveries incurred by
OMCs on petrol. The total under-recoveries by the
Government and oil PSUs amount to `4,43,197 crore
during the Eleventh Plan period. That has seriously
affected the profitability and viability of the oil marketing companies. The under-recoveries of the oil
companies in 2012–13 will rise to `1,52,937 crore as
per Refinery Gate price effective from 1 July 2012 if
prices are not adjusted.
Pricing of Natural Gas
14.163. Gas price for NELP Blocks is supposed
to be determined through an arm’s length process by contractor, and is subject to approval by
the Government. Accordingly the price of RIL KG
Basin gas was fixed at $4.2/MMBTU ex-Kakinada
in 2007 by EGoM and the price was expected to
be valid till March 2014. The purchase price of

long-term LNG imported from Qatar for Petronet
LNG has been linked to Japanese Crude Cocktail
(JCC) and varies on a monthly basis. It is sold at
prices fixed by resellers. Spot RLNG prices are based
on market conditions, which are currently hovering
around US$12–13/MMBTU. Following the fixation
of the KG basin gas price at US$4.2 per MMBTU,
the administered price of gas from nominated
fields awarded earlier to ONGC/OIL, which varied depending on the field, were raised to US$4.2
per MMBTU, except for the North-East where it is
US$2.52 per MMBTU.
14.164. The NELP of the Government of India provides freedom to price the gas by the operator at a
market-determined price for gas produced from the
NELP blocks, subject to the Government approving
the pricing formula. However, questions have arisen
regarding the interpretation of various clauses in the
existing contracts. There is a need to review the provision of pricing under PSC to clarify the extent to
which producers will have the freedom to market the
gas. Clarity is obviously essential if we are to attract
private investment into exploration and production.
Legally, gas as a resource belongs to the Government
and the Government has the right to fix an appropriate price. However, if the intention is to attract
private investment into this sector, the Government
should state clearly what degree of pricing freedom
will be given. Ideally, private investors would expect
freedom to price the gas at a level at which there are
willing buyers, which in turn will be determined
by the price at which consumers can import. On
the other hand, the CBM policy envisages a different contractual regime. In order to encourage this

TABLE 14.34
Under-Recoveries on Petroleum Products
(` crores)
Petroleum Products

2006–07

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12

Petrol

2,027

7,332

5,181

5,151

2,227

–

Diesel

18,776

35,166

52,286

9,279

34,706

81,192

Domestic LPG

10,701

15,523

17,600

14,257

21,772

29,997

PDS Kerosene

17,883

19,102

28,225

17,364

19,484

27,352

Total

49,387

77,123

1,03,292

46,051

78,190

1,38,541

Source: PPAC.

Energy 175

emerging source of gas, its pricing should be left
to the market without the need for Government
approval.
14.165. There are a number of other issues regarding existing PSC. First, questions have been raised
regarding investment multiple which determines
the profit share of Government and the investor
after allowing recovery of investment cost. It has
been argued that this incentivises greater capital
intensiveness, and a stronger profit share based
on production would be better. This assessment
needs to be weighed against the argument that the
IM enables Government to insulate the contractor
at higher levels of investment, which increases the
possibility of oil/gas being discovered. There are
also concerns on the need to improve the provisions
under the PSC to make them more transparent and
also fully safeguard the interests of the stakeholders. Second, the existing management system has
not led to an effective supervision over the projects. There is a need to consider alternate mechanisms. Several other issues have been raised also.
Government has, therefore, appointed a Committee
under the chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan,
Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the
Prime Minister to review existing PSCs and recommend changes for the future.
14.166. Finally, the Twelfth Plan is likely to see a
continuation of high oil and gas prices in the world
markets and our dependence on imports for both
oil and gas is also likely to increase. There is an
urgent need to align domestic oil and gas price to
market price for sound development of the sector and to send the right signals to consumers and
producers. This would also enable the oil PSUs to
generate internal resources to fund new projects
and create growth momentum. Price reform along
these lines would also permit entry of private companies for marketing of petroleum products which
would help expand competition. Price adjustment
in the petroleum sector has to be carried out keeping in mind the need for ensuring affordability for
the poor and vulnerable sections. This can be done
in various ways. It does not require generalised
subsidies.

TWELFTH PLAN STRATEGY
Demand of Petroleum Products
14.167. Demand of petroleum products is projected
to increase at an annual rate of 4.7 per cent during the
Twelfth Five Year Plan. This will increase consumption of POL products from 147.98 MMT in 2011–12
to 186.21 MMT by 2016–17. The demand for diesel
will continue to be dominant followed by MS and
LPG. The demand estimates of petroleum products
in Twelfth Plan period are given in Table 14.35.

Supply of Petroleum Products
14.168. Oil production during Twelfth Plan is likely
to increase marginally and then decline by 3.26
per cent by the end of the Plan. As a result, import
dependence in petroleum products is expected
to increase from 76.6 per cent at the end of the
Eleventh Plan to 77.8 per cent by the end of the
Twelfth Plan. The crude oil production profile for
the Twelfth Plan, based on established reserves,
present status of different fields, input implementation schedules and the health of reservoirs is as
given in Table 14.36.

Natural Gas Demand
14.169. The demand of natural gas during the
Twelfth Plan is likely to grow by about 19.2 per cent
to meet the incremental requirement of power, fertiliser and other industries. The CNG and city gas
sector will also see a quantum growth in natural
gas use. It is expected that by the end of the Twelfth
Plan about 300 cities are likely to be covered under
city gas distribution. Yearly estimates of natural gas
demand are given in Table 14.37.

Natural Gas Production
14.170. Domestic production of natural gas during
the Twelfth Plan will depend upon the output from
gas fields discovered under NELP by various operators. As majority of new gas prospects are in deep
water, the investments, technology and pricing of
gas for developing these fields would be important.
The estimated gas production by different operators has been given in Table 14.38. However, the
projected production from Private/JV producers
may need to be reviewed during the Plan period, as

176

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.35
Demand of Petroleum Products
Products

2011–12

2012–13

2013–14

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

CAGR (%)

LPG

15,358

16,986

18,363

19,675

20,857

21,831

7.3

14,993

16,091

17,527

19,083

20,766

22,588

8.5

NAPHTHA/NGL

11,105

12,353

11,417

11,022

–0.1

5,536

6,009

6,587

7,202

7,849

8,540

9.1

1. Petroleum Products (’000MT)

ATF
SKO
HSDO
LDO

8,229

7,949

7,631

7,326

7,033

6,751

–3.9

64,742

65,040

68,654

72,589

76,904

81,599

4.7

415

400

–0.7

LUBES

2,745

2,691

2,772

2,857

2,945

3,036

2.0

FO/LSHS

9,232

7,954

7,902

7,899

7,872

–3.1

BITUMEN

4,628

5,254

5,541

5,732

5,971

6,114

5.7

PET COKE

6,145

6,765

7,514

8,345

9,268

10,294

10.9

OTHERS

4,869

5,445

6,127

6,109

6,085

6,162

4.8

1,47,997

1,52,937

1,60,436

1,68,635

1,76,972

1,86,209

4.7

Total POL

Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
TABLE 14.36
Projection of Crude Oil Production in the Twelfth Plan
(in MMTPA)
ONGC
OIL

2012–13

2013–14

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

Total

25.045

28.27

28.002

26.286

25.456

133.059

3.92

4.00

4.06

4.16

4.20

20.34

Pvt./JV

13.34

13.30

12.70

12.10

11.50

62.94

Total

42.305

45.57

44.762

42.546

41.156

216.339

Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
TABLE 14.37
Natural Gas Demand for Twelfth Five Year Plan
(in MMSCMD)
Sector
Power*
Fertiliser**

2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 CAGR (%)
91

135

153

171

189

207

17.9

106

19.8

134

190

214

277

295

313

18.5

City Gas

28.8

Industrial

11.0

Petrochemicals / Refineries/Internal Consumption

23.6

5.9

108

121

144

153

20.6

194

286

322

398

439

466

19.2

Demand(Price Elastic) – Sub Total

Sponge Iron/Steel
Demand (Relatively price Inelastic) – Sub Total
Grand Total Demand
Source: *Ministry of Power, **Ministry of Fertilizers.

Energy 177

TABLE 14.38
Projection of Natural gas production in Twelfth Plan (BCM)

ONGC
OIL

2012–13

2013–14

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

Total

25.266

25.472

26.669

28.215

38.676

144.298

3.30

3.80

4.27

4.45

19.82

Pvt./JV

23.71

32.38

39.4

40.43

41.46

177.38

Total

52.276

61.652

70.069

72.915

84.586

341.498

Total MMSCMD

143.22

168.91

4.00

191.97

199.77

231.74

187.12
(Average)

Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

the production profile from their exploration acreage gets approved by the Directorate General of
Hydrocarbons.

number of discoveries made under NELP are yet
to be appraised and developed. The DGH needs to
monitor their evaluation and development quickly.

Exploration Activities

Pricing and Under Recoveries of Petroleum
Products

14.171. During the Twelfth Plan period, 13,8974
kilometres of 2D seismic and 82,488 square km of
3D seismic are likely to be acquired by ONGC, OIL
and private/JV companies. Also, 1,310 exploratory
wells are likely to be drilled during the Twelfth Plan
period. These exploratory efforts are likely to result
in hydrocarbon reserve accretion of about 727 million metric tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas in the
country. The break-up of exploration programme
by ONGC, OIL and Private/Joint Venture companies is given in Table 14.39. The role of DGH as the
upstream advisor and supervisor for the Government
is very important. Efforts will be made to increase the
capacity of the DGH, as also efficiency in decisionmaking. It can play an important role in obtaining
various clearances for the upstream operators from
multiple agencies of the Government. This has to be
viewed particularly in the light of the fact that a large

14.172. Although important steps have been taken
in the first year of the Twelfth Plan to adjust diesel
prices and to cap the subsidy on LPG, this has not
eliminated the under-recovery of oil companies. The
increase in under-recoveries of OMCs is adversely
affecting the financial position of OMCs and may
affect mobilisation of funds for new projects during
the Twelfth Plan period. Currently, the under-recoveries of OMCs are compensated by the Government
from fiscal budget, discount on crude and products
by upstream oil companies and part absorption by
OMCs. The OMCs are expected to incur underrecoveries of `8,32,737 crore during Twelfth Plan
period. If no further adjustment occurs, and if global
prices stay at present level, the total under-recovery
in the Twelfth Plan period will be over `8.32 lakh
crore which is simply not viable (Table 14.40)

TABLE 14.39
Breakup of the Exploration Programme for theTwelfth Plan
Activity

Unit

ONGC

Seismic Surveys 2D

28,170

6,850

1,03,954

1,38,974

Seismic Surveys 3D

Sq Km

24,163

8,364

49,961

82,488

Exploratory Wells

Nos

611

174

525

1,310

Reserves Accretion IIH

MMTOE

1,080

78.14

728

1,886.14

Ultimate Hydrocarbon Reserve Accretion

MMTOE

360

341

727

Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

OIL

Private/JV

Total

178

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 14.40
Likely Under-Recoveries on Petroleum* Products
(` Crore)
Sensitive Petroleum Products

2012–13

2013–14

2014–15

2015–16

Diesel

86,910

90,820

95,053

99,673

1,04,664

4,77,120

PDS Kerosene

28,880

27,725

26,617

25,552

24,528

1,33,301

Domestic LPG

38,182

42,054

44,931

47,531

49,618

2,22,316

1,53,973

1,60,598

1,66,601

1,72,756

1,78,810

8,32,737

Total

2016–17

Total

* Price of Petrol is made market determined. It assumes oil prices at US$ 100 per barrel with exchange rate of US$ = `55.

Addition to Refining Capacity

Alternate Sources of Hydrocarbons

14.173. With grass-roots refineries at Bhatinda (9
MMTPA), Paradip (15 MMTPA) and expansion
of some of the existing refineries, the total refining
capacity is projected to be around 218.37 MMTPA
by the year 2012–13 and is expected to touch 313.57
MMTPA by the end of the Twelfth Plan as shown
in Table 14.41. Majority of new refining capacity
would be added from expansion of existing refineries
at low costs.

14.174. The development of alternate sources of
hydrocarbons such as coal bed methane, gas hydrate,
shale gas, oil shale and so on are some of the areas
which require greater attention. Oil companies
would also need to focus on development of renewable energy sources including biodiesel, ethanol,
wind, solar, biomass and so on to make the hydrocarbon use for various activities carbon neutral by
the companies.

TABLE 14.41
Projected Refining Capacity during Twelfth Plan (MMTPA)
2012–13

2013–14

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

IOC

54.2

69.2

74.0

77.0

BPC (Mumbai)

12.0

13.5

Kochi

9.5

15.5

BORL–Bina

6.0

7.2

9.0

16.5

17.2

23.2

HPC (MR + VR)
Maharashtra Refinery

0.0

9.0

HMEL (GGSRL)

15.5

16.5

MRPL
ONGC (Tatipaka)
CPCL
NRL

0.066
12.1

0.066
18.3

137.4

153.6

156.8

168.1

200.6

RIL-DTA and SEZ, Jamnagar

EOL, Jamnagar

Sub Total PSU

30.8

NOCL, Cuddalore

6.1

Sub Total Private

96.9

113

218.4

239.6

242.8

265.0

Total
Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

313.6

Energy 179

Coal Bed Methane (CBM)
14.175. The prognosticated CBM resources in the
country are about 92 trillion cubic feet (TCF), out of
which only 8.92 TCF has so far been established. The
Government of India has awarded 33 CBM exploration blocks. Commercial production of CBM has
already commenced in Raniganj (South) in West
Bengal. CBM production by the year 2016–17 is
expected to be around 4 MMSCMD. This is quite
low compared with the resource potential estimated
by the DGH. In spite of the fact that more than a
decade has lapsed since the award of CBM blocks,
the evaluation and development continues to be
behind schedule. Efforts are required to enhance the
production of CBM through suitable policy measures. There are also delays in approving prices for
CBM projects shortly to go into production. This
needs to be expedited.
Simultaneous Operations of Coal Bed Methane
(CBM) and Oil and Gas
14.176. At present there is no mechanism to work
together simultaneously for the exploration and
exploitation of coal, coal bed methane, shale gas
and oil and gas production in same block/ acreages
due to the fact that both coal and oil and gas sectors
are governed by different administrative ministries.
Regulations and Acts do create conflict of interest
for the simultaneous exploration and exploitation
of coal, CBM, coal mine methane and also underground Coal gasification along with coal and oil and
gas. There is a need for the operators to work under
similar contractual regime for simultaneous operations of CBM, Coal and shale gas and CBM, oil and
gas and shale gas in the same area. A policy framework for this will need to be developed expeditiously
in the year 2012–13 itself.
Shale Gas Exploration
14.177. The Government has initiated steps for
development of shale oil and shale gas from on
land sedimentary basins. MoU has been signed
between Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
and Department of State, USA on 6 December 2010
for cooperation in resource assessment, regulatory
framework, training and so on. A multi-organisation

team (MOT) has been constituted involving DGH,
ONGC, OIL and GAIL for collection of required
G&G, geochemical and petro-physical data for
assessment of shale oil and shale gas prospects in
Indian on land sedimentary basins. The involvement
of private sector in this initiative will be enhanced as
well. A policy of regulatory framework is to be put
in place for shale oil and shale gas development.
Underground Coal Gasification (UCG)
14.178. ONGC has signed an Agreement of Collaboration (AOC) with Skochinsky Institute of Mining,
Russia on 25 November 2004 for implementation of
Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) project in
India. The Vastan Mine block belonging to GIPCL
in Surat district, Gujarat has been selected for UCG
Pilot project. The total financial implication of the
project is about US$ 15.32 million. ONGC will be
asked to complete this pilot at the earliest.
National Gas Hydrate Programme
14.179. An MoU was recently signed in the area of
marine gas hydrate research and technology development between the Leibniz Institute of Marine
Sciences, Germany and DGH for research on methane production from gas hydrate by carbon dioxide
sequestration. The NGHP programme has also been
going on for a long time, with no tangible results so
far. Efforts will be made for better monitoring and
conclusion of this programme at the earliest.
Flaring of Natural Gas
14.180. Currently about 3 per cent of gas produced is
flared by the ONGC and Oil India Limited. The total
volume of gas flared is estimated to be around 3.5–
4.0 MMSCMD. There is a need to stop such flaring
through use of this gas by the local industry and/or
gathering it either through compression or by liquefaction mode and then re-injecting the gas into pipeline. A separate mechanism to reach a zero flaring of
gas and its commercialisation can be developed to
stop such wasteful flaring of gas.

Focus on Research and Development
14.181. The need to develop domestic capability in
the exploration, production, refining and processing
of oil and natural gas has led to the creation of R&D

180

Twelfth Five Year Plan

institutes by oil sector organisations. While in-house
institutions can make a significant contribution
to the activities of their parent PSUs, they are not
subjected to any peer review. They have also been
unable to attract private sector business and have
remained dependent on captive assignments. On the
other hand, the existence of in-house institutions has
restrained the PSUs from outsourcing their assignments to outside institutions/niche area experts. The
objective should be to ensure that R&D centres of
the oil sector PSUs develop into world class institutions, with induction of fresh capital and top scientific personnel.
14.182. Efforts will be intensified to obtain the latest
technology from global centres of excellence while
at the same time strengthening our own capability. Several alliances were signed with international
organisations and Governments during the Tenth
and the Eleventh Plan periods. Diplomatic efforts
were also made through JWGs and other forms of
MEA assistance to increase interaction between
Indian and foreign experts. These efforts will be
renewed, and fresh initiatives taken. Some of the key
areas for R&D development to strengthen domestic
capability are in exploration, geo-data processing
and interpretation, drilling technology, reservoir

studies, ocean technology, oil and gas production
technology, well logging technology, biotechnology and geotectonic, quality improvements of the
products, improving energy efficiencies of various
processes, and yield maximisation of distillation.
The experience of Brazil in having developed scientific and technical know-how as well as manpower
domestically, tailor-made to suit their geological
requirements is a good example to follow.
14.183. Various oil and gas sector organisations plan
to invest `6,326 crore during the Twelfth Plan period
as R&D of oil and gas sector activities as indicated in
Table 14.42. Some of the focus areas in oil and gas
sector are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Producing waxy crude
Smart horizontal well completions
4D Seismic mapping
Long heated insulated pipeline for crude
evacuation
Improving energy efficiency in refineries
Product yield maximisation
Exploration of unconventional energy resources,
viz. shale gas, CBM, UCG and so on
Oil shale and study of gas hydrates in eastern
and western offshore areas of India

TABLE 14.42
R&D Expenditure by Major Oil and Gas Companies
Company

2009–10 (Actual)

Eleventh Plan (Actual)

Twelfth Plan (Estimated)

Expenditure
` crore

per cent of R&D
expenditure/Revenues

Expenditure
` crore

Indian Oil

89.65

0.04

317.83

955

BPCL

0.02

155.38

429

HPCL

2.1

24.5

315

CPCL

0.3

7.4

RIL

0.02

1,640

219.95

0.34

1,289.32

2,156

OIL

22.49

0.27

108.63

257

GAIL

16.17

0.06

17.23

EIL

0.54

0.06

3,618.29

EOL
ONGC

Total

–

428.66

Source: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

2,000
25

104
6,326

Energy 181

Infrastructure and Capacity Building
• The unlicensed offshore areas and Deccan basins
are technologically challenging due to higher water
depths and sub-basalt sediments, respectively. It is
important to access latest technology from global
centres of excellence to address the specific needs
of these balance areas. The Government would
endeavour to encourage technology alliances with
our upstream companies, and also attract service
industries to set up base in India.
• Strengthen and empower technical and scientific manpower for better decision-making and
capacity-building in oil sector specifically the E&P
companies. Deployment of large qualified workforce will be necessary during the Twelfth Plan for
exploration and production sector.
• Both ONGC and OIL would step up efforts, to
raise oil and gas production from the near stagnant levels of the past one decade or so. These
companies ought to enhance production by reducing their R/P ratios. They would also be encouraged to quickly appraise their entire licensed areas
to enhance reserves. In the offshore nominated
areas, technology is likely to play an important
role. The Government would also encourage them
to induct cutting-edge technology in these acreages, often available only as in-house with global
players, on risk–reward basis.
• The Integrated Energy Policy had laid down that
there is a need for an independent upstream
regulator. The Government needs to distance
itself from routine contract administration, as
well as capex/pricing decisions. As long as the
Government itself is the upstream regulator, the
reasoning that the DGH provides it technical
advice does not lend it independence. Audit issues
and contractor–Government conflicts may get
much reduced if an independent regulator were
to be put in place. Further, in order to make marginal offshore oil and gas discoveries viable, offshore infrastructure needs to be shared between
operators. The DGH would issue regulations to
encourage operators to collaborate on mutually
beneficial terms.
• Development of strategic and commercial gas
storages by the E&P and marketing companies to
address price volatility, balancing of seasonal gas

•

•
•
•

•

•
•

•

requirement by various sectors at different locations in the country.
Development of strategic crude oil storage beyond
5 MMTPA capacity. The Government would be
open to private sector involvement in building
and operating strategic storage, on the condition of the crude being available for release, at its
discretion.
Strategy for refining capacity additions considering current market situation
Marketing and distribution infrastructure facilities for the petroleum products
Additional development of new LNG import and
regasification capacity both on the East and the
West coasts of India.
Gas Pipeline transportation infrastructure both
on the East and the West coasts and also in southern and northern parts of the country for supply
of gas throughout the country.
Facilitating development of city gas distribution
in about 300 identified cities in the country.
Improving efficiency of operations of various
oil and gas sector installations. Benchmarks for
refineries, pipelines process plants, buildings and
any other installations to be developed by all the
organisations and to be monitored periodically.
Develop capacity building for 5 MMTOE per year
of energy from renewables and unconventional
hydrocarbon resources. This is with an aim to
become carbon neutral for oil sector companies.
Developing LNG import capacity based on
Floating Storage and Regasification units (FSRU)
in coastal cities of the country which are not connected to gas pipelines to expedite the city gas
supply.
Deploy the CSR resources for creating health and
education infrastructure. Help communities in
creating opportunities for clean and sustainable
energy supplies for cooking and lighting for better quality of life in areas of operations from CSR
funds.

Reforms Required in the Oil and Gas Sector
14.184. Given the challenges in managing the oil and
gas sector, it is necessary to focus on the agenda of
critical reforms needed in this sector in the Twelfth
Plan period. They are listed below:

182

Twelfth Five Year Plan

• Eliminate the uncertainty that has arisen regarding gas pricing from NELP production sharing
contracts by implementing a new design of contracts. The recommendations of the Rangarajan
Committee may be an important input in finalising this policy. Appropriate steps should be taken
to resolve conflicts in existing contracts where
interpretation of the contract terms is open to
multiple options.
• Operationalise a road map to move petroleum
product prices received by marketing companies
to prices aligned with global prices. This may not
be possible immediately, but it can be achieved by
the end of the Twelfth Plan for diesel and petrol.
• Phasing out subsidies on domestic LPG and PDS
kerosene. Subsidised LPG is now capped at nine
cylinders per household with the rest being available at market price. Consideration should be
given to converting the subsidised supply to an
equivalent cash transfer targeted to those who
need it.
• Kerosene supplies can be progressively reduced
considering improved electricity access provided
under RGGVY and LPG connections provided in
rural areas.
• Rationalise tax structure in sales of petroleum
products considering thermal value for its use in
transport, industry, power, households and other
sectors. Unified State taxes and removal of tax
anomalies for efficient use of petroleum products.
• Incentivise exploration and production of domestic non-conventional fuels like shale gas, CBM,
coal mine methane, underground coal gasification
and so on.
• Promote development and production of biofuels by the oil sector E&P and marketing companies at commercial level. Appropriate policy
and integration issues facilitating bio-fuels development be provided by both the State and the
Central Governments.
• Expand exploration and production of domestic oil and gas sources for which quick decisionmaking for awarding and development of NELP
blocks is necessary.
• In order to attract efficient E&P companies globally to bid for our acreages, it is vital to provide
seismic and other technical data of the acreages

•

•
•

on offer. It is proposed that the entire unlicensed
sedimentary area be surveyed, so that 100 per cent
exploration coverage may be achieved during the
Plan period.
NELP was launched as a stopgap arrangement
until a National Data Repository was ready to
facilitate an all-year round acreage award policy.
The Government will introduce an Open Acreage
Licensing Policy so that the target of full exploration coverage by the end of Plan period may be
achieved.
Provide ‘Declared Goods Status’ for natural gas/
LNG so that it is available at uniform price in
most of the States.
Natural gas prices charged to producers must also
be determined by market forces. There is a need
for clarity on fiscal incentives on exploration of
natural gas under NELP. The concept of uniform
gas price across consuming sectors also needs to
be examined afresh as the desire to keep prices
low for certain sectors tends to distort pricing; it
is inconsistent with the principle that the price of
gas will be determined by market forces.
Develop a policy framework to exploit shale gas. It
is proposed that a new policy for exploration and
production of shale gas be launched, and acreage
be speedily awarded during the Plan period.
Coal mining leases acreages often have methane or
even oil/gas deposits. Similarly, oil and gas lease/
PSC acreages have the possibility of coal/methane
production. The Government should put in place
a policy for simultaneous exploitation of CBM,
coal, coal mine methane, oil and gas in a unified
manner wherever such resources are available.
Acquisition of equity oil and gas abroad including
conventional and shale gas assets.
Contracting LNG imports both on long- and
short-term basis considering market price
affordability.

3.5. NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY
14.185. The need to increase total domestic energy
production in order to reduce import dependence,
combined with the need to move away from fossil
fuels in the longer run in view of climate change considerations, points to the need for stronger efforts
to increase the supply of energy from renewables.

Energy 183

All over the world, investment in renewable power
sources has been increasing. India has been a late
entrant into the field of renewable energy, but it is
beginning to make rapid strides in this sector with
an annual growth rate of 33 per cent in 2010 against
the global growth rate of 26 per cent during the same
period. It must be emphasised however that these
increases are from a very low base since renewables
at present account for about 1 per cent of the total
commercial energy used. Nevertheless, it is important to make a start and to gain significant experience in this important sector keeping in mind its
potential over the longer term.
14.186. An important limitation on the extent to
which we can shift to renewables is the high unit
cost at present, compared with other conventional
sources. However, unit costs of renewable energy,
especially solar energy, are coming down and the
marginal cost of conventional energy based on fossil
fuels is likely to remain high and rise. These trends
suggest that over the next 7 years the unit cost of
energy from renewable sources such as wind and
solar may come close to the unsubsidised cost of
conventional energy. Since India has a large potential of both wind and solar energy, the exploitation of

this potential should form an important part of our
long-term energy strategy.
14.187. The potential for renewable power has been
revised upward over time. In the early 80s, India
was estimated to have renewable energy potential of
about 85 GW from commercially exploitable sources,
viz. (i) Wind: 50 GW (at 50 m mast height) (ii) Small
Hydro:15 GW (iii) Bio-energy: 20 GW and (iv) solar
radiation sufficient to generate 50 MW/sq. km using
solar photovoltaic and solar thermal energy. These
estimates have since been revised to reflect technological advancements. Initial estimates from Centre
for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET) suggest that
wind energy potential at 80 metres height (with 2 per
cent land availability) would be over 100 GW. Some
studies have estimated even higher potential ranges
up to 300 GW. The MNRE has initiated an exercise
for realistic reassessment of the wind power potential, whose results are expected by the end of 2013.
14.188. Some of the key issues facing renewable
power generations are:
1. Regional Concentration of Renewable
Energy Potential: Because renewable energy
80.0%

350
312 Gigawatts

72.4%

300

70.0%
60.0%

250

50.0%
200
40.0%
150
100

33.3%
27.3%
50

14.3%

50
0

22.5%

World Total
Wind power

China

Solar PV

Germany
Biomass

30.0%
20.0%

13.0%
26
Spain
Others

16
India

10.0%
0.0%

% Growth in 2010

* Excludes Hydro.
Source: REN21, Global Status Report, 2011.
FIGURE 14.2: Renewable Power Capacities, Top Five Countries, 2010

184

Twelfth Five Year Plan

is location-specific and not evenly distributed
there are problems on scaling up grid connected
renewable power. For instance, wind potential
is mainly confined to the wind resource rich
States of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and
Madhya Pradesh. The States of Gujarat and
Rajasthan have excellent solar radiation and the
other suitable states for solar power are Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and so on.
Similarly, small hydro power potential is mainly
available with the Himalayan States and northeastern States. The intermittent nature of Solar
and Wind Power in the absence of an adequate
balancing mechanism limits the flexibility of the
State grid to absorb this power.
2. Insufficiency and High Cost of Evacuation
Infrastructure: Utilisation of variable renewable
energy requires a robust transmission infrastructure from remotely located generating plants to
the load centres. Further, combining geographically dispersed renewable energy sources to
reduce variability requires much larger, smarter
and upgraded transmission network. A recent
study conducted by the Power Grid Corporation
Ltd. has identified the requirement for strengthening of both intra-state and interstate transmission system for facilitating transfer of renewable
energy from renewable-energy–rich potential
States to other States as well as for absorption
within the host States. The study has estimated
that for capacity addition plans for the Twelfth
Five Year Plan period, an investment of around
`30,000 crore would be required for creating
renewable power transmission infrastructure.
3. Regulatory Issues: Renewable power, especially
solar, is significantly costlier than conventional
power, thus making its adoption by the cashstarved utilities difficult unless it is incentivised through Renewable Purchase Obligation
(RPO) and introduction of Renewable Energy
Certificate (REC). This would enable States to
procure a fixed percentage of their power portfolio from renewable power.
4. Financial Barriers: Renewable energy technologies require large initial capital investments,

making the levelised cost of generation higher
than it is for many conventional sources. These
technologies need to be supported until technology breakthroughs and market volumes generated are able to bring the tariff down at the grid
parity level. Moreover, high technology and project risks perceived by financers for renewable
projects make access to low-cost and long-term
funding difficult. Thus, there is a need to generate
instruments for low-cost and long-term financing of such projects from both domestic as well as
overseas resources and also banks to adopt separate exposure limits for renewable energy sector.
5. Low Penetration of Renewables for Urban and
Industrial Applications: Solar applications for
heating water in urban, industrial and commercial applications is one of the most mature and
viable renewable energy technologies available
worldwide. Better market penetration of such
technologies can lead to better demand side
management for commercial as well as household usage. With already matured technology and rapidly growing industry, solar water
heater installations have witnessed a massive
growth throughout the world but the installations in India have remained low on account
of poor adoption due to high upfront cost and
poor quality standards of collectors. Moreover,
the binding regulation in building codes that
encourage adoption of such technologies are seldom implemented and only few States have such
regulations.

REVIEW OF ELEVENTH PLAN
14.189. Progress in grid interactive renewable power
generation capacity, especially of wind-based power
was broadly in line with the targets of the Eleventh
Plan. However, actual renewable energy generation has been substantially lower. Wind-based
power generation has suffered the most partly also
because of the lack of evacuation infrastructure in
the resource rich States and partly because of lack
of enforcing mechanisms and incentives for operational performance of the wind turbines. Incentives
such as Accelerated Depreciation have not yielded
the desired results and the recommendation now is
to enforce generation-based incentive. Achievement

Energy 185

TABLE 14.43
Eleventh Plan Power Capacity Addition through Grid Interactive Renewable Power
Source

Target (MW)

Actual (MW) as on 31st March ’2012

Wind

9,000

10,260.00

Small Hydro

1,400

1,419.17

500

626.00

Biomass Power
Waste to Energy
Bagasse Cogeneration
Solar Power
Total

46.20

1,200

1,369.70

939.74

12,230

14,660.81

Source: MNRE, GoI.

in capacity addition has been satisfactory for most
sectors except in waste to power. The details of targets and achievements during the Eleventh Plan for
grid interactive renewable power have been given in
Table 14.43.
14.190. Solar and wind sectors have been facing following key challenges:
1. Globally, development of storage technologies
has not been in line with the technology developments in wind and solar, due to which capacity utilisation of grid connected solar and wind
has been relatively poor.

2. Though most of the States have come up with
the RPO obligation, proper enforcement and
monitoring is an issue.
14.191. Although private investments in wind
power have increased, technological improvements
and economies of scale have not reduced the costs
in the industry. On the contrary, the cost per MW
of wind power has increased from `4.3 crore/MW
in FY 2003–04 to `5.7 crore/MW in FY 2010–11
(Figure 14.3). Rising land acquisition costs and turnkey project approach has resulted in the increase of
project cost. Small hydro power, in spite of using
mature and indigenous technology, has witnessed

14
12

` Crore per MW

12
10
8

7.6

5.0
4.8

3.8
2

6.7

5.4

4.9

4.3

5.7
4.8

5
4

3.2

0
2002–03

2003–04

Wind energy

2004–05

2005–06

2006–07

Biomass energy

2007–08

2008–09

Small hydro

Source: MNRE.
FIGURE 14.3: Cost of Renewable Energy Technologies Per MW

2009–10

2010–11
Solar

186

Twelfth Five Year Plan

the same trend partly because of the rise in land costs
and partly because of costs associated with delays
for obtaining clearances for the sites where project
development is difficult.
14.192. The cost of renewable power as against various sources of renewable energy is given in Table
14.44. The cost of wind power is already quite competitive. Solar power is much more expensive but costs
are coming down. At the time of selection of the first
batch in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
(JNNSM) the tariff for solar P.V. was `17.91 per Kwh
and for solar thermal it was `15.31 per unit. In Batch
II the tariff has come down to `8.77 per unit for solar
P.V. Thus, although renewable power sources are significantly costlier than conventional power, the costs
are clearly declining and over the next 5–10 years
renewable energy may well be fully in line with the
cost of new electricity capacity based on conventional
energy sources if no subsidy is involved.
TABLE 14.44
Cost of Power for Various Renewable Energy Sources
Source

Estimated
initial
capital cost
(` in crore/MW)

Estimated cost
of electricity
generation
(Financial)
(`/kWh)

Small Hydro Power

5.50–7.70

3.54–4.88

Wind Power

5.75

3.73–5.96

Biomass Power

4.0–4.45

5.12–5.83

Bagasse Cogeneration
Solar Power

4.20
10.00–13.00

4.61–5.73
10.39–12.46

Source: CERC (Terms and Conditions for Tariff Determination
from Renewable Energy Sources) Regulations, 2012 dated 27
March 2012.

Off-Grid Renewable Power
14.193. Off-grid renewable sector has the advantage
that it is potentially much more competitive with
conventional power because it avoids the investment
in transmission to remote locations. Off-grid renewable power has made progress during the Eleventh
Plan, but lack of scalable business models and nonavailability of institutional finances have stalled
the pace of its progress. Policy interventions are
required to incentivise creation of financeable business models like rice husk gasifiers based electricity

generation. The issue of unwillingness of public sector banks to finance small scale off grid renewable
based business models need to be addressed. The
detailed overview of targets and achievements for the
Eleventh Plan for off-grid renewable power has been
given in Table 14.45.
TABLE 14.45
Power Capacity Addition through Off Grid Renewable
Power
Source

Target
(MW)

Actual
(MW)

Waste to Power (Urban + Industrial)

58.00

85.15

255.00

336.59

67.00

63.23

1.75

1.14

Non-bag Cogen
Gasifiers
Acro-Gens/Hybrid Systems
SPV Systems
Total

20
401.75

46.64
532.75

Source: MNRE.

14.194. Progress of the scheme for electrification of
remote villages/hamlets through renewable generation has not been satisfactory. Only 57 per cent of the
targeted villages have been electrified so far. Initially
no target was fixed for the grid solar photovoltaic
system during the Eleventh Plan. Under National
Action Plan on Climate Change, Jawaharlal Nehru
National Solar Mission was launched which aims to
install 20GW solar power, 2 GW of off-grid Solar,
20 million sq. metre of solar thermal collector area
and 20 million rural households to have solar lighting by 2022. Under off grid solar application scheme
of Jawaharlal Nehru National solar Mission, a total
target of 100 MW of solar photovoltaic system and
power plants for sanctioning was fixed for 2010–11
and 2011–12. Against this the ministry sanctioned
projects aggregating to 118.07 MWp. During the
Eleventh Plan SPV systems of standalone power
projects aggregating to 46.64 MWp capacity were
installed against a target of 20 MWp.
14.195. Another thrust area for the Eleventh Plan
was ‘optimizing energy plantations by raising plants
on degraded forest and community land’. A detailed
analysis for availability of wasteland in India was
carried out based on the information available. IISc,

Energy 187

TABLE 14.46
Eleventh Plan Financial Allocations and Expenditure: MNRE
(` in crores)
Programme Component
Grid-connected and Distributed Renewable Power

Expenditure

1,779

1,839.82

Renewable Energy for Rural Applications

910

910.95

Renewable Energy for Urban, Industrial and Commercial Applications

216

147.28

Research, Design and Development in Renewable Energy

481

340.33

Supporting Programmes

682

559.98

4,068

3,798.36

Total

Bangalore has estimated the waste land available in
the country. Suitability of those areas for high yielding plantation and for Juliflora plantation has been
estimated but policy models along with implementation guidelines to promote energy plantations have
to be worked out.
14.196. The approved outlay for the Eleventh Plan
for New and Renewable Energy programmes was
`10,598.31 crore comprising of GBS of `4,068 crore
and `6,530.13 crore of IEBR. The likely expenditure at the end of Eleventh Plan is `3,798.36 crore
(Table 14.46).

TWELFTH PLAN STRATEGY
14.197. Renewable energy has to play an expanding
role in achieving energy security and access in the
years ahead. The areas on which attention should be
focussed during the Twelfth Plan are:
• Grid interactive and ff-Grid/Distributed Renewable Power
• Renewable Energy for Rural Application
• Renewable Energy for Urban, Industrial and
Commercial Applications
• Research, Design and Development for New and
Renewable Energy
• Strengthening of Institutional Mechanism for
enhanced deployment and creation of public
awareness.
14.198. The National Action Plan for Climate
Change (NAPCC) norms envisage that the share
of renewable electricity in the electricity mix which
was 7 per cent in 2011–12 should reach 12 per cent

by 2016–17. For this the corresponding renewable
power requirement would be 132 BU or 52,000 MW
considering the conservative average capacity utilisation factor of 30 per cent. The present installed
capacity of renewable power is around 25,000 MW
and, consequently, the renewable power capacity
addition required for the Twelfth plan would be
about 30,000 MW. The component wise break up
of physical targets for the Twelfth Plan is given in
Annexure 14.4.
14.199. For the Twelfth Five Year Plan, in addition
to reorienting various existing policy initiatives,
several new measures have been identified that are
deemed essential to accelerate the pace of deployment of renewable energy in the country.

Schemes Spilling from the Eleventh Plan
Grid Connected Renewable Power
14.200. A capacity addition of 30,000 MW of Grid
connected renewable power is proposed of which
15,000 MW is envisaged to come from wind power,
10,000 MW from solar capacity and 5,000 MW
from other types of renewable sources. Institutional
mechanisms to accelerate adoption of Renewable
Power by States in the form of RPOs are sought to
be enforced by bringing in an amendment into the
Electricity Act, 2003. Accelerated depreciation benefit for wind power projects will come to an end at
the end of the Eleventh five year plan. Tariff for Solar
power under JNNSM is expected to continue falling
due to enhanced indigenisation and local manufacturing. Further, to ensure volumes GBI support will
be continued in the Twelfth Five Year Plan. It is also

188

Twelfth Five Year Plan

proposed to restrict the upfront subsidy support for
Small Hydro plants to 10 MW size of hydro plants
from an existing size of 25 MW.
Off-Grid Distributed Renewable Power
14.201. An ambitious capacity addition target of
3,400 MW has been proposed, which is almost five
times the targets of the Eleventh Plan for off-grid
renewables. Cogeneration in non-bagasse industry
is supposed to contribute maximum (2,000 MW) of
the overall ambitious targets proposed by MNRE.
1,000 MW of off-grid solar capacity addition has
been proposed in line with the targets of phase-2 of
Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission. The financing for
incentives for such projects would be sourced from
a pool of funds originating out of National Clean
Energy Fund, CSR activities and tax-free donations.
Renewable Energy for Rural Applications for
Cooking
14.202. The biogas technology has now reached
a stage of becoming robust and mature enough
for meeting cooking energy needs with additional
advantages of meeting good organic fertiliser needs
for sustaining crop yield and productivity and soil
health. It is recommended to continue biogas and
solar cooker program. Additionally solar cooking
could be promoted under mid-day meal programme.
Renewable Energy for Rural Electricity Access
14.203. Some of the existing models for providing
off grid electrification have shown notable response.
Consequently, models like Solar home lighting systems through banking system, entrepreneur based
biomass gasifier models for providing electricity for
lighting, and mini micro hydro systems would continue to be supported.

14.204. Renewable energy has to be seen as a complementary option to the current conventional
power generation and it has special characteristics
in terms of variability in availability. Solar power is
available only during the day and the availability of
wind power varies depending upon the time of the
year and also intra-day depending on wind conditions. These characteristics imply some special
efforts at balancing with other sources to ensure a
reliable supply to the grid. Fortunately solar power

is at its peak precisely when demand is highest.
However, that may not be the case with wind power.
Effective utilisation of such power will require
focused efforts towards balancing wind power with
other power capacity which can be moderated to stabilise supply and also the development of efficient
storage technologies. For this reason, special emphasis needs to be given on pumped water storage hydro
plants. Central Government may consider providing
assistance to the states for creating spinning reserve
at the regional level by setting up of storage technologies. In the long term, other hybrid technology
options such as gas with solar/wind, which are at a
nascent stage, need to be developed. As the cost of
power through conventional generation rise in the
long term and technological developments in future
increase the commercial viability of hybrid options,
the cumulative financial benefits realised from using
these options to meet peak demand requirements
would outweigh the financial push provided to them
in the present scenario.
Off Grid Solution for Industrial, Commercial and
Buildings Applications
14.205. Existing scheme on solar water heaters will continue with a review of capital subsidy.
Additionally green building programme and solar
city initiative will be expanded to add new cities.

Major New Initiatives
14.206. The following are some of the new initiatives
in the area of renewable energy:
1. National Institute of Solar Energy: The existing
Solar Energy Centre would be converted into an
autonomous institution for undertaking applied
research, demonstration and development in
solar energy including solar hybrid areas.
2. National Bioenergy Corporation of India:
National Bio Energy Corporation of India
(NBECI) will be set up to implement bioenergy
mission including cook stove programme.
3. Renewable Energy Development Fund: In order
to address the financing constraints for the grid
connected as well as the off-grid applications of
renewables, it is proposed to create a Renewable
Energy Development fund. The fund will plug
the gap between the sector financing needs and

Energy 189

the amount that falls short of the banks’ obligations to their lending to this priority sector.
4. National Bioenergy Mission: Biomass energy
for electricity generation has turned out to be
one of the most attractive source of power which
is scalable, has the largest potential for improving
energy access and which can be linked to generating additional rural income. In view of the
success of such biomass-based off-grid renewable models in rural areas of Bihar, it is proposed
to launch the Biomass Mission with an objective to create a policy framework for attracting
investment and to facilitate rapid development
of commercial biomass energy market based on
utilisation of surplus agro-residues and development of energy plantations.
5. Renewable Power Evacuation Infrastructure:
Special emphasis will be placed on creating
evacuation infrastructure and transmission
facilities for renewable power in a time-bound
manner to support the large expansion in consumption and production of renewable power.
Judicious planning of transmission system,
that is, creating pooling substation for cluster
of renewable power generators and connecting them with receiving station of STU/CTU at
appropriate voltage level, will lead to optimal
utilisation of transmission system.
6. National Biomass Cook Stove Programme: The
proposed initiative plans to universalise access
of improved biomass cook stoves by providing
assistance in exploring a range of technology
deployments, biomass processing and delivery
models leveraging public-private partnerships.

Policy Approach
14.207. The logic of subsidising new initiatives is that
once they gain criticality of mass in terms of manufacturing capacity they should be able to survive
without receiving any subsidy or fiscal incentives
from the government. In keeping with this approach
the objective should be to move away to the extent
possible from capital subsidies and fiscal incentives
to performance based incentives. Attaining the proposed higher deployment levels for wind energy,
GBI support will require to be continued during the
Twelfth Plan period.

14.208. To ensure lowest cost procurement of renewable energy, particularly wind and solar power
should be through an open competitive bidding
process. This has proved successful and in line
with the ultimate objective of reaching grid parity
earlier. This is particularly true of solar, which is at
present costly, however it is expected to achieve
grid parity in the Thirteenth Plan period in conjunction with the objectives of JNNSM. The competitive bidding process adopted for selection of
projects has already resulted in significant reductions in base tariffs notified by CERC. The tariff
for solar energy is expected to continue falling due
to technological development and focus on indigenisation and local manufacturing for future projects, thus paving way to grid parity in due course
of time.
14.209. There is a need to create a special sectoral
exposure limit for the renewable energy sector by the
banks. Additionally, creation of special instruments
like tax-free RE bonds on the line of infrastructure
bonds would facilitate low cost and long term lending to the renewable sector. Priority-sector status
may also be granted to the renewable sector in view
of the social and environmental benefits of the projects. This will act as a major policy push for the offgrid applications, which face maximum barriers in
receiving low cost finances.
14.210. India’s strategic focus would need to be augmenting of decentralised renewable energy capacity in the rural areas where it is having large social
impact. Off-grid renewable energy applications
have significant potential of reducing furnace oil/
diesel/kerosene consumption in the country and
can significantly contribute to oil import substitution. A cluster based approach for village electrification needs to be adopted. Under this approach,
tariff-based bidding mechanism for such clusters
inviting participation from business models would
bring down the tariff by a significant amount.
The difference that the consumers in the clusters
are willing to pay and tariff discovered through
the bidding mechanism can be financed through
annual viability gap funding. The choice of technology can be left to the entrepreneurs, which would

190

Twelfth Five Year Plan

encourage entrepreneurs to constantly innovate
their products and services to bring down the cost
of producing electricity. Such projects would also
be encouraged in the areas with grid availability but
with lack of reliable supply so that power can be
fed into the grid when the grid is energised and can
be supplied to households when the grid is down.
However, proper regulatory framework needs to be
developed which can be adopted at state level, and
has clear cut guidelines on monitoring, evaluation,
multi-year operation and maintenance and ensures
grid compatibility for such projects. Moreover, a
sufficient financing mechanism for meeting out
the viability gap requirement and an institutional
mechanism to create an ecosystem for deployment
of such projects needs to be put into place.
14.211. India is the second largest wind turbine
manufacturer next to China. The installed manufacturing capacity in India ranges around 6,000 MW
per year, with large export potential. The manufacturing base for wind turbines and its components
has expanded to 16 manufacturers with 43 models of varying technologies and capacities. Till the
year 2000, most of the machines were of 500 kW
or lower capacity. Today, there are about 14 models from 5 different manufacturers of capacity 2
MW and above, the largest capacity being 2.5 MW.
Larger machines have resulted in a steady increase

in the Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF) from 10
per cent–12 per cent in 1998 to 22 per cent–25
per cent in 2012. Technology is moving towards
better aerodynamic design, use of lighter blades,
direct drives, permanent magnet technology, and
variable speed gearless operation using advanced
power electronics. The health monitoring of wind
turbines is now computer-controlled and on realtime basis.
14.212. Improvements in wind turbine technology
and its installations at higher hub heights are working towards induction of higher capacity turbines. At
the higher hub heights, wind potential is estimated
to be substantially higher compared to the normal
wind turbines at 40–60 metres hub heights. It is estimated that average capacity factor in USA has grown
by about 25–30 per cent over the last decade. Even
in India, the low capacity, older machines at highly
favourable locations, need to be replaced by newer,
and high capacity ones. Higher hub heights will
enhance wind energy outputs, and will also be cost
efficient.

PLAN OUTLAY
14.213. The indicative Twelfth Five Year Plan outlay
for the various Ministries/Department in the energy
sector is given in the Table 14.47 below:

TABLE 14.47
Indicative Twelfth Five Year Plan Outlay for the various Ministries/Departments in the Energy Sector
Sl. No.

Name of the Ministry/Department

Twelfth Plan (2012–17) Projections
GBS

Ministry of Power

2.
3.
4.
5.

IEBR

Total Outlay

54,279

3,86,517

4,40,796

Ministry of Coal

4,617

1,08,244

1,12,861

Ministry of Petroleum and NG

5,147

4,36,541

4,41,688

Ministry of Renewable Sources of Energy

19,113

13,890

33,003

Sub-Total 1-4

83,156

9,45,192

10,28,348

Department of Atomic Energy
(Power, Industry and Minerals Sectors)

21,737

R&D

19,878

Sub-Total DAE

41,615

65,572

1,07,187

1,24,771

10,10,764

11,35,535

TOTAL (Energy)

Energy 191

ANNEXURE 14.1
Eleventh Plan Physical Progress of RGGVY Projects under Implementation
Sl.
No

State/UT Name
(Number of Districts)

Electrification of
Un/De-Electrified Villages
(Achievement)

Andhra Pradesh (22)

Arunachal Pradesh (16)

1,313

825

21,646

Assam (23)

7,829

11,672

8,07,290

Bihar (38)

22,029

4,267

21,49,834

Chhattisgarh (14)

857

10,512

9,15,407

Gujarat (25)

14,457

8,02,818

Haryana (18)

2,744

1,94,442

Himachal Pradesh (12)

1,059

10,078

Jammu & Kashmir (14)

148

2,380

44,014

Jharkhand (22)

1,7905

5,505

12,72,755

Karnataka (25)

24,575

8,34,196

Kerala (7)

17,238

Madhya Pradesh (32)

Maharashtra (34)

Manipur (9)

Meghalaya (7)

Mizoram (8)

Nagaland (11)

19
20
21

Rajasthan (33)

Sikkim (4)

Tamil Naidu (26)

Tripura (4)

127

463

80,986

Uttar Pradesh (65)

27,759

2,982

10,44,494

Uttarakhand (13)

1,511

9,028

2,30,558

West Bengal (17)

4,169

18,357

19,26,383

1,04,496

2,48,553

1,94,25,283

Intensive Electrification
of Electrified Villages
(Achievement)

No. of Connections to
BPL Households
(Achievement)

25,562

27,02,273

504

17,942

7,17,394

32,528

11,60,732

616

401

28,814

1,172

1,537

62,768

338

14,743

725

28,514

Orissa (30)

14,226

21,207

27,48,137

Punjab (17)

53,925

3,999

29,083

10,43,522

375

9,366

9,992

5,02,956

Total (546)

Fertilisers

LTC/Soft Coke*

Cokeries/Coke oven (NLW)*

BRK and Others

Captive Power

Colly.Consumpt.

0.99

28.13

51.49

2.96

17.47

19.74

Note: (i) *Included in BRK and Others.

Middlings

3.25

463.87

Steel DRI

Grand Total(I + II): including middlings

Cement

307.92

428.70

(i) Power Utilities (Gen. Req.)

Sub Total Non-Coking:

Non Coking

35.17

Sub-Total Coking:

17.88

3.18

504.29

465.27

0.93

29.31

57.50

2.94

20.92

21.27

332.40

39.02

22.03

16.99

Actual

Actual
17.37

2007–08

2006–07

Import

Steel/Coke Oven (indigenous)

Coking Coal

Sector

Sl. No.

ANNEXURE 14.2

2.61

549.03

511.37

0.85

32.94

72.54

3.09

19.78

20.09

362.08

37.66

21.08

16.58

Actual.

2008–09

2.21

582.25

542.86

0.76

38.47

77.18

2.63

22.89

20.80

380.13

39.39

23.47

15.92

Actual

2009–10

624.78

584.78

40.00

85.00

28.80

25.98

405.00

40.00

23.20

16.80

Actuals

2010–11

Sectoral Coal Demand/Off-take for Annual Plan 2012–13

696.03

649.36

40.00

90.00

30.47

28.89

460.00

46.67

29.44

17.23

640.00

593.33

0.73

40.00

81.97

30.47

28.89

412.00

46.67

30.62

16.05

Provi.

2011–12

772.84

720.54

43.00

100.00

35.30

30.24

512.00

52.30

30.00

22.00

2012–13

980.50

913.30

56.36

77.22

50.33

47.31

682.08

67.20

35.50

31.70

2016–17

(In Million Tonnes)

37.71
1.77
7.04
17.61
5.79
430.84

Other Public Sector

Private–TIOSCO

Captive

Meghalaya

Grand Total

80.00

MCL

SCCL

88.50

SECL
1.05

43.21

WCL

360.92

52.16

NCL

CIL

41.32

CCL

NEC

24.21

BCCL

457.00

6.54

21.17

7.21

2.02

40.60

379.46

1.10

88.01

93.79

43.51

59.62

44.15

25.22

24.06

Actual

Actual
30.47

2007–08

2006–07

ECL

Company

ANNEXURE 14.3

492.76

5.49

29.87

7.28

1.84

44.54

403.74

1.01

96.34

101.15

44.70

63.65

43.24

25.51

28.14

Actual

2008–09

533.00

5.77

35.03

7.21

3.30

50.43

431.26

1.11

104.08

108.01

45.74

67.67

47.08

27.51

30.06

Actual

2009–10

533.06

6.97

34.60

7.03

1.81

51.33

431.32

1.06

100.28

112.71

43.65

66.25

47.52

29.04

30.81

Actual

2010–11

554.00

5.80

38.25

8.40

3.55

51.00

447.00

1.00

106.00

112.00

45.50

68.50

51.00

30.00

33.00

Target

2011–12

Annual Plan 2012–13—Company-wise Production—Ministry of Coal

540.00

36.15

17.75

51.00

436.00

0.75

103.00

113.75

43.80

64.50

49.00

30.20

31.00

Provi.

575.00

39.80

18.00

53.10

464.10

1.10

112.00

117.00

45.00

70.00

55.00

31.00

33.00

Target

2012–13

795.00

100.00

23.00

57.00

615.00

2.00

167.00

145.00

45.00

82.00

92.00

37.00

45.00

Target

2016–17

194

Twelfth Five Year Plan

ANNEXURE 14.4
Physical Targets of Renewable Programme for the Twelfth Plan
Programme
1.

Grid-interactive Renewable Power(MW)
Grid Interactive Solar
Grid Connected Wind
Other Renewable Sources

Off-grid/Distributed Renewable Power (MWe)
Cogeneration from bagasse
Solar Off-Grid Applications
Waste to Energy
Bio Gas Based Decentralised Power
Others (Biomass Gasifiers, Micro-hydel)

Renewables for Rural applications (Cooking)
Biogas Plants (million)
National Biomass Cook stoves Programme (million)
Solar Cookers (Box type + Dish type)
Solar Cooking in schools for mid-day scheme (Schools in lakhs)

Renewable Energy for Urban, Industrial and Commercial Applications
Solar Water Heating Systems (million sq.m of collector area)
Solar Air Heating System (sq m.)
CST based systems for community cooking (sq.m.)
CST based system for air-conditioning
(125 systems, 30TR)
CST based systems for process heat
(225 systems, 250 sq.m. area each)
Solar Cities
New Solar Cities in addition to existing target of 60 cities and pending liabilities.
Model and Pilot Solar Cities.
Green Townships.
Tourist/Religious/ Important Places

Alternate Fuel Vehicles (in numbers)

Power Generation from Hydrogen
Stationery Power Generation (KW)
Hydrogen/H-CNG Stations (nos)
Demonstration projects for Hydrogen/H-CNG vehicles

Power Generation from Fuel Cell
Stationery Power Generation (KW)
Back- up units for telecom towers (MW/nos)
Fuel cell Vehicles

Source: MNRE.

Proposed Twelfth Plan Targets
30,000
10,000
15,000
5,000
3,400
2,000
1,000
200
50
150
0.7
3.5
3.5
5.0
6
50,000
40,000
37,000
53,750
15
25
150
100
2,75,000
4,000
10
500
10.0
10/2,000
100

15
Transport
INTRODUCTION
Issues and Challenges
15.1. India’s transport sector is grossly overstretched.
The pace of economic development after the economic reforms has imposed a heavy burden on this
sector. To meet the requirements of the economy
during the Twelfth Plan it will have to address several challenges.
15.2. First, capacity needs are expected to double
every decade in the medium term. It will consequently require large step-up in investments for
capacity creation. The congestion and shortage of
capacity is exhibited in all transport sectors. The
National Highway network and the rail links along
the North-South East-West corridors have very high
traffic. In spite of expansion of ports capacity to
more than a billion metric tonne by the end of the
Eleventh Plan, a number of major ports have very
high dwell time and are running at more than 90
per cent capacity. Of India’s National Highways, less
than one-third are two- or four-lane and a very large
length of these are not able to support the 10.2 tonne
permissible load per axle trucks are allowed to carry.
While airport capacities have expanded significantly
and kept pace with passenger demand, there is a need
to expand the freight capacities to meet the growing
requirements of the economy. Transportation of key
commodities such as coal, iron ore, iron and steel
and POL put heavy demands on transport system.
Over the next 20 years, the demand for transport
(both domestic and import) of these commodities

could well increase by a factor of four to six which
would require investment in rail capacity and other
modes. Apart from transport, there is severe lack of
capacity in the allied activity of warehousing.
15.3. Second, the transport efficiency is low. The cost
of rail and coastal shipping in the country is higher
than many economies. Even the road costs and transit time across different modes are large. Partly, it is
because the average speeds of movement of all the
modes: Rail, Road, Coastal Ships is lower than those
in more efficient economies. The average speed
of freight trains is 25 km per hour which is nearly
half that of the U.S. The other nature of inefficiencies relate to poor handling equipments at the ports,
inadequate rail infrastructure, absence of modern
technologies in several areas and high handling costs
resulting from a variety of factors including thefts.
15.4. Third, there is an important distortion in the
overall transport movement of goods. A study conducted by RITES indicates that there is a discernible
gap between the way in which the traffic is actually
moving today and the way in which it should move.
A comparative assessment of the impact arising out
of the two different scenarios of modal mix, that is,
Actual and Optimal (applying break-even distances
based on resource cost) on the transport system during the base year (2007–08) in terms of flows, cost
and throughput reveals that there is a significant
scope for modal switch from Road to Rail in the case
of miscellaneous/other commodities up to the extent
of 78 per cent.

196

Twelfth Five Year Plan

15.5. The country transports nearly 57 per cent of
the total goods by road, as compared to 22 per cent
in China and 37 per cent in the U.S. In contrast, the
share of rail is only 36 per cent compared to 48 per
cent for the U.S. and 47 per cent for China. Despite
the fact that a large part of India’s freight traffic comprises bulk materials and moves over long distances
that can be served efficiently by rail and waterways,
the share of shipping through waterways is nearly 6
per cent as compared to 14 per cent in U.S and 30
per cent in China. This is imposing high cost on the
economy by way of much higher dependence on fossil fuels and high level of green house gas emissions.
On the basis of mode-wise share of originating loadings in 2007–08, the indicative CO2 emissions from
the major modes are given in Table 15.1.
TABLE 15.1
CO2 Emissions from Various Transport Modes
Freight Transport
(gm/tkm)

Passenger Transport
(gm/pkm)

Road

160

Rail

Passenger Cars

Shipping

Airways

175
75
229

15.6. On environmental considerations, hence, there
is a need to encourage rail and shipping. Added to
this is the lower cost of accidents associated with rail
transport compared with road.
15.7. Fourth, there is a need to provide transport
access to large unserved areas of the country. A number of States in the North-East have very little rail
network. A number of airstrips in the NE region are
not in use. While there have been efforts to expand
the airlines network and the number of flights to the
North East Region, its intra-regional connectivity is
still low. A programme for development of roads in
the northeast including Trans-Arunachal Highway
has been taken up to improve road connectivity. It
requires large financial and physical resources and
management expertise to complete the projected
network. Similarly, the expansion of rail network in
the North East and several other parts of the country
has been limited in the last six decades. Large areas of
Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan
have no access to rail network. In the Himalayan

States of Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir, the
network, particularly in the Hilly areas, is nonexistent. These areas require extensive road and rail network for their integration with the markets.
15.8. Fifth, safety is a major area of concern especially in the road transport. Over 1.3 lakh people are
known to die annually in road accidents alone and
their number is rising. This is about 10 per cent of
the world figure, though India’s share in number of
vehicles in the world is only 1 per cent. The World
Health Organization has forecasted road traffic injuries to rise and become the fifth leading cause of
death by 2030. Safety levels in railways are also in
need of urgent improvement.
15.9. Sixth, there is a near absence of an integrated
regulatory regime for overseeing tariff setting, cost of
operations, anti-competitive practices and accountability to consumers. There is a division of power
between the Central Government and the State
Governments. Some areas are reserved exclusively
for Central Governance, while there are a few sectors
that are subject to joint governance. An examination
of the existing laws, policies and regulations indicate
that they are a result of an ad hoc approach, which is
exacerbated by the overlapping power of the Central
and State Governments. The regulatory framework in
different sectors has been developed without proper
coordination among the sectors. Sometimes only a
set of laws and/or policies govern a particular sector
without a regulatory body to oversee the development
and operations. The absence of a sectoral authority in
the transport sector as a whole has led to fragmented
and ineffective centres of governance.

Strategy
15.10. The challenges in the transport sector need to
be addressed in a comprehensive manner with a set
of policies, laws and regulations. This requires transport reforms. Some of the major initiatives required
are mentioned below.
15.11. First, a more integrated approach is required
to be taken of transport as a whole. Our vision for
transport should be guided by a modal mix that will
lead to an efficient, sustainable, economical, safe,

Transport 197

reliable, environmentally friendly and regionally balanced transportation system. Choices will need to
be made on the priorities to be placed on different
investments. Decisions on road expressways, dedicated rail freight corridors (DFCs), high speed trains
and movement through inland waterways or coastal
shipping must be taken holistically so that the objective of speed and efficient energy usage is achieved.
Policy decisions should be based on life cycle energy
costs of different transport modes.

expansion will not take place in a business as usual
scenario. If consistent economic growth of 7–10 per
cent per annum is to be achieved over the next 20
years, there is a pressing need for unprecedented
capacity expansion of the Railways for both freight
and passenger traffic in a manner that has not taken
place since independence. It is of utmost importance
that a vision similar to that of NHDP is laid down
for the Railways now so that we may expect a transformed railway network by 2030.

15.12. While, pursuing the above objectives, two
important initiatives could be taken:

15.14. It is estimated that the infrastructure sector
will need investment of one trillion dollars in the
Twelfth Plan. Of this, major share will be in the transport sector. Given the limitation of public resource,
private investments will have to be emphasised and
expanded. A Public–Private Partnership (PPP)
regime has already been put into operation in road
sector very successfully. While in Ports, Airports,
Railways and Inland Waterways, there have been
efforts in private investments in varying degrees,
there is a need to step up an investment particularly
in the railways. There will be a special focus required
for increased investment in the railways from public resources, as well for safety, modernisation and
expansion. It is estimated that the share of private
investments, of the total infrastructure investments
in the economy was nearly 40 per cent by the end of
the Eleventh Plan, the rest being public investments.
This needs to be increased to 50 per cent to 60 per
cent during the Plan.

1. Transportation by containerisation would need
rapid expansion. While a number of initiatives
in this regard have been taken earlier, the share
of container transport is still low. Considering
the international experience, major efforts are
required to expand container traffic including
expansion of the network of dry prots (ICDs).
2. Intermodal connectivity to be given thrust during the Twelfth Plan, by developing India’s
Inland Waterways which totals about 14,500
kilometers in length along with coastal shipping.
Strategies, such as setting up coastal terminals at
major ports, providing adequate road and rail
connectivity to inland water and coastal terminals and non-major coastal ports, lowering the
manning scales and vehicle specifications for
coastal ships and other measures would be taken
during the Twelfth Plan.
15.13. Second, the sector requires large increase in
investments. Larger and focused investments will be
able to address the two key issues of rapid increase in
capacity and improvement in efficiency of infrastructure. The Interim Report of the National Transport
Development Policy Committee (NTDPC) has
strongly focused on need for capacity expansion of
the railways over the next 20 years. All projections
for the growth in demand for both freight and long
distance passenger services suggest that overall economic growth could be stymied if appropriate strategic choices are not made now to facilitate significant
capacity expansion of the railways, as has been
done in China over the past decade or so. Such an

15.15. Third, transport reforms are needed in pricing and fiscal areas. In several sectors, the transport
pricing policies are unsustainable. The Railways have
not revised their passenger tariffs for several years,
despite sharp increase in fuel prices and other operating costs. They are further making investments in
uneconomic lines, despite lack of resources. This thin
spreading of the financial resources has delayed completion of viable projects and thus, led to further deterioration of their finances. There is an urgent need to
undertake a review of projects and prioritise them as
well as to abandon or not to commence work on the
many unremunerative projects which have not made
substantial progress till now. Similarly, the taxation
policies on aviation fuel have led to uneconomic

198

Twelfth Five Year Plan

operations of the airlines. For coastal shipping lines,
similarly, benefits as available in other major economies to the coastal shipping lines need to be provided.
15.16. Fourth, transport safety has been a neglected
area in the past and credible institutional framework to address these issues at Centre, States and
city level is required. The entire transport system
must be designed to accommodate the individual
who has the worst protection and lowest tolerance
of violence. The Twelfth Plan period would be used
to setting appropriate institutional structures that
create a demand for scientific work in safety issues;
have proper legislation and regulation; monitoring
and measurement by setting up national databases of
relevant information to monitor and assess various
aspects of safety policies, technologies and knowledge
needs. The National Transport Policy Development
Committee (NTDPC) has recommended setting up
institutes for road, railway, water and air safety to
ensure the safety professionals are abreast of international knowledge and findings as well as provision
for funding and establishment of multidisciplinary
safety research centres at academic institutions. It
has also recommended establishing National Boards
for Road, Railway, Water/Marine and Air Safety.
There is a strong need to put into action the recommendations of the Sundar Committee on Roads and
the Kakodkar Committee on Railways.
15.17. Fifth, transport access is critical for inclusive
growth, economic development, access to markets
and participation in the political process. Development of rural roads, expansion of rail infrastructure
in large unserved areas will, therefore, need special
emphasis during the Twelfth Plan. Every minute a
woman dies in child birth, but many of these deaths
could be avoided with timely access to transport.
Gender responsive infrastructure interventions can
free up women’s time by lowering their transaction
costs. This, in turn, will increase girls’ school enrollment and facilitate women’s participation in income
generation and decision making activities.
15.18. Social inclusion requires that needs of the
differently abled are kept in mind while developing
the economy. It will be, therefore, important that

the transport sector makes special arrangements for
their needs, so that they are able to access it conveniently and thus fully participate in our social and economic process and contribute to it.
15.19. Sixth, human resource development would
be a key factor in achieving the objective of creating a well-developed and efficient transport system
in the country. The NTPDC report has pointed to
a severe lack of expertise in the country in almost
every sphere of transportation which makes it necessary for a quantum jump in capacity augmentation for all modes. The quantitative improvements
to infrastructure need to be made in the context of
more qualitative considerations of safety, emissions,
energy efficiency, climate change impact and social
equity. The Committee has recommended setting up
national institutes for research and statistics, multidisciplinary research institutions, State and city level
institutions and centres of excellence in existing academic institutions. These suggestions will need to be
implemented during the Plan.
15.20. Seventh, connectivity of the North-East, both
within the region and with the far eastern region,
including Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand,
would be one of the focus areas for economic development of the region and expanding economic activities including trade and commerce. Inland Water
Transport connectivity with Bangladesh will need to
be specially emphasised. Simultaneously, connectivity of the North East region through rail, road, air
with the neighboring countries and its rapid expansion within the region would also need special focus
during the Plan.

RAILWAYS
15.21. Indian Railways is the fourth largest railway
network in the world in terms of route kilometers. As
on 31 March 2011, it has a total route length of 64,460
km of which 21,034 km is electrified. The total track
length is 1,13,994 km of which 1,02,680 km is broad
gauge, 8,561 km is meter gauge and 2,753 km is narrow
gauge. Considering the requirements of the economy
and size of the country, the expansion of the railway
network has been inadequate. Indian Railways have
added 11,864 km of new lines since independence.

Transport 199

It has not been able to cover major areas in many
states and has very little presence in the North-East
States and the Himalayan region. However, during
the same period the length of broad gauge route kilometer has been doubled from 25,258 km to 55,188
km through new lines as well as gauge conversion of
21,658 km from meter and narrow gauges to broad
gauge. Gauge Conversion has been instrumental in
adding capacity in the system despite a relatively low
addition of new lines. The network needs extensive
modernisation, increase of speeds, improvement in
safety and modernisation of rolling stock to meet the
needs of a rapidly growing economy.

Review of the Eleventh Plan
Financial Performance
15.22. The Eleventh Plan period has seen steady deterioration in Railway’s financial position (Table 15.2)
which is in sharp contrast with the Tenth Plan
performance when the Railways had achieved a
remarkable turnaround in financial performance.
The Revenue (gross traffic receipts) have gone up by
7.7 per cent (CAGR) during the period 2007–08 to
2011–12 whereas the Total Working Expenses has
gone up by 12.6 per cent (CAGR) during the same

period leading to decline in the net revenue which
has shown a negative growth rate of –17.9 per cent
(CAGR) during the above period. After accounting
for dividend, the net excess has reduced from `13,431
crore in the first year of the Plan to only `1,201
crore in the terminal year of the Plan. In 2009–10,
the balance had reduced to a token figure of less
than a crore. One of the major reasons for increase
in the working expenses during the Eleventh Plan
period has been the increase in wage bills by nearly
`73,000 crore due to the implementation of the Sixth
Pay Commission. However, in the first year of the
Twelfth Plan (2012–13) Indian Railways have targeted a revenue surplus of `15,557 crore and operating ratio of 85 per cent.
Investments in Eleventh Plan
15.23. Lack of surplus has impacted the capacity
to generate resources for investment in the system
(Table 15.3).

15.24. During the Eleventh Plan period (2007–12),
the Ministry of Railways had an investment target of
`2,33,289 crores comprising of `63,635 crore as GBS,
`90,000 crore as internal generation and `79,654
crore as Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) through

TABLE 15.2
Overview of Financial Position of the Indian Railways
(in ` Crores at current prices)
Sl. Description
No.

Terminal
Year of Tenth
2006–07

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011-12
(RE)

79,862

86,964

94,536

1,03,917

Twelfth
2012–13
(BE)

Gross Traffic Receipts

62,731

71,720

Net Ordinary Working Expenses

37,432

41,033

54,349

65,810

68,139

75,650

84,400

Appropriation to Pension Fund

7,416

7,979

10,490

14,918

15,820

16,800

18,500

Appropriation to Depreciation
Reserve Fund

4,198

5,450

7,000

2,187

5,515

6,160

9,500

Total Working Expenses

49,047

54,462

71,839

82,195

89,474

98,610

1,12,400

Net Revenue

14,453

18,334

9,714

5,544

6,346

7,144

22,233

Total Dividend Payable

4,247

4,903

4,718

5,543

4,941

5,652

6,676

Excess/Shortfall

10,206

13,431

4,456.78

0.75

1,405

1,492

15,557

Operating Ratio (per cent)

78.7

75.9

90.50

95.30

94.60

Ratio of Net Revenue to capital
at charge and investment from
capital fund (per cent)

19.0

20.71

8.80

4.51

4.40

Source: Explanatory Memorandum to the Railway Budget for Various Years.

95
4.43

1,32,552

85
12.10

200

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 15.3
Investment in Railways during Eleventh Plan
(In ` Crore at current prices)
Approved
Outlay

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12
(RE)

Total for
Eleventh
Plan

Excess/
Shortfall

2012–13
(BE)

Gross Budgetary
Support

63,635*

8,668

10,110

17,716

19,485

21,060

77,039

13,404

24,000

27.3 %

29.9 %

27.8 %

44.7 %

47.9 %

45.3 %

40.1 %

21.1 %

41.8 %

Internal
Generation

90,000

14,948

18,941

12,196

11,528

9,091

66,704

(–)23,296

18,948

38.6 %

51.6 %

52.1 %

30.7 %

28.3 %

19.4 %

34.7 %

(–)25.9 %

31.5 %

Extra Budgetary
Resources

79,654

5,364

7,284

9,760

9,680

16,316

48,404

(–)31,250

16,050

34.1 %

18.5 %

20.0 %

24.6 %

23.8 %

35.1 %

25.2 %

(–)39.2 %

26.7 %

2,33,289

28,980

36,336

39,672

40,693

46,467

1,92,147

41,142

60,100

Eleventh Plan

Total

*Includes 13572 crore as additional budgetary support for national projects

market borrowings. The actual expenditure against
this originally approved outlay for the Eleventh Plan
period comes to `1,92,147 crore—comprising of
GBS of `77,039 crore, internal generation of `66,704
crore and EBR of `48,404 crore. Thus there was a
shortfall of `41,142 crore (17.6 per cent). The anticipated utilisation under GBS would be `77,039 crore
against the projected outlay of `63,635 crore which is
an increase of 21 per cent over the estimate whereas
internal generation and EBR components were lower
by 25.9 per cent and 39.2 per cent respectively. It is
evident that the internal generation and borrowings
have not kept pace with the investment requirement.
Physical Targets and Achievements
15.25. The Eleventh Plan targets and achievements
for freight and passenger business are summarised in
Tables 15.4 and 15.5. It will be seen from Table 15.4
that as against the original target of 1,100 MT for the
terminal year of the Eleventh Plan, the actual achievement is 970 million tonnes which is 11.8 per cent
lower than the original target and 5 per cent lower
than the revised target of 1,020 MT. In NTKM terms,
the achievement has been 639.77 billion which is 8.9
per cent lower than the original target of 702 billion
and 5.1 per cent lower than the revised target of 674
billion. In terms of growth rates of traffic, as against
the projected growth in originating freight traffic of
8.6 per cent, the actual growth was only 5.8 per cent
(CAGR) and in NTKM terms, it was 6.1 per cent as
against a target of 7.8 per cent. The performance in
NTKM is better because of marginal increase in lead.

Growth rate of freight traffic is lower than the growth
rate in GDP during this period. This was contributed
by a sharp drop in exports of iron ore, problems in
mining of iron ore leading to inadequate domestic
movement and poor growth in coal movement due
to slowdown in coal production, particularly in the
last two years of the Plan. The freight basket of railways needs diversification to include manufactured
goods through containerisation so that slow down in
the core sector of the economy (coal, steel and so on)
can be compensated.
Passenger Business
15.26. The originating passenger traffic achieved in
the terminal year of the Eleventh Plan is 8,139 million
which is 3.2 per cent lower than the original Eleventh
Plan target of 8,400 million but 0.75 per cent higher
than the revised target of the Eleventh Plan. In terms
of growth rates, against the targeted CAGR of 6.2 per
cent, originating passenger traffic grew at the rate
of 5.5 per cent (Table 15.5). In terms of Passenger
Kilometers (PKM), the volume achieved is 1,062 billion which is higher than the original target but lower
than the revised target. The CAGR of PKM was 8.8
per cent which was much higher than the original
target of 5.9 per cent. This indicated a very significant expansion due to higher leads of non-suburban
traffic. It increased from 215.5 km in year 2006–07
to 229.3 km in year 2008–09 and has maintained
the higher level. Railways are making large revenue
losses in passenger traffic both in suburban as well as
non-suburban segments (Table 15.6). Non-revision

Transport 201

TABLE 15.4
Performance of Freight Business during Eleventh Five Year Plan
Item

Tenth Plan
Actuals in
Terminal
Year
2006–07

Originating
Tonnage (Million
Tonnes)

Eleventh
Plan Targets
for Terminal
Year
2011–12

728.4

1 100

Growth ( %)

8.6

NTKM (Billion)

475

702

Growth (%)

7.8

Eleventh Plan
2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12
Revised Targets in
Mid-Term Review
for Terminal Year
2011–12
1 020

794.21

833.31

887.99

921.5

9.03

4.92

6.56

3.77

5.26

970

674

511.8

538.23

584.76

605.99

639.77

7.7

5.16

8.65

3.63

8.67

of tariff for several years has led to poor financial
health of this segment.
Infrastructure Capacity Creation—Targets and
Achievements
15.27. The Eleventh Plan attempted a paradigm shift
from the earlier incremental approaches to one of
significant infrastructure capacity addition to handle
the quantum increase in traffic levels and to sustain
mobility on the network by setting ambitious targets
as compared to the performance during the Tenth
Plan. The targets in respect of new lines and electrification have been exceeded (Table 15.7). However,
in respect of doubling of lines which is a major

CAGR

5.8
6.1

component for improving Railways’ capacity, there
has been a shortfall as compared to original targets
and in case of gauge conversion there has been a
shortfall as compared to the revised targets.
Throw-Forward of Infrastructure Projects
15.28. One of the major problems in the Railways
has been excessive sanctioning of new projects annually, much beyond the resources available which
only increases the throw-forward (number of projects under implementation) (Table 15.8). There is an
urgent need for a policy to limit the throw-forward
to a certain proportion of their annual expenditure
on these projects.

TABLE 15.5
Performance of Passenger Business during Eleventh Five Year Plan
Item

Originating
Passengers
(Million)
Passenger KM
(Billion)

Tenth Plan
Actuals in
Terminal
Year
2006–07

Eleventh
Plan Targets
for Terminal
Year
2011–12

Eleventh Plan
Revised Targets
in Mid-Term
Review for
Terminal Year
2011–12

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12

CAGR

8,400
(CAGR
= 6.2 %)

8,200

6,524

6,920

7,246

7,651

8,139

5.5 %

924 (CAGR
= 5.9 %)

1,100

770

838

903

979

1,062

8.8 %

6,219

695

TABLE 15.6
Losses in Passenger Services
Year

2004–05

2005–06

2006–07

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

Losses (`crore)

6,159.41

6,022.66

6,449.22

7,067.67

13,901.22

18,960.67

19,964.03

202

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 15.7
Capacity Creation during Eleventh Plan
Item

Tenth Plan
Achievement
(km)

Eleventh Plan
Original Target
(km)

Revised Target for Eleventh
Plan during Mid Term
Appraisal (km)

Eleventh Plan
Achievement
(km)

920

2,000

2,205

139.6

Gauge Conversion

4,289

10,000

6,000

5,290

23.4

Doubling

1,300

6,000

2,500

2,756

112

Railway Electrification

1,810

3,500

4,500

4,501

148.7

New Lines

Rolling Stock Procurement and Production
15.29. During the Plan, acquisition of wagons has
exceeded the target but fallen short in coaches while
in diesel locomotives and electric locomotives the
revised targets have been achieved. The performance, however, represents a large jump over the
Tenth Plan achievements (Table 15.9).

15.30. The emphasis in the Eleventh Plan period has
been on manufacturing high horse power electric
and diesel locomotives, EMUs/MEMUs and Metro
coaches based on GTO/IGBT technology.
Track Renewal
15.31. Arrears of track renewal have been brought
down from 6,200 km in the beginning of the Eleventh
Plan to 3,500 km at the end of the Eleventh Plan.
Around 18,000 km of track renewals have been carried out in the Eleventh Plan period.
Productivity
15.32. Table 15.10 gives an assessment of the performance of Railways and productivity improvements

Improvement over
Tenth Plan (%)

during the first four years of the Eleventh Plan.
The improvement in productivity during the Plan
indicates increased congestion on the Railway track
system.
15.33. The productivity of employees and of the
network is important for assessing the operational
efficiency. Table 15.11 gives an international comparison. It is clear that the network productivity
of Indian network is good in passengers traffic. In
terms of employees’ productivity in freight Indian
Railways is 1/3rd that of China and about 1/4th that
of Russia

Initiatives Taken During Eleventh Plan
Freight and Passenger Business
15.34. Railways have taken several initiatives during the Plan for expanding the share of freight traffic. These include introduction of freight marketing
of select commodities by third parties, introduction of liberalised wagon investment schemes to
attract private investment in special purpose and

TABLE 15.8
Throw Forward of Infrastructure Projects as on 1 April 2012
Infrastructure
New Lines
Gauge conversion
Doubling
Electrification
DFC Project
Total

Number of Works
in Progress

Length in km

Cost (` crore)

Throw Forward 1
April 2012 (` crore)

132

14,212

1,23,767

89,792

9,880

35,051

18,659

174

9,015

49,295

38,766

4,700

4,100

6,229

3,338

95,860

93,860

389

41,145

3,08,073

2,47,306

Transport 203

TABLE 15.9
Rolling Stock Performance during Eleventh Plan
Item

Tenth Plan
Achievement

Eleventh Plan
Original Target

Revised Target for
Eleventh Plan during Mid
Term Appraisal

Achievement
in the
Eleventh Plan

Improvement
over Tenth Plan
(%)

Wagons

36,222

62,000

63,481

Coaches (including
EMU/MEMU/DEMU

12,202

22,500

19,863

17,085

Diesel Loco

622

1,800

1,019

1,288

107

Electric Loco

524

1,800

1,205

1,218

132

Note: This includes acquisition, as well as, railways’ own production.

high capacity wagons, freight incentives policies
including dynamic pricing concept and so on. On
the passenger front, during the Eleventh Plan, 323
pairs of new trains have been introduced, services
of 111 trains have been extended and frequency of
63 trains increased. 2,813 coaches have been added
for expanding passenger carrying capacity. High
capacity, air-conditioned double-decker coaches,
low-priced, fast train services such as Garib Rath and
facilities in trains services for ladies, students and
marginalised groups have been introduced.

Traffic Facility Works, Strengthening of High
Density Network (HDN), Augmentation of Terminal
Capacity and Development of Logistics Parks
15.35. A substantial amount of traffic of Indian
Railways moves on the route connecting four metropolitan cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
These 7 main routes along with feeder routes totalling 17,383 Route km have been identified as high
density network (HDN). A total of 124 works costing
about `14,000 crore including doubling, third and
fourth lines, bye passes, flyovers, crossing stations,

TABLE 15.10
Productivity Performance
Productivity indicator

Tenth Plan
(2006–07)

Eleventh Plan
2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

3,539

8,687

9,022

9,247

Wagon Utilisation
NTKM/VU/Day (Broad Gauge (BG)
Wagon Km/Wagon/Day (BG)
Wagon turnaround in days) (BG)

3,238
230

248.9

253.7

256.2

262.1

5.49

5.23

5.19

4.98

4.97

9.67

10.19

10.43

11.07

11.34

13.47

14.63

15.53

16.35

17.36

Track Utilisation
NTKM/route Km (million)
Passenger Km/route Km (million)
NTKM/Engine Day Online (goods-BG)
Diesel

2,68,410

2,64,137

2,70,912

2,85,008

3,02,245

Electric

3,61,543

3,84,981

4,25,329

4,43,386

4,53,960

Human Resources Productivity
NTKM/employee (million)

0.34

0.37

0.39

0.44

0.47

PKM/employee (million)

0.49

0.55

0.60

0.66

0.73

204

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 15.11
Benchmarking Indian Railways with Chinese and Russian Railways
Railways

Employee Productivity
(Annual)

Network Productivity

Wagon Productivity
(Annual)

NTKM (million)/
Employee

PKM (million)/
Employee

NTKM (million)/
Network Length

PKM (million)/
NetworkLength

NTKM (million)/
Wagon holding

Russia

1.81

0.15

21.87

1.80

5.52

China

1.23

0.38

39.66

12.38

4.31

India

0.44

0.66

9.39

14.12

2.73

Source: UIC Statistics 2009–10.

intermediate block stations, automatic signalling
works, yard remodelling and so on were planned to
augment capacity on the HDN. A total of 128 works
for development and modernisation of freight terminals have been sanctioned since the year 2007–08
and are in progress at different locations.
Information Technology Initiatives
15.36. The Eleventh Plan emphasised the need to
‘use IT for improved customer services’. More than
5,071 locations have been provided with Unreserved
Ticketing System (UTS). The Passenger Reservation
System (PRS) is now available at more than 2,438
locations and is planned further to be expanded to
facilitate the passengers to buy tickets closer to their
homes and work places. Proliferation of e-ticketing
has helped in reducing queue lengths at reservation
offices. To facilitate dispersal of tickets, PRS counters
have been provided at 151 Post Offices. Complete roll
out of Rake Management System (RMS) module has
enabled online monitoring of freight train operations
and improved intra and inter-zonal coordination.
Terminal management system has been introduced
at 1,653 terminals. The e-payment facility is being
availed by 440 freight customers and accounts for
more than 40 per cent of freight earnings. Other IT
initiatives undertaken to improve operational efficiency are Crew Management System, Control Office
Application, e-Procurement and so on.
Energy Management, Energy Efficiency and
Measures to Improve Environmental Friendliness
15.37. Reduction in empty wagon movement by
adopting a new maintenance regime of premium

examination and rationalisation of coaching links
for increased maintenance intervention of 3,500 km
(from the earlier limit of 2,500 km) are some of the
important operational improvements. On fuel efficiency front, increased production of 3 phase electric
locos with 14 per cent to 15 per cent energy regeneration feature during braking, fuel efficient 3 phase
diesel locos with 10 per cent higher fuel efficiency
than conventional locos and adoption of 3 phase
EMUs regenerating about 25 per cent to 30 per cent
of energy during braking are some of the important
initiatives taken up during the Plan period. A 10.5
MW capacity wind farm has been commissioned
to provide captive power to Integral Coach Factory
at Chennai and more wind farms are planned in
other states 2.6 million incandescent lamps are
being replaced with CFLs in households to conserve
energy.
15.38. For availing electric power at lower tariff, Indian Railways has set up a 1,000 MW power
plant at Nabi Nagar through a JV with NTPC. It is
expected to be operational by the beginning of the
Twelfth Five Year Plan. This plant will supply 90 per
cent of generated power to 164 substations of Indian
Railways located in Eastern and Western regions and
will result in a saving of `400–600 crores per year to
the Railways due to lower tariffs. Another 1,000 MW
captive power plant is being set up at Adra through a
JV with NTPC.
15.39. To improve sanitation and to prevent discharge from toilets while the train is in Railway
Station premises, speed actuated discharge toilets

Transport 205

have been provided in all LHB type coaches and a
select number of ICF coaches. Field trials for biodegradable and environment friendly toilets (in collaboration with IIT/Kanpur and DRDO) are on. On
successful completion of these trials toilets would be
introduced in passenger coaches in a phased manner.

The Twelfth Plan

create matching terminal and handling capacity,
and facilitate integration of rail with other modes of
transportation. Enhancing project execution capabilities would be critical for speedy capacity creation
and improved returns on investments. Along with
new capacity addition, improving productivity of
existing network and assets would also be crucial to
increase transportation output.

Strategies
15.40. The Twelfth Plan aims at faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth. This will require continued work in several areas and a change in strategy
in others. The expanding requirements of the economy will need much faster expansion of the freight
network along with its ability to carry larger freight
per wagon, improve efficiency of the Rail system to
deliver it faster and expand the network. There will
also be need to improve the share of the Railways in
the overall national freight market. With increasing
incomes, passenger traffic will increase but plan for
expansion must factor in the fact that demand will be
for better quality services for which passengers will
be willing to pay.

15.43. It has to be clearly realised that the modernisation of Indian Railways cannot be achieved by simply relying on additional General Budgetary Support
(GBS). Even the norms and methodology of GBS
allotment should be clearly defined. There is a case
for larger GBS but the requirements are so large that
the Railways have to plan for much stronger revenue
growth. Clear Strategies would need to be formulated and executed to identify segments where it can
play low-cost strategy by playing on volumes, taking
advantage of economies of scale and segments where
it can play differentiation strategy by providing high
quality services and command premium prices.

15.41. The rail network will have to develop a strategy
to be part of an effective multi-modal transport system to ensure environmental-friendly and economically efficient transport movement. The Twelfth Plan
will strive towards achieving a gender equal Railway
Transport System designed to meet the needs of
both men and women. Priority will be accorded to
women’s safety and security. Simultaneously, the
network will have to be expanded to other areas
where so far there has been little presence, especially
in the Himalayan region and some of the tribal areas.
One of the most important components of this strategy will be stepping up private investments in the
Railways.

Freight Traffic Projections
15.44. Traffic projections for the Twelfth Plan are
given in Table 15.12. It is targeted that during the
Twelfth Plan, the rail share in freight should go up by
at least 2 per cent. The targets for originating freight
tonnage may need to be reviewed on an annual basis
or during the mid-term review to ensure the target
of 2 per cent increase in originating tonnage. Given
that the level of traffic growth achieved in the last
Plan has been 5.8 per cent for originating traffic
and 6.1 per cent for NTKM, it will require a major
increase in efforts and a conscious strategy to move
the road traffic over to the rail. This is going to be a
challenging task.

15.42. Investment needs to be prioritised in the
important areas, viz. Dedicated Freight Corridors,
high capacity rolling stock, last mile rail linkages
and port connectivity. Development of logistic parks
would also need to be taken up on priority basis to

Technological and Logistical Measures for
Improving Freight Movement Efficiency
15.45. An important component of the strategy
for increasing the freight movement efficiency
will be introduction of new technologies aimed at

Physical Targets for the Twelfth Plan

206

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 15.12
Traffic Projections
Loading

2012–13

2013–14

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

MT (million)

1,038

1,119

1,206

1,300

1,405

690

737

857

927

665

664

661

660

CAGR
NTKM (billion)

7.8 per cent

CAGR
Lead

795
7.7 per cent

improving axle load of wagons, expansion of long
haul, use of GPS and RFID technology for tracking
purposes and technological innovations to improve
efficiency of operations.
1. Proliferation of 25 tonnes axle load running:
Along with this, feasibility of 30 tonnes axle load
running and induction of 30 tonnes axle load
wagon needs to be planned.
2. Raising the current axle load regime from 22.82
tonnes to 23.5 tonnes on selected routes: It is
observed that 98 per cent of Indian Railways
loading comes within a gross weight of wagons
being equivalent to 94 tonnes which translates
to 23.5 tonnes of axle load. The new BOXNHL
wagons primarily designed for coal have sufficient volumetric capacities for loading additional 2 tonnes of coal.
3. Expansion of Long Haul
4. Use of GPS technology and RFID technology for
tracking purposes and use of Distributed Power
Systems.
4. There is also a need to create multimodal logistics parks to reduce the cost of interfacing and
costs of intermodal transfer and overall production. Logistics parks are network hubs, critical
for efficient multimodal transport as they allow
transshipment between modes and consolidation of freight. Earmarking land for logistics
parks at about 15 to 20 key interchange points
around major key urban and industrial centres,
ideally on the proposed rail Dedicated Freight
Corridor (DFC) routes; and providing infrastructure such as power, utilities, road/DFC
linkages and rail sidings.
5. Containerisation would be a major strategy to
gain share of the freight market (Box 15.1).

663

Passenger Traffic Projections
15.46. The CAGR of passenger traffic during the
Eleventh Plan has averaged around 5.5 per cent. The
number of passengers travelling annually will thus
increase from 8.9 billion in the first year of the Plan
to 11.7 billion by the end of the Plan (Table 15.13).
The projections for Passenger Kilometers have also
been made based on past trends (Table 15.14). The
growth in PKM is expected to be 10.8 per cent per
annum with an increase to 1,760.4 billion PKM
(2016–17) from 1,195 billion PKM (2012–13).
Measures to Upgrade Quality of Passenger
Services
15.47. To meet the requirements of passenger services a number of steps are planned in the Twelfth
Plan. Some of the important areas proposed to be
taken up are mentioned below:

1. Enhancing accommodation in trains: Augmenting the load of existing services with popular
timings and on popular routes to 24/26 coaches
would help generating additional capacity and
availability of additional berths/seats for the
traveling public.
2. Enhancing speed of trains: At present, speed
of Mail/Express trains is below 55 kmph.
Segregation of freight and passenger traffic,
enhancing the sectional speeds, and rationalisation of stoppages are important measures for
speed enhancement. The speed of passenger
trains is quite low at present primarily because
of the coaching stock in use and due to multiplicity of stoppages en-route. There is scope for
speeding up of these services by replacing trains
with conventional stock by fast moving EMUs/
MEMUs/DEMUs. Enhancing the sectional

Transport 207

Box 15.1
Containerisation In Railways
Due to the economic and technological attributes of the railways, it has always been a challenge to attract consignments
which are less than at least a thousand tonnes. Container trains combine the operational efficiency of unit trains with the
commercial flexibility of booking 20 tonnes or even less at a time.. According to the Total Transportation Study (TTS)
conducted by RITES for the Planning Commission, the volume of non-bulk traffic in 2006–07 was 227.17 million tonnes out
of the total traffic of 2,386.97 million tonnes.
Indian Railways set up Container Corporation of India (Concor) in 1988 as a public sector company to spear head
containerisation. It commenced operations in 1989 at which stage Indian Railways transferred all Inland Container Depots
(ICDs) and container related business to Concor. From the 7 ICDs it took over from Indian Railways at inception, Concor has
now expanded the network to more than 44 ICDs and 14 domestic and port side terminals and has 213 rakes of flat wagons.
Using IR’s network and haulage, it has pioneered the concept of multi-modalism through its core activities as a carrier of rail
borne container traffic and terminal operation.
Anticipating higher container traffic at Indian ports, Railways liberalised the entry of private players in the area of rail-based
haulage of containers in 2005. The response has been quite good with 15 new entrants. These 15 new operators have procured
132 rakes and developed 9 new terminals. Sizeable on-track competition has emerged in some of the exim sectors as well as
the domestic sector. Competition also led to an increase in the growth of rail based intermodal traffic at a rate of 15.5 per cent
in the period 2007–08 till 2011–2012 although there has been a negative growth rate in the domestic sector during 2011–12
due to introduction of container class rate for some of the commodities moved normally by conventional wagons. There is
a need to expand containerisation business and improve Railways share in transport sector. Policies in the Twelfth Plan will
aim at this.
TABLE 15.13
Passenger Traffic Projections for Twelfth Plan
Year

Projected Passengers Originating (Million)
Suburban

TABLE 15.14
Projection of Originating PKM for Twelfth Plan
Year

Projected PKMs Originating (Billion)
Suburban

Non-Suburban

Nos.

Ratio

Nos.

Ratio

Total

Nos.

Ratio

Nos.

Ratio

Total

2012–13

4,545

51.25

4,323

48.75

8,868

2012–13

159

13.32

1,036

86.68

1,195

2013–14

4,855

51.07

4,651

48.93

9,506

2013–14

170

12.97

1,146

87.07

1,316

2014–15

5,186

50.89

5,005

49.11

10,191

2014–15

182

12.54

1,268

87.46

1,450

194

12.15

1,404

87.85

1,598

207

11.76

1,553

88.24

1,760

2015–16

5,540

50.71

5,385

49.29

10,925

2015–16

2016–17

5,917

50.53

5,793

49.47

11,710

2016–17

Note: Originating passenger traffic projections have been made
based on average correlation with GDP calculated for the
preceding 5 years.

speeds is another enabling factor in speeding
them.
4. Introduction of tailored services: The traveling requirements of various sectors and various
classes of passengers differ. Between major cities
and metros, fast services with very limited stoppages are preferred. Introduction of non-stop
services and services with higher accommodation between popular destinations would better
serve passengers’ requirements.

15.48. Strategies for decongesting major passenger
terminals: This would be done through development of alternative terminals in suburban areas of
major cities and expeditious operationalisation of
the Dedicated Freight Corridors resulting in segregation of passenger and freight traffic. Spin off
effects in the form of larger number of passenger
services, faster passenger services, quicker freight
movement, and help in decongesting major terminals would be achieved. There are international
examples of efficient passenger and freight operations which have relevance for Indian Railways
(Box 15.2).

208

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Box 15.2
Business Models for Passenger and Rail Freight Logistics: The JR East and Deutsche Bahn Ways
JR East is the largest among the four Japanese railway companies and amongst the most successful operators of rail passenger
business in the world. It operates urban, high speed and regional railways. On a daily basis, JR East handles 17 million
passengers, runs 12,761 trains which cover 7,10,600 Km. per day. Its average delay is less than 1 minute including all kinds of
delays, even those due to snow and typhoons. JR East runs the famous Shinkansen high speed trains. Out of a total operating
Km. of 7,512.6, Shinkasen lines cover 1,134.7 Km. and conventional lines cover 6,377.9 Km. An important aspect of JR East
business is that it earns 30 per cent of its revenues from non-transportation business. This translates to nearly 8.13 billion
dollars from non-transportation business out of its total business of 27.7 billion dollars. Non-transportation business includes
station space utilisation (15.4 per cent), shopping centres and office buildings (8.3 per cent) and other services (8.4 per cent).
The non-transportation business, also called the life-style business is aimed at maximising the values of JR East’s tangible
and non-tangible assets such as railway network and stations. It has renovated a large number of stations in the past two
years including the iconic Tokyo station which is being modernised. It includes building two towers of more than 4,30,000
sq.m of office buildings and hotels, 1,500 sq.m of shopping floors and development of pedestrian decks and restoration and
conservation of the old Tokyo station.
An alternative model of earning revenues and running the business profitably is that of Deutsche Bahn (DB) of Germany.
It consists of 3 divisions and 9 business units including passenger transport which covers long distance, regional and urban
passenger transport; infrastructure which includes track, station and electrification and the third Division being Schenker,
world’s leading logistics service company covering areas of rail freight transport, global logistics services and rail technology
and services. In 2011–12, the total revenue of DB was 37.9 billion Euros with an EBIT of 2.3 billion Euros. Like JR East,
substantial part that is 48 per cent of the revenues of DB comes from non-rail business. DB is increasingly becoming active
in markets outside Germany with 41 per cent of the revenues coming from international operations. It runs 26,000 passenger
trains per day which carry 2.7 billion passengers per year in trains and buses. It is also the fifth largest provider of energy in
Germany. As part of its freight and logistics business, DB is spread to more than 2,000 locations in over 130 countries with
412 million tonnes of freight transported by rail per year, 96 million shipments sent per year via European land transport
and more than 5 million sq.m. of storage space around the world (figures as in December 2011). It is interesting to note that
Germany has 33,600 Km. long rail network which is three times as long as the German Autobahn (Highway) network.

Parcel Business
15.49. One of the important areas to be taken up for
rationalisation and expansion will be the parcel business. The annual earnings from parcel services were
`1,377.38 crore (2010–11). These are projected to
grow at a rate of 12.8 per cent during the Plan. The
strategy to expand this will include innovative pricing. Escalation in freight rate for parcel traffic should
be based on the Wholesale Price Index and increase
in the cost of fuel. Concessional pricing based on
marginal costing principle can be tried out for parcel
express trains in empty flow direction. Differential
pricing is needed for different types of parcel services, especially for use of passenger trains using parcel vans. This will help Railways to shift parcel traffic
from passenger trains to exclusive Parcel Express
trains.

15.50. The Parcel business will be expanded apart
from the other initiatives, with the help of capacity augmentation. This will involve the following:

Increase in rake loading; Introduction of High
Capacity Parcel Vans; Development of dedicated
parcel terminals; Mechanisation of handling;
Provision of end logistics with value added services; Introduction of premium super fast parcel
express services between major production and
consumption centres with guaranteed transit and
assured supply on the nominated day of loading; and
Computerisation of Parcel Management System
Expansion of Fixed Assets
15.51. The targets for creation of fixed assets during
the Twelfth Plan have been shown in Table 15.15.
Upgradation of balance 1,575 RKM of Iron Ore
route for 25 tonnes of axle load (5,425 km done in
the Eleventh Plan) and upgradation of Feeder Routes
of DFC to run 25 tonnes of axle load will be the areas
of focus.

15.52. It is planned to undertake 19,000 km of track
renewals including 1,500 km renewal for replacement

Transport 209

TABLE 15.15
Creation of Fixed Assets during the Twelfth Plan
Eleventh Plan
Actuals
(Km)

Twelfth Plan
Physical Target
(Km)

2,205

4,000

Work in
Progress

3,338
(Double line
except 400 km)

Gauge Conversion

5,290

5,500

Doubling

2,756

7,653

Railway Electrification

4,501

6,500

New Line
Eastern and Western
Dedicated Freight
Corridor

of 52 kg rails with 60 kg rails on Group A routes.
During the Plan, 17,500 km of renewal will become
due apart from 3,500 km which is due at the beginning of the Plan.
Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs)
15.53. Two Dedicated Freight Corridors (Box 15.3)
are expected to be commissioned by March 2017.

Rolling Stock Requirement
15.54. With the expansion of the freight network
and passengers demand, the requirement of rolling
stock will increase substantially (Table 15.16).

15.55. A range of technological solutions are being
implemented for improving the quality of wagons,
coaches and locomotives. Some of the measures
planned in this regard include transfer of technology from USA for track-friendly bogies of advanced
technology capable of carrying enhanced axle loads
of 25 tonnes and higher axle loads while exerting
lesser forces on the track. Keeping the huge demand
for passenger travel in mind, it has been planned
to have a complete switchover to new manufacture
of only LHB design coaches by the end of Twelfth
Plan. This will help in introduction of AC/non-AC
trains at speeds more than 130 kmph by induction of
LHB design coaches and raise the crash worth quotient of coaching stock on Indian Railways through
larger deployment of LHB coaches and incremental

Box 15.3
Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) – A Game Change for the Indian Rail Sector
The Dedicated Freight Corridors on the Western and the Eastern routes is a strategic capacity augmentation initiative taken
by Railways and involves construction of 3,338 kms of dedicated freight lines to carry predominantly coal and steel on the
Eastern corridor and containers on the estern corridor. The ports in the Western region covering Maharashtra and Gujarat
would be efficiently linked to the Northern hinterland and similarly on the Eastern side, coal would move to the power
plants in the North. The Project completion cost is estimated at `95,860 crore. A major part of the project is being financed
through multilateral/bilateral debt. World Bank funding of part of Eastern DFC is estimated at US $2.73 billion (`13,625
crore) and JICA funding of 504 billion Yen (`31,486 crore). Dankuni–Sonnagar section of Eastern DFC (`10,022 crore) is to
be implemented through PPP. The balance requirement would need to be met through Budgetary Support. Both Eastern and
Western DFCs are targeted for completion in the terminal year of the Twelfth Plan.
Dedicated Freight Corridor can be justifiably called an innovation in rail transport in India because of a number of reasons.
The average speed of freight trains will go up from 25 kmph to 70 kmph which will reduce the transit time by less than half
from the present leves.
Railway technology would get a major up-gradation with the help of heavy hauled freight trains of 15,000 tonnes capacity
and 1,500 meters length. The axle loads of DFC routes will also go up from 25 tonnes to 32.5 tonnes which would enhance
the track loading capacity from 8.67 tonnes per meter to 12 tonnes per meter. Wagons with much better pay load to tare ratio
would also get introduced through this technology. Newer technology in signaling, train communication, track-maintenance
and operations would get introduced in the Indian Railways system. The capacity released by freight trains can be used for
running more passenger trains at higher speeds after upgrading the existing mixed corridors of Indian Railways.
In addition, this initiative is expected to offer significant reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions in transport sector
of India.
Pre-feasibility studies have also been completed on the four new Freight Corridors, viz. North-South, East-West, East-South
and Southern corridors and Preliminary Engineering cum Traffic Survey is being undertaken by RITES. Based on the outcome
of the PETS a beginning would be made in the Twelfth Plan in implementation of the new corridors in a phased manner.

210

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 15.16
Rolling Stock Requirement during the Twelfth Plan
Type of Stock

Coaches
Diesel Locos
Electric Locos
Wagons (in Vehicle Units)

Requirement* on
Additional Account
(2012–13 to 2016–17)

Requirement** on
Replacement Account
(2012–13 to 2016–17)

Total Requirement
(2012–13 to
2016–17)

Anticipated
Acquisition
2012–2017

25,440

7,626

33,066

24,000

1,500

500

2,000

1,800

210

2,010

2010

76,396

29,263

1,05,659

* Requirement of coaches includes EMUs, MEMUs and DEMUs.
** Requirements on replacement account for all rolling stocks are based on actual over age arising and the trend of average condemnation.

enhancement in ICF coaches. In case of locomotives
higher horsepower capacities and more fuel efficient
technologies are being inducted (see Box 15.4).
15.56. With new sections in BG coming on the
Indian Railways network either due to gauge conversion or due to new lines, need for branch line operations of passenger trains is increasing. This is best
addressed by DEMUs since they are low cost, do not
require massive infrastructural investments and they
release locos for freight and passenger operations on
main line. With a new factory coming up at Haldia
which is slated to manufacture up to 400 DEMU
coaches per annum, there would be possibility of
large scale deployment of DEMU services in the
North East, North Bihar, Eastern and North Eastern
UP, Gujarat, J&K and many other far-flung areas
of the country. Similarly for the electrified sections,

EMU/MEMU services would be enhanced with
enhancement of technology. A factory is being set
up at Kachrapara for manufacturing EMUs/MEMUs
and Kolkata Metro coaches which will be operational
during the Twelfth Plan.

Signalling and Telecom
15.57. Initiatives in Signalling and Telecom will
include deployment of proven and reliable on-board
train protection system, isolation of run-through line
and provision of complete track circuiting of station
sections, and computerised real time monitoring of
assets and use of conditions based productive maintenance system. It is also envisaged to increase Line
Capacity through use of suitable technology options,
viz. Automatic Block Signalling, Intermittent
Block Signalling, Automatic Train Control with
Cab Signalling, Integrating Train Controlling and

Box 15.4
New Generation Locomotives
Ministry of Railways is planning to set up a factory with a foreign partner selected through international competitive bidding
for supply of 12,000 HP Electric Locomotives. This will be a major jump over the current 6,000 HP locomotives. During the
ten-year period of supply programme, the proposed factory at Madhepura will supply 800 electric locomotives with performance
guarantees based on international best practices. This locomotive will have very high energy efficiency and will constitute a part
of India’s response towards mitigation of the emission of green-house gases. Successful execution of this project by the JV route
will usher Indian Railways into a new era of reforms and will provide impetus to PPP funding of railway projects.
Ministry of Railways is also procuring 200 number, 9,000 HP electric locomotives under the JICA loan for Western DFC. These
locomotives would be mainly used forcontainer train operations on the Western DFC.
A factory is also planned at Marowhra for manufacture of diesel locomotives with a capacity of 5,000 HP as against current
usage of 4,000–4,500 HP by the Indian Railways. The Madhepura and Marowhra factories are likely to be awarded during
2012–13.

Transport 211

Signalling System; and switch over to systems and
equipment of higher reliability and safety levels and
built in design redundancy.

New and Renewable Energy Projects
15.58. It is proposed to develop renewable energy
projects and have strategies for more clean energy
in the total consumption basket. Some of the strategies in this regard will include: Grid connected
Solar Panels at major stations; Provision of roof top
Solar Panels on passenger coaches running in Close
Circuits; Provision of solar Panels, Solar Water heaters, Solar Pumps and so on. in Hospitals, Running
Rooms, Rest Houses; and LED based lighting and
Display Systems. In addition to above, it is also proposed to develop wind energy for meeting the above
requirements.

Safety Performance
15.59. There are 14,896 unmanned and 17,839
manned level crossings on Indian Railways network
as on 1 April 2011. These level crossings contribute
to 30 per cent of fatalities in Railway mishap and statistically contribute to about 40 per cent of accidents
of Indian Railways. Accordingly, Indian Railways
Vision: 2020 envisage elimination of all unmanned
level crossings by provision of subway, diverting
road traffic from unmanned level crossing gates to
existing ROB/RUB and manned gates by constructing diversion road, closure of very low Train Vehicle
Units (TVU) gates, manning of unmanned level
crossing gates; upgradation of infrastructure, provision of interlocking of gates, lifting barrier and so on,
in the next five years. Railways also envisage provision of ROB/RUB in lieu of manned level crossings
with heavy traffic density (high Train Vehicle Units
that is above one lakh in about 2122 in number and
those level crossings located in station yard/limits
about 842 in number). Railways have also planned
to eliminate level crossings along the Eastern and
Western DFC network. It has been decided to
replace level crossings with TVU>50,000 with ROBs
and TVUs<50,000 with RUBs. Elimination of level
crossings will require General Budgetary Support
to Railways for this work. Above works will help in

achieving zero accidents at level crossings, minimum
detention to road and punctual train operation.
15.60. Railways have prepared a Corporate Safety
Plan, 2003–13. Railways have also appointed a
High Level Safety Review Committee (Kakodkar
Committee) for suggesting measures on Railways
safety which has submitted its report. Their recommendations will also be considered during the
Plan for strengthening overall safety environment
of the Railways. According to this report, the present safety environment on Indian Railways is inadequate largely due to poor infrastructure, paucity of
resources and lack of empowerment at the functional
level. The committee has recommended setting up of
a statutory Railway Safety Authority. The Committee
has also recommended adoption of Advance
Signaling System based on continuous track circuiting and cab signaling similar to European Train
Controlling System Level-II and total elimination of
all level crossings within five years. Following key
areas related to safety will need to be taken up during
the Plan:
1. Development of Train protection and Warning
System (TPWS) and Anti Collision Device
(ACD)/Train Collision Avoidance systems
(TCAS).
2. Provision of improved safety systems with
audio visual warning to road users in advance of
approaching trains.
3. For moving towards a fault tolerant zero defect
regime, computerised real time monitoring of
assets and use of condition based in predictive
maintenance systems shall be necessary.
4. Development of ‘crashworthy’ structural design
capable of absorbing high impact loads in unfortunate case of collision/accidents.
5. All the furnishing materials in the coaches to
have superior fire retardant properties in line
with international norms.
6. Mobile Communication and Train Radio Communication (MCTRC).
7. Replacement of 2,000 km of overhead alignment which is an outdated technology for block
and control working.

212

Twelfth Five Year Plan

8. Provision of Biometric VCD (Driver’s Vigilance
Telemetry Control System).
9. Provision of Intelligent fire surveillance and
Extinguishing system of locos.
10. Provision of GPS-based fog safe device

Developing High Speed Rail Corridors and
Upgradation of Speeds
15.61. Ministry of Railways has selected following
six corridors for conducting pre-feasibility studies for development of High Speed Rail Corridors:
Delhi–Chandigarh–Amritsar (450 km); Pune–
Mumbai–Ahmedabad (650 km); Hyderabad–
Dornakal–Vijaywada–Chennai (664 km);
Chennai–Bangalore–Coimbatore–Ernakulam–
Thiruvananthapuram (849 km); Howrah–Haldia
(135 km); and Delhi–Agra–Lucknow–Varanasi–
Patna (991 km). The viability of each corridor identified for pre-feasibility study is being examined by
consultants. Efforts are being made to complete all
such studies, undertake at least two Detailed Projects
Reports and develop one corridor of about 500 km
for construction.

to 130–140 kmph in certain routes and 160 kmph
in Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah to be further
upgraded to 200 kmph.

Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
15.64. Investments in Railways can be stepped up
with the help of PPP. So far, such investments have
been extremely small. Private investment mobilisation in the Eleventh Plan is likely to be to the tune of
4 per cent of the Plan Outlay. This is far less compared to the Private Capital share in other sectors like
Ports – 80 per cent, Telecom 82 per cent, Electricity
44 per cent, Airports 64 per cent and Roads 16 per
cent. PPP Projects related to rolling stock manufacturing units, modernisation of railway stations, multifunctional complexes, logistics parks, private freight
terminal, freight train operators, liberalised wagon
investment schemes, Dedicate Freight Corridors and
so on which are in pipeline offer excellent opportunities for private investment. These need to be speedily
executed in the Twelfth Plan (Box 15.5).

Tariff and Prices

15.62. It is also proposed to set up a National High
Speed Rail Authority (NHSRA), an autonomous
body through a Bill in Parliament for implementation of High Speed Rail Corridor projects of Indian
Railways. This authority will be entrusted with the
work of planning, standard setting, implementing
and monitoring these projects.

Tariff Structure
15.65. The tariff structure in Railways is seriously
distorted because passenger fares are kept very low
and freight fares are increased to cross-subsidise the
low level of passenger tariff. Table 15.17 below indicates Indian passenger fares compared with other
countries and Table 15.18 compares the freight rates.

15.63. It is planned to undertake civil and signaling
works to support faster movement of trains on few
selected routes. This will enable increase in speed

15.66. Indian passenger tariffs are one-fourth of
China and are one-ninth of Russia. They are nearly
one-twentieth of Japan. Even in Purchase Price

Box 15.5
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Railways
As on date, the Indian Railways have a large shelf of on-going projects whose completion would require about `2,25,000
crore. The magnitude of the task is huge and any neglect of the same is bound to lead to severe capacity limitations adversely
affecting the competitiveness and growth of the Indian Railways.
It is estimated that the Indian Railways would not be able to generate sufficient funds internally, through borrowings and
from budgetary support for meeting the investment requirements of the Twelfth Five Year Plan. The shortfall would be
met through private investments in PPP projects. Additional investment from private sector is also expected through
their investments in manufacturing facilities created as a consequence of partnerships with IR. Together it is expected that
investments of about `1 lakh crore would be made by the private sector during the Twelfth Five Year Plan on traffic facilities,
other electrical works; workshops including PSUs, passenger amenities; investment in PSUs/JVs/SPVs, and so on.

Transport 213

TABLE 15.17
Passenger Service Yields in some Major Economies
Country

TABLE 15.18
Freight Yields in some Major Economies

Passenger Service
Yield US Cents/
Passenger-KM
at nominal prices

Passenger Service Yield
US Cents/PassengerKM adjusted for PPP
(India=1)

India

0.6

1.0

India

2.11

1.00

China

2.4

2.7

China

1.49

0.58

Russia

5.2

6.7

Russia

2.20

0.75

Japan

19.0

9.4

USA

2.28

0.51

Germany

12.6

6.2

Source: World Bank (2012): Railways International Overview:
Issues for India.

Country

Freight Yield
US Cents/Total
Tonne-KM at
nominal prices

Freight Yield
US Cents/Total
Tonne -KM adjusted
for PPP (India=1)

Source: World Bank (2012): Railways International Overview:
Issues for India.

Parity terms, the tariffs bear no comparison. In terms
of freight rates, however, the Indian freight rates are
the highest whereas those of China, Russia and the
USA are 58 per cent, 75 per cent and 51 per cent of
the Indian rates adjusted for PPP. Even in nominal
terms, Chinese freight rates are only around 72 per
cent of the Indian fright rates.

tariffs both for passenger and freight. It has, however,
so far not been possible. It has to be realised that
with the coming up of more PPP projects, the need
has become more pressing. The Tariff Regulatory
Authority like the regulators in the other sectors will
recommend the tariff structures consistent with the
level of cross-subsidies feasible.

15.67. The low passenger fares, which have not been
revised for several years, have led to huge losses in
passenger traffic operations estimated at `22,000
crore in 2011–12. Unless the trend is arrested by
rationally linking passenger fare to input costs, the
Railways will be out priced in the freight market
and would find it unsustainable to run the Railway
operations.

15.70. Numerous reports have mentioned the need
to undertake organisational reforms in the Railways
(see Box 15.6). The current departmental organisation of the Railways is not conducive to the running
of railways as an economic and business enterprise,
and towards executing the necessary changes to
overhaul the service. The Railway Board should be
re-organised along business lines, in contrast with
the current division between the various disciplines,
electrical, mechanical, traffic and so on. This view
has also been strongly endorsed by the Kakodkar
and Pitroda Committees. Early adoption of standard business accounting policies will necessitate adequate appropriations to depreciation reserves on a
predictable, systematic and transparent basis.

15.68. In the passenger service segment, suburban
services contribute almost 54 per cent in number of
passengers over the IR’s total passenger traffic. Their
earning share is, however, only 7.13 per cent (2009–
10). The losses suffered in the segment during 2008–
09 and 2009–10 were `1,651.19 crore and `2,214.06
crore respectively. In view of the rising input costs,
the suburban fares need to be revised and the level
of subsidies gradually reduced in line with the proposed indexation of lower class fares.
Tariff Regulatory Authority and other reforms
15.69. In the earlier Plans, it had been suggested that
a Tariff Regulatory Authority may be set up to fix up

Financing of the Twelfth Plan
15.71. The Plan will require large investments to
achieve its objectives. The estimated resources
required are `5,19,221 crore including GBS of
`1,94,221 crore, IEBR of `2,25,000 crore and private
sector investment of `1,00,000 crore.

214

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Box 15.6
Key Message from Reports on Railways: The Need for Organisational Reforms
In the past decade or so, a number of reports have been presented related to the rail sector. The Indian Railways Expert
Committee Report (2001) recommended significant organisational changes including corporatisation of the Indian Railways
and a new investment programme to achieve high traffic and revenue growth along with improvement in safety performance.
Indian Railway’s Vision 2020 (2009) is an aspirational plan which charts out a growth of 10 per cent for the Railways over
the next 10 years by developing a sharper commercial focus with strong social commitment. Recently in February 2012,
two more reports have been submitted. The Expert Group on modernisation of Indian Railways (Pitroda Committee) has
unequivocally stated that Indian Railways are in urgent need of modernisation and generational change to ensure safety,
improve productivity, take advantage of advances in technology and respond to ever increasing demand in order to meet
the inclusive growth aspirations of the country. The High Level Safety Review Committee (Kakodkar Committee) was also
presented in February 2012. All these reports have recommended organisational reforms in the Railways.

15.72. Some major initiatives in the Twelfth Plan are:
• Twelfth Plan would target to enhance rail share in
freight traffic by at least 2 per cent.
• The Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight
Corridors would be completed during the Twelfth
Plan period and planning for other DFCs—NorthSouth, East-South, East-West and South-West
may be firmed up during the Twelfth Plan period.
• The Twelfth Plan would focus on five areas—
track, bridges, signalling and telecom, rolling
stock and station and freight terminals which
would lead to safety, decongestion, capacity augmentation and modernisation of system creating
more efficient, faster and safer railways.
• Signalling system would be modernised with provision of advanced technological features and
development of Train Protection and Warning
System (TPWS), Anti Collision Device (ACD),
Trains Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), GPSbased Fog Safety Device and Biometric Drivers
Vigilance Elementary Control System.
• Phased elimination of all unmanned level crossings by provision of subway, ROBs/RUBs, constructing diversion roads, and so on.
• Expansion of Long Haul trains using distributed
power system.
• Improvement in the design and technology of
wagons, coaches and locos through acquisition as
well as investment in R&D along with induction
of latest technology in rolling stock by encouraging expansion in capacity of manufacturing units
through PPP.

• Developing High Speed Rail corridors and Setting
up National High Speed Rail Authority (NHSRA)
as an autonomous body for planning, standard
setting, implementation and monitoring of high
speed corridors.
• Promoting private investment in special purpose high capacity wagons under the Liberalised
Wagon Investment Scheme (LWIS) and
Encouraging private freight operators to transport
select commodities where railway modal share is
low, that is automobile, un-bagged cement and
fertiliser, fly ash, edible oils, and so on.
• Activity Based Accounting to facilitate managerial
decision making and to establish profit/loss making routes/activities.
• Correcting the imbalance between passenger and
freight traffic by setting up a Tariff Regulatory
Authority to suggest tariff structures consistent
with the level of feasible cross-subsidies.
• Resolution of regulatory issues regarding
CONCOR and private players and further expansion of containerisation.
• Reorganisation of Indian Railways on business
lines, hiving off non-transportation tasks and separation of policy making and operational responsibilities of the Railway Board.

ROADS
15.73. India has one of the largest road networks in
the world, consisting of (i) national highways (NHs),
(ii) state highways (SHs), (iii) major district roads
(MDRs) and (iv) rural roads (RRs) that include other
district roads and village roads. The NHs with a

Transport 215

length of 76,818 km comprises only 2.0 per cent of
the road network but carry 40 per cent of the roadbased traffic. The SHs and the MDRs together constitute the secondary system of road transportation
which contribute significantly to the development
of the rural economy and industrial growth of the
country. The secondary system also carries about 40
per cent of the total road traffic, although it constitutes about 13 per cent of the total road length. At
the tertiary level are the Other District Roads (ODRs)
and the Rural Roads (RRs). These, once adequately
developed and maintained, hold the potential to provide rural connectivity vital for generating higher
agricultural incomes and productive employment
opportunities besides promoting access to economic
and social services.
15.74. In recent years special efforts have been
made by the central government to strengthen the
National Highway and also to improve rural road
connectivity. Despite this, the road network remains
grossly inadequate in various respects. It is unable
to handle high traffic density and high speeds at
many places and has poor riding quality. It is necessary to accelerate completion of ongoing projects,
including expressways besides speedy implementation of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) and the
North-South and East-West (NS-EW) corridors and
also to address the deterioration of large stretches of
the NHs.

Review of the Eleventh Plan
15.75. Against an outlay of `1,92,428 crore in the
Eleventh Plan for the road sector, the anticipated
expenditure was `1,58,077 crore (at current prices).
The scheme-wise and year-wise outlay and expenditure are given in Annexure 15.1.

(Annexure 15.2). An overview of the physical targets and achievements of normal NH works, Border
Roads Development Board (BRDB) works, and
works by the NHAI during the Eleventh Plan period
is enclosed (Annexure 15.3)
15.77. Despite the progress in NHs, only 23 per cent
of their total length is wider than two lanes, leading to heavy congestion. Shortfall in construction of
bypasses, inadequate capacity, insufficient pavement
thickness, and weak, narrow, and distressed bridges/
culverts as well as ROBs are some of the other
deficiencies.
National Highway Development Programme (NHDP)
15.78. India’s road network has benefited greatly
from the NHDP programme which envisages an
investment of about `2,36,247 crore during the
period 2005–12. Although NHDP envisaged award
of concessions/contracts by the year 2012, the actual
completion of the programme was expected to be
accomplished only by the end of the Twelfth Plan.
Phase- wise progress of NHDP during the Eleventh
Plan is given in Table 15.19 and details of various
phases are given in (Table 15.20). A map showing
these details is given at Annexure 15.4.
Financing of National Highway Development
Programme (NHDP)
15.79. Development and maintenance of National
Highways is financed through various sources.
Details are given in Box 15.7.
TABLE 15.19
Physical Achievements under NHDP during the
Eleventh Five Year Plan
NHDP

National Highways (NHs)
15.76. At present, out of 76,818 kms of National
Highways about 23 per cent length is of 4-lane (and
above standard), 54 per cent length is of 2-lane standard and 23 per cent length is of single and intermediate standard. As on March 2012, 30,537 km
length of NHs was entrusted to NHAI, 42,483 km
to State PWDs and 3,798 km to BRO. Plan-wise
details of increase in the NHs network are enclosed

Total length completed (km)*

NHDP Phase I

639

NHDP Phase II

5,210

NHDP Phase III

3,599

NHDP Phase V
NHDP Phase VII
Other Projects
Total
* Up to 31 March 2012 (Provisional).

913
13
235
10,609

216

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 15.20
Progress of NHDP up to 30 April 2012
Total length (km)

GQ
5,846

NS&EW
7,142

NHDP
Ph.-III
12,109

NHDP
Ph.-IV
14,799

NHDP
Ph.-V
6,500

Completed Total till date (km)

5,840

6,018

3,798

–

940

961

6
8

691
66

2,802
56

3,318
23

1,181
15

27
2

409
5

12
1

3,669
36

Total
Length (km)
Contracts (Nos.)

6
8

703
67

6,471
92

3,318
23

30,47
27

27
2

409
5

Length to be awarded
Length (km)

421

1,840

1,1481

2,513

659

Under Implementation
Length (km)
Contracts (Nos.)
Letter of Award issued/Agreement
signed and Work to be started
Length (km)
Contracts (Nos.)

NHDP
Ph.-VII
700

Other NHs
1,383

0
0

1,866
12

Box 15.7
Financing of National Highway Development Programme (NHDP)
• Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) and Additional Budgetary Support (ABS).
• Dedicated accruals under the Central Road Fund. Present rate of cess is `2.00 per litre on both petrol and diesel. A part of
this cess is allocated to NHAI to fund the NHDP.
• External Assistance through World Bank, ADB, JBIC, and so on.
• Ploughing back of toll revenue including toll collection, negative grant, premium and revenue share deposited by NHAI
into Consolidated Fund of India and equivalent amount to be released to NHAI for ploughing back in its projects.
• Private Sector Investment under Public Private Partnership(PPP) frameworks that is BOT-(Toll) BOT(Annuity), Special
Purpose Vehicle (SPV)- with Equity participation by NHAI.
• Market Borrowings by NHAI as authorised by GOI to bridge the gap between the available resources and funds requirement.

Roads Under SARDP-NE
15.80. To promote the development of road network
in the North-East, a Special Accelerated Programme
for Road Development in North-East (SARDP-NE)
was taken up in two phases. Under Phase ‘A’ of
SARDP-NE approved by the Government, improvement of about 4,099 km length of roads (2,041 km
NHs and 2,058 km State roads) is envisaged. The
SARDP-NE Phase-A was targeted for completion by
March 2014. However, it is expected to be completed
by March, 2015. Under Phase ‘B’ of SARDP-NE
Programme, covering 3,723 km (1,285 km NH and
2,438 km State road), have been approved for DPR
preparation. So far DPRs of about 450 km has been
completed. About 892 km (21.8 per cent) length has

been completed under SARDP-NE Phase-A till end
March 2012.
15.81. Part of SARDP-NE is the Arunachal Pradesh
Package for Road and Highways involving development of about 2,319 km length of road (1,472 km
is NHs and 847 km is State/General Staff/Strategic
roads) has also been approved by the Government.
Projects for 776 km are to be taken up on BOT
(Annuity) mode and the balance 1,543 km is to
be developed on EPC basis. The entire Arunachal
Pradesh Package is targeted for completion by June
2016. Out of the BOT (Annuity) Projects, 3 Projects
have been awarded for 369 km costing `3,126 crore;
balance 407 km costing `1,985 crore is in the process

Transport 217

of award. In case of EPC Projects, out of the sanctioned 359 km, 143 km is under process for sanction andDPRs are under preparation for balance
928 km. Target for award of all civil works is March,
2012. So far during 2011–12, 10 km of road has been
completed.

Box 15.8
Engineering, Procurement, Construction
(EPC) Contract
The conventional item-rate contracts are generally
prone to time and cost overruns, particularly in the
National Highway sector, resulting in enhanced cost to the
exchequer, as also considerable delays in the completion of
projects. Developed countries have moved to Engineering,
Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts where
the contractor is responsible for design and construction
on a turnkey basis and for a fixed price. The Planning
Commission has published a model Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for Highways. It is
expected that about 20,000 km of 2 lane National Highways
would be developed under this model. A similar document
is also being prepared for Dedicated Freight Corridor of
the Indian Railways.

Roads for LWE Districts
15.82. A programme for development of about
1,202 km of National Highways and 4,362 km of
State Roads in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected
areas as a special project costing about `7,300 crore
has been taken up. The programme is slated for
completion by March, 2015. The projects cover 34
districts in eight States, namely Andhra Pradesh,
Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh. So far, 178
number of works containing a road length of 4,967
km costing `6,637 crore have been sanctioned. Out of
these, 157 number of works containing a road length
of 4,181 km estimated to cost `5,270 crore have been
awarded and remaining are at various stages.

State Highways (SHs) and Major District
Roads (MDRs)

15.83. Physical progress of Non-NHDP National
Highways during Eleventh Plan is given in
Table 15.21.

15.85. Investments including PPP under VGF programme of central government have been made by
the State Governments to expand the networks of
roads, especially state highways, which are part of the
secondary and territory network. This has resulted
in expansion of the road network as shown in
Table 15.22.

15.84. Procurement of public funded projects has
witnessed a paradigm shift and now there is a shift
towards EPC mode of procurement instead of the
traditional mode of item rate contract (Box 15.8).

15.86. It has been found that many State roads suffer from low investment, inadequate width of carriageway to meet traffic demand, weak pavement
and bridges, congested stretches passing through

National Highways Outside NHDP Programme

TABLE 15.21
Physical Progress of Non-NHDP NHs during Eleventh Five Year Plan
Sl. No

Category

Total Completion of Works from
2007–08 to 2010–11
Target

Achv.

59.4

55.3

2011–12
(Provisional)
Target

Achv. (Up to
March 2012)

—

Missing Link (km)

Widening to 2-lanes (km)

4,533

4,379

1,070

727

Strengthening (km)

3,554

3,950

1,080

672

Improvement of Riding Quality (km)

7,769

9,321

1,672

2,367

Widening to 4-lanes (km)

301.5

267

104

Bypasses (No.)

Bridges /ROBs (No.)

518

388

129

218

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 15.22
State Roads Progress during the Eleventh Plan
Lane wise Length of SH in 2007 (km)

States
UTs
Total

Lane wise Length of SH in 2011 (km)

Total
Length

SL/IL

2 Lane

4 Lane and
above

1,50,492

1,11,850

36,349

221

145

1,50,713

11,995

36,405

cities/towns, poor safety features and road geometrics, and inadequate formation width in hilly
and mountainous regions, missing links and bridges
and several railway level crossings requiring urgent
replacement with ROB/road under bridge (RUB) to
improve safety and faster traffic movement. A broad
assessment shows that over 50 per cent of SHs and
MDRs network have poor riding quality. According
to one assessment, annual losses due to poor condition of these roads would be around `6,000 crore.
Many policy and implementation deficiencies have
to be redressed. These include: thin spreading of
resources; delay in pre-construction activities due
to delay in land acquisition; delay in environmental clearance and shifting/removal of utilities; weak
management by contractors due to improper deployment of human resources and equipment; and poor
implementation capacities of the state Public Works
Departments (PWDs).

Road Maintenance
15.87. The road network built at a huge cost needs
to be maintained properly to prevent disintegration
and deterioration, ensuring its continuous utilisation in an optimum manner and road safety of its
users. However, maintenance of roads, is treated
as a non-Plan activity and has, therefore, tended
to be neglected because of financial resources constraints. The maintenance requirement of the high
density corridors of NHs under construction and
post-implementation is provided by the NHAI.
However, the non-NHDP NH sections, which are
maintained by State PWDs, are poorly managed,
primarily because funds made available to them
for maintenance are well short of the requirement
as per norms. According to an estimate, the NHs
get only 50 per cent of the total funds required for

Total
Length

SL/IL

2 Lane

4 Lane and
above

2,293

1,65,724

1,00,819

60,747

4,157

405

230

112

2,313

1,66,129

1,01,049

60,811

4,269

proper maintenance of NHs. Maintenance of SHs
and MDRs has also been suffering from paucity of
resources made available for the purpose. For rural
roads under PMGSY, there is provision for maintenance for five years following the completion of
a project but the long-term issue of maintenance
beyond the initial five year period has not been
addressed so far. Besides inadequacy of resources,
management of roads is unsystematic and inspections are irregular. There is weak accountability and
poor monitoring of the maintenance activities.

Public–Private Partnership (PPP) Projects
15.88. During the Eleventh Plan, total private-sector
investment on NHDP has been `62,629 crore against
a target of `86,792.00 crore, which is a substantial
jump over the achievement in the Tenth Plan of
`11,032 crore (2011–12 prices) Appropriate policy
and regulatory framework for the PPPs, including
institutional mechanisms are put in place such as
the Model Concession Agreement (MCA) for BOT
projects.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
15.89. Empowering rural India through the strategic provision of all-season road access has emerged
as one of the key priorities for the Government of
India. The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007–12), and
the Tenth Plan before it, recognised that rural connectivity is a key component of rural development
and poverty alleviation in India. The main mechanism for enhancing rural connectivity in a more
systematic way has been the Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme (CSS), launched on the 25 December 2000.
The programme seeks to connect all habitations with
a population of 500 persons and above in plain areas

Transport 219

and 250 persons and above in Hill States, Tribal
(Schedule V) areas, the Desert Areas (as identified
in Desert Development Programme) and in the
82 Selected and Tribal Backward districts (under
IAP) as identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs/
Planning Commission. The Government of India
has also identified ‘rural roads’ as one of the six components of ‘Bharat Nirman’ with a goal to provide
connectivity to all habitations with a population of
1,000 persons and above in plain areas and 500 persons and above in hilly or tribal areas with an allweather road.
15.90. The physical and financial progress of
PMGSY upto the end of Eleventh Plan is presented
in Tables 15.23 and 15.24. Although the PMGSY
has achieved only 53 percent of its initial targets—
mainly due to limited implementation capacity—its
achievements have been significant. The length of
the new and improved rural road network under
the program to date has reached 2,09,500 km and
as a result 84,414 habitations have been connected.
The main strength of the PMGSY programme has
been its ability to develop a strong national focus
for rural roads development through the National
Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA). The
NRRDA has developed a common set of operating
procedures that are applied nationwide through the
dedicated State Rural Roads Development Agencies
(SRRDAs) and their Program Implementation Units
(PIUs). These operating procedures are set out in a
series of PMGSY manuals covering overall operations, technical design, quality control and accounting. There is a systematic planning process in place
which has included the prioritisation of a 1.5 million
km core rural road network, of which about 750,000
km are eligible for new connectivity and upgrading
under the PMGSY programme. The programme
has also developed a web-based On-line Monitoring
Management and Accounting System (OMMAS)
which is accessible to the public.
15.91. Evidence from several impact evaluation
exercises on PMGSY indicates the multiple benefits
generated in the rural economy in both commercial
and social spheres by improving road connectivity.
A study by Bell (2012)1 examines the contribution

TABLE 15.23
Physical Progress–PMGSY (as on 31 March 2012)
Total Eligible Sanctioned Completed
Habitations
(in Nos.)

1,58,891

1,14,963
(72%)

84,414
(53% of
eligible)

New Connectivity
length (km.)

3,67,673

2,79,811
(76%)

2,09,570
(57% of
eligible)

Upgradation
length (UG) (km.)

3,74,844
2,25,111–UG
1,49,733–
Renewal

1,64,096
(73%)
(UG)

1,40,930
(62% of
eligible)
(UG)

TABLE 15.24
Financial Progress (as on 31st March, 2012)
(` crore)
Value of Proposals
Sanctioned

Funds
Released

Expenditure
Incurred

127786

1,00,417

91,498

of PMGSY in drawing India’s villages into the mainstream, in three ways. First, with improved connections to markets, villagers should face more
favourable prices for inputs and outputs. Second,
by reducing the time spent travelling to school and
the days lost due to bad weather, an all-weather road
should improve the attendance, not only of pupils,
but also of their teachers, thus promoting the formation of human capital and the growth of productivity
over the long run. Third, by improving the villagers’ access to timely treatment, especially in emergencies, the connection should lower mortality and
morbidity.
15.92. Bell (2012) attempts to estimate the relative
sizes of each of these respective contributions to total
benefits from PMGSY. The author finds that providing backward rural areas with all-weather roads
promotes not only production and trade in what can
be called the ‘commercial’ sphere of life, but also the
formation of human capital and health in the ‘noncommercial’ one. In a further analysis2, he along
with his co-author undertakes a cross section comparison of 30 villages (nine of which benefited from
PMGSY) and ‘before and after’ comparisons in these
nine villages. The authors find that net output prices

220

Twelfth Five Year Plan

were 5 per cent or higher; substantially fewer days
of schooling were lost due to bad weather, largely
because teachers had fewer absences. The improvement in the accessibility to education resulted in
increased school enrolment and school attendance.
Importantly, there was an increase in the number of
girls going to schools. The acutely sick received more
timely treatment and were more likely to be treated
in a hospital than in the nearest primary health clinic
in villages connected by PMGSY. Better management of infectious diseases and attending to emergencies due to faster access to health facilities and
increase infrequency of visits by health workers were
the other outcomes. Moreover, there was an increase
in the number of institutional deliveries in hospitals outside the village, improvement in ante-natal
and post-natal care and a decline in infant and child
mortality.
15.93. Several independent impact evaluation
exercises commissioned by the Ministry of Rural
Development have also revealed the huge benefits in
terms of agricultural growth, income and employment generation, access to healthcare and education,
and poverty reduction generated by PMGSY. Better
connectivity resulting in easier access to markets
and improved flow of information led to improvements in agricultural production and incomes of the
farmers inhabiting the connected area. Considerable
change in cropping pattern was observed, with
a shift from food crops to cash crops. Non-farm
opportunities like opening of shops, small business,
cottage industries increased and more avenues for
self-employment emerged. Besides, road connectivity led to expansion of local industries, which in turn
generated employment opportunities. The construction of the PMGSY road also led to an increase in
frequency of visits by Government officials. This is
likely to result in better implementation of various
Government schemes and programmes.

Bharat Nirman
15.94. Under Rural Connectivity component of
Bharat Nirman, all habitations having population
of 1,000 or more persons (500 or more in hilly and
tribal areas) are to be provided connectivity with
all-weather roads. Accordingly, the programme

envisages to provide connectivity to 63,940 habitations under above category. Projects to connect
58,387 habitations have been sanctioned and 44,089
habitations connected by constructing 1,41,095 km
of new roads up to 31 March 2012. Also 1,03,471 km
of roads were upgraded (excluding renewals by
States) (Tables 15.25 and 15.26).
TABLE 15.25
Habitation Coverage – Bharat Nirman
(as on 31 March 2012)
Total Projects Cleared
Eligible
(Sanctioned)
Habitations
(in numbers)

63,940

58,387
(91%)

Completed
44,089
(69% of
eligible)

TABLE 15.26
Cumulative Physical Progress under Bharat Nirman
(up to March 2012)
Activity

Target (2005–12) Achievement

New Connectivity
(Length in km.)

1,89,897

1,41,096
(74%)

Up-gradation including
renewal (in kms)

1,94,131

2,35,903
(122%)

The Twelfth Plan
15.95. The Twelfth Plan will have to continue the
thrust of upgrading the road infrastructure, with
the objective of improving mobility and accessibility
while reducing the cost of transportation. The main
targets of the Twelfth Plan will be as follows:
1. Completion of on-going works on Golden
Quadrilateral and North–South and East–West
corridors taken up in NHDP Phases I and II of
the programme. The balance works remaining
are marginal and will get completed in the first
two years of the Plan.
2. In respect of the remaining phases of NHDP,
namely NHDP-III for inter-district roads and
other roads taken up under the programme and
NHDP-IV which aims to convert single-lane
roads to double-lane roads, the programmes will
be taken up for completion in the Twelfth Plan.
3. Similarly, NHDP-V which involves conversion of the GQ to six-lane roads now will be

Transport 221

5.
6.

continued in the Twelfth Plan and specific targets set for completion.
National and State Highways would be upgraded
to minimum two lane standard by the end of the
Plan.
All villages will be connected with all-weather
roads by the end of the Plan.
Work on access controlled expressways has
moved at a slow pace. A comprehensive master
plan for development of 15,600 km of expressways would be developed, the alignment determined and work taken up in phases. It is hoped
that 1,000 km of expressways would be completed during the Twelfth Plan, while land for
another 6,000 km would be acquired to initiate
work.
The Plan will aim to prioritise special links for
feeder roads to important railway routes and ports
which are essential for development of domestic and international trade. The overall effort
will be to integrate with the road development
programme with the other modes of transport
so as to have an integrated transport movement.
Such links which connect important minor and
major ports and developed with minimum two/
four-lane National Highways or State Highways.
Important areas of focus will be development of
way-side amenities and improving capacities of
implementing agencies, including State Public
Works Departments. While undertaking construction of roads, modern technologies which
can help in improvement of energy conservation
and environmental protection will be taken up.
The National Highways had added 10,000 km in
the Eleventh Plan. Another 10,000 kms will be
added during the Twelfth Plan so that the total
length of the highways becomes 91,200 km. This
will require additional resources for maintenance
and improving riding quality. These will be adequately funded.

includes connectivity of all State capitals of NorthEast with two or four-lane NHs with paved shoulders and connecting all district headquarters with
two-lane NHs will be taken up for completion.
SARDP-NE Phase-B for which work has been
taken up to prepare DPRs would get completed.
It is planned to develop and complete the TransArunachal Pradesh Highway during the Plan.
15.97. The construction of roads on PPP basis has
gained momentum in the Eleventh Plan and most
of the roads are getting constructed on BOT (Toll)
basis. It is proposed to continue with this policy in the Twelfth Plan. Simultaneously, a Model
Concession Agreement (MCA) for organisation and
maintenance (OMT) for tollable roads will be taken
up to ensure effective maintenance. The strengthening and restructuring of the roads in the North East
will be taken up for non-tollable roads. These are
assets which need to be effectively maintained. To
ensure this, modern management techniques and
scientific assessment of maintenance strategies will
be taken up. The capacities of NHAI and BRO would
be further developed for this purpose.

Non-NHDP Road
15.98. The Twelfth Plan will also aim at development
of roads not covered under the NHDP, which have
been taken up by NHAI. It is proposed that 19,200
km of roads will be taken up for conversion of twolane roads, including 10,000 km of NHs so declared
during the Eleventh Plan. It is proposed to develop
3,770 km of roads with the help of the World Bank
assistance and another 6,350 km through BOT (Toll)
route. 1,000 km of expressways are planned, in addition to the NHDP programme. In addition, some
of the other developments, including strengthening
and improvement of riding quality, construction of
bridges/ROBs will be taken up.

Roads in LWE Areas
Road Development in the North-East
15.96. The development of roads in the North-East
had been taken up by special programme under
Special Accelerated Road Development Programme
for North-East (SARDP-NE). It is proposed that
the balance works under these programmes, which

15.99. The programme for development of roads in
the Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts
will be continued and works taken up earlier in the
Eleventh Plan be completed during the Plan. It is
expected that 4,426 km of work will get completed by
March 2015 and another 9,615 km by March 2017.

222

Twelfth Five Year Plan

New Schemes During Twelfth Plan
15.100. New Schemes during the Twelfth Plan are as
under:

1. Special Package for development of roads in
the Schedule Areas (under Fifth Schedule)
under Tribal Sub-Plan—1,000 km for total GBS
requirement of `5,000 crore.
2. Development of road corridors in Delhi–
Mumbai industrial corridor project.
3. Special package for development of State roads
in the State of J&K from strategic considerations—complete about 700 km out of total
length of about 1,000 km for total GBS requirement of `700 crore.
4. Special package for development of road connectivity for about 50 minor ports—1,000 km for
total GBS requirement of `5,000 crore.
5. Special package for development of road connectivity for 24 Airports—360 km for total GBS
requirement of `1,800 crore.
Rural Roads
15.101. The Twelfth Plan will, aim to connect remaining these habitations by constructing about 1,58,000
km of new roads. 84,181 km of existing roads are
planned to be upgraded during the Twelfth Plan.

15.102. In addition, the funds are required for following activities:
1. NABARD Loan (Principal) and interest
repayment.
2. Provision for left-out bridges on already sanctioned roads.
3. Inclusion of left out habitations due to revision
of core-network permitting to take habitations
(as per guidelines) instead of revenue villages as
units of connectivity in Core-Network.
4. Coverage of new habitations of 250+ in 78 IAP
districts
5. Providing bridges of 75 m length in 78 IAP
districts
6. Additional provisions due to snow fall/ landslides in Hill States
7. For providing connectivity to left-out habitations (as per 2001 census) in core-network and

for up gradation of some selected roads in 78
IAP districts
8. For launching of PMGSY-II during Twelfth Five
Year Plan on sharing basis
15.103. During the Tenth and Eleventh Plan periods,
huge investments of over `1,00,000 crore have been
made in expanding the rural roads network. Hence,
it has been proposed to launch PMGSY-II, to consolidate the existing rural road network. It would cover
up gradation of existing selected rural roads based
on a criterion to make the road network vibrant, on
sharing basis with the States. The selection of routes
would be with the objective of identification of rural
growth centres and other critical rural hubs.
State Highways
15.104. A programme similar to the NHDP for the
state highways is needed. The States will be encouraged to develop a core network. The development of
four-lanes and two-lanes will accordingly be taken
up as part of this Plan. The resources required for the
State’s programme of the above are estimated at `4.9
lakh crore, of which 20 per cent is expected to be private sector investment. For this purpose, PPP would
be encouraged through Viability Gap Funding (VGF)
window available with the Central Government.
Targets for Twelfth Plan are mentioned in Table 15.27.
Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and Other
Initiatives
15.105. The NHDP programme will be funded primarily through PPP, a policy which had been initiated in the Eleventh Plan. For this purpose, a VGF of
40 per cent is provided in the Road Sector, including
20 per cent from the cess on petrol and diesel, which
is available with the NHAI. It is proposed to continue and further strengthen the PPP construction
and build BOT (Toll) roads. It is also proposed to
strengthen and improve the existing framework, specifically these will be further expanded for construction of roads by the State Governments. Some of the
innovations undertaken by the State Government
are given in the (Box 15.9).

15.106. Roads are a major user of construction
material especially of bitumen and asphalt which

Transport 223

TABLE 15.27
Targets for the Twelfth Plan
State Highways
Kilometres

Major District Roads

% of Existing/Total Lengths

Kilometres

% of Existing/Total Lengths
8.5

2–Laning

30,000

20,000

4–Laning

5,000

1,000

Strengthening

41,500

66,500

IRQP

50,000

80,000

are known to emit gases into the atmosphere. Use of
green bitumen materials and specific R&D schemes
for possible adaptation of state-of-the-art innovative
technologies and materials in highway development
and maintenance would be encouraged during the
Twelfth Plan.
15.107. The rapid pace of development of the road
sector has resulted in skill deficit especially among
the technical and engineering staff. Involvement
of contractors and developers in creating skilled
resource pool and encouraging Engineering and
Technical Institutions to attract students in Highway
Engineering profession would be some initiatives
for bridging the skill gap. National Academy of
Construction could be an institution worth emulation by other states.
Regulator for Roads
15.108. There is no independent regulatory authority for India’s Roads and Highways sector. Current

arrangement both at Centre and States (MORTH,
NHAI, MPRDC, PWDs and so on) results in a
potential conflict as the rule making body is also
the implementing body and there is no independent
assessment of its performance across various parameters. There is, therefore, a need for a regulator whose
key functions should include tariff setting, regulation of service quality, assessment of concessionaire
claims, collection and dissemination of sector information, service-level benchmarks and monitoring
compliance of concession agreements.

Some Major Initiatives in the Twelfth Plan
15.109. Major initiatives in the Twelfth Plan Period
are:
• Earmarking of Plan funds for IRQP and strengthening/maintenance of non-tollable roads.
• Development of capacities of NHAI, BRO and
other implementing agencies.

Box 15.9
Innovations by some State Governments
• Crucial role being played by Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation and Gujarat State Road Development
Corporation (GSRDC) in upgrading SRs using Central Government’s VGF which extends subsidy of up to 20 per cent of
total project cost and an additional up to 20 per cent financed by State Government. Contribution to GSRDC is also kept
to defray expenditure on pre-construction activities.
• PPP (Annuity) model adopted by Gujarat since strengthening/widening of SRs does generate a commercially viable return
despite 40 per cent upfront subsidy.
• Adoption of a plan scheme for land acquisition for identified corridors by Punjab to reduce traffic congestion on major
highways, with funds proposed to be released on the condition that these shall be recovered by PWD by imposing a cess
on sale/purchase and any development activity carried out by the private parties on lands adjoining PWD roads.
• Creation of a Rajasthan State Road Development Fund, through a cess on sale of petrol and high speed diesel, towards
extending interest free loan and share capital to the Road Infrastructure Development Company of Rajasthan for projects
to upgrade SHs.

224

Twelfth Five Year Plan

• Prioritisation of special links for feeder roads to
important railway points, ports and areas where
rail link is not possible.
• Special focus on development of roads for Delhi–
Mumbai industrial corridor.
• States to be encouraged to develop core network
for rural connectivity.
• Providing universal connectivity in rural areas
under PMGSY, launch of PMGSY-II and pilots on
PPP in some selected PMGSY roads.
• Focus on implementation of rural road projects in
the LWE districts through the Integrated Action
Plan (IAP).
• Investment in R&D, green technology and design
for better and safer roads.

Road Transport
Issues
15.110. Road transport has emerged as the dominant segment in India’s transportation sector with
a share of 4.7 per cent in India’s GDP in 2009–10
which is higher than Railways that has a 1 per
cent share. Road transport has gained importance
over the years despite significant barriers to interstate freight and passenger movement compared
to inland waterways, railways and air which do not
face rigorous en route checks/barriers. Despite the
performance of the road transport sector, it is beset
with slow technological development, low energy
efficiency, pollution and slow movement of freight
and passenger traffic.
Eleventh Plan Review
15.111. The Road Transport policies cover efficient
road movement, road safety and related areas. The
approved outlay for the Eleventh Five Year Plan
for the Transport Sector was `1,131 crore for Road
Safety, National Database Network, Inspection
and Maintenance Centre, Strengthening of Public
Transport, Creation of National Road Safety Board.
Approach to Twelfth Plan
15.112. With the sustained high rates of economic
growth, the growth of passenger and commercial
traffic will be high. An estimate of this was made
by working group making assumptions for various

scenarios (Table 15.28). The Plan will aim at several policy interventions to ensure efficient development of transport of passenger and freight across the
country.
Development of Database in Road Sector
15.113. The availability of relevant data depends primarily on the efforts of States. Currently, the database on road transport is restricted to number of
registered motor vehicles category-wise as required
by the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act, 1988. There are
serious gaps in Road Transport data such as decentralised generation of data, multiplicity of agencies,
time lag, no data on movement of people, goods
and vehicles, passenger and freight flows measured
in a variety of ways and so on. These issues can be
resolved by a national consensus on data generation
using IT extensively. A group will be set up during
the Plan to resolve the above issues and improve the
national database
Efficiency of Road Transport
15.114. Measures need to be taken to improve road
transport efficiency. Some of the areas which will
be taken up in the Plan include: Integration of tax
administration with inter-state road freight and
passenger movement through online communication network system at National, Regional and
Local level; Reforms in tax administration including
replacing various road transport related taxes/levies
(road tax, goods tax, passenger tax) and so on by a
single composite tax; Reforms in Motor Vehicles
Act to simplify inter-State movement with simplified procedures; Automate and Use of IT for Cross
Border Road Freight Transport Management.
Electronic Tolling System
15.115. The Road Transport System needs to be
modernised. For this, there is need to introduce
Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system in (Box
15.10). At present, there are very few truck terminals
in cities. There is need to create a number of truck
terminals in almost all ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ class cities and
towns. These truck terminals will ease the traffic
congestion in the city and decrease pollution, facilitate emergence of hub spoke system for distribution
of goods and greatly improve the turnaround time

Transport 225

TABLE 15.28
Projected Road Freight and Passenger Traffic
Years of Twelfth Plan

Billion Tonne Kilometre (BTKM)

Billion Passenger Kilometre (BPKM)

S I (BAU)

S II

S III

S IV

S A (BAU)

2012–13

1,315

1,337

1,351

1,366

1,381

8,150

8,483

2013–14

1,429

1,465

1,489

1,513

1,538

8,868

9,111

2014–15

1,553

1,605

1,641

1,677

1,714

9,648

9,762

2015–16

1,688

1,760

1,808

1,858

1,909

10,497

10,438

2016–17

1,835

1,928

1,993

2,059

2,126

11,421

11,140

Note: BAU: Business as Usual; S-Scenario; SI-freight traffic assumed to grow at 8.7 per cent per annum in line with the past trend; SIIGDP growth 8 per cent per annum and elasticity 1.2; SIII-GDP growth 8.5 per cent per annum and elasticity 1.2; SIV-GDP growth 9
per cent per annum and elasticity 1.2; SV GDP growth 9.5 per cent per annum and elasticity 1.2; SA-passenger traffic assumed to grow
at 8.8 per cent per annum; SB-BPKM derived through regression analysis as a function of population growth, urbanisation and per
capita income.

Box 15.10
Introduction of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC)
• A Committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Shri Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority
of India.
• Recommendations of the Committee have been accepted and notified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
for the use of National Highways.
• In the first phase, a pilot project on ETC was inaugurated on 19 April 2012 on a section of NH-5 between Delhi and
Parwanoo. Three Toll Plazas with ETC have been operationalised by the concessionaires at Panipat, DeraBassi and
Parwanoo.
• A second pilot project on the Mumbai and Ahmedabad section of the National Highways has also been initiated. Progress
on the project is being monitored continuously for early completion of the same.
• The other stretches of the NHs on which pilot projects have been undertaken are – Bengaluru–Chennai (State Bank of
India); Kolkata–Dhanbad (IDFC Infra) and Gurgaon–Jaipur–Beawar (Feedback Infra Ltd.).
• The work of implementation of ETC on all stretches of the NHs in the country has been entrusted to NHAI. All the toll
plazas across the country are proposed to be completed by January 2014.

of goods carriages. In these truck terminals there
could be medical facilities, rest room, restaurant and
equipment handling facilities. It is suggested that
while planning SEZ or SER or Industrial Park at least
10 per cent of the area should be embarked for logistics and warehousing to support industrial activities
efficiently.
Seamless Passenger Movement
15.116. There is need for promoting seamless passenger across the country. Unfortunately, there are
difficulties in having inter-State agreements particularly on issue of passenger tax. There is a clear need
to resolve these issues and provide the mechanism

for issues arising day to day basis. During the Plan,
efforts will be made to evolve a system for a smooth
interstate passenger transport movement.
Transport Safety
15.117. Transport Safety is an important area, especially for Road Transport. Annually 1.3 lakh people
die in road accidents. To strengthen the data, there
is need to set minimal road death and injury data
reporting requirements in accordance with standards set by the International Accident Database
Group (IRTAD) for national level data. Web based
data systems should be established and be made
operational in the Twelfth Plan period. There is need

226

Twelfth Five Year Plan

to implement on an urgent basis the key recommendation of the Sundar Committee Report regarding the creation of National Road Safety and Traffic
Management Board.
Awareness, Education and Driver Training
15.118. High level of awareness is required so that
systemic problems get rectified. Awareness should
be spread using all modes of communication: TV,
Newspapers and Radio. ITIs need to be involved in
driver training. MoRTH provides a scheme for setting up IDTR/DTI at state level. Before they start
imparting driving training in driving schools, they
should attend ‘Trainers Training’ in IDTRs/RSIs. To
ensure that the needs are met, driver training schools
should be encouraged to come up in the PPP mode.
Vehicle Safety
15.119. At present, the introduction of new safety
standards is dependent on testing facilities available
in the country including those at NATRIP. Since the
vehicles produced in the next few years will be present on the road for about two decades, it is essential
that the provision of testing facilities and introduction of new standards should be expedited. Impact
standards for vehicles should be implemented on
an early basis. Since a vast majority of those injured
and killed in road accidents comprise of pedestrians,
bicyclists, and motorcyclists, India should take the
lead in introduction of pedestrian impact standards
for all vehicles. India should set up a NCAP India
Programme. In the first phase, cities with significant
transport vehicles (Metros) should introduce a modern Inspection and Certification regime.

Some Major Initiatives in the Twelfth Plan
15.120. Some major initiatives during the Twelfth
Plan Period are:

• Reforms in tax administration (road tax, goods
tax, passenger tax) to reduce collection cost and
compliance cost of vehicle owners/operators.
• Creation of truck terminals to ease traffic congestion, decrease pollution, facilitate emergence
of hub spoke system for distribution of goods
and improvement in turnaround time of goods
carriages.
• Creation of National Road Safety and Traffic
Management Board to promote and sustain
improved road safety in India, reflect international good practice and provide an informed
basis for effective action.

Outlay for the Twelfth Plan
15.121. The Twelfth Plan budgetary support for
Central Sector Roads is `1,44,769 crore. In addition,
the sector is expected to generate IEBR amounting
to `64,834 crore and private-sector investment of
`2,14,186 crore during this period.
15.122. The Twelfth Plan budgetary support for
Rural Roads (PMGSY) is `1,26,491 crore.

SHIPPING
15.123. There has been a consistent decline in the
share of Indian ships in the carriage of India’s overseas trade from 31.5 per cent in 1999–2000 to 13.7 per
cent in 2004–05 and further to 7.95 per cent in
2010–11. There is a need for policy intervention to
arrest this declining trend. Indian shipping fleet is
characterised by the predominance of oil tankers
and bulk carriers. While as on 31.03.12, oil tankers account for 63.76 per cent of the Deadweight
Tonnage (DWT), bulk carriers account for 28.77 per
cent, with all other vessel types such as liner vessels,
OSVs and so on accounting for a mere 7.47 per cent.

Review of the Eleventh Plan
• Investment in R&D, technology and design of better and safer roads.
• Reforms in Motor Vehicles Act to simplify interState movement with simplified procedures.
• Integration of tax administration with interstate
road freight and passenger movement through
online communication network system at
National, Regional and Local level.

15.124. During the Eleventh Plan, three scenarios
were set with first having a target of 10 million Gross
Tonne (GT). It was further envisaged that with supportive policy measures, acquisition of vessels might
go up to 12 million GT and 15 million GT. During
the Eleventh Plan, shipping tonnage witnessed a rise
from 787 vessels carrying about 8.6 million GT to
1,135 vessels amounting to 11.03 million GT. A total

Transport 227

of 348 vessels of 2.43 million GT were added to the
fleet as against a target of 279 vessels of 4.16 million
GT. The Eleventh Plan is likely to witness a growth
of 6.36 per cent in DWT.
15.125. An outlay of `15,026 crore, including IEBR
of `13,135 crore was provided in the Eleventh Plan
for the Shipping sector. Against this, expenditure
was `9,788.39 crore, accounting for 65.00 per cent of
the total outlay. The scheme-wise details are given in
Table 15.29.
15.126. Ministry of shipping has a number of organisations. This includes Director General of Shipping
(DG (S)), Director General of light houses and light
ships (DGLL) and Shipping Corporation of India.
During the Eleventh Plan, DG Shipping which is a
statutory authority under the Merchant Shipping
Act, 1958 and is responsible for implementing the
Act and thus perform regulatory functions, invested
`230.68 crore for strengthening of mercantile marine
department, procuring modern survey instruments
for minor port survey organisations and setting up of
Indian Maritime University (IMU).
15.127. The DGLL provided Marine aids to navigation along the Indian Ports and managed 180 light
houses, one light ship, 22 different ships global system and 21 deep seas lighted buoys for maritime
navigation. It was able to earn `768.02 crore and
spend `147.98 crore (98.65 per cent) of its outlay.
15.128. The Shipping Corporation of India had
planned for `13,135 crore (IEBR) against which
`8,537.85 crore (65 per cent) has been spent. It

ordered 39 vessels against the acquisition targets of
67 vessels and inducted 20 vessels. The pace of vessel
acquisition is slow during 2011–12, due to fall in the
markets. The SCI profits decreased during the Plan
from `813.9 crore in 2007–08 to a loss of `428 crore
in 2011–12. Its fixed assets increased from `7,086.3
crore to `13,057.3 crore.

Strategies for the Twelfth Plan
15.129. A national shipping fleet commensurate with
our overseas cargo needs would help in reducing the
freight costs of Indian cargo. There is need to develop
our freight policies consistent with efficiency of
transport. A thriving shipping sector encourages the
growth of associated industry and services providers required for servicing this industry, accounting
to over 75 per cent of the shipping sector’s national
contribution. Most importantly, national tonnage is
decisive in maintaining the supply line of essential
cargo during international emergencies.
15.130. In order to enhance its reach, Director
General of Lighthouses and Lightships plans to
extend the facility for Coastal Surveillance and
avoid environmental pollution under the National
Maritime Domain scheme awareness by providing
Vessel Traffic Service to Non-major Ports.
Increase in Tonnage
15.131. As on 30 June 2012, Indian tonnage stands
at 11.03 million GT and ranks sixteenth in the world.
During the Twelfth Plan it is planned to increase it
to a target of 12.4 million GT if Indian shipping tonnage share of 1.16 per cent of global fleet remains
constant in the Plan. However, with more supportive

TABLE 15.29
Financial Performance of the Shipping Sector in the Eleventh Plan
(in ` crore)
Sl. No.

Scheme/Programme

Financial Performance-Eleventh Plan
Approved Eleventh Plan Outlays

Approved Annual Plan Outlays

Actual Expenditure

13,135.00

14,283.00

8,537.00

366.00

230.68

191.27

SCI

DG (Shipping)

DG (LL)

150.00

243.60

147.98

IWT

615.00

693.00

537.25

Total

15,026.00

16,108.84

9,788.39

228

Twelfth Five Year Plan

policies this could increase to 26.6 Million GT or
even to 53.3 MGT. These scenarios along are given
in the Table 15.30 along with their required investments. An environment conducive to the growth of
Indian shipping can be fostered by fiscal rationalisation, strengthening of regulatory mechanism, and
increased focus on maritime training. Supportive
policy measures as detailed below need to be taken to
enable acquisition of vessels up to 26.6M GT.
TABLE 15.30
Estimated Requirements of Additional Vessels and
Investment
Tonnage Target

Investment (` in crore)

Scenario 1

11.2—12.4 m GT

2,500

Scenario 2

11.2—26.6 m GT

32,000

Scenario 3

11.2—53.3 m GT

80,000

Fiscal Regime Rationalisation
15.132. The Government had provided Indian shipping a level playing field by introducing tonnage tax
in April 2004. Although tonnage tax regime provided temporary relief, some changes in direct and
indirect taxation subsequently diluted these benefits.
According to industry estimation, Indian shipping as
against its counterparts is currently subjected to 12
types of taxes. Another aspect which translates itself
into a tax-related disadvantage for the ships with
Indian flags is that national manning is compulsory
for them. The shipping company has to make withholding tax payments for Indian seafarers since they
are not exempt from income tax. As this obligation
does not devolve on ships registered in other jurisdictions employing Indian seafarers, the result is that
the Indian ships have to pay a higher salary. It is critical for the growth of shipping in India that a level
playing field is created as compared to other regimes
in respect of taxes.
Cargo Support
15.133. The continuation of the policy with respect
to Government owned and controlled cargo to be
imported on FOB basis and shipping arrangements
to be channelised through the Ministry of Shipping’s
Chartering Wing, Trans-chart would be advisable.
Measures to promote use of Indian Flag Ships can

significantly boost the growth of Indian shipping
fleet during the Twelfth Plan. It has been suggested
that a portion of the EXIM trade say, one-third of the
POL and dry bulk cargo can be reserved for Indian
Flag Ships as a condition for availing benefits from
the government for export schemes. This would
enhance cargo availability for Indian ships, and be
a major catalyst to boost the growth of Indian fleet.
This suggestion would need to be examined and an
incentive policy to promote Indian Flag Ships should
be developed.
Maritime Human Resource Development and
Training
15.134. India has positioned herself as a major
human resources–supplying nation to the maritime
industry. As a result of the initiatives taken by the
government in encouraging private participation in
maritime training, the number of maritime training institutes under the assurance of quality training by the Directorate General of Shipping DG(S)
rose from 128 in 2005 to 138 in 2012 including seven
Government institutes.

15.135. Global demand for seafarers is estimated to
reach 6,70,000 Officers and 7,20,000 Ratings by 2015.
This will imply an incremental demand of 1,20,000
Officers and 1,25,000 Ratings. Seafarer supplying
countries (for example China, Philippines, Turkey
and Ukraine) are expected to compete for capturing this incremental demand to increase their global
share. Shortage of officers is expected to aggravate due
to high fleet growth. India has an opportunity to supply more officers in the international maritime sector.
15.136. The target for the maritime training programme for the Twelfth Plan is to increase the share
of Indian officers from 6.3 per cent to about 9 per
cent by 2017, whereas for ratings from 7.5 per cent
to about 9 per cent by 2017. Policy initiatives are
required to retain and build talent. Initiatives for this
could include the co-option of the member lines of
the INSA into allocating 10–15 per cent of each ship’s
manning scales exclusively for sea training berths.
15.137. With the objective of providing world class
training opportunity for the shipping sector, the

Transport 229

Government has established an Indian Maritime
University (IMU) in Chennai with campuses in
Kolkata, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Chennai
and Kandla. The IMU aims to play the role of a centralised nodal agency to facilitate Maritime studies
and research in emerging areas such as marine science and technology and marine environment. The
Indian Maritime University should play the role of a
centralised university in controlling higher maritime
education through academic support processes in its
campuses throughout India.
15.138. There is a need to strengthen the IMU
through induction of high quality faculty.The important role presently being played by the Regional
Academic Councils under the Directorate General of
Shipping should be further strengthened by reconstituting them to form an Advisory Group.
15.139. There should be a strong emphasis on the
need for improving quality of Indian seafarers to
keep up the reputation and credibility of Indian certifications. For this, not only the number of training
institutes but the quality of such training, examination and certification of seafarers is to be emphasised.
To achieve this, there is an urgent need of modernising the examination system and strengthening the
pool of qualified examiners.
15.140. It is proposed to form a Research Support
Group to effectively monitor, support and coordinate the activities of Maritime Training Institutes
and to develop proper monitoring and reporting
systems and conduct systems audit on a continuous and sustainable basis. The Research Support
Group would identify the difficulties experienced
by institutes in implementing the quality standards
prescribed by Indian Maritime Administration and
IMU and would serve as a watch dog. The Support
Group will work under the control of the Director
General of Shipping and assisted by technical
administrative officers/Staff meant specifically for
this function.
15.141. For effective implementation of a regulatory regime as per the requirements of International
Maritime Organisation (IMO), it is necessary to

strengthen Directorate General of Shipping. A data
base of seafarers should be built. Biometric identity
cum smart card, capable of storing individual’s professional record in electronic form must be issued
to every seafarer. There is also a need for capacity building of the DG(S), with greater technological tools, training, human resources availability and
greater autonomy for authorising surveyor movement to Indian ships on foreign shores, and in deciding the delegation of powers to Mercantile Marine
Departments. Every port regardless whether it is private or non-major, but having target of more than
110 ships a year, (which works out to two ships a
week) should have an office of MMO.
15.142. In order to prevent poor quality foreign flag
ships operating in our waters, Port State Control
inspections have to be strengthened in the years
ahead. The main constraint in the implementation is
the availability of manpower. It is therefore proposed
to create separate divisions in the DG (Shipping
office) and to recruit more surveyors to achieve
10 per cent Port Security Control (PSC) inspections
by the year 2015 as mandated by the IMO. It is also
proposed to carry out 100 per cent FSI inspections of
Indian ships by the year 2020.
15.143. Very often a seafarer’s job is perceived to be
arduous, monotonous, risky and unsafe. This calls
for critical welfare and safety measures. Welfare
measures for seafarers should include a free or subsidized health and insurance policy.
15.144. Indian ships have to mandatorily employ
Indian seafarers, and cannot employ foreign seafarers as per the Merchant Shipping Act. In view of
the increasing worldwide shortages of senior officers, there is inherent disadvantage to the Indian ship
owner as employers. On account of the extra burden
of income tax on Indian seafarers’ income, employment on a foreign flag is the first choice of an Indian
seafarer, thereby denying the best talent to the local
shipping industry. A positive approach on this issue
for granting freedom for the Indian shipping industry by permitting them to employ foreign seafarers
could be explored.

230

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Other Policy Initiatives
Establishing P&I Club
15.145. In present day scenario, maritime insurance
of ships, wreck removal, dealing with maritime both
for the ship and seafarers are organised by P&I Clubs
of foreign origin. Establishing P&I Club in India
should not only increase trade but would also augment foreign exchange earnings when these clubs
are used by foreign companies. It is therefore proposed to establish one P&I Club in Indian League by
the year 2015 and one more in the IG League by the
year 2020.
Strengthening Participation in IMO
15.146. The increasing number of International
Codes and Conventions, emanating from the
International Maritime Organisation (IMO), have
changed the maritime trade relationships between
nations and also created a whole new statutory structure for maritime countries.
Navigational Safety In Port Committee (NSPC)
15.147. The scope of NSPC may be extended to
major as well as non-major ports and the duties
should include port navigational safety issues, cargo
related safety aspects, oversight function of oil pollution response mechanism, reception facilities in
the ports, and so on. For the protection of the environment, it may be necessary to develop a ‘Ballast
Water Management System’ in accordance with the
requirements of International Convention for the
Control and Management of Ships as adopted by the
IMO in 2004, along with the development of waste
disposal facilities in ports.

Coastal Shipping
15.148. Out of the total traffic at major ports of
560.90 million tons (MT) in 2009–10, coastal traffic
was 107.94 MT. During 2006–10, the total traffic at
the major ports grew at 7.20 per cent (CAGR) and
that at the non-major ports at 17.20 per cent (CAGR).
However, during 2006–10, coastal traffic at the major
ports grew at 4.5 per cent (CAGR) and the percentage
share of coastal traffic in the total traffic handled at
the major ports was constant between 19 per cent to
21 per cent. During Eleventh Plan period there was a

net increase of about 15 per cent in the total volume
of cargo carried per year meant for coastal shipping.
Coastal shipping in the country is still in its infancy,
with the coastal fleet of 764 vessels accounting for
merely over a million GT as on 31 March 2012. This
period witnessed a remarkable growth in the number
of smaller size vessels (Liner, Passenger-cum-Cargo
and other types viz., Tugs, Ro-Ros, Dredgers and
Pilot/Survey Launches), with the number of coastal
bulk carriers and tanker fleets declining.
15.149. In view of the positive externalities of coastal
shipping, a number of policy interventions would be
required during the Plan. There is a need to consider
fiscal incentives for registered multi-modal transport operators, shippers, trade/industries that prefer
transporting sizeable domestic cargos through coastal
shipping. Unfortunately, despite having the lowest
unit transportation cost for the sea leg, the overall
end-to-end cost of coastal shipping escalates due to
inadequate port and land side infrastructure (capacity and connectivity), resulting in a preference for the
road/rail modes by the industry and trade. The burden of customs duties and the perceived cumbersome
customs/other procedures, low port productivity and
high tariffs, aggravates the problem. There is a need
to remove these bottlenecks.
15.150. Adequate incentives and a level playing
field are required to encourage the growth of the
Indian coastal shipping companies in the face of stiff
competition from the foreign lines. The scope of
coastal shipping needs to be enhanced in the Indian
Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. There is a need to create dry-docks and ship repair yards at existing/new
non-major ports to accommodate smaller coastal
vessels. The connectivity for the ports with rail/
road transport needs to be enhanced. Further, the
government may also consider following incentives
for the development of Coastal Shipping: (i) Grant
infrastructure status to Coastal Shipping Industry
for taxation purposes (ii) Allow tax exemption for
the building of coastal ships in India (iii) Confer
‘Declared Goods’ status for the bunker used by
coastal ships (iv) Establish a ‘Coastal Development
Fund’. A separate tariff matrix should be formulated
for coastal vessels.

Transport 231

15.151. To reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions, the conversion of Indian coastal vessels to
compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel powered, as an
alternate to the extant fossil fuel diesel, in a phased
manner, is necessary.

Promoting Fishing Activity In Indian Seas
15.152. There is a need to promote decent working conditions for fishermen. The provisions of
the International Labour Organisation Fishing
Convention, 2007 may be implemented for the
Indian fishing boats above 15 meters in length. The
number of such Indian fishing vessels is approximately 55,000. These improvements would contribute to the decent working conditions of the
fishermen working on these boats.

Multimodal Transportation
15.153. Multimodal transportation system is the
chain that interconnects different links or modes of
transport air, sea, and land into one complete process
that ensures an efficient and cost-effective door-todoor movement of goods under the responsibility of
a single transport operator, known as a Multimodal
Transport Operator (MTO), on one transport document. The multi-modal transportation in India
is governed by the Multimodal Transportation of
Goods Act 1993 which needs to be strengthened to
address issues such as liability regime, setting of service standards and registration of service providers,
to provide transparency in operations. In view of
the overall efficiencies associated with this system,
Government would develop policy interventions
encouraging companies to use this.

Strategies for the Twelfth Plan
• Increase in tonnage to meet the growing requirements of the Indian Trade and Commerce.
• Fiscal regime rationalisation and cargo support to
expand Indian flag vessels.
• Maritime Human Resource Development for
larger utilisation of Indian technical personnel in
national and international shipping.
• Expansion of Coastal shipping and policies to
promote infrastructure and economic operations.
• Development of strategies for expansion of multimodal transport.

INLAND WATERWAYS TRANSPORT (IWT)
Introduction
15.154. With a meager share of 0.4 per cent in the
total cargo handled in the country Inland Waterways
is an under developed mode of transportation in
India. India has a potential of 14,500 km of navigable waterways but so far only 2,716 km have been
developed for commercial transportation. The share
of IWT in transport sector in other countries is far
more significant than that of India. For example, the
shares of IWT as proportion of total tonne-km in
EU, China and the US for the year 2006 were 5.6 per
cent, 8.7 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively.
15.155. The potential for development of this mode
of transportation is very promising. IWT mode is
best-suited for movement of bulk cargo, over dimensional cargo and hazardous goods. IWT also offers
an environment-friendly economic mode of transport compared to road and rail. According to recent
studies, the total external costs of inland navigation
after accounting for all externalities, including accidents, congestion, noise emissions, air pollution and
other environmental impacts are seven times lower
than that of road transport.
15.156. On Ganga (NW-1) alone there are 10 thermal power plants and at least 10 more are slated to
come up in near future (See Figure 15.1). The transportation of coal to these power plants is considered
to be one of the most challenging tasks. IWT can be
effectively used for this purpose, particularly for the
imported coal since most of these plants would be
importing 10–20 per cent of their coal which can be
transported through NW-1.

Review of the Eleventh Plan
15.157. At present the traffic of IWT is only 5 billion
tonne km (btkm). The target for Eleventh Plan has
been largely achieved, not so much by utilising NW1,
2 and 3 but by increased IWT movement of iron ore
in Goa waterways. In the Eleventh Plan IWAI reached
expenditure level of about `560 crore during the five
years (2007–12) with an average of `112 crore.

232

Twelfth Five Year Plan

FIGURE 15.1: Existing and Proposed Thermal Power Plants on National Waterways

15.158. The main developments during the Eleventh
Plan were:
1. Two additional waterways were declared as
National Waterways in November 2008. These
were NW-4 and NW-5. As a result of this, the
following waterways totaling 43,82 km have been
declared as National Water Ways (NWWs):
a. Ganga–Bhagirathi–Hoogly river system
(Allahabad Haldia-1,620 km) in the States of
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West
Bengal as NW-1, declared in 1986.
b. River Brahmaputra (Dhubri–Sadiya—891
km) in the State of Assam as NW-2 declared
in 1988.
c. West Coast Canal (Kottapuram–Kollam)
along with Udyogmandal and Champakara
Canals—(205 km) in the State of Kerala as
NW-3 declared in 1993.
d. Kakinada–Puducherry canals along with
Godavari and Krishna rivers (1,078 km)—
in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu and Union Territory of Puducherry as
NW-4 declared in 2008.
e. East Coast Canal integrated with Brahmani
river and Mahanadi delta rivers (588 km)
in the states of West Bengal and Odisha as
NW-5 declared in 2008.

2. A major project has been finalised involving
a private agency for developing infrastructure and transportation of 3 million tonnes per
year of imported coal from Sagar/Sandheads
to Farakka power plant of NTPC Ltd. through
NW-1 for a period of 7 years. A number of Over
Dimentional Cargoes (ODCs) have also been
transported on NW-1 from Haldia/Kolkata to
Barauni, Barh, Ballia, Jamania, and so on for
Barauni refinery, NTPC, BHEL, Power Grid
Corporation, Relianace (Sasan), Tori power
plant, Reghunathpur power project and so on.
ODC also moved from Kolkata to Jogighopa
on NW-2 and to Silchar on Barak river. This
became possible due to enhanced level of infrastructure on waterways in respect of depth, navigation aids and intermodal terminals.
3. Pandu port in Guwahati is being developed as
an IWT based inter modal hub in the North East
region with broad gauge railway connectivity.
4. Besides 8 terminals at various locations on
NW-3, IWT Ro-Ro/Lo-Lo jetties at Bolghatty
and Willingdon islands in Kochi on NW-3 are to
provide IWT linkage to Vallarpadam Port.

Transportation of Project Cargo for Palatana
Power Project in Tripura
15.159. Another important development in IWT has
been Palatana project. The commissioning of a gas

Transport 233

based power project of ONGC at Palatana in Tripura
was getting delayed due to serious problems in transporting project material from Kolkata/Haldia to the
site by road and railways. However, declaration of
Ashuganj in Bangladesh as a port of call under Indo
Bangladesh Inland Water Transit and Trade Protocol
during the year 2010 opened a new route. With this
route having become operational the new possibilities
of transporting other cargo including food grains to
Tripura and Mizoram by IWT mode have emerged.

connectivity from Mizoram to Haldia/Kolkata ports
through River Kaladan in Myanmar. The project
envisages Coastal Shipping/Maritime Shipping from
Haldia to Sittwe, IWT from Sittwe to Paletwa (in
Myanmar) and thereafter by road from Paletwa to
Mizoram. An Indian contractor has been appointed
for construction of port and IWT components at a
cost `342 crore with a completion period of 3 years.
The construction work of Sittwe port has commenced and is in progress (Figure 15.3).

Strategic Importance of IWT For North East:
Brahmaputra-Barak Route

Strategies for the Twelfth Plan

15.160. Only in case of IWT there is transit treaty
between India and Bangladesh. All weather IWT
route therefore has strategic significance in the
North East as it helps to avoid the congested West
Bengal–Sikkim narrow corridor. Several North
Eastern States can be reached through IWT routes
(Brahmaputra and Barak). Distance to Tripura,
Mizoram and Southern Assam is also much less
through IWT (Figure 15.2).

Navigation-Based Infrastructure
15.162. Large parts of Indian Waterways have inadequate Least Assured Depth (LAD) for commercial
movement of cargo. Many shippers have expressed
that there is no dearth of cargo if the waterway with
assured depth and 24 hours navigation facility is
provided and there is an adequate number of cargo
vessels.

Kaladan Multimodal Transport Project
15.161. This project was conceptualised by the
Ministry of External Affairs to provide alternative
Box 15.11
Coal Transport to Farakka through Power
Station – A Break through for IWT
NTPC’s power plant at Farakka had been facing shortage
of coal mainly on account of limitation in transportation
capacity of railways and low draft at Haldia dock. Since,
the power plant having been located on the bank of Ganga
(the National Waterway-1), it was felt that transportation
of imported coal from Haldia/Sagar/Sandheads to Farakka
by inland water transport (IWT) mode would be feasible.
In August 2010, NTPC decided for transportation of
3 million tonnes per year (MMTPA) imported coal
for seven years. IWAI and NTPC then developed a
project envisaging an investment of about `650 crore for
setting up (i) trans-shipment facility at Sagar/Sandheads
(ii) barges for 3 MMTPA coal transportation (iii) inland
water terminal at Farakka and (iv) conveyor system from
the terminal to the coal stack yard of Farakka power plant.
IWAI has now guaranteed Least Available Depth (LAD)
of 2.5 m to Farakka along with other navigational aids for
safe 24×7 navigation. A private company is developing
facilities and will maintain these for seven years.

1. Efforts should be made to develop deeper
stretches of the rivers for IWT/navigational purposes (at least 2.5 m, preferably 3.0 m. LAD for
round the year navigation).
2. Several rivers in India meander resulting in
increase in distance to be travelled on waterways as compared to road and rail. Technical
feasibility of reducing the IWT route length by
strengthening the waterway (wherever feasible)
to avoid bends could be studied.
3. There are bridges with low vertical clearance
which impede passage of bigger IWT vessels
on the waterways such as NW-3. Raising these
bridges to at least 5 m or some other technical
solution to make these canal systems navigable
for commercial cargo carriers could be considered. Alternatively vessels with lower masts can
be used to negotiate the already constructed
major bridges.
4. Lack of IWT terminals including those with
intermodal connectivity of inland waterways
inhibits door to door connectivity to end user.
There are IWT terminals on NW-1, NW-2 and
NW-3 but many of these terminals require better
linkage with road/rail. IWT terminals must have

234

Twelfth Five Year Plan

FIGURE 15.2: National Waterway-2

FIGURE 15.3: Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project

Transport 235

good connectivity with road and preferably with
rail for last mile connectivity on lines of bimodal
and tri-modal concept of developed waterways
of other countries. Similar terminal development
is required in NW-4, 5 and proposed NW- 6.
5. Private sector is reluctant to make investment
in barges unless long term cargo commitments
for onward/return trips are made available from
user industry. Eligibility of IWT Vessel building
“Infrastructure Status” could be considered to
help obtain easier credit availability.
6. Developing night navigation infrastructure with
DGPS and RIS in a time bound manner could
help 24 hour navigability.
7. MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facilities which are presently in short supply could
also catalyse the sector.
15.163. Shortage of vessels is perceived to be the
most important factor inhibiting faster growth in
IWT cargo movement. The fleet requirement for 15
btkm of IWT traffic is about 2,500 vessels of average 1,000 tonne capacity each. At present, there are
just about 600 IWT vessels in the entire country with
nearly 80 per cent vessels being located in Goa alone.
This would call for an investment of `13,000 crore.
There is need to incentivise these investments and
develop a policy framework so that private sector
investments are attracted to vessel building.

Level Playing Field
15.164. There is a transport subsidy for movement of
raw materials and finished goods for the new industries of NER but this is applicable only for rail and
road modes and not to IWT. Similarly, the transport
subsidy available for movement of fertilisers is also
meant for rail and road modes. The service tax applicable to IWT is more than rail and roads. There is
need for a level playing field and removal of distortions resulting from such policies.
15.165. Development of inland waterways is an eligible sector for Viability Gap Funding and India
Infrastructure Project Development Fund. The usage
of the IWT network for ‘water tourism’ theme has

potential to generate considerable income for the
local economies and additional income from tourist/
luxury taxes for regional and state governments. For
example, in Kerala, over 2,000 people are employed
in houseboats and other motorboats that cruise the
inland waterways filled with tourists. Expanding the
usage of IWT for tourism can be included as one of
the objectives to improve waterways for economic
development.
Human Resource Development
15.166. To meet trained manpower requirements
of the sector, it is necessary that National Inland
Navigation Institute (NINI) is strengthened and networked with Indian Maritime University and at the
same time, a few Regional Crew Training Centres are
also set up. The training should be benchmarked to
the best available standards.
Strengthening of IWT Institutional Set Up in
Riverine States
15.167. In every IWT developed region the importance of trunk waterways gets significantly enhanced
with development of feeder waterways which are
smaller in length but provide vital ‘last mile connectivity’. In India too, every big waterway has a number
of tributaries which if developed can effectively serve
as feeder routes to the main waterways. But these
waterways will have to be developed by respective
State Governments which do not have the organisation, the expertise and the resources to even consider
this aspect in their planning. Hence IWT institutions
set up in the States need to be strengthened in a big
way including for checking the safety of vessels to
prevent accidents.

Target for the Twelfth Plan
15.168. At present the share of IWT in terms of
tonne-km is about 5 btkm which is less than 0.5 per
cent of total inland cargo transportation. Given the
distinct advantages of promoting IWT, Twelfth Plan
target to at least triple the tonne-km to 15 btkm and
increase the share of IWT in transport to 1–1.5 per
cent of total inland cargo transportation from the
current level of less than 0.5 per cent.

236

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Strategy For Development of Inland Water
Transport
• Increased public and private investments in infrastructure of notified Inland Waterways.
• New policies to promote manufacture of Inland
Waterways Vessels for cargo movement by private sector.
• Development of National Waterway 4 and 5.
• Development of night infrastructure facilities to
help 24 hours navigation.
• Promoting connectivity with Bangladesh and
strengthening IWT infrastructure.
• Hinterland connectivity through IWT with ports,
both major and non-major having this facility.

PORTS
15.169. Ports constitute inter-modal interface between
maritime and road and rail transport. India has a
coast line of around 7,517 km with 12 major ports and
over 200 non-major ports along the coast line and sea
islands. Almost 95 per cent by volume and 70 per cent
by value of India’s global merchandise trade is carried
through the sea route. In 2011–12 the 12 major ports
handled about 60 per cent of the maritime cargo of the
country. The balance 40 per cent was handled by the
non-major ports. Of the 12 major ports, 11 are administered by the respective Port Trusts and Ennore Port,
the twelfth major port, which started functioning in
February 2001, is corporatised.

Review of the Eleventh Plan
Capacity Creation in the Eleventh Plan
15.170. The projected capacity creation was 1,001.80
million tonnes for the major port sector but the
achievement was 689.83 MT (Table 15.31) as compared to 504.75 MT in 2006–07 registering a growth
of 37 per cent but below the target by 31 per cent.
Cargo-wise capacity creation details for major ports
are shown in Table 15.32. Capacity of non-major and
Private Ports was envisaged to increase from 228.31
MT to 575 MT. The actual achievement was 544.65
MT, thus registering a growth of 139 per cent.
Traffic Handled by Major and Non-Major Ports
15.171. During the Eleventh Plan, traffic handled by
major ports (Table 15.31) increased from 463.78 MT

in the year 2006–07 to 560.15 MT in the year 2011–
12 against a projection of 708.09 MT, thus registering a growth of 29.48 but 26.55 per cent lower than
the projection. However, non-major ports registered
a cargo growth of 98.81 per cent during the same
period, that is, from 186.11 MT in the year 2006–07
to 370.00 MT in the year 2011–12 which is 23.26
per cent higher than the projection of 300.86 MT.
Commodity wise details are shown in Table 15.33.
Productivity in Major Ports
15.172. The average turnaround time and average
pre-berthing time at major ports have worsened
during the Eleventh Plan (Table 15.34). There is an
improvement of average output per ship berth day
from 9,745 MT in year 2006–07 to 10,967 MT in
year 2011–12. Ports-wise performance shows that
the average turnaround time declined mainly due to
good performance by Paradip, Mormugao, Chennai
and Kolkata ports. Commodity-wise it declined
for other liquid bulk, Iron Ore, FRM and Coal. It
is estimated that 57 per cent of turnaround time of
ships at Indian Ports is caused by delays due to port
related inefficiency. The Pre-berthing detention during the Eleventh Plan period has shown an increasing trend. Among the ports, healthy improvement
has been observed in Visakhapatnam, Ennore, New
Mangalore and Mormugao ports, whereas in other
ports the improvement has not been significant primarily due to non-availability of berths meant for the
cargoes like Iron Ore, Coal and Other Miscellaneous
and General Cargo continuously for a long period.
Private Sector Participation
15.173. During the Eleventh Plan, award of PPP
projects commenced only in the year 2009–10 as
first two years of the Plan were spent in finalising
MCA documents. There were, however, projects
awarded to private players based on earlier contracts. Upto 2011–12, 30 PPPs involving an investment of 9,447.40 crore and capacity addition of
204.65 MT were completed. During Eleventh Plan,
PPP projects with capacity addition of 154.5 MT
were awarded with an investment of `13,195.85
crore. The details of year wise awards during the
Eleventh Plan are given in Table 15.35.

Transport 237

TABLE 15.31
Eleventh Plan Projection and Achievements of Traffic and Capacity by Major Ports
Port

Traffic in Eleventh Plan (MT)

Total Capacity in Eleventh Plan (MT)

(2011–12)

Project

Achievement

per cent

Project

Achievement

per cent

Kolkata

13.43

12.23

31.45

16.35

Haldia

44.50

31.01

63.40

50.70

Paradeep

76.40

54.25

106.4

76.50

108.1

Visakhapatnam

82.20

67.42

72.93

Ennore

47.00

14.96

64.20

31.00

Chennai

57.50

55.71

72.30

79.72

110

Tuticorin

31.72

28.10

63.98

33.34

Cochin

38.17

20.10

54.75

40.98

NMPT

48.81

32.94

60.50

50.97

Mormugao

44.55

39.00

66.90

41.90

Mumbai

71.05

56.18

91.91

44.53

JNPT

66.04

65.75

100

95.60

64.00

Kandla

86.72

82.50

122.20

86.91

708.09

560.15

1,001.80

689.83

Total

TABLE 15.32
Commodity Wise Capacity Creation by Major Ports
during Eleventh Plan
(Million Metric Tonnes)
Sl.
No.

Capacity

2006–07

2011–12

Increase
(per cent)

POL

174.70

228.76

30.94

Iron Ore

57.50

79.50

38.26

Coal

46.25

65.95

42.59

Container

88.08

137.53

56.14

Other Cargo

138.22

178.09

28.84

Total

504.75

689.83

36.67

Dredging
15.174. The requirement of capital dredging in the
Eleventh Plan was envisaged to increase more than
two-fold, to 298.28 million cubic meters (MCuM)
for major ports and 368.59MCuM for non-major
ports, besides maintenance dredging of 380.06
MCuM and 46.41MCuM, respectively. To enable
this, a more liberal dredging policy was brought
into force which allows ports to charter foreign
flag dredgers after granting the Indian companies

the ‘first right of refusal’. Against the targeted Plan,
only 40.02 per cent and 67.92 per cent have been
achieved under the capital and maintenance dredging respectively.
15.175. The capacity of the DCI, established in 1976,
to provide integrated dredging services to major and
minor ports was 73.60 MCuM of Trailer Suction
Dredgers (TSDs) and 6.25 MCuM of Cutter Suction
Dredgers (CSDs) at the start of the Tenth Plan.
During the Eleventh Plan, DCI was envisaged to
acquire 10 TSDs of 5,000–9,000 CuM hopper capacity and 5 CSDs of 2,000–3,000 CuM hopper capacity
in addition to other auxiliary equipment. However,
against outlay of `2,292 crore, DCI’s anticipated
expenditure by the end of Eleventh Plan is only
`828.35 crore.
Port Connectivity
15.176. The Eleventh Plan envisaged that each major
port should have at least four-lane road and double lane rail connectivity. At present, 13 road projects with combined road length of 360 km at a total
cost of `4,149.66 crore and rail projects at a cost of
`3,903.00 crore are under implementation.

238

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 15.33
Traffic Handled at Major and Non-Major Ports during Eleventh Plan
Traffic
POL

Major Ports

Non-Major Ports

Major and Non-Major Ports

2006–07 2011–12 % increase

2006–07 2011–12 % Increase

154.34

179.28

16.16

80.37

188.00

133.92

234.71

367.28

56.48

Iron Ore

80.59

60.60

(–)24.80

34.33

51.00

48.56

114.92

111.60

(–)2.89

Fert. and FRM*

14.12

20.42

44.62

4.67

11.00

135.55

18.79

31.42

67.22

Coal

59.98

78.74

31.28

12.92

77.00

495.98

72.90

155.74

113.64

Container

73.44

120.22

63.70

7.87

19.00

141.42

81.31

139.22

71.22

Other Cargo

81.31

100.89

24.08

45.95

24.00

(–)47.77

127.26

124.89

(–)1.86

463.78

560.15

20.78

186.11

98.81

649.89

930.15

43.12

Total

370

* Fertiliser and Fertiliser Raw Material (FRM).
TABLE 15.34
Trend of the Productivity Parameters during
Eleventh Plan

TABLE 15.35
Year-wise Awards during Eleventh Plan under PPP
Years

Year

Average
Output Per
Ship Berth
Day (Tonnes)

Average
Turnaround
Time (Days)

2006–07

9,745

2007–08

10,071

Investment/Awards
(` in crore)

Capacity Addition
(in MMT)

Average
Pre-berthing
Detention
Time (Hours)

2007–08

703.34

7.50

2008–09

749.43

18.00

3.62

10.05

2009–10

618.95

19.50

3.93

11.40

2010–11

3,147.13

30.50

2011–12

7,977.00

79.00

13,195.85

154.50

2008–09

10,473

3.87

9.55

2009–10

10,482

4.42

11.75

2010–11

10,735

4.67

11.76

2011–12

10,967

4.44

11.14

Eleventh Plan Outlay and Expenditure
15.177. An outlay of `30,323.11 crore (at 2006–07
prices) had been approved for the port sector, comprising `3,315.00 crore as GBS and `26,574.11 crore
through IEBR of which `17,684.61 crore or 59.62 per
cent is expected to be utilised. In addition, private sector investment of `36,868.00 crore and a public investment of `3,627.00 crores is expected in the state sector.

Twelfth Plan
Traffic and Capacity Augmentation
15.178. To meet the overall projected traffic of
1,758.26 million tonnes by 2016–17, the total capacity of the port sector is envisaged to be 2,289.04 million tonnes. The traffic forecast by the end of Twelfth
Plan would be 943.06 million tonnes and 815.20 million tonnes for the major ports and non-major ports

Total

respectively with the corresponding ports capacities of 1,229.24 million tonnes and 1,059.80 million
tonnes respectively.
15.179. The details of the traffic/capacity projections
(port wise and commodity wise as well as major and
non-major ports wise) by the end of Twelfth Plan are
given in Tables 15.36, 15.37 and 15.38 respectively.

Issues and Strategies for the Twelfth Plan
Committee on Ports
15.180. The Plan will need to ensure adequate
investments in the Port Sector to meet the growing capacity needs of our international and coastal
trade, improve efficiency by reducing dwell time and
turnaround time and introduce legislative and institutional reforms to support these. The Committee
on Ports headed by Shri B.K. Chaturvedi, Member
(Transport), Planning Commission has suggested a
series of reforms to attain the above objectives and

Transport 239

these will need to be taken up. To support capacity expansion in port sector, necessary measures for
efficient environment clearance and land acquisition
will be taken up. An area, which will need special
attention, is security clearance. The policy on this
needs to be revised and made efficient.
Tariff Regulation
15.181. With the key objective of determining tariffs
for the major ports and also specify the conditionality
governing these tariffs, TAMP was established in 1997
by an amendment in the Major Port Trust’s Act, 1963.
With the increase in port capacities, it is necessary that
in the next five years, the ports move gradually to a
competitive mode of tariff. Already all non-Major Ports
are doing so. A task force under the Chairmanship of
Shri B.K. Chaturvedi to review the draft Port Regulatory
Bill was formed which has finalised its report which will
be of use to review the policy in this area.
Electronic Data Interchange
15.182. Efficient electronic data interchange is
required to improve the efficiency of Ports. It is necessary for Port Community System (PCS) to integrate
the electronic flow of document/information and
function as centralised hub for all the major Ports of
India and also stakeholders like shipping lines/agents,
surveyors, stevedores, banks, container freight stations, custom house agents, importers and customs.
Further, non-major ports should also gradually integrate with the centralised port community.

TABLE 15.36
Major Ports wise Traffic/Capacity Projections by End of
Twelfth Plan
(Million Tonnes)
Port

Traffic

Capacity

Existing Forecast Existing Forecast
(2011–12) (2016–17) (2011–12) (2016–17)
Kolkata

12.23

22.87

16.35

32.85

Haldia Dock
Complex

31.01

53.20

50.70

71.10

Paradip

54.25

87.70

70.50

125.50

Visakhapatnam

67.42

80.00

72.93

130.23

Ennore

14.96

82.45

31.00

78.00

Chennai

55.71

69.74

79.72

114.72

V.O.
Chidambaranar

28.01

48.84

33.34

81.54

Cochin

20.10

45.50

40.98

57.83

New Mangalore

32.94

53.50

50.97

84.89

Mormugao

39.00

58.25

41.90

72.71

Mumbai

56.18

67.40

44.53

79.13

JNPT

65.75

140.21

64.00

155.61

Kandla

82.50

130.90

86.91

145.13

560.15

943.06

689.93

1,229.24

Port Blair
Total

2.50

Dredging
15.183. Drafts at Indian Ports both in the channel
and at berths need to be improved. It should be a
major objective of the Twelfth Plan that ports in India

TABLE 15.37
Commodity wise Capacity by the end of Twelfth Plan
(Million Tonnes)
Commodity

Major ports
Existing
(2011–12)

POL (incl. LNG)

Non-major ports

Forecast
(2016–17)

Existing
(2011–12)

Forecast
(2016–17)

Total
Existing
(2011–12)

Forecast
(2016–17)

228.76

299.66

276.74

299.90

505.50

599.56

Iron Ore

79.50

143.55

75.07

101.40

154.57

244.95

Coal

65.95

178.65

113.35

365.20

179.30

543.85

Containers

137.53

306.19

27.97

130.00

165.50

436.19

Others including Fert and FRM

178.09

301.19

51.52

163.30

229.61

464.49

Total

689.83

1,229.24

544.65

1,059.80

1,234.48

2,289.04

240

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 15.38
Commodity Wise Traffic by the End of
Twelfth Plan (2016–17)
(Million Tonnes)
Commodity

Major Ports Non-Major Ports

Total

POL (incl. LNG)

249.49

230.70

480.19

Iron Ore

112.00

78.00

190.00

Fert and FRM

22.57

8.60

31.17

Coal

158.10

280.90

439.00

Containers

268.50

100.00

368.50

Others

132.40

117.00

249.40

Total

943.06

815.20

1,758.26

increase the draft to at least 14 meters in all Ports by
the end of Twelfth Plan period and achieve 17 meters
in Hub-Ports according to the potential of bigger size
ships calling at these ports. In the Twelfth Plan, the
requirement of capital dredging has been estimated at
221.11 MCuM for major ports and 418.03 MCuM for
non-major ports, besides maintenance dredging of
404.25 MCuM and 125.58 MCuM, respectively.
15.184. The dredging capability of DCI is limited
which needs to be enhanced substantially. The All
India Dredging Cadre scheme needs to be strengthened and suitable measures have to be taken to retain
the trained personnel. Suitable measures will need to
be taken to overcome the time overrun experienced
in dry docking of the existing dredgers. Long-term
contracts with ports, which have continuous maintenance dredging needs to be developed. Financing
of such ventures could help DCI to acquire new
dredgers with equity support from such ports.
Technological developments and innovations taking
place in this area should be kept in mind and DCI
should go for the latest technology in procuring the
dredgers and in the execution of dredging.
Productivity and Dwell Time
15.185. To improve port efficiency and labour productivity, broad strategies like, creation of adequate
port capacity with a gap of 30 per cent between
the installed capacity and the traffic consistent
with international norms, and the drafts of at least

14 meters up to 17 meters according to the potential of bigger size vessels calling at particular port is
essential. Several Indian ports are unattractive due
to high dwell time on account of customs and port
side constraints like inadequate infrastructure (PH
offer/test laboratories/testing procedures), absence
of seamless connectivity with other modes, and various IT related bottlenecks.
Containerisation and Hinterland Connectivity
15.186. Containerised traffic is growing at a faster
pace than other forms of traffic. In India too container cargo which formed only 15.8 per cent of total
cargo handled in Major Ports in 2006–07 increased
to 21.5 per cent per cent in 2011–12. The CAGR of
container traffic was 5.2 per cent during the Eleventh
Five Year Plan which was much higher than the
overall growth of traffic of 1.5 per cent for Major
Ports during the same period. The Twelfth Plan will
therefore give due focus on increasing the share of
containerised cargo in ports with a view to capturing
a higher share of international trade. The projects for
rail/road connectivity need to be taken up and monitored closely both for Major and non-Major Ports.
For all these, ports, rail and road investments will be
prioritised. Port traffic within India is carried largely
by railways and road transport, with pipelines carrying crude oil and petroleum products. Railways are
presently carrying considerably less than their optimal share of port traffic and road transport has made
up the deficit partly with many negative externalities.
Private Sector Participation
15.187. The Private Sector participation will play a
major role in realising the anticipated capacity augmentation in the ports during the Twelfth Plan. It
is, therefore, imperative that PPP model is worked
successfully and impediments removed. Specially,
the system for security clearance for ports needs to
be streamlined and made faster. There is also a need
to expand existing framework to attract participation
from the private sector for development of infrastructure facilities other than container terminals
and berths such as are dredging, road infrastructure,
creation of SEZ and development of integrated parking zones in the port area.

Transport 241

Non-Major Ports
15.188. An important component of the capacity creation is the development of non-major ports.
The Indian Ports Association has information on
a regular basis only about major ports, but has less
details about progress of works in non-major ports.
Considering the fact that nearly 1/3rd of the traffic is
handled by them and it is likely to increase significantly during Twelfth Plan, this gap in the system
needs to be rectified quickly.
Institutional Reforms and Corporatisation
15.189. Presently, Indian Ports Act, 1908 extends
uniformly to all the ports in the country whereas, the
Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 applies only to major
ports. Though both the Acts have undergone piecemeal revisions to accommodate necessary changes
from time to time, no comprehensive review of the
various provisions of the Act was carried out so far.
There is a need for reform to ensure growth and
meet the international competitive environment.

Some Major Initiatives in the Twelfth Plan
15.192. Some of the major initiatives for the Ports
Sector is indicated below:

• Re-look at MCA to promote PPP in port sector
• Re-look at port regulation and tariff setting by
TAMP by adopting practices consistent with the
Landlord Port model.
• Capital Dredging to increase the draft of ports
to at least 14 meters in all ports by the end of the
Twelfth Plan and to achieve 17 meters in subports according to the potential of trade.
• Investment in land infrastructure including modern cranes, silos/ warehouses, ICDs, connectivity
and so on.
• Move towards greater flexibility for decision making by Port Trusts through greater delegation of
powers.
• Landlord port model.
• Corporatisation of major ports in the long run.

CIVIL AVIATION
15.190. The present institutional and regulatory
arrangements are inadequate and deficient to meet
the challenge of efficiency and bringing port services
to world class standards. The ports management
needs to be strengthened so that they work on commercial basis. Corporatisation is one way of achieving this by conversion of major ports trusts into truly
commercial organisation. It is the process by which
a port trust is converted into legally and financially
independent entity with its own Board of Directors
and governed by the provisions of the Companies
Act. It is equally important that they are given full
autonomy to respond quickly to the requirements of
port development which are very large. We need to
shift to landlord port organisational model quickly.
The role of the state must be confined to setting policies and evolving strategies. Necessary reforms will be
carried out during the Plan on the above approach.

Outlay for Shipping Sector in Twelfth Plan
15.191. The outlay for Shipping Sector in Twelfth
Plan includes `6,960 crore as GBS and `21,990 crore
as IEBR. In addition the private sector is expressed to
invest nearly 1,70,000 crore in the Port Sector.

Overview
15.193. The Civil Aviation services have expanded
rapidly with the opening up of domestic skies to
private carriers in the second half of the Tenth Plan
through PPP investment in the airport infrastructure. The sector contributes significantly to development by generating employment opportunities
directly and indirectly besides facilitating enhancement of productivity and efficiency in the movement
of goods and services.

Review of the Eleventh Plan
15.194. The Eleventh Plan aimed to provide world
class infrastructure for safe, reliable, and affordable
air services so as to encourage growth in passenger
and cargo traffic, and air connectivity to remote and
inaccessible areas with special reference to NorthEastern part of the country.
15.195. Against an investment target of `49,267.00
crore comprising of `1,900.00 crore as budgetary
support and `47,367.00 crore as IEBR, the anticipated expenditure during Eleventh Plan period is

242

Twelfth Five Year Plan

`44,124.00 crore comprising of IEBR of `39,571.11
crore and budgetary support of `4,552.89 crore.
Thus there would be a shortfall of `5,143.00 crore

(10.44 per cent) in utilisation of the approved outlay.
The anticipated utilisation under budgetary support
would be 239.63 per cent and 83.54 per cent under
IEBR.
15.196. The Indian civil aviation industry managed
to exhibit resilience in face of the recent global economic slowdown. Both passenger and cargo traffic have shown robust growth and there has been
modernisation and augmentation of capacities, in a
major way, at various metro and non-metro airports.
Some of the key developments during last five years
include the following:
• India has become the ninth largest civil aviation
market in the world;
• Passenger handling capacity has risen threefolds from 72 million (FY 06) to over 220 million
(FY 11);
• Cargo handling capacity has risen from 0.5 million MT (FY 06) to 3.3 million MT (FY 11);

• Connectivity to North Eastern region has risen
from 87 flights per week to 286 flights per week;
• Four international airport projects were successfully completed through the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, viz. greenfield development
of Hyderabad and Bengaluru international airports and modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai
international airports (Box 15.12);
• The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority
(AERA) was established to safeguard the interests of
users and service providers at Indian airports; and
• As of now five Indian carriers are operating on
international routes.

Twelfth Plan
Objectives
15.197. The Plan aims to propel India among the top
five civil aviation markets in the world by providing
access to safe, secure and affordable air services to
everyone through an appropriate regulatory frame
work and by developing world class infrastructure
facilities (Table 15.39).

Box 15.12
Development of Airports During the Eleventh Plan
The Private sector played an unprecedented role during the Eleventh Plan in the area of airport development. Five international
airport projects were successfully completed through the public–private partnership (PPP) mode, viz. greenfield development
of Hyderabad and Bengaluru international airports and modernisation of Kochi, Delhi and Mumbai international airports.
Total investment made by private airport operators in the last five years was to the tune of `30,000 crore. Along with the
private sector, Airport Authority of India (AAI) has continued to create airport infrastructure at a rapid pace incurring an
expenditure of `12,500 crores during the Eleventh Plan. AAI is upgrading and modernising 35 non-metro airports in the
country including those at Agra, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhopal, Jaipur, Pune and Goa, at an estimated cost of around `4,500
crore. Of these 35 airports, 26 have already been developed, while the remaining are likely to be completed by end of 2012.
AAI is also enhancing air connectivity in the North-East by way of Greenfield airport at Pakyong (Sikkim).
The Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin now have airports that compare very well internationally. A major
achievement during the Eleventh Plan was the commissioning of terminal 3 (T3) and associated infrastructure at Delhi
international airport in a record period of 37 months. The Chennai and Kolkata airports are also being modernised and
expanded by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). These airports handle 60 per cent of the air traffic in the country. The
passenger handling capacity has increased from 13.83 to 60 million at Delhi; 18.50 to 25 million at Mumbai; 3.25 to 9.78
million at Bengaluru; 3.60 to 12 million at Hyderabad; 3.46 to 5 million at Kochi; 7.74 to 23 million at Chennai and 4.06 to
24.06 million at Kolkata during the Eleventh Plan period. Airport capacity in these cities is therefore considered adequate till
the end of the Twelfth Plan period except for the city of Mumbai where the total capacity required at the end of Twelfth Plan
would be 50.27 million against the total capacity creation of 40 million by the end of Twelfth Plan. Since, the capacity required
and the capacity created would not match, there is need for developing another airport at Mumbai.

Transport 243

Traffic Projections
TABLE 15.39
Growth Projections for the Twelfth Five Year Plan:
Passenger and Cargo Traffic Forecasts
Passenger/Freight

2011

2016–17

Average Annual
Rate of Growth

106

209

12 %

Passenger (Million)
(i) Domestic
(ii) International
Cargo (MMTPA)
(i) Domestic

0.9

1.7

12 %

(ii) International

1.5

2.7

10 %

Strategies
15.198. To realise objectives of the Twelfth
Plan, (i) aircraft and airport capacities would
be increased, (ii) airports to be modernised and
upgraded to increase passenger facilities and to
speed up cargo clearance, strengthen security and
safety measures for safe and reliable air services,
(iii) improve air connectivity to NE Region, other
remote areas and tourist destinations, create right
infrastructure for the rapid growth of helicopter operations, (iv) introduce seaplane operations,
(v) to generate employment and to provide better
infrastructure for training to make available qualified human resources, and (vi) strengthening of
regulatory framework on safety and economic regulatory aspects of Civil Aviation, by setting up Civil
Aviation Authority.

Airport Infrastructure
15.199. Passenger terminal capacity in all airports
put together is expected to be 230-240 million by
2012 and by 2017 it would be about 370 million as
per the investment plans of the operators. Cargo
growth presently being witnessed will necessitate
investment in specialised cargo terminal and equipment. Independent estimates suggest an additional
requirement of 30 functional airports by 2017 and
about 180 functional airports in all over the next 10
years. Thus, growth in the passenger and cargo traffic requires significant investments for construction
of new airports, expansion and modernisation of

existing airports, improvement in connecting infrastructure (road, metro, sea link, and so on.) and better airspace management.
15.200. Budgetary support from Government for
investment in development of airports in remote areas
and regions which need special consideration from
socio economic and connectivity point of view would
be taken care by the AAI. Regional airport development to cater to the emerging air traffic in Tier II and
Tier III towns may initially require budgetary support during the initial period of its operations and
until such time the operations become viable. Even at
present, there are only 12–13 airports of AAI that are
making profit at current level of operations.
15.201. Indian airports would require to meet the
traffic growth projections an investment of about
`67,500 crores during the Twelfth Plan, of which
around `50,000 crore is likely to be contributed by
the Private Sector (Table 15.40).
TABLE 15.40
Investment Requirements during the Twelfth Plan
` in crore

Investor

Investment Category

AAI

Airport projects

17,500

Private Investments

By Airport Operator

40,000

By Others (Concessionaires,
Third Party, and so on.)

10,000

TOTAL

67,500

Air Navigation Services (ANS)
15.202. Air Space and Air Traffic Management infrastructure assumes critical importance in the context
of the Indian Air Transport sector transitioning to
the next growth phase. Broadly, it involves deployment of equipment relating to CNS (Communication
Navigation and Surveillance) and Air Traffic
Management Systems. Presently air navigation services in India are provided by the Airport Authority
of India. An important initiative that needs to be
pursued and implemented is separation of Air traffic control (ATC) from airport authority of India
(AAI) in line with the best practices in the world.
It has been suggested that in addition to adequate
investment proposed in ANS infrastructure during

244

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Box 15.13
GAGAN—The Indian Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) for
Air Navigation Services (ANS)
GAGAN, the Indian SBAS (Satellite Based Augmentation System) is a project jointly undertaken by the Airport Authority
of India and ISRO to achieve smooth transition to satellite based navigation and seamless air traffic management across
continents. GAGAN is designed to provide additional accuracy, availability, and integrity necessary to enable user to rely on
GPS for all phases of flight, form en route through approach, for all qualified airports within the GAGAN service volume.
GAGAN will provide the capability for increased accuracy in position reporting, thereby making possible high-quality
Air Traffic Management (ATM). GAGAN will provide benefits beyond aviation to all modes of transportation, including
maritime, highways, railways and public services such as defense services, security agencies, and disaster recovery management
by aiding in search and rescue to locate the disaster zone accurately, telecom industry and personal users of position location
applications.
After USA, Japan and Europe, India has taken up the challenge of establishing the regional SBAS that will redefine the
navigation in India and in adjacent regions. The footprint of GAGAN will cover huge area beyond Indian Territory, from
Africa to Australia and can support seamless navigation across the globe. The system is also interoperable with other such
systems of WAAS of USA, EGNOSS of Europe and MSAT of Japan.
The lead taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in implementing GAGAN and possible certification by 2014 will propel India
as the only fourth country to have this facility in the world.

the Twelfth Plan, an independent Air Navigation
Services Corporation should be set up to manage
capacity, safety, congestion and efficiency issues of
air transport.
15.203. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has constituted a Committee for formulating the next generation ANS master plan to enhance capacity and safety
levels in the face of higher air traffic movements in
future. The ANS infrastructure would move towards
greater integration and automation with implementation of state-of-the-art technologies. The system would include a centralised Air Traffic Flow
Management with networked VHF and Radars
capable of providing dynamic sectors, which permits alignment with traffic pattern. Existing software
and hardware infrastructure would be upgraded
or replaced. It is estimated that an investment of
`4,400 crore will be made into this sector during the
Twelfth Plan of which `3,700 crore would be in ANS
infrastructure and air safety and `700 crore in the
GAGAN (see Box 15.13) project.

Air Lines
15.204. Anticipating significant growth in traffic,
most Indian carriers have placed orders to augment
their aircraft fleet. According to an estimate, airlines in

India are expected to add around 370 aircrafts worth
`1,50,000 crores to their fleet by 2017. Fleet expansion
at this scale would require airlines to explore multiple
funding options including capital markets, long-term
borrowings and leasing, and so on.

Aviation Turbine Fuel
15.205. A major difficulty being faced by airlines is
the high cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), which
is further aggravated by taxes. Viewed in inter-modal
context, it is desirable to rationalise ATF pricing and
to review the tax structure so that Airline operation
becomes viable.The cost of ATF constitutes 40–50
per cent of the total operating cost and thus is a formidable challenge for the financial health of airlines.
This has been a long standing issue that requires an
immediate resolution. ATF prices in India are distorted because it is subjected to a multitude of cascading taxes by different government entities despite
being an input fuel (similar to coal and gas); it is subjected to sales tax as high as 30 per cent. It is nearly
60 per cent costlier than competing hubs like Dubai,
Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and hurts India’s
competitiveness. The comparison of ATF prices in
India with competing hubs has been detailed below
(Table 15.41)

Transport 245

TABLE 15.41
Comparison of ATF Prices in India with
Competing Hubs
Location

Price/Kilolitre (USD)

India

1,400

Singapore

825

Bangkok

880

Kuala Lumpur

810

Dubai

840

15.206. Due to the distortion in the price structure
caused by the taxation policies, the financial viability of airlines is getting strongly affected. Either
ATF should be included in the unified Goods and
Services Tax or ATF should be accorded the status
of “Declared Good” that carries lower and uniform
tax rate.

Multi-Modal Connectivity
15.207. The major airports in India are mostly at a
considerable distance from the city centre. Apart
from causing inconvenience to the passengers, this
also adversely affects the comparative advantage in
terms of saving in time otherwise enjoyed by other
modes of transport. These airports need to be connected to cities by metros and expressways to get
full advantage of air transportation by reducing the
total travel time, as has been done in the case of IGI
Airport, New Delhi.

Foreign Equity Participation
15.208. The Domestic Air Transport Policy
approved by the government provides for foreign
equity participation up to 49 per cent and investment by non-resident Indians (NRIs) up to 100 per
cent in the domestic air transport services. With a
view to attracting new technology and management
expertise, government has permitted up to 49 per
cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by foreign airlines in Indian airline companies.

Air Cargo
15.209. The current share of air-cargo compared to
other modes of cargo-transportation is fairly low in
India. The potential for air-cargo growth in India
can be gauged from the fact that some of the global

airports such as Hong Kong, Dubai and Incheon
(Seoul) handle cargo volumes which are much
more than at Indian airports. The present operating
parameters (daily throughput, dwell times) at most
air-cargo terminals of the country are far from international best-practices. The following key enablers
would be imperative for growth of India’s air-cargo
industry:
1. Higher Automation: Poor cargo handling infrastructure at airports leads to spoilage and pilferage, increased turnaround times and degradation
in the quality of items causing perception issues
for Indian exports. There is an urgent need to
facilitate efficiency in air-cargo through IT tools
and automated material handling.
2. India as a Trans-shipment Cargo Hub: Given its
geographic location, India can aspire to become
an international cargo hub. To begin with, India
needs to facilitate trans-shipment of cargo to and
from our neighboring countries, many of whom
do not have regular air services to key markets in
Europe and America.
3. Trans-shipment at Indian airports is currently
negligible. Major bottlenecks are absence of dedicated trans-shipment infrastructure at airports
and lack of clarity on the trans-shipment procedures. Conservative estimates by KPMG indicate that the Indian subcontinent alone can offer
trans-shipment opportunity of 80,000-1,00,000
MT per annum.
4. Dwell Time Reduction: Cargo dwell times for
large Indian airports currently range from 3 to 5
days as compared to an average of 4 to 12 hours
at leading global airports. Reduction in dwell
time and faster clearance of cargo are extremely
critical for India.
5. 24×7 Customs Operation: A review of the current customs clearance procedures is extremely
important. There is also a serious need for Indian
Customs to operate in a 24×7 environment. This
would require close and regular interaction
between MoCA, Central Board of Customs and
Excise (CBEC) and the industry.
6. Establishment of Air-Freight Stations (AFS) in
the hinterland: A significant amount of congestion, damage and pilferage is caused by the

246

Twelfth Five Year Plan

current practice of cargo being brought to terminal in loose units which is then unitised into
pallets or containers before being loaded onto
aircrafts. This problem can be alleviated by setting up AFSs’ in the hinterland. Customs check,
X-ray screening and palletisation can take place
at the AFS and airport terminals would only act
as a ‘processing gateway’ between airlines and
cargo carriers. Success of Containers Freight
Stations (CFS) for marine cargo is a clear indication of the need for a similar concept in the aircargo industry.

categories, viz. Category I, II and III. Route categorisation was based on traditionally surplus generating
routes (Category I), loss making routes (Category
II) and the remaining routes (Category III). The
Category I routes were largely inter-metro routes
and generated surplus that cross-subsidised losses
largely on Category II routes which served regions
of difficult terrain and destinations in remote areas.
Implementation of Route dispersal guidelines aimed
at ensuring that all players in the liberalised era
would deploy capacity to destinations in remote
areas and would participate equitably in providing
air transportation to remote areas.

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)
15.210. Indian MRO industry is expected to triple in
size from `2,250 crore in 2010 to `7,000 crore by 2020.
However, this may still be small compared to the
present MRO industry size of other countries such as
UAE (`8,000 crore per annum) and China (`10,000
crore per annum). India has the potential to be an
MRO hub due to the growing aircraft fleet, locational
advantage and availability of talent. Given the growth
of Indian aviation, it is logical to encourage MRO
infrastructure to support the growth in the sector.

Ground Handling
15.211. By 2017, ground handling market is expected
to double from present `2,000 crore to `3,900 crore.
A number of global ground-handling players have
aggressive expansion plans in India. This would,
however, depend significantly on supportive policies
and requisite airport infrastructure development.

Regional Airlines
15.212. To tap the vast potential of growth of traffic
and to encourage balanced growth of civil aviation,
regional airlines need to be promoted. The promotion of regional airlines would, however, be through
more liberal policy and provision of better infrastructure facilities. The rules and procedures governing the entry may also be simplified.

Other Challenges
Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG)
15.213. In accordance with the Route Dispersal
Guidelines, all routes were divided into three

Air Connectvity in North Eastern Region and Other
Remote Areas
15.214. North-East Region of India comprises
of eight states viz. Assam, Arunachal Pradesh,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura
and Sikkim. Most of the places in the North-Eastern
states are inaccessible due to inadequate road/rail
facilities. Only viable means of transportation in the
region is by air. At present, air services are available
to/from 11 airports in the North Eastern Region.
During last five years from 2006–2011, total number of flights operated on domestic network visà-vis flights in North-Eastern Region, Jammu &
Kashmir Region, Andaman & Nicobar Island and
Lakshadweep Island are indicated in Table 15.42.

15.215. The connectivity to NER, J&K, A&N Islands
and Lakshadweep has grown at 43 per cent, 72 per
cent, 75 per cent and 67 per cent respectively which
are higher than growth in total domestic Network of
39 per cent during the period from 2006 to 2011. In
addition to scheduled air services, non-scheduled air
services are being provided by North East Shuttle (a
non-scheduled operator) with small aircraft. Pawan
Hans Helicopters Ltd is also providing helicopter
services in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura
and Sikkim with subsidy from Government for carriage of passengers, emergency/medical evacuation.
A private Helicopter operator also operates passenger services in Arunachal Pradesh.
15.216. Despite some degree of success of Route
Dispersal Guidelines in ensuring air connectivity to

Transport 247

TABLE 15.42
Flights/Week
Flight Details

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Total on Domestic Network

8,724

10,624

11,048

1,063

11,315

12,107

North-Eastern Region

259

285

298

286

347

370

Jammu & Kashmir

104

116

110

113

120

179

Andaman & Nicobar Island

Lakshadweep Island

North-Eastern Region, Jammu & Kashmir and other
places, air connectivity has largely been confined to
few airports in these regions. The air connectivity is
largely concentrated on routes connecting state capitals. Air connectivity has not increased proportionately on routes connecting Island airports. Although
all the scheduled domestic airlines are complying
with mandatory capacity deployment requirements
contained in Route Dispersal Guidelines, however,
some parts of the country still remain unconnected
by air services or partly connected. A sustainable
and durable solution in the long run could be found
only in direct intervention by way of development of
small low cost ‘no-frill‘ airports and regional airlines
through providing direct subsidies in a transparent
manner both for airport operator and for the carrier.
As of now there are 22 airports and civil enclaves in
the NER. Amongst these there are seven fully operational AAI airports at Agartala, Barapani, Dibrugarh,
Guwahati, Imphal and Lilabari. Besides there are
four civil enclaves at Jorhat, Bagdogra, Silchar and
Tejpur. AAI has plans to develop Guwahati as a
inter-regional hub and Dibrugarh, Imphal and
Agartala as intra-regional hub. As a low cost airport,
to begin with, AAI would be developing Daparizo
Airport in Arunchal Pradesh for 20 seater aircraft
in phase I. Similarly the other airports in the region
could be identified for developing as small airports
suitable for small carriers keeping in view the strategic and socio-economic development needs of the
areas.
Safety
15.217. With the advancement and growth in aviation
activities in India, the challenges to keep the skies safe
need to be met appropriately. Safety is of paramount
importance. As the number of operations increase, it

is a challenging task to keep the rate of accident and
incident in check. The congestion in the skies also
poses a threat of near-misses and collision warnings.
The increase in number of movements affects runway
safety, ramp safety, incursions and excursions, ramp
congestion, precautionary landings, aborted take
offs, and other serious situations affecting safety. The
implementation of Safety Programme by DGCA and
safety management systems by all stake holders needs
to be ensured. It is proposed to further strengthen
DGCA during the Plan. Dedicated staff for the training academy has already been sanctioned. As a joint
venture with AAI, the training academy will ensure
technical capability of the highest level to enhance the
skills of officials in various fields
Human Resource Development
15.218. It has been estimated that total manpower
requirement of airlines will rise from 62,000 in FY
2011 to 1,17,000 by FY 2017. This includes number
of pilots, cabin crew, aircrafts engineers and technicians (MRO), ground handling staff, cargo handling
staff, administrative and sales staff. India currently
has over 4,500 pilots, including 400 expatriates. With
the doubling of fleet size expected by 2017, India will
require a total of around 9,000 pilots by 2017. This
implies an average addition of at least 800 pilots per
year for the next five years, not accounting for attrition and replacements of expatriate pilots (about 400),
required to be phased out by end of 2013. Currently
23 out of 40 institutes for pilot training are nonoperational. The remaining 17 institutes offer training facilities for commercial pilots with an annual
turnover of over 100 pilots. There is acute shortage
of trained pilots/commanders in India. In addition, many courses of some of the pilot training
institutes are not recognised by DGCA, leading to

248

Twelfth Five Year Plan

high rejection rates. Exams are conducted every
three months compared to weekly exams in developed countries. It is necessary to meet these gaps in
the Twelfth Plan and increase facilities for human
resource development.

Current Regulatory Environment in Civil
Aviation Sector
15.219. In order to regulate tariff and other charges
for the aeronautical services rendered at airports
and to monitor performance of airports, Airports
Economic Regulatory Authority of India was set up
in 2008 through an Act of Parliament. DGCA performs safety oversight functions of airline industry,
and limited Economic Regulation covering fares,
rates, services affecting such fares and rates.
15.220. Globally, Civil Aviation sector is regulated
by independent regulators. Therefore, creation of a
Civil Aviation Authority as a unified regulator covering both safety and economic aspects of airline
industry is the need of the hour. Existing Directorate
General of Civil Aviation could be subsumed in the
proposed Civil Aviation Authority as an enforcement
wing. CAA will be the regulatory policy making body
which will also have administrative control over the
enforcement wing (the present DGCA) to ensure the
implementation of its regulatory decisions. Setting up
of independent and autonomous regulatory body is
not only consistent with international best practices
but also essential to meet the challenges of a growing
industry with multiple players from both India and
abroad. Independent Regulators are mandated to
adopt transparent process in decision making, which
is necessary to impart regulatory certainty to investors current and potential.

National Aviation University
15.221. A skilled and competent workforce is essential to create a safe and efficient aviation industry.
Without this India cannot join the ranks of the leading aviation nations. A vibrant, world class education and training sector is therefore essential to meet
the rising demand for skilled workforce at all levels.
It is found that there is a near absence of qualitative
and duly recognised formal Educational programme

leading to award of Diploma/Degree/Post Graduate
Degree in the field of Civil Aviation in the country.
As a result of this, all major as well as minor agencies/organisations in the sector have to mostly
recruit persons and invest considerable resources in
post recruitment training. It is therefore necessary
to establish National Aviation University to cater
to the growing educational and training requirements of the Civil Aviation Sector on the pattern of
National Maritime University which has been established under the Ministry of Shipping, Government
of India for the purpose of development of Human
Resources for Shipping and Ports sector

Development of Areospace Industry
15.222. Considering the growth prospects of Air
Traffic in the country, the potential for large scale
acquisition of aircrafts by the carriers in India, and
the competitive advantages arising out of growing pool of scientific and technical manpower in
the country it is felt necessary to consider initiating activities towards development of aerospace
industry. Independent traffic forecasts suggest
that by 2020 or so, the number of aircraft required
in the Indian market would exceed one thousand.
Most of the requirements would be in the narrow body segment to cater to the needs of Tier II
and Tier III towns. Also India could capture the
pie of Aerospace outsourcing due to significant
cost advantages. Skilled labour costs are currently
far less than USA and Europe. Therefore, there is
a need to take up Aerospace development programmes in the country for meeting the needs of
Civilian aircraft.

Establishment of Civil Aviation Museum
15.223. The Civil Aviation Museum shall enshrine
the evolution and development of aviation and
spaceflight in India, and so seek to educate and
inspire the nation by preserving and displaying
aeronautical and spaceflight material and data of
technical and historical interest and significance to
national programmes; developing educational material and conducting programmes to enhance public
understanding of and involvement in, the development of aviation and spaceflight and conducting

Transport 249

and disseminating new knowledge on aviation and
spaceflight and their related technologies. The aim
is to archive the development of aviation in India,
collect, preserve and display aeronautical equipment
and provide educational material for the study of
aviation and spaceflight sciences.

MOCA Institutions
Air India Limited
15.224. Against the Eleventh Plan approved outlay
of `32,730.71 crore, the anticipated expenditure of
Air India Ltd during Eleventh Plan period would
be `28,203.04 crore including the budgetary support of `3,200.05 crore in the form of equity infusion. Air India Ltd ordered 93 aircraft comprising of
50 Boeing and 43 Airbus aircrafts. Out of these 93
aircrafts, 85 aircrafts were projected to be received
during the Eleventh Plan period. The physical and
financial performances of Air India Limited are
given at Annexures 15.5 and 15.6.
Airport Authority of India
15.225. The approved Eleventh Plan outlay of
Airports Authority of India was `12,964.21 crore,
including budgetary support of `1,461.68 crore. Out
of `12,964.21 crore, `6,973.40 crore was provided
for non-metro airports and the balance of `5,990.81
crore for metro airports. The anticipated expenditure of Airports Authority of India during Eleventh
Plan period would be `12,547.56 crore including
budgetary support of `850.61 crore. The financial
performance of Airports Authority of India during
Eleventh Plan period is given in Annexure 15.7.
Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited
15.226. The approved Eleventh Plan outlay of Pawan
Hans Helicopters Limited was `603.50 crore including budgetary support of `20.00 crore against which
the anticipated expenditure during Eleventh Plan
period would be `797.26 crore including budgetary support of `58.00 crore. Major portion of the
Eleventh Plan outlay was earmarked for acquisition
of helicopters. Details of performance is enclosed in
Annexure 15.8.

Hotel Corporation of India Limited
15.227. The Eleventh Plan approved outlay of Hotel
Corporation of India Limited is `75.00 crore, against
which the anticipated expenditure is `43.75 crore.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation
15.228. The anticipated expenditure of Directorate
General of Civil Aviation during Eleventh Plan
period is `210.19 crores against the approved outlay of `258.80 crores. The major scheme of the
Directorate envisaged for implementation during
Eleventh Five Year Plan period is ‘New Flying training Academy in Gondia’ for training of pilots.

15.229. The endeavor of Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) during Twelfth Plan period will
be to promote safe and efficient Air Transportation
through regulation and proactive safety oversight
system. Schemes proposed under the Twelfth Plan
are aimed at DGCA’s capacity building.
Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
15.230. During Eleventh Plan period, the Bureau
of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is likely to spend
`73.31 crore as against actual allocation of `222
crore. One of the major schemes, namely, setting
up of Civil Aviation Security Training Academy is
at approval stage. Implementation of the restructuring and strengthening of BCAS which includes
creation of infrastructure of office building, acquisition of some modern equipment including enhancing the manpower requirement at both the BCAS
Headquarters and regional level is going slowly.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is working
out its future plans of strengthening organisationally and technologically vis-à-vis the current security
scenario.
Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi
15.231. Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi
(IGRUA) is an autonomous body. A management
contract was signed with CAE Flight Training
(India) Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CAE Inc, Canada on 7.2.2008 for an initial
period of 10 years without affecting the legal entity
of IGRUA. IGRUA is provided grants-in-aid to

250

Twelfth Five Year Plan

pursue its plan projects. Against the approved outlay of `42.00 crore, the anticipated expenditure of
IGRUA during Eleventh Plan period is `41.00 crore.
Facilities at IGRUA have been upgraded to impart
training to 100 pilots per year. IGRUA has projected
an outlay of `95.00 crore for Twelfth Plan period for
purchase of additional 14 aircrafts, setting up of
MRO hub and AME school at IGRUA and extension
of tarmac at Sultanpur for parking IGRUA aircraft.
Aero Club of India
15.232. Aero Club of India is granted grants-in-aid
for its plan projects. The anticipated expenditure
of Aero Club of India is `31.65 crores against the
Eleventh Plan approved outlay of `35.32 crores.

Major Initiatives to be Taken by Moca in the
Twelfth Plan
• Doubling of passenger handling capacity of
Airports primarily through private investments
(PPP).
• Setting up of Unified Regulatory Agents.
• Up gradation of Air Navigation Services (ANS)
using the latest technology.
• Encouraging emergence of regional airlines to
cater to air transport needs of Tier II and Tier III
towns and promoting low cost carriers for this
purpose.
• New Policy for ATF to improve Airline
competitiveness.
• Policy on increased foreign direct investments,
including by foreign airlines in domestic airlines.
• Policy on MRO to encourage establishment of
dedicated MRO hubs through joint ventures with
MRO service providers and airport companies.
This would also encourage mechanisation and
modern ground handling processes for greater
efficiency.
• Revised policy on Route Dispersal Guidelines
to improve services to far flung and inaccessible
areas.
• Setting up of National Aviation University to
meet critical skill development needs of the aviation Sector.

Investments During Twelfth Five Year Plan for
Civil Aviation
15.233. The projected investment during Twelfth
Five Year Plan from Central sector is expected to
be `33,198 crore of which `16,983 crore is from
GBS and `16,215 crore from IEBR. Out of the GBS
of `16,983 crore, `15,096 crore is earmarked for Air
India and `1,887 crore for all other plan schemes/
programmes for the Ministry. Besides, an investment
of `50,000 crore comprising `40,000 crore from private investment and `10,000 crore by others including concessioners, third party and so on have been
projected to be made in airport projects during the
Twelfth Five Year Plan.

NORTH EAST REGION
15.234. The North East region has a number of
characteristics that make it imperative for more
organised inter-sectoral planning to be done for
transportation in the region: it is remote from the
rest of India; several areas feature difficult hilly terrain; it also has many rivers, which can permit significant inland water transport options, but also
contribute to difficulties in engineering transport
infrastructure; it has a long border with neighbouring countries which increases the importance of
transport infrastructure from a strategic and security viewpoint; and it consists of 8 states, each of
which have their own requirements and priorities.
A region-wide transport planning for the four transport sectors – roads, civil aviation, rail, and inland
waterways – in an integrated framework is therefore
required.

Railways
15.235. A decision has already been taken to connect
all the state capitals in the North East with the rest of
the country. The state capitals of Assam and Tripura
are already connected. New lines for connecting state
capitals of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland,
Mizoram and Meghalaya have been sanctioned and
works are in progress. In the Twelfth Five Year Plan,
the work on these railway lines will be expedited so
that all state capitals in the North East Region are on
the rail map by 2020.

Transport 251

Roads
15.236. A number of programmes such as the
SARDP-NE have been launched for the development
of National Highways, State Highways and other
roads in the North East Region. As a result of these
programmes investments have been increasing. As a
matter of fact, the implementing agencies are unable
to spend the allocated amount and complete the projects in time. Hence there is a great need for capacity
augmentation and institutional strengthening in the
areas related to evolving of projects, preparation of
project reports, implementation, monitoring and
management of projects in the North East region as
a whole.

Air Connectivity
15.237. Considering the importance of civil aviation
to the development of the NER, a new policy centred around small aircrafts is required to implement
a hub-and-spoke model. With more frequent flights
in and out of this geographically difficult region,
there may be considerable reduction in the physical
exclusion of the region. The development of existing airports and operationalisation of non-operational airports would not only make air links feasible
between the state capitals but also with neighbouring countries. Multi-utility based air services which
enable the movement of high value cargo can also be
instrumental in improving the economic vitality of
the region. However, in order to achieve the objective
of uninterrupted and reliable air services and to prevent accidents, there is a need to develop state of the

art weather and navigation information systems and
human resources together with the actual physical
airport infrastructure. Guwahati Airport should also
be developed as a potential major gateway to South
East Asia, both for passenger and freight traffic.

Inland Water Transport
15.238. IWT has a natural fit with the bulk commodities that the North East Region imports from the
rest of India. Tea, oil, cement and coal are exported,
while food grains, fertilisers and petroleum products are imported. All these items are non-perishable
and transported in high volumes, making them suitable for transportation by IWT. Major development
of IWT requires participation by Bangladesh. The
Indo-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Transit
and Trade already exists. Efforts would be made to
extend the validity of this protocol for at least 20
years. This would provide stability to the trading
environment and hence enable appropriate investment planning in both the public and private sectors. It would also clear the way for the development
of public private partnerships in the development,
management and operation of inland water transport in the region.

TWELFTH PLAN OUTLAY
15.239. The indicative Gross Budgetary Support
and IEBR for Twelfth Five Year Plan for various
Ministries in the Transport Sector is Given below
(Table 15.43):

TABLE 15.43
Ministry/Department – wise Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) Outlays for Transport Sectors
(in ` crore)
Sl. No.

Ministry

Twelfth Plan (2012–17) GBS Outlays

IEBR

1,44,769

64,834

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Ministry of Civil Aviation

16,983

16,215

Ministry of Railways

1,94,221

2,25,000

Ministry of Shipping

6,960

21,990

PMGSY (part of Rural Development Allocation)

1,26,491

–

0.00

EAP Ministry

Development of roads in
LWE affected area
Development of VijawadaRanchi Road
Tribal Sub Plan

Mughal Road in Jammu &
Kashmir
Improvement of
Duburi-BrahmanipalHarichandanpur-Naranpur
State Road in Orissa
(POSCO)

40.00

140.85

40.00

2,142.79

30.00

2,011.07

1,894.00

127.50

392.00

2,079.25

2,220.00

40.00

0.00

40.00

2,852.70

1,894.00

30.00

20.00

200.00

500.00

60.00

3,342.55

340.00

0.00

5.00

60.00

4,298.12

340.00

68.00

80.00

320.00

20.00

100.00

1,000.00

100.00

3,958.10

0.00

718.05

100.00

4,496.35

400.00

80.00

320.00

2010–11
Exp.

500.00

2,236.00

68.00

272.00

0.00
16,500.00

379.00

272.00

2009–10
Exp.

4,454.00

379.00

1,515.00

(vii) Strengthening of PIC
Other Schemes-NH (O)

444.00

1,515.00

2008–09
Exp.

EAP-NHAI

447.20

1,776.00

100.00

Rail cum Road Bridge,
Munger, Bihar

2007–08
Exp.

1,788.80

(vi) EAP under RW

890.80

0.00

3,563.20

0.00

(iii) Externally aided
(NHAI)
(iv) Counterpart funds
(NHAI)
(v) Loan to NHAI

0.00

(ii) Counterpart funds (RW)

Eleventh
Plan
(2007–12)
Outlay

(i) External aided (RW)

External aided projects

S Schemes/Programmes
No

ANNEXURE 15.1
Central Road Sector Outlay and Expenditure-At Current Price for Eleventh Plan

33.02

375.00

100.00

825.00

180.00

4,964.34

100.00

80.00

33.02

374.96

67.25

792.47

72.00

4,519.58

0.00

123.02

50.00

375.00

400.00

2,325.00

380.00

0.00
16,487.03

5,070.00

180.00

974.20

20.00

3,895.80

0.00

73.02

0.00

374.96

67.25

1,515.52

272.00

0.00
18,177.82

4,854.00

0.00

971.00

0.00

3,883.00

0.00

Total
Total
Outlay Expenditure
for the
at Current
Eleventh
Prices
Plan
(prov. for
(BE)
2011–12)
18
19
20

2011–12
Exp.
(Prov.)

20.00

(` Crore)

Training

Machinery and equipments

Charged expenditure

NHAI (investment)

E&I for States from CRF

E&I for UTs from CRF

NHDP-III, two-laning
expressways and six-laning
SARDP-NE

Strategic roads in Arunachal
Pradesh under Ministry of
Defense
NHAI(Toll Remittance)

500.00

698.02

1.60

169.70

6,541.06

5.93

0.35

0.20

61.45

1,200.00

10.00

180.74

6,972.47

6.00

10.00

1.50

8.50

78.00

650.00
2.00
0.50
3.50

643.72

0.00

175.65

6,972.47

2.07

3.07

0.16

0.71

76.96

645.80
1.24
0.13
0.71

1,200.00

16.03

216.97

8,578.45

6.00

15.00

1.50

5.50

60.00

600.00
2.00
0.50
3.50

658.55

0.00

104.35

7,404.70

5.32

0.53

0.39

3.84

82.17

723.49
1.20
0.00
3.05

1,623.00

1,500.00

14.67

195.75

7,848.98

6.00

15.00

1.50

6.00

100.00

5.00

700.00
2.00
0.50
3.50

1,623.00

1,044.49

0.00

208.23

8,440.94

0.21

0.01

0.00

0.92

72.66

0.00

693.00
1.31
0.03
1.10

2,092.89

1,600.00

17.48

232.27

8,250.00

7.00

5.00

1.50

5.50

105.00

700.00
2.00
0.50
3.50

2,692.89

1,939.98

2.04

173.74

6,187.00

0.00

0.11

0.48

53.00

515.00
1.22
0.00
1.74

305.18

4,100.00

1,630.74

5,000.00

1,273.26

7,455.00

2,100.00 17,500.00 12,500.00

36,145.00

78,158.00

9,086.94 21,256.00 15,483.86 23,301.68 25,749.38

81,892.34

65,660.99

21,855.00 19,763.04 31,308.00 23,203.56 36,269.66 24,050.91 46,411.00 35,384.16 60,401.68 55,675.86 1,96,195.34 1,58,077.53

8,223.43 16,071.66

Total Central Roads Sector

7,117.38 13,938.00

92,416.54
65,285.49
375.50

17,809.18

74,607.36

4,315.89

0.00

3,715.89

4,984.76

0.00

3.64

831.67

35,546.17

13.53

3.61

1.01

6.15

346.24

6.35

3,201.22
4.97
0.66
6.92

6,210.00

0.00

67.18

1,090.66

38,190.96

31.00

45.00

7.50

34.00

410.00

12.00

3,149.76
8.00
2.50
23.50

14,530.00 12,645.66 17,370.00 14,980.13 20,198.00 14,963.97 25,155.00 19,900.30 37,100.00 29,926.48 1,14,303.00
7,325.00 7,057.38 13,938.00 8,179.75 16,071.66 8,944.61 21,256.00 15,354.37 23,301.68 25,749.38 81,892.34
60.00
43.68
142.33
129.49
0.00

2,090.00

12,440.00 12,340.48 13,270.00 13,349.39 15,198.00 13,690.71 17,700.00 17,800.30 19,600.00 17,426.48

710.00

9.00

264.93

6,541.06

6.00

1.50

8.50

67.00

6.35

0.50
0.32

623.93

7,325.00

1,06,659.00
86,792.00

34,829.00

71,830.00

9,877.65

900.00

36,238.00

36.00

100.00

7.00

0.50
9.50

64.00

0.00

499.76

2,500.00

Total Pvt Sect

Total GBS + IEBR
Private Sector Investment
Pvt Sec (non-NHDP)

IEBR

Total (GBS)

R&D Planning studies

Works under BRDB
Travel expenses (domestic)
Other charges
Development of
Information Technology
Strategic roads under Roads
Wing
Strategic roads under BRDB

9
10
11
12

254

Twelfth Five Year Plan

ANNEXURE 15.2
Plan-wise Addition to NH Length
Plan

Length Added (in km)

Total Length (in km)

As on 1 April 1947

21,440

Pre First Plan (1947–51)

815

22,255

First Plan (1951–56)

22,255

Second Plan (1956–61)

1,514

23,769

179

23,948

Third Plan (1961–66)
Interregnum (1966–69)
Fourth Plan (1969–74)

24,000

4,819

28,819

158

28,977

Fifth Plan (1974–78)
Interregnum (1978–80)

29,023

Sixth Plan (1980–85)

2,687

31,710

Seventh Plan (1985–90)

1,902

33,612

Interregnum (1990–92)

33,689

Eighth Plan (1992–97)

609

34,298

Ninth Plan (1997–2002)

23,814

58,112

9,008

66,590*

10,228

76,818

2007–08

164

66,754

2008–09

3,794

70,548

2009–10

386

70,934

2010–11

70,934

2011–12

5,884

Tenth Plan (2002–07)
Eleventh Plan (2007–12)
Eleventh Plan (2007–12)

76,818**

* 530 km length of National Highways of Madhya Pradesh has been de-notified.
** Includes 1,388 km under notification at present

ANNEXURE 15.3
Achievement on National Highways
Total Length#
(km)

Widening to Two
Lanes (km)

Widening to Four
Lanes (km)

1947–69

24,000

14,000*

Nil

169

1969–90

33,612

16,000

267

9,000

302

1990–2002

58,112

3,457

1,276

7,000

Period

6,769**

Strengthening of
Pavement (km)

Major Bridges
(Nos)

Tenth Plan (2002–07)

66,590

4,177

8,377

611***

Eleventh Plan (2007–12)

75,430

4,892

10,165

4,417

121

Total

75,430

42,526

18,477

28,794

1,290

Note: # Length at the end of the period.
* Includes 6,000 km which were already two-lane at the time of designation as NHs.
** Includes 216.62 km which have been six or eight laned up to Tenth plan.

Transport 255

NHAI AND MORTH
S.
Schemes/Programmes
No.

BRDB

Physical Performance
Eleventh Plan
Targets

Achievements

Widening to two-lanes
(km)

5,603

5,161

Widening to four-lanes
(km)

14,975

10,947

Strengthening of weak
two-lanes (km)

4,634

3
4

Bypasses (nos)

Major bridges /minor
bridges including ROBs
(nos)

IRQP (km)

660

483

Physical Performance
Eleventh Plan
Targets

Achievements
(Up to Jan 2012)

Widening to two-lanes
(km)

1,111

915

Widening to four-lanes
(km)

Strengthening of weak
two-lanes (km)

135

133

Bypasses (nos)

Major bridges /minor
bridges including ROBs
(nos)

188

127

IRQP

911

811

4,625

9,441

S.
Schemes/Programmes
No. (Normal NH Works)

11,831

ANNEXURE 15.4

256

Twelfth Five Year Plan

ANNEXURE 15.5
Physical Performance of Air India Limited during Eleventh Plan Period
Particulars

Eleventh
Plan
Targets

Available TonneKms
(mill.)

2007–08
Targets

2008–09

Ach.

Targets

2009–10

Ach.

Targets

2010–11

Ach.

Targets

2011–12

Ach.

Targets

Ach.

54,114

7,180

6,168

8,474

5,602

10,927

6,053

12,811

6,365

14,722

6,482

Revenue TonneKms
(mill.)

38,217

5,160

3,688

6,169

3,191

7,782

3,533

8,921

3,726

10,185

3,620

Overall Load Factor
(per cent)

Available Seats km
(mill.)

3,74,639

53,411

48,393

61,072

43,591

75,534

44,723

86,230

45,845

98,392

45,803

Rev. Passengers km
(mill)

2,74,075

38,795

30,891

44,691

25,950

55,529

28,965

63,252

30,556

71,808

31,456

Passenger Load
Factor (per cent)
Source: Air India Limited.
Note: Ach. – Achievement

ANNEXURE 15.6
Financial Performance of Air India Ltd. during the Eleventh Plan Period
Particulars

Eleventh Plan

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12

Targets

Ach.

Targets

Ach.

Targets

Ach.

Targets

Ach.

Targets

Ach.
12

Total Revenue

1,13,367

16,541

15,257

19,096

13,479

23,050

13,485

25,682

14,166

28,998

15,383

Total Expenses

1,11,926

16,423

18,556

18,926

20,668

22,839

19,036

25,345

21,160

28,393

23,237

1,441

118

(2,226)

170

(5,548)

211

(5,552)

336

(6,994)

605

(7,854)

Profit/(Loss)
After Tax

Source: Air India Limited.
Note: Ach. – Achievement

Transport 257

ANNEXURE 15.7
Financial Performance of Airports Authority of India during Eleventh Plan Period
Particulars

Eleventh Plan
Targets

2007–08
Targets

2008–09

Ach.

Targets

2009–10

Ach.

Targets

2010–11

Ach.

Targets

2011–12

Ach.

Targets

Ach.
12

Total Revenue

23,783

3,425

4,289

4,117

4,186

4,045

4,615

4,919

5,139

5,382

5,878.66

Total Expenses

14,419

2,187

2,550

2,715

3,070

3,161

3,387

3,758

3,793

4,030

4,514.53

5,150

743

1,082

842

687

530

712

720

846

810

859.01

Profit/(Loss)
before Tax
Profit/(Loss)
after Tax

Note: Ach. – Achievement

ANNEXURE 15.8
Financial Performance of Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. during Eleventh Plan Period
Particulars

Eleventh Plan
Targets

2007–08
Targets
3

2008–09

Ach.
4

Targets
5

2009–10

Ach.
6

Targets
7

2010–11

Ach.
8

Targets
9

2011–12

Ach.

Targets

Ach.
12

Total Revenue

1,810

243

239

329

311

396

364

424

446

438.15

Total Expenses

1,602

219

214

226

291

283

349

334

384

419

437.05

210

Profit/(Loss)
after Tax

(10.35)

Note: Ach. – Achievement

NOTES
1. Clive Bell (2012), ‘The Benefits of India’s Rural Roads Program in the Spheres of Goods, Education and Health- Joint Estimation
and Decomposition’, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 6169, August 2012.
2. Clive Bell and Susanne van Dillen (2012), ‘How Does India’s Rural Roads Program Affect the Grassroots? Findings from a Survey
in Orissa’, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 6167, August 2012.

16
Communication
INTRODUCTION
16.1. Democratisation of information makes it possible for ideas, opinions, knowledge and education to
be accessible to everyone, anywhere, anytime. This is
the key to innovation and empowerment of citizens.
In order to enhance access to information emphasis
is laid on building platforms that can leverage broadband and create public information infrastructure
and move towards the next generation of governance
to ensure accountability, transparency, information sharing and collaboration. The key challenge
now is to build and integrate national platforms
for the Unique Identification (UID-AADHAR),
Geographical Information System (GIS), Cyber
Security and Payment Gateway. Finally, leveraging
the Fourth Screen i.e., the Mobile Phone for reaching
out to citizens is desirable, as it allows a much wider
reach and in a language people can understand.
16.2. The ICT sector is predominantly a service sector and has redefined service delivery and the way
business houses and common man interact with
Government. Rapid technological developments
over the years have made it possible to provide
services on a single platform due to convergence.
During the Twelfth Plan period, this sector is poised
for substantial growth both in terms of expansion
of carriage (networks) and content (voice, data and
multimedia). Since, ICT infrastructure and services
encompasses all sectors of economy, the next five
years offer a unique opportunity to leverage upon our
strength in all facets of ICT. This chapter deals with
the Telecommunications, Information Technology,
Postal and Information and Broadcasting sectors.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Overview
16.3. The telecommunications sector has witnessed
phenomenal growth during the last decade. Growth
of mobile telephony has been the most visible indicator and catalyst to economic growth. Coverage in
terms of number of subscribers has reached 951.34
million in March 2012. The most encouraging feature has been the growth in coverage and increase in
the number of subscribers in rural areas powered by
low tariffs. More than 5,55,000 villages out of more
than 6,00,000 villages in the country have the benefit
of mobile coverage and the remaining villages are
likely to be covered very soon, either by the Telecom
Service Providers (TSPs) on their own, or with support from the Universal Service Obligation Fund
(USOF). A worrying feature, however, has been the
slow growth in broadband penetration and usage.
Broadband subscription was only about 14 million in
March 2012, much below what is needed.
16.4. The growth of world-class telecommunication
infrastructure in the country has been driven by proactive policy initiatives. The National Telecom Policy
(NTP)-1999 recognised that access to telecommunications is of utmost importance for achieving the
social and economic goals and help in addressing the
developmental challenges of the country. Availability
of affordable and effective communications for the
citizens was at the core of the vision and goal of the
policy makers. Another important objective was to
provide a balance between the provision of universal service to all uncovered areas, including the rural

Communication 259

areas, and the provision of high-level services capable of meeting the needs of the country’s economy.
16.5. The sector has shown great resilience during
a period of global downturn and has registered an
annual growth rate of more than 35 per cent during
2008–11. However, the growth has been predominantly propelled through voice based services. The
Twelfth Plan period needs to leverage the new technological developments in the sector and provide
affordable value added services.
16.6. Important gains have been made in the R&D
sector and India is being seen as the global destination for R&D, engineering design and prototype development, as well as a manufacturing hub
for high tech products. Generation of Intellectual
Property (IP) and products has, however, been limited, even though there are numerous instances of IP
and products being registered outside India where
the bulk of R&D has been carried out in India. Now
the aim must be to translate resident R&D capability
into products, patents and IPRs that drive the next
generation of technology innovation. The need to
channelise the capability that exists in the academia
into applied R&D for the Telecom sector cannot be
overemphasised.

REVIEW OF THE ELEVENTH PLAN (2007–12)
16.7. The Eleventh Five Year Plan saw an impressive four and half fold increase in total telephone
connections from 205.86 million in March 2007 to
951.34 million in March 2012 (Figure 16.1). The
Eleventh Plan had envisaged a target of 600 million

connections by March 2012. However, during 2009–
10 the total telephone connections had already
increased to 621.25 million.
16.8. The overall teledensity has also increased from
18.31 per cent to 78.66 per cent during the Eleventh
Plan period. However, the subscriber base for telecom services in India is skewed in favour of urban
areas. Urban teledensity is around 4.4 times that of
rural teledensity (Figure 16.2).
16.9. The sector has been dominated by a preference
for wireless phones, as confirmed from the rising
share of wireless phones, which increased from 80.19
per cent (165.09 million) in March 2007 to 96.62 per
cent (919.17 million) in March 2012. On the other
hand, there had been continuous decline in the number of wireline telephones in the country from 40.77
million in March 2007 to 32.17 million in March
2012 (Figure 16.3). The service providers need to
leverage the wireline infrastructure, and build services in new and innovative segments, to address this
decline and salvage the investments made so far.
16.10. While the wireless led penetration appears
impressive, it is dominated by private sector players and voice telephony services. The mobile broadband services also need to keep pace with the voice
telephony growth with the launch of 3G/BWA services. The growth of the economy is highly dependent on data services as opposed to voice telephony.
Therefore, a significant challenge remains in making the Indian telecom infrastructure accessible and
responsive to this basic requirement.

Subscribers in Million

1000
951.34
846.32
621.28

500
429.72
300.49
205.86
0
Mar 2007

Mar 2008

Mar 2009

Mar 2010

Mar 2011

Source: TRAI.
FIGURE 16.1: Telephone Subscribers Growth during 2007–12

Mar 2012

260

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Subscribers in Million

800
620.52
600
420.47

564.09

400
226.57

2008

330.82

200.81

120.29

73.92

282.23

309.43

200

2009

2010

2011

Rural Subscribers

2012

Urban Subscribers

Source: TRAI.
FIGURE 16.2: Distribution of Urban and Rural Subscribers

No. of Subscribers in Million

1,000
800
600
400
200
0
2007

2008

2009
Wireline

2010
Wireless

2011

2012

Broadband

Source: TRAI.
FIGURE 16.3: Number of Telephone and Broadband Connections

16.11. The first wave of initiatives leading to tariff reduction started with the introduction of the
Telecom Tariff Order in 2000 bringing down call
charges to 50 per cent and the introduction of the
3rd and 4th cellular operator. The ‘Calling Party
Pays’ regime further brought down call charges.
During the Eleventh Plan period, further steps were
taken to encourage competition. These include
reduction in tariff for national roaming services;
abolition of Access Deficit Charges (ADC); reduction of interconnect usage charges and country wide
mobile number portability. These led to a huge boost
to the subscriber base and the average tariff also
came down sharply. Falling tariffs coupled with the
increased number of mobile subscribers, resulted
in increase in overall industry revenues. The sector is characterized by high subscriber base and

low average tariff per outgoing call as indicated in
Figure 16.4.

Auction of 3G and BWA Spectrum
16.12. The unprecedented growth of voice based
mobile telephony in the country has led to demand
for other value added services that include data communication, video, mobile TV and so on. With a view
to extend the benefit of new technology and for providing a variety of services to the customers, the government decided to introduce the Third Generation
(3G) systems, which represent the next step in
the evolution of mobile cellular communication.
2G systems focus on voice communication, while
3G systems support increased data communication.
Subsequently, the auction of 3G and BWA Spectrum
was successfully conducted in 2010 and garnered

Communication 261

NTP ’99

16.93

919.17

3rd
and 4th
Cellular
Operator

8.55

United
Access
Licensing
Regime

IUC
Regulation
and
Introduction
of CPP

700

Introduction
of Lifetime
Schemes

584.32

600
500
400

391.76

6.38

300
200
165.11
1.15
0.92

52.22 1.77

Average tariff per outgoing minute (GSM Service)

0.76 0.57

0.51

0.49 0.48

100

Mar 12

Mar 11

Mar 10

0
Mar 09

90.14

Mar 08

33.60

2.41

Mar 07

13.0

2.89

Mar 06

6.50

Mar 03

Mar 00

Mar 99

3.58

Mar 02

1.88

1.20

Mar 01

261.07

Mar 05

4.86

3.24

Mar 04

900
800

12
10

1,000

811.59

Telecom
Tariff Order

934.09

Jun 12

Wireless Subscriber base (Millions)

Source: TRAI.
FIGURE 16.4: Mobile Tariff Trends V/s Growth in Mobile Subscribers in India (1999–2012)

`1,06,262 crore. Now, the operators have started roll-

ing out wireless broadband networks in the country
and very soon these services are likely to be available
in the entire country.

Controversies Arising Out of Decisions Taken
in 2008 and Its Fallout
16.13. The policy measures taken so far have paid
rich dividends in terms of expansion and provision
of affordable telecom services. However, problems
arose in the implementation of the First Come First
Served (FCFS) policy framework in 2008. These
led to a legal challenge, and subsequently, in 2012,
quashing of 122 licences by the Supreme Court and
a direction by the Court that the Spectrum thus
released be auctioned. This is being done. With the
completion of the auction in the later months of
2012 it is hoped that there will be a revival of investment in this important sector.
16.14. During this period, the downturn in the economy coupled with the financial stress being faced in
the sector, dampened the growth potential of the sector. The unprecedented expansion during the initial
phase (1994–2003) followed by years of optimism in

an environment of increasing competition and more
choices in technology and services to consumers had
led the industry into an ambitious asset acquisition
mode. The over-leveraging has, partly on account of
the exuberant bidding for 3G spectrum in the auction held in 2010, led to a downward pressure on
revenues and earning capacities. The cut throat price
competition for adding customers, without adequate
emphasis on provision of value added services, have
further decelerated the industry’s growth and put a
brake on plans for network expansion as well as provisioning for new services.

TELECOM EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING,
R&D, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND IPR
16.15. The Indian telecommunication industry has
now matured and has started venturing outside the
country and investing abroad. However, the telecom
manufacturing in India is yet to attract investment on
a sustained basis. During the Eleventh Plan period, it
was projected that 75 per cent of telecom equipment
demand would be met from indigenous sources;
however the actual production was much lower.
During this period, mobile handset manufacturing
began, but the production as well as value addition

262

Twelfth Five Year Plan

has been limited. Some of the indigenous brands of
mobile phones have also made their mark, though
their design and manufacturing are still being done
outside India. A number of world renowned manufacturers have set up their manufacturing base in the
country. There is concern about low value addition,
lack of R&D and IPR, availability of integrated circuits, components/piece-parts in the country. Some
indigenous R&D and manufacturing companies
have emerged in the country and demonstrated that
world-class products can indeed be developed indigenously. At the same time, some key IPRs have been
created in futuristic wireless technologies by R&D
centers such as Centre for Excellence in Wireless
Technology (CeWiT) and premier academic institutions such as IITs, IISc, IIITs. It is critical to develop
an ecosystem that maintains a sustainable supply
chain from thought to action; from ideas to products; from development to production and actual
deployment to achieve higher value addition.

to a few organisations in isolated pockets. In order to
achieve the objectives laid down in the NTP 2012, we
need to address certain critical constraints and challenges. Some of these are discussed below.

THE TWELFTH FIVE YEAR PLAN (2012–17):
CHALLENGES AHEAD

16.18. Rollout of 3G/4G: Though the 3G spectrum
was acquired by the Telecom Service Providers
(TSPs) during 2010, the rollout of 3G services is yet to
reach out across the country at affordable rates. This
has affected the introduction of value added services
requiring higher bandwidth. India being a price sensitive market, one of the main reasons for poor rollout
of 3G/4G services is the high cost of smart phones.
There is an urgent need to encourage technologies
and R&D initiatives to pave way for the introduction
of cost effective smart phones for expanding penetration and out-reach. Provision of funding and support to encourage the rollout of mobile broadband
on 3G/4G/LTE/BWA spectrum in rural and remote
areas will be crucial for broadband expansion.

16.16. The sector stands at the cross roads of opportunities as well as challenges at the beginning of the
Twelfth Plan. On the one hand, recent developments
in the sector arising out of aberrations in the licensing and policy implementation have provided an
opportunity for introspection. On the other, there is
a need to sustain the growth momentum in the sector achieved during the Eleventh Plan to realise the
objective of inclusive growth. The National Telecom
Policy-2012 has been adopted against this backdrop
to address all the key challenges before the sector
in a holistic manner. NTP-2012 seeks to achieve
Broadband on Demand and envisages leveraging
telecom infrastructure to enable all citizens and businesses, both in rural and urban areas, to participate
in the Internet and web economy thereby, ensuring
equitable and inclusive development. The objective
is to transform the country into an empowered and
inclusive knowledge-based society, using telecommunications as a platform. It provides the enabling
framework for enhancing India’s competitiveness in
all spheres of the economy. NTP-2012 envisions support to platform neutral services in e-governance and
m-governance in key social sectors such as health,
education and agriculture that are at present limited

16.17. Expansion of Reach—Broadband Services:
A key thrust area is to connect all villages with population more than 500 on National Optical Fiber
Network (NOFN) to realise the vision of ‘Broadband
on Demand’. Similarly, ensuring sufficient allocation
of resources like spectrum, ‘Right of Way’ management and infrastructure sharing for broadband is
essential. There is a need for national level effort to
harmonise the policies of various state governments/
local bodies to address issues relating to allocation of
land, power supply, grant of right of way and policy/
by-laws for erection of towers and so on. In addition,
there is a need to provide incentives to encourage the
uptake of broadband in sectors like education, healthcare, public safety, government operations, and so on.

16.19. The fulcrum in the sector is the issues surrounding spectrum, its availability, management
and pricing. Telecommunications is characterised by
rapid changes in technology and introduction of new
technologies like Long Term Evolution (LTE), high
bandwidth applications and the demands of an ever
increasing user base requiring additions to the spectrum available for non-strategic uses. Since spectrum
is a scarce resource, priority will be on its vacation
from lesser efficient uses and shift to more efficient
use. This will involve intensive policy intervention

Communication 263

to have Government agencies like the Defence and
Railways vacate spectrum bands and reforms in
spectrum management practices. It has already been
decided to allow a liberalised use of spectrum in any
band for any technology. In addition sharing spectrum and thereby pooling resources and eventually
move towards a regime that permits spectrum trading on a trading platform and creating a market
driven mechanism towards its efficient use. Box 16.1
gives the historical perspective of spectrum trading.
Box 16.1
Spectrum Trading
Historically, in most countries, the Regulator has used a
command and control mechanism to decide allocation of
spectrum. But in the last decade, a number of countries have
adopted market mechanisms for spectrum assignment.
However, it is being increasingly felt that this system does not
allow the spectrum licence holders the flexibility to respond
quickly to changes in market demand and technology,
resulting in chunks of spectrum lying underutilised, thereby
creating an artificial scarcity. Therefore, some countries like
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some EU countries
have permitted spectrum trading in the secondary market as
an additional means of spectrum distribution. This is likely
to improve spectrum efficiency, boost market competition
and provide incentives to innovation to service providers.
On the other hand it could lead to situations wherein service
providers of less profitable services would prefer to sell their
spectrum instead of continuing to provide services and
which may increase the risk of possibility of concentration
of spectrum and market power. Spectrum Trading requires
implementation of a successful trading platform in the form
of a secondary market requiring creation of an extensive
automated infrastructure in the form of an exchange/online
registry which entails considerable regulatory costs.

16.20. Consolidation in Industry: Presently, there
are six or more TSPs in most of the service areas and
are grappling with reduced ARPUs and high competitive pressures. The future development of cellular markets is likely to witness consolidation between
the Service Providers to become financially viable.
The revised TRAI recommendations with the relaxation of M&A norms are expected to act as enablers
for further consolidation in the telecom industry.
16.21. Financial Health of the Sector: The aggressive bidding in 3G/BWA spectrum auction held in
2010 left the industry financially weak. In addition,
expansion into overseas markets, coupled with the

global meltdown and non-availability of funds has
restricted the industry’s expansion plans. This to a
large extent has decelerated network expansion as
well as introduction of new technologies such as 4G/
LTE and value added services.
16.22. Licensing Reforms: For facilitating orderly
growth of the telecom sector, steps such as introduction of Unified Licensing regime, de-linking license
and spectrum, license renewal terms, technology neutrality, rationalisation of licensing regime and enabling
convergence need to be taken on priority basis. In
addition, there is a need to encourage deployment of
Low Power In-Building Solutions (IBS)/In-Campus/
Remote Townships and so on, in tune with the provisions contained in NFAP 2011 and NTP 2012 through
de-licensing of small chunks of spectrum.
16.23. Regulatory Issues: TRAI was established
in 1997 after the sector was thrown open to private players. Since then there has been far reaching
changes including number of operators, subscriber
base and range of services being offered. There is a
need to revisit the TRAI Act and revise its provisions
to address the emerging issues. There is also a need
to review the regulatory and executive functions for
instance, the Department of Telecommunication is
involved in activities which are mandatory in nature
such as spectrum allocation, management, auditing and monitoring. For effective and transparent
Spectrum allocation and management and to facilitate better coordination amongst various government and non-government agencies, the National
Radio Regulatory Authority namely, the Wireless
Planning and Coordination (WPC) wing of DOT,
needs to be repositioned with greater autonomy and
fuller authority.
16.24. Network Security: With rapid expansion of
telecom and IT networks and increased dependence on the networks for delivery of services and
operation of physical and financial infrastructures
has given rise to security concerns. There is an
absolute necessity to ensure security of networks at
all times and adopt effective measures to deal with
cyber threats. For ensuring telecom network security there is a need to strengthen the Centre for
Communication Security Research and Monitoring
and Telecom Testing and Security Certification

264

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Centre. Similarly, developing and deploying a Pan
India secure network and network-based services
such as email, VoIP, mobile communication through
survivable and available network architecture for
Government use is also essential.
16.25. Convergence: Convergence of technologies
has thrown open many new challenges and opportunities. This calls for establishment of a proactive and
suitable regulatory framework which would address
issues related to both content and carriage, there by
leading to eventual convergence of IT, Broadcasting
and Telecom.
16.26. Future of PSUs: The poor health of the PSUs
under DOT is a matter of concern. The Department
has under its administration control, not only MTNL
and BSNL, but also the Indian Telephone Industries
(ITI) and Telecom Consultants of India Ltd. (TCIL).
Urgent steps are required to be taken to turn them
around by leveraging upon their strengths and assets
as well as financial reengineering. For ensuring DOT
organisations to effectively flourish in the competitive telecom market there is a need to exploit individual strengths of these organisations for their mutual
benefit. Efforts should be made by all the PSUs to
reduce their dependence on government support
and become competitive by shedding obsolete technological and non-profitable product lines and moving on to more remunerative activities and services.
There is also a need to look for newer markets and
alliances. Government support should be restricted
only for initiatives which address and meet the social
obligations of the government and in areas where the
market is not fully developed.
16.27. Issues of Transition: The telecom sector
faces rapid technological change and concomitantly
issues relating to transition to new technologies and
obsolescence. The phasing out of technologies where
eco-systems are dying, has attendant economic difficulties. There is therefore, a compelling need for
ensuring minimum quantum of spectrum allocation
for effective harnessing of technology and paving the
way for the entry of new technologies, calling for an
appropriate policy response which helps in the adoption of new technologies and creating appropriate
eco systems for ensuring a smooth transition.

Box 16.2
Twelfth Plan Targets for the
Telecommunication Sector
• Provision of 1,200 million connections by 2017.
• Mobile access to all villages and increase rural teledensity to 70 per cent by 2017.
• Broadband connection of 175 million by 2017.
• Commissioning of National Optical Fibre Network
(NOFN)
• Make available additional 300 MHz of spectrum for
IMT services
• Making India a hub for telecom equipment manufacturing by incentivising domestic manufacturers
with thrust on IPR, product development and
commercialisation.
• Provide preferential market access for indigenously
manufactured products.
• To increase domestic manufactured products in
telecom network to the extent of 60 per cent with value
addition of 45 per cent by 2017.
• Adoption of green policy in Telecom and incentivise
use of renewable energy sources.

THE PATH AHEAD
16.28. The Twelfth Plan Programmes for the telecom
sector are guided by the NTP-2012. The thrust of
NTP 2012 is on raising the competitiveness of Indian
telecom sector, to make it a world leader, while at the
same time making available a variety of services on a
single platform utilising the technological advancements taking place in the sector. Spectrum, which is
an important input has been a limited and reusable
resource. With the introduction of new technologies, high bandwidth applications and increasing
user base, there will be a requirement of significant
amount of additional spectrum. While effective spectrum planning in this regard needs to be carried out,
the requirement of spectrum in 60 GHz and above
bands for backhaul purposes, audit of spectrum
usage and re-farming of spectrum to ensure the efficient utilisation should also be taken into account
during the Twelfth Plan Period. Twelfth Plan targets
for Telecommunication Sector is given in Box 16.2.
16.29. In view of the situation analysis and the identified needs of the key stakeholders, the following
approach is suggested for Twelfth Plan period.
(a) USOF Activities: USO fund needs to be leveraged for providing incentives for pilot projects,

Communication 265

fixed wireline/wireless phones, use of renewable
energy sources, telecom infrastructure and for
wireline broadband in rural difficult terrain and
LWE areas.
(b) Applications, Value Added Services (VAS) and
Devices: Development of new applications, VAS
and devices would be triggered by e-Governance
projects and growth of Broadband in Rural
Areas. Developing synergies between DoT, DeitY
and I&B to tap the Cable TV segment for proliferation of broadband and broadband access to all
schools for promoting literacy through e-learning
programs will also propel the introduction of
VAS and development of low cost devices.
(c) Telecom Equipment Manufacturing: The large
and growing domestic market for telecom equipment provides an opportunity to leverage this
potential to stimulate domestic manufacturing without financial impact to the government.
Provision has been made to require India manufactured products in procurement by the government and also in projects funded by government
or under Universal Service Obligation. The preference is for products which have a specified
domestic manufactured content and the requirement is only of manufacture/value addition in
India. Foreign companies manufacturing in
India would be eligible. Telecom Operators also
need to be encouraged to participate in trials of
newly created Indian products and nurture them.
Funding R&D and supporting Indian IPR creation and driving standards are equally important aspects of the promotion of the telecom
equipment manufacturing. Creation of National
Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs)
as proposed by DIPP and incentivising manufacturers in line with Modified Special Incentive
Programme scheme (MSIPs) and Electronic
Design and Manufacturing Cluster (EDMC) of
DeitY are other initiatives that need to be taken
forward for the growth of telecom equipment
manufacturing in India. Setting up of Mega
Fabrication Units (FAB) facility for the manufacture of Integrated Circuits (IC), Development
of Hardware Manufacturing Cluster Parks
(HMCPs), Stable fiscal policies, tax structure
that encourages manufacturing, Market pull for
domestic manufacturers, R&D facilities, access

to low cost funds, testing and certification and so
on, also need to be taken up to make India a telecom equipment manufacturing hub.
(d) R&D, IPR and Standardisation: There is a
need to create a mechanism for Technology and
Product development forecast and to carryout
periodic updates of the national five year rolling
programme of technology/product development
and its field absorption. The current functioning and strengthening of public R&D institutions such as C-DOT also needs to be reviewed
to enable them to collaborate with public as well
as private industry and academia for technology
development. In order to enable creation of IPRs
and progressively mature them into standards,
Telecom Standards Development Organisation
(TSDO) may be established with participation
from industry, telecom service providers, academia, R&D centres and government. Academic
R&D, R&D centres and Telecom Centre of Excellence (TCoEs) need to be repositioned towards
IPR generation and creation of telecom standards, development and commercialisation of
Indian Products. Some of the other major initiatives include Strengthening Telecom Engineering
Center; setting up of accredited test facilities for
conformance, performance, inter-operability
and security of the products; creation of live testbeds for Next Generation technologies; reserving
certain spectrum for indigenous R&D, product
development and field trials (pilots); developing
safety and aesthetic standards for wireless towers; and ensuring compliance against existing
Electromagnetic (EM) emission standards.
(e) Disaster Management: A Rapidly Deployable
Multi-Protocol Wireless Communication system, interoperable across all the services engaged
in disaster management needs to be developed.
A dedicated communication link needs to be
given to disaster management agencies by every
service provider to receive guaranteed service
during disasters.
(f) Capacity Building in Telecom Sector: For
evolving a strategy for capacity building in telecom sector there is a need for a comprehensive
repository of all telecom related information/
standards/benchmarks/resources/programme
curriculum, besides setting up of state-of-the-art

266

Twelfth Five Year Plan

telecom labs in all high-end technology areas and
inclusion of Electronics and Telecom as part of
the curriculum at the polytechnic level and in
Industrial Training Institutes for trades specific
to telecom.
(g) Financing of Telecom Sector: The sector
should be allowed to access funding from Indian
Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL).
Telecom Finance Corporation may be created
as a vehicle to access funds at competitive rates
to facilitate the funding needs of this sector on
requirement. Rationalisation of levies and taxes
in the sector may also be reviewed from time to
time to ensure affordable delivery of services to
the consumers.
(h) Besides the above, several new programmes
like Telecom Promotion Fund, Telecom Entrepreneurship Promotion Fund, Research Development Fund and Human Resource Development
and Skill Development are proposed to be taken
up during the Twelfth Five Year Plan. C-DOT
would take programmes on Next Generation
Mobile Technology, R&D for emerging Wireless
Technologies; Optical Technologies—XGPON1/2, WDM-PON, DWDM; Development for a
Secure Mobile Communication Network namely
WiPS based GSM technologies like EDGE and
3G, BWA; Satellite based Technology; R&D for
converged NMS, Software intensive Applications
for new services, service delivery platform to
support multiple applications and Value Added
Services; Power efficient and Green Technologies
for Rural areas and Next Generation security for
Telecom and Data Networks. Major Investment
would be required during the Twelfth Five Year
Plan in the area of network expansion in the rural
and remote areas, network upgradation in customer demand cycles, 3G subscriber base, NGN
and IPV6, rural telephony, broadband expansion,
National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN), convergence of technology, Value Added Services
and manufacturing and R&D.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Overview of the Sector
16.30. The Information Technology sector has
made remarkable progress in the last decade. It has

transformed the world, enabling innovation and
enhancing productivity, connecting people and communities, and improving standards of living and providing opportunities across the globe. While changing
the way individuals live, interact, and work, IT has
also proven to be a key enabler for enhanced competitiveness and economic and societal modernisation,
as well as an important instrument for bridging economic and social divides and reducing poverty.
16.31. The pace of technological advance is accelerating and Electronics and ICT is increasingly
becoming a ubiquitous and intrinsic part of people’s behaviours and social networks as well as of
business practices and government activities and
service provision. These transformations will continue to guide human progress forward by further
leveraging IT’s positive social, political, and economic impact on government, enterprise, and civil
society alike.

Review of Eleventh Plan
16.32. The following five thrust areas were identified
for the Eleventh Five Year Plan:
•
•
•
•
•

Electronics/IT Hardware Manufacturing
Exports of Computer Software and Services
Domestic Computer Software and Services
Enhancing Cyber Security Capabilities
Human Resource Development and R&D

16.33. The key targets and achievements with respect
to Electronics/IT Hardware Manufacturing, Exports
of Computer Software and Services and employment
are given in Box 16.3 and Table 16.1.

Broad Objectives, Targets and Thrust Areas
for the Twelfth Five Year Plan
16.34. The vision and mission for Electronics and
IT Sector for the Twelfth Five Year Plan is e-Development of India through a multi-pronged strategy.
This includes promotion of e-Infrastructure creation
to facilitate and fast track e-governance, promotion
of software (IT-ITeS) Industry, building knowledge
network and securing India’s cyber space. While
India’s software strengths are recognised globally,
we have not focused on building indigenous hardware, research and manufacturing capabilities. The

Communication 267

Box 16.3
Key Achievements (as on 31 March 2012)

E-Governance
•
•
•
•

SWANs rolled out in 30 States/UTs.
1,00,086 Common Services Centres rolled out in 33 States/UTs.
16 State Data Centres are operational.
The National Data Centres at Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad are operational.

National Knowledge Network
• 681 links to institutions commissioned and made operational.
• 52 virtual classrooms set up.

Enterprise
• Open Source Software (BOSS) released.
• Param ‘Yuva’ Super computing system commissioned.

E-Security
•
•
•
•

The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 enforced and rules of important sections notified.
Security Assurance frame work for Govt. developed and validated in Customs Department.
Resource Centre for Cyber Forensics established.
CERT-In operates a 24 × 7 Incident Response Help Desk.

Empowerment
• Software tools and fonts for all 22 constitutionally recognised Indian languages released in public domain.
• Various IT projects initiated for empowerment of gender and SC/ST and development of North Eastern region.
Draft National Policy on Electronics—2011 and Draft National Policy on Information Technology, 2011 released.
Policy for Preference to Domestically Manufactured Electronic Goods issued on 10 February 2012.
TABLE 16.1
Targets and Achievements
Targets

Achievements (Estimated)
upto 2011–12

Percentage
Achievement (%)

Electronics Hardware
• Electronics production—US$ 67 Billion @ 32 per cent growth
• Exports—US$ 6.7 Billion

US$ 33.0 Billion
US$ 7 Billion

Software Services
IT-ITES Exports—US$ 86 Billion

US$ 69 Billion

Employment
• Direct Employment in IT-ITES Exports—3.4 Million

2.8 Million

Electronics and ICT strategy for the Twelfth Plan
should aim to focus on promoting domestic manufacturing, including hardware design, building
Semiconductor Wafer Fab manufacturing facilities
and strengthening R&D capabilities.
16.35. Appropriate application of ICT has the potential to vastly improve productivity and efficiency.

49
104

Therefore, there is a need to promote the use of ICT
platforms and convergence of technologies to ensure
better delivery of public services, increased efficiency
in the implementation of the Government’s flagship
programmes and the overall competitiveness of the
economy, since ICT applications will have a pervasive effect on the resilience and dynamism of all sectors of the economy.

268

Twelfth Five Year Plan

16.36. India is home to millions of persons with disabilities who are living on the fringes of society due
to their inability to participate in the information
age. There is a need to redefine important areas for
intervention with emphasis on improving the accessibility of ICT to the differently-abled people of the
society as well as promoting its use as an assistive
technology to improve their quality of life.
16.37. In order to achieve the objectives of the
Twelfth Five Year Plan, the following themes have
been identified:
•
•
•
•

e-Government
e-Learning
e-Security
e-Industry (Electronics System Design and
Manufacturing)
• e-Industry (IT-ITeS)
• e-Innovation/R&D
• e-Inclusion
16.38. The overall strategy for the sector is to
plan action/programmes/projects for each of these
themes in the Twelfth Five Year Plan, with innovation and inclusion as the fundamental paradigm in
each one of them. The Sub-strategies under each of

these areas have been designed to address suitably
the major challenges facing the sector in the next
five years. The key targets for the Twelfth Plan for
the Electronics and IT-ITeS Industry are given in
Table 16.2.

Policy Issues, Programme Reforms and New
Initiatives in the Twelfth Plan
16.39. Some of the Policy issues and new initiatives
proposed in the Twelfth Five Year Plan are given
below:
Policy Issues
• Several new policies have been approved by
Government relating to promotion and development of the ESDM sector. A Governance mechanism which would ensure that the benefit of these
and other policies envisaged for the sector reach
the targets in a speedy, fair and transparent manner also needs to be developed. Necessary policy
to mandate standards in electronic goods also
need to be put in place. Policies to induce greater
participation of private sector in human resource
development also need to be ensured.
• Finalisation and implementation of National policies on Electronics and Information Technology,
spanning the entire spectrum from science to

TABLE 16.2
Key Targets for the Twelfth Plan for the Electronics and IT-ITeS Industry
(Values in USD Billion)
I. Production and Export Targets (Electronics Hardware)
A. High Manufacturing Growth Scenario (Optimistic)
Description

FY 2011–12 (E)

Exports (Growth Rate: 22 per cent)
Production (Growth rate 30 per cent)

Target FY 2016–17

122

B. Natural Manufacturing Growth Scenario
Exports (Growth Rate: 22 per cent)
Production (Growth rate 16 per cent)

II. Revenue and Employment Targets of IT-ITeS Industry
IT-ITES Exports

130

IT-ITES Domestic Revenue

Direct Employment
(E): Estimated.

2.8 million

4.2 million

Communication 269

•

technology to products, eventually resulting in
mass scale deployment.
Establish ‘National Electronics Mission’ to help
in synchronised functioning of the industry
through effective coordination across ministries
and government departments at the Centre and
the States.
Removing barriers of cost, language and accessibility and provide equitable access to Internet
and its benefits to all. Formulate and implement
a national digitisation plan and a digital information literacy campaign for enabling the common
man to use ICT optimally.
Create a comprehensive national IT standards
framework for current and emerging paradigms
like bio-metrics, cloud computing, Green IT and
so on.
Formulate specific policies to enable public Cloud
Computing for citizens, business verticals and for
government.
Formulation of governing principles for allocation, management and sharing of Critical Internet
resources namely Internet Protocol addresses and
Domain Names.
Bring out Best Practices and Public Policy on
Internet openness, security and privacy in
cyberspace.
Promote development and deployment of security
standard and practices, which are internationally
accepted for ensuring a secure cyber space.
Participate globally in standard setting exercise on
Electronics and ICT for business and consumer
applications to ensure competitiveness of Indian
industry.
Develop strong capabilities in encryption, forensics and establish test labs for testing products
for security and quality; early detection and mitigating capabilities of newer threats and vulnerabilities, which have potential to disrupt the ICT
infrastructure.
Creation of a separate Electronics Development
Fund with Govt. and Industry bodies as stakeholders to incentivise R&D in this field.
Promotion of indigenous R&D and product
development coupled with progressive induction
into strategic defense and civilian space.

• Develop a holistic approach for funding
socially relevant R&D projects in Public Private
Partnership (PPP) modes.
• Define ‘R&D in Services’ specially, R&D in
Electronics and ICT Services to make it broad
based. The present definition of R&D as accepted
by DSIR and Income Tax Department appears
weak to accept R&D in Services.
• Initiation of a comprehensive IPR promotion programme covering education, awareness creation,
IP exchange, related technology development and
support to SMEs and start-ups.
• Revamping the procurement cycle for Electronics
and ICT products and services to keep them in
tune with the technology obsolescence and shelf
life of products. Also there is a need to relook at
the 100 per cent pre-dispatch acceptance testing
clause.
• Ensure flexibility in policy to support and adopt
new and emerging technology paradigms in
Electronics and ICT
New Initiatives
• Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme for
improved value addition: Manufacturing base
of electronic products in the country is grossly
inadequate in comparison to demand of such
goods. Even in cases where products are manufactured in India, the extent of domestic value
addition is low. This scheme (M-SIPS) has been
introduced to promote large scale manufacturing
in the Electronics System Design Manufacturing
(ESDM) sector by providing a special incentive
package. The incentives would partially offset the
disabilities faced by domestic ESDM industry due
to factors like higher cost of power, finance, logistics, fragmented location of industry and so on,
and thereby reduce the viability gap faced by the
manufacturing units in India.
• Promotion of Electronics Manufacturing Clusters
(EMC): The growth of the Electronics System
Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) industry
in the country is constrained by infrastructure,
power and finance, the three elements of operating environment which needs to be addressed.
The scheme envisages financial support for development of EMCs as they are expected to aid the

270

•

Twelfth Five Year Plan

growth of ESDM sector, help development of
entrepreneurial ecosystem, drive innovation and
catalyse economic growth. The scheme would
support setting up of both Greenfield (in undeveloped/underdeveloped geographical area) and
Brownfield EMCs (where a significant number of
existing ESDM units are located). The focus is on
upgrading infrastructure and providing common
facilities for the ESDM units.
Semiconductor Fabs: Semiconductor is at the
heart of any electronic system and constitutes at
least 25 per cent of the total value. In case of highend equipment and mobile handsets, this content
goes as high as 60 per cent. Presently, while this
is imported, in order to enable manufacturing of
electronic equipment and also push up the value
addition in India, setting up of Semiconductor
wafer fab (full scale as well as proto type) is a prerequisite and critical requirement for enhancing
domestic manufacturing capabilities in India.
Cyber Security R&D and Human Resource
Coordination: The focus would be on supporting
and facilitating basic research, technology demonstration, proof of concept and test bed projects
in thrust areas of cyber security through sponsored projects at recognised R&D institutions.
Proactive and collaborative actions in PPP aimed
at cyber security incidents prevention, prediction,
response and recovery actions and cyber security
assurance will be the cornerstone for the cyber
security R&D and human resource coordination.
Cyber Security Preparedness: In order to ensure
the cyber security preparedness, an improved
interaction and engagement with various key
stakeholders such as Govt., critical infrastructure
sectors, sectorial CERTs, International CERTs,
service providers including ISPs, product and
security vendors, security and law enforcement
agencies, academia, media, NGOs and cyber user
community is essential. Carrying out periodic
cyber security mock drills to assess the preparedness of critical sector organisations to resist cyberattacks and improve the security posture are some
other important steps in this regard.
Green IT: Enhanced deployment and usage of
Green IT in both computing and non-computing
infrastructure (for example, buildings) would be

•

promoted. Procurement policy needs to incorporate guidelines for preference for energy efficient products and to drive Green rating and
stricter regulation and implementation of e-waste
disposal.
Promote E-Governance cloud: Cloud computing as
a technology paradigm has a tremendous potential to reduce cost, implementation timelines and
increase reusability. There should be an increased
focus on cloud computing as a mainstream delivery model by establishing an ‘e-Gov Cloud’ which
can be accessed by various tiers of government to
implement digital public services.
Promotion of use of ICT by domestic industry for
enhancing productivity in priority sectors like agriculture, health, education, retail, automotive, textile: With the emergence of country-wide high
bandwidth broadband networks, there is a need to
build HR centric applications such as virtual labs,
country wide virtual classrooms, and so on to ride
on these platforms for improving the quality of
students, faculty as well as research. There is also
a need to continue with the programme on development of suitable technology/products for mass
applications in these sectors.
Promote development of SMEs in ICT Sector: The
Software Technology Park scheme has played
a stellar role in the growth story of the IT-ITeS/
BPO sector in the country. To provide competitive edge to small and start-up companies and to
attract investments beyond Metro cities (that is
Tier II and Tier III cities), there is a need for similar enabling environment.
Enhancing Supercomputing Capacity in India:
Supercomputing plays an important role in both
scientific advancement and economic competitiveness of a nation. In order to keep pace
with supercomputing developments globally, it
is important that we focus on building supercomputing systems of different sizes matching with the demands of HPC user applications,
Supercomputing
applications
development,
manpower development and R&D for Exascale
computing by leveraging the already built HPC
capabilities in the country.
Citizen Engagement Framework for e-Governance
Projects: As the government is incorporating ICT

Communication 271

into delivery of G2C services, there are hardly any
embedded mechanisms to facilitate the voice and
space for citizen participation in e-governance.
It is with this vision that Citizen Engagement
Framework (CEF) for e-Governance projects has
been conceptualised. In addition, Social Media
Framework for the Government of India has been
created to enable government agencies to use
blogs, forums and online social networks more
effectively and reach out to their stakeholders and
understand their concerns and hear their voices.
• HR Policy Framework for e-Governance: There is
an urgent need not only to augment the HR pool
but to create suitable organisational structures
with clear roles and responsibilities for implementation of e-Governance projects. To supplement the resource pool within the Government,
competencies outside the Government ought
to be leveraged and an enabling framework for
attracting, retaining and optimally utilising such
skilled persons need to be put in place. Setting
up of an e-Governance Academy as a Centre
of Excellence and think tank in this area is also
desirable.

Key Constraints and Challenges
16.40. The sector is facing numerous constraints and
challenges. A list of these constraints and challenges
theme wise is given below:
• e-Government
– Business
process
re-engineering
(BPR):
Implementation of BPR as an integral part of
e-government programmes on the national and
local levels, especially for those involving the
transition to single-window electronic services’
delivery based on integration of information
systems operated by multiple agencies.
– Fast tracking of the Mission Mode Projects
identified under the National e-Governance
Plan for electronic service delivery is a formidable challenge in view of the fact that a number
of actors covering central, State and local governments are involved.

– Constraint of internal capacity to manage
large e-Governance Projects and resourcing of
Skilled, experienced manpower across all stage
of Life Cycle.
– Mobile Governance: Providing adequate financial and institutional support to various agencies to foster creativity and innovation in
developing appropriate applications for mobile
based delivery of public services is very important with the involvement of all stakeholders in
the supply chain.
– E-waste management: IT can be a strong enabler
for realising the objectives of India’s National
Action Plan for Climate Change. Sustainable
and environment friendly E-wastage management should be a part of these objectives.
– Government procurement: Adoption of standardised RFPs, Model Contracts, developed by
DeitY, to reduce procurement cycles.
• E-Learning
– Create and leverage Government e-Learning
platform to aid training and skills development
of Government Staff, especially end-users at
junior level for driving adoption of e-Governance systems.
– Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a complex technology area. Building any language
technology product requires large resources.
There are very few researchers working in the
NLP area and constant efforts are required
to expand the team all over India to address
requirement of all 22 constitutionally recognised languages. Issues related to e-Pedagogy
for content and its delivery on the e platform,
establishment of e-classrooms for delivery of
e-content and e-learning are very important
and the corner stone for the successful implementation of e-learning module.
• E-Security
– Cyber security: In addition to land, sea and
air, cyber space is a new dimension without
any borders affecting each individual. There
is increasing evidence of espionage, targeted

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Twelfth Five Year Plan

attacks and lack of traceability in the cyber
world as state and non-state actors are compromising, stealing, changing or destroying information and therefore potentially causing risk
to national security, economic growth, public safety and competitiveness. Therefore, it is
essential to focus on R&D, Human Resource,
Security Standards and Certification and Cyber
Security coordination in order to overcome
such challenges during the Twelfth Plan.
• E-Industry (Electronics Hardware and IT-ITeS)
– Competition and strong pull from other countries: China, Philippines, Vietnam, Poland,
Hungary, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt are an indicative list of countries that are emerging as competitive locations for IT-ITeS sector. These are
fast increasing to almost 50 locations which
presents a huge challenge to India’s success story. India’s biggest competition in the
Electronics Hardware sector is from China,
which has achieved high economies of scale
and has highly subsidised operating environment which is largely opaque.
– Reduced competitiveness of the industry: India’s
competitiveness in IT-ITeS Sector is declining due to high cost of doing business due to
inefficiencies of power, transport, security,
concentration in metros due to inadequate
infrastructure in other towns and so on.
– ‘Made in India’ procurement: Indian firms particularly the SME firms who develop products
find it difficult to sell to the Government as
they lack the sales capacity or they fail to meet
the qualifying procurement criteria, for example, annual revenue, number of customer and
so on. As a result the ‘Made in India’ IT products find it difficult to scale up.
– Lack of research capacity: A key weakness of
the Indian IT industry including Government
agencies is the lack of original technology
development. Majority of IT deployed in
India is either imported or IPR resides with
non-Indian entities. Innovation ecosystems in
places like Silicon Valley, which lead in technology development, have demonstrated that

a key lever for technology development is the
maturity of the post-graduate and doctoral
research programmes. In India, the number
of computer science doctoral research programmes is very low—both qualitatively and
quantitatively.
– ITA and the WTO: Electronics was the first sector to be opened up and which accepted zero
duty regime for large number of products. As
a signatory to the Information Technology
Agreement-1 (ITA-1) of the World Trade
Organization (WTO), India has implemented
zero duty regime on 217 product lines. Under
the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and
Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) with
various countries, the import of electronics
hardware from these countries is allowed at a
duty which is lower than the normal duty rate.
– Disability Costs in local Manufacturing: The
three elements of operating environment which
pose significant challenges to Indian manufacturers are: infrastructure, power and finance.
– Lack of support for industry led innovation:
Electronics Sector constituted one of the largest
IP wealth in the world. These IPRs have been
created by industry competing with each other.
However, our efforts have not led to industry
led innovation in the sector. During the Twelfth
Five Year Plan efforts would be to stimulate
provision of risk capital to seed new ideas and
startups in Electronics System Design and
Manufacturing. An Electronic Development
fund is proposed to be set up with industry/
financial institutes’ participation.

Path Ahead
16.41. Widening of R&D base, promoting R&D for
manufacturing and creation/augmentation of R&D
infrastructure in the field of Electronics and IT is
essential for maintaining the competitive edge.
16.42. The
Information,
Communication
Technology and Electronics (ICTE) has come to
be accepted as a key enabler in development and
is globally being accepted as a ‘Meta-Resource’.
The demand for electronics hardware is increasing and demand supply gap is widening. Moreover,

Communication 273

since the value-addition in domestically produced
electronic goods is very small. Therefore, there is a
need to offset the debility and attract Investments
in ESDM Sector by providing suitable incentives to
the sector.

Posts (DoP) started the Rural Postal Life Insurance
(RPLI) Scheme for insuring the rural populace with
special emphasis on women and weaker sections of
Society.

16.43. To realise the vision of NEGP, there is a need
to reorient the activities for maximising outcome to
the citizens. Electronics Delivery of Services (EDS)
Act needs to be put in place at the earliest in order to
mandate provisioning of all public services compulsorily through electronics means from a specified date.
Electronics and ICT are all pervasive today and there
is a dire need to synergise with the important initiatives and capabilities in the strategic departments.

16.46. The department is facing twin challenges
posed by increasing competition and continuing advances in communication technologies. The
department has therefore initiated an end to end
IT modernisation project to connect all the 1.55
lakh post offices. The benefits and impact of this IT
project will flow into all the Twelfth Five Year Plan
schemes and activities and the next five year Plan
period will be extensively a period for consolidation
and implementation of the IT project.

INDIA POSTS

Review of the Eleventh Five Year Plan

Overview of the Sector
16.44. India Posts has been the backbone of India’s
communication and at the core of the country’s
social-economic development for the last 150 years.
It has touched the lives of every citizen. A network of
1.55 lakh (approx.) Post Offices (POs) in the country
with more than 1.39 lakh POs in rural areas is indicative of the commitment of the department towards
its customers. The core activity of the department
is processing, transmission and delivery of mails.
The department has undertaken Mail Network
Optimisation Project to improve the quality and efficiency of mail processing, transmission and delivery.
Considering the vital need for providing benefits of
technology to the customers, the counter operations
are now being progressively computerised.
16.45. The Post Office Savings Bank provides financial inclusion to people all over the country through
various saving schemes, as its reach and services
are unparalleled by any other banking agency in
the country. Postal Life Insurance (PLI), one of the
oldest life insurance schemes initially meant only
for the Postal employees, now caters to employees
of the Civil and Military Personnel of the Central
and State Governments, local bodies, government
aided educational institutions and so on. Following
the recommendation of Malhotra Committee on
Insurance Sector Reforms, the Department of

16.47. The Eleventh Five Year Plan witnessed the
continued drive of computerisation of the post
offices, administrative offices and accounts offices
and completion of the supply of hardware to departmental post offices. Establishment of a strong IT
base has enabled Department of Posts to provide
several value added services, besides providing
the platform for anywhere anytime banking. Mail
Network Optimisation Project and setting up of
Automated Mail Processing Centres were undertaken to improve the quality of mail operations.
Postal Life Insurance is being transformed into
a commercial business entity with the development and operationalisation of software modules
for reporting daily net accretions of POLIF and
RPOLIF by Head Post Offices. The Department of
Posts has steadily expanded the insurance business
during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. As on 31 March
2012, Postal Life Insurance had 5.6 million policies
and Rural Postal Life Insurance had 19.63 million
policies with a total sum assured of `79,183.44 crore
and `82,540.86 crore respectively.
16.48. The department in last few years has also
computerised 24,969 post offices and networked
22,177 post offices (as on 30 June 2012) in urban and
rural areas. The department has also taken up Project
Arrow for modernisation of post offices, as a part
of which, 1,736 post offices have been modernised.
India Post, 2012 Project aims to roll out integrated

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Twelfth Five Year Plan

software for Postal Banking, Postal Life Insurance,
e-commerce and retailing. In addition, it will also
provide rural ICT solution to more than 1,30,000
POs. With the introduction of ‘One India One Rate’
scheme, speed Post was expanded to cover more than
1,200 towns. The department has also completed
construction of 95 post offices, 13 administrative
offices and 15 staff quarters projects, besides organising the 6th World Philatelic Exhibition INDIPEX.
Some of the other achievements include introduction
of e-Post Office, opening of 1,008 franchisee outlets
and providing necessary infrastructural equipment to
more than 1 lakh branch post offices (BPOs).
Mails (Including International Mails and Global
Business)
16.49. Department of Posts initiated a number of
projects during the Eleventh Five Year Plan for
modernisation of mails network, which include:
Mail network optimisation; setting up of automated
mail processing centres; deployment of dedicated
freighter aircraft for carriage of mail in North East
as well as metro routes; National Address Database
Management project for building and managing
the address database across the country along with
postal Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping of the country; and Mail Motor Vehicles project
for monitoring the movement of mail vans for their
effective management and route optimisation.
Rural Business and Access to Postal Network
16.50. During the Eleventh Five Year Plan, ‘Access
to the Postal Network’ scheme was implemented for
improving access to postal network. Major components under the scheme include: opening of new BPOs
in Rural Areas, opening of BPOs by redeployment,
opening of sub post offices by redeployment, opening of franchise outlets in urban areas, rationalisation
of postal network by relocation of branch post offices
and sub post offices and provision of Infrastructural
equipment for extra departmental branch post offices.
Computerisation and Modernisation of Postal
Network
16.51. The department has initiated the programme
of Computerisation of Post Offices, Mail Offices,
Administrative and other offices, establishment

of IT infrastructure and development of software
applications. As a part of this programme, DoP has
engaged M/s. Accenture for providing professional
consultancy to develop a technology strategy and
action plan for process re-engineering total networking and computerisation of post offices, administrative offices and offices of the accounts wing. A
comprehensive IT roadmap has been developed for
network architecture, integrated software, proper
data management including strengthening/establishment of National Data Centre(s) and Disaster
Recovery Centre. In addition, the DoP has initiated
projects for (i) Computerisation and Networking
of Departmental Post Offices, and (ii) Upgradation
and modernisation of Postal Accounts Offices and
Postal Accounts Wing of Postal Directorate. Under
the Human Resource Management programme,
multiple training programmes, covering all the cadres of employees including Business Orientation
Programmes, Capacity Building, Technology
Training, Standardisation of Training and departmental training for the officers, Postmasters and new
entrants, were conducted.

Vision and Strategy for the Twelfth Five Year
Plan
• To make the Department of Post’s products and
services customer’s first choice and serve its customers with a human touch.
• To sustain its position as the largest postal network in the world touching the lives of every citizen in the country.
• To provide mail, parcel, money transfer, banking, insurance and retail services with speed and
reliability.
• To provide services to the customers on value for
money basis.
• To continue to deliver social security services and
to enable last mile connectivity as a Government
of India platform.
Objectives
16.52. To fulfil the mandate, the department needs
to reinvent itself for providing best in class customer
service and growing its existing businesses by developing a professional workforce and modernising
and consolidating the network. The department also

Communication 275

needs to come up with new services including financial Services.
Policy Issues, Programme Reforms and New
Initiatives in the Twelfth Plan
16.53. The India Post has more than 1,50,000 post
offices and its reach in the rural India is unmatched.
This network spread should be leveraged to provide
services to the residents. The department needs to
reinvent itself by embracing technology and redefining its role by taking up e-commerce, banking and
financial services especially in the rural areas. The
Indian Postal Office Act 1898 needs to be replaced
with a new act keeping in line with the latest trends.

16.54. IT Induction and Modernisation: The major
thrust of the Twelfth Five Year Plan would on implementing the IT Induction and Modernisation programme. Implementation of new and improved
processes, enterprise resource planning, integration and interlinking of applications, greater access,
enhanced productivity, improved functionality and
efficient and cost effective services would be the
hallmark of this programme. The main features of
the project include Supply of mail office hardware,
Development and deployment of rural ICT, Banking
and PLI solutions, Establishment of Data Centre
and Disaster Recovery System, Network Integration,
Development and deployment of Integrated Scalable
Software and change management activities. The
DoP also needs to implement ‘Sevottam’—a Service
Delivery Excellence Model and Quality Certification
as per the corresponding standard IS 15700: 2005
during the Twelfth Five Year Plan. It is also proposed
to attain ISO 9001 Certification for all Head Post
Offices.
16.55. Project Arrow: The Project Arrow envisages
upgradation of POs in urban and rural areas both
in terms of upgrading and enhancing the quality of
service in ‘core areas’ and improving the ‘look and
feel’. So far 1,736 POs have been covered under the
project. This activity has won the Prime Minister
Excellence Award during the year 2009–10. It is proposed to cover more than 2,500 POs under Project
Arrow in a phased manner. It is also proposed to
undertake audit of 1,000 post offices.

16.56. Mails Sector: The Twelfth Five Year Plan aims
at ensuring readiness of the department not only for
the anticipated mail volumes but also to meet rising customer expectations and competition from
electronic channels of communication and private
couriers. The main focus shall be on the Express
mail segment, bulk mail and parcels which is presently the most competitive as well as profitable sector worldwide, as well as in India covering Speed
Post, International Mail, First class mail and second
class mail. While continuing with the Automated
Mail Processing Centre (AMPC) project at Mumbai,
Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, AMPCs would
be established at Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Patna,
Lucknow, Bhubaneshwar, Ludhiana and Vashi (Navi
Mumbai). Under the National Address Database
Management Project, GIS maps for the entire country and address database for 300 million households
is proposed to be developed. The department has
also proposed to replace the existing bag sealing system with a new single use self-locking plastic seals
and tag labels to improve environmental conditions
in the POs.
16.57. The department is incurring heavy expenditure on account of payment of haulage charges to
Railways for conveyance of mails and has become
uneconomical as the Railways charges passenger displacement fares for RMS wagons instead of freight
charges. Non-availability of adequate capacity of
wagons also adds to abnormal delay in transmission
of mails and adverse public reaction. The dynamics
of new type of mail flow makes it imperative for the
department to rethink its operational strategy in mail
process and transmission. It is therefore proposed to
replace rail based transportation on short hauls with
road transport network by outsourced/departmental vehicles wherever feasible. It is also proposed to
upgrade Mail Motor Service vehicles and containerised transportation of mail and procure 4-wheeled
vehicles (one tonner), for mechanisation of Business
Mail and Speed Post, two wheeler vehicles for delivery and collection at Mail Hubs/POs during Twelfth
Five Year Plan. Postman is the key person, in the
postal network and ensuring his mobility is essential
for last mile delivery of mail.

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Twelfth Five Year Plan

16.58. International Mails, Global Business and
e-Commerce: Quality and efficiency improvement
for Express Mail Service (International) will be one
of the priority programmes during the Twelfth Five
Year Plan. Business process enhancements that
improve the ease of doing business, reduce operating
expenses and improve customer services would be
reinforced. DoP also needs to revamp its mail/parcel delivery capabilities. Postal operators across the
world are playing an important role in the development of e-Commerce. In the first phase, the entire
range of postal products will be made available to
customers online. In the final phase, the e-Commerce business of DoP will evolve into a best-inclass portal with e-market place functionality. It will
be an online market place selling a variety of nonpostal products.
16.59. A Centre of Excellence for promoting cooperation between India Posts and other designated
postal operators of the world is proposed to be
established with focus on evolving modern postal
operations and practices through experience sharing.
The proposed Centre of Excellence could take over
all deliberations with member countries of UPU,
PAPU, African Union and the Asia Pacific on matters of cooperation in consultancy, Human Resource
and allied areas.
16.60. Financial Services (Savings Bank and
Remittances): During the Twelfth Five Year Plan,
the DoP has envisaged the setting up Post Bank of
India with expansion of IT infrastructure along
with Processing centres and Customer Call centres.
Automatic Teller Machine network of the PO will
be expanded to semi urban and block level POs.
Integrated remittance services, including Mobile
based remittance services will be introduced in order
to exploit the penetration of mobile phones all over
the country. In addition, an Anti-Money Laundering
(AML)/Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT)
Compliance Structure will be put in place.
16.61. Postal Life Insurance (PLI): During the Twelfth
Plan period, it is proposed to increase the coverage of
PLI beyond the Government and Semi Government
employees and digitise the records of PLI/RPLI with

the objective to insure 15 million more lives. Several
new products such as ULIPS and Group policies
which will benefit the masses especially in rural areas
will also be introduced. This will go a long way in
providing financial inclusion and risk coverage to
rural population with special emphasis on women
workers and economically weaker sections of the
society. It is also proposed to undertake technology
upgradation to facilitate payment of online premium
of policies through electronic clearance service facility and use of hand held devices by PLI/RPLI Sales
force and operators.
16.62. Rural Business and Access to Postal Network:
Improving the access to postal network and rationalisation of the existing network are important Plan
objectives of the department during the Twelfth
Five Year Plan. As the Panchayats are increasingly
becoming hubs of various kinds of activities in the
villages, it is important that the rural Branch Post
Offices are co-located with Panchayats so that they
are able to provide the required infrastructural support to all activities of Panchayats in the interest
of rural population and also increase the revenues
of the department. It is recommended that BPOs
should be established at all the Panchayat headquarters to ensure efficient delivery of various services to the people in such areas and also to improve
financial inclusion of the currently excluded people.
Efforts would also be made to link different local and
community institutions such as Aanganwadis and
people’s collectives including SHGs with the POs.
16.63. Engagement
with
Social
Protection
Programmes: Department of Posts is considered as
the first choice as a delivery channel for various social
protection programmes. Availability of an extensive
postal network with vast experience of delivering
financial and other services offers an opportunity to
the Central/State Governments in India to address
the constraints associated with delivery of various
social protection programmes. The postal network
can also be substantially engaged towards achieving financial inclusion in rural India. The department should collaborate with other Government
and non-Government agencies to implement their
schemes and programmes on financial inclusion.

Communication 277

The BPOs can also be leveraged to transmit information like weather, prices, transfer of knowledge on
farm management and facilitate sale/distribution of
farm inputs to the farmer right at his doorstep. This
would call for building capabilities of rural postal
personnel by imparting knowledge and skills on various Government programmes, banking, insurance,
accounts and finance, entrepreneurship and usage of
computers to Gramin Dak Sewaks in the country.
16.64. Business Development: It is essential for the
department to include logistics as one of its core
activities as development of logistics sector is of paramount importance for the economic development
of the country and it offers excellent opportunity for
the department to improve its revenues. The department also needs to take a leap forward in express
parcel post service in view of the overall volume of
business being transacted across the country, and
improve the overall efficiency of speed post service
delivery due to increased technological capabilities.
Human resource development and management is
of paramount importance for achieving the goal of
reaching out to all sections of society and providing
efficient services.
16.65. Estates Management: Building requirements
of the DoP have undergone significant changes with
large scale induction of technology. Thrust during
the Twelfth Five Year Plan will be to provide functionally useful modern space for post office operations; improve the general ambience and aesthetics
of postal buildings and provide modern facilities and
amenities to the users of India Post.
16.66. Philately Operations: Indian philately is
respected internationally for its theme and design
and adherence to good international practices.
Several initiatives are proposed to be taken up during
the Twelfth Five Year Plan to promote the philately
operations, right down to the district level, including
establishment of research wing and consultancy for
marketing.
16.67. Postal Accounts and Finance: As per the decision of Ministry of Finance, all Government departments have to migrate to accrual based accounting

system. The department has already initiated action on
this line.

Key Constraints and Challenges
16.68. In the rapidly transforming communications and financial services sectors and emerging socio-economic trends within the country and
globally, the DoP is facing challenges posed by globalisation, entry of the private sector, growth of
telephony, focus on inclusive growth, higher level
of delivery standards, developments in other Postal
Administrations and so on in its quest of becoming
self-sustaining. The DoP also has to address issues
relating to multiplicity of application software, coexistence of manual and computerised processes
and raising productivity norms and demand for
greater accountability and transparency. In the area
of financial services, challenge is to achieve the projected financial inclusion and rural empowerment.
In addition, enhancing skills and faster generation of employment in the sector, decentralisation,
empowerment, dissemination of information and
rural transformation with credit facilities by the
postal sector are some of the other challenges faced
by the department.

The Path Ahead
16.69. The total revenue of the DoP increased by
6.6 per cent from 2007–08 to 2008–09, by 11.1 per
cent in 2009–10 to 2010–11 and by 13.75 per cent
in 2010–11 to 2011–12. This trend is indicative of
the fact that incremental improvements in infrastructure, IT support and quality monitoring during Eleventh Plan has taken effect and with the roll
out of all IT induction dependent activities like Core
Banking, Rural ICT, Mail Network Optimisation
and Modernisation, the upward trend will not only
be sustained but will also register a higher percentage growth. The objective is to achieve the challenges
with the help of ongoing as well as new schemes like
expansion of Automatic Teller Machine network;
expansion of Mail Processing Centres and Customer
Call centres; Setting up Post Bank of India; e-commerce; Integrated remittance services and Mobile
remittance service; and creation of an Anti-Money
Laundering (AML)/Combating of Financing of
Terrorism (CFT) Compliance Structure. Induction

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Twelfth Five Year Plan

of IT in all post offices will also help in revenue generation due to the speed and accuracy in transactions, transparency, improved customer grievance
redressal and provision of greater range of services
over a secured network.

INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Overview of the Sector
16.70. The Indian Media and Entertainment
Industry has evolved as fastest growing sectors
of the economy over the last few years and it is
expected to grow at an annual average rate on 13.2
per cent in the next five years to reach `1.19 trillion in 2015. Television, Radio and Films are projected to grow at Compound Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) of 14.5 per cent, 19.2 per cent and 10 per
cent respectively by 2015. Digitalisation, enhanced
number of channels, increased number of private
stakeholder, momentum in crossover movies and
crossover audience, increasing share in the global
market, domestic demand for animation and special
effect are some of the salient features of this sector.
India today has a large broadcasting and distribution sector comprising around 800 plus satellite TV
channels, 100 Multi System Operators (MSO), 6,000
Independent Cable operators, around 60,000 Local
Cable Operators (LCO), 7 DTH operators and several IPTV service providers. As per industry reports,
out of a total of 138 million TV homes, about 30
million are dependent on Doordarshan’s terrestrial
broadcast services and 74 million are covered by
cable services and the rest by Direct to Home (DTH)
and Internet Protocol Television Services (IPTV)
services. Television industry is more and more getting localised in nature with the spurt of regional
channels over the last few years. Doordarshan (DD)
is the world’s largest terrestrial broadcaster with
over 1,400 terrestrial TV transmitters. The reach
provided by this route is phenomenal with DD covering 88 per cent of India’s geographical areas and
these transmitters provide coverage to about 92 per
cent population of the country. It is estimated that
Direct to Home (DTH) subscriber base could reach
70 million by 2015. With the widespread adoption of broadband in the country and the growing techno savvy population, Internet Protocol

Television (IPTV) has a potential to become a huge
success in India. Appropriate policy guidelines have
been adopted in respect of IPTV, Headend in The
Sky (HITS), expansion of FM radio network (Phase
III), and Community Radio Services, and so on FM
Phase-III will extend radio’s reach to 294 towns and
839 stations.
16.71. With convergence of technologies, it is now
possible to provide multiple services on a single platform and on single device. To take full advantage
of the technology, digitisation of broadcasting network needs to be given priority along with archiving of content and complete switch over to digital
transmission. This would help usher in new value
added services like Internet Protocol TV, Mobile TV
and HDTV. This also calls for a policy to review the
existing regulatory institutions and enactment for
the establishment of a common regulator for content
as well as for carriage.
16.72. The film and entertainment sector needs to
be holistically reviewed in the light of technological interventions which have redefined entertainment today. The Cinematographic Act needs to be
relooked to address issues relating to digital cinemas,
piracy concerns. There is also a need to establish low
cost cinema exhibition houses across the country to
make cinema affordable. The film festivals needs to
be more attractive and should be projected as a platform for encouraging film distribution, exhibition
and other related activities.
16.73. There are various issues that revolve around
this sector, these inter-alia include foreign investments, content regulation, intellectual property rights,
content enrichment, restructuring of PrasarBharati,
digitalisation of network and, content for archival
and dissemination, issues of piracy, spectrum allocation and maintaining archives of the entire spectrum
of Information and Broadcasting media unit.

Review of Eleventh Five Year Plan
Doordarshan
16.74. Eight new High Power Transmitters (HPTs)
were set up at Port Blair (A&N), Kokrajhar

Communication 279

(Assam), Bikaner (Rajasthan), Dharamshala (H.P.),
Chattarpur (M.P.), Saharsa (Bihar) and Bilaspur
(Chattisgarh), thereby providing coverage especially
to remote, hilly and border areas hitherto uncovered. Six high power transmitters were also commissioned at Kupwara (J&K), Jalgaon (Maharashtra),
Vaodara (Gujarat), Barrmer (Rajasthan), Balurghat
(W.B.) and Kharagpur (West Bengal), which
enabled Doordarshan to provide reliable and
extended service to the people. Two high power
ageing and obsolete transmitters were also replaced
with new transmitters at Chennai for DD1 and DD
News thereby helping to improve the transmission
quality. In addition, 56 Low Power Transmitters
(LPTs) were also installed during the Plan period.
This has increased the reach as well as quality of
the TV services in the targeted areas. Also during
the Plan, 34 new Very Low Power Transmitters
(VLPTs) were installed. Capacity of Doordarshan’s
Direct To Home (DTH) platform ‘DD Direct plus’
was upgraded from 50 to 59 Standard Definition
Television (SDTV) channels and 65,000 Set Top
Boxes (STBs) along with 35,000 TV sets were distributed in remote and border areas. DTH Service
in C-Band especially for Andaman and Nicobar
(A&N) Islands was commissioned by setting up of a
10 Channel C-Band Earth Station at Delhi. This has
enabled the people of A&N island territory to access
10 channels of Doordarshan.
16.75. Doordarshan as a Host Broadcaster of Commonwealth Games—2010, successfully provided
coverage of Commonwealth Games Delhi—2010
in High Definition (HD) format. On the eve of
Commonwealth Games, a new High Definition DD
channel was launched by Doordarshan. Necessary
HD uplinking facility in ‘C’ and ‘Ku’ bands was commissioned. There has been some setback in the physical and financial targets during Eleventh Five Year
Plan period. The main reasons were litigation relating to procurement of transmitters, delay in approval
of new schemes specially digitalisation scheme of
Doordarshan, lengthy procurement procedure for
machinery and equipment and re-tendering of work
due to non-compliance of the specifications by
bidders.

16.76. Digitalisation of Transmitters and Studios in
DD Network: The Doordarshan network presently
has 1,415 analog transmitters of varying powers providing coverage to 92 per cent of the population and
81.6 per cent by Area. Doordarshan network also
comprises of 67 studio centres spread all across the
country. Eleventh Five Year Plan scheme of digitalisation, which inter alia includes establishment of 40
digital transmitters and full digitalisation of 39 Studio
centres, was approved at a cost of `620.12 crore in
April, 2010. Digitalisation of Doordarshan network
is targeted to be completed by December 2017. For
digitalisation of its terrestrial Network, Doordarshan
has planned to establish a total of 630 digital transmitters (HPTs-230 and LPTs-400) for providing the
present level of coverage as is being provided by 1,415
analog transmitters.
All India Radio (AIR)
16.77. AIR launched digital transmission in DRM
from a 250 kW Short Wave (SW) transmitter in
Delhi. AIR programmes in digital quality are now
available in UK, West Europe, Nepal, Mauritius, East
Africa, Sri Lanka, Russia and NE Asia. Obsolete 1,000
kW Medium Wave (MW) transmitters at Rajkot
and Kolkata (Chinsurah) have been replaced with
state-of-the-art digital (DRM) transmitters. In addition to the western and eastern parts of India, AIR
programmes to Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan from
the Rajkot transmitter and to Bangladesh, China and
Nepal from the Kolkata transmitter would now be
available in digital format. Establishment of permanent studios in Leh (J&K) and Tawang (AP) have
been initiated and the studio facilities at Mysore
(Karnataka) have been upgraded. New Studios are
also getting ready at Jaipur and Dehradun, which
will have digital production and transmission facilities. AIR has also commissioned satellite earth stations at Leh (J&K) and Rohtak (Haryana), enabling
these areas to distribute news and other important
programmes to other AIR stations in the regions.
News-on-Phone Service has been introduced from 5
more stations—Lucknow, Imphal, Simla, Guwahati
and Raipur, making a total of 14 such stations.
Strengthening of radio coverage in the border areas
and Jammu & Kashmir is of strategic importance
for India. Therefore, a programme for strengthening

280

Twelfth Five Year Plan

AIR and Doordarshan coverage in the J&K was
taken.
16.78. Digitalisation Plan: The Eleven Five Year
Plans have given impetus to the growth of broadcasting in India resulting in a phenomenal expansion.
From the six radio stations at the time of independence, the network has now grown to 279 stations
with 436 transmitters providing coverage to 99.18
per cent of the population and 91.85 per cent area of
the country. AIR FM, which is increasingly becoming popular, provides coverage to about 37 per cent
of population at present. Digitalisation of AIR production, transmission and networking infrastructure
is to be completed by December 2017. But it has to
be ensured that till that time, the listeners are not
deprived of the programmes on the existing analogue receivers. During the Eleventh Five Year Plan
a scheme for digitalisation of Transmitters (70 MW
and 9 SW), Studios (98 nos) and Connectivity as well
as augmentation of Training and R&D facilities was
taken up.
Film Sector
16.79. There is a gradual increase in the number of
countries and films participating in the International
Film Festival of India (IFFI). During the 42nd IFFI
which was recently concluded, 255 films from 67
countries participated. IFFI now attracts entries
from all over the world. The participation by Indian
films in various film festivals and in various film
markets has also increased. During the Eleventh Five
Year Plan, National Film Development Corporation
(NFDC) has produced 11 films in different languages
and 8 films are under production. Films Division has
completed production of 183 documentaries and
Children Film Society of India (CFSI) produced 11
feature films during this period. A programme was
also taken up for digitisation and restoration of old
films. Considerable progress has been made towards
setting up of National Museum of Indian Cinema
and is likely to be completed by 2013 to coincide
with the Centenary year of Indian Cinema.
Information Sector
16.80. Directorate of Advertisement and Visual
Publicity (DAVP) is the nodal multi-media

advertising agency of the Government which carries
information on policies, programmes and achievements of various Ministries and Departments to
masses through various media. It focused on the technological upgradation of its communication equipment and modernisation of its programme designs.
In order to disseminate information on flagship programmes of the Government, Public Information
Campaigns (PICs) is the most crucial and important
component of the Media Outreach Strategy organised by Public Information Bureau (PIB) in joint
collaboration with fellow media units of Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting to raise awareness on
flagship programmes of the Government. Song and
Drama Division (S&DD) mounted a new Sound and
Light Programme titled ‘Jamunia’ based on a Multi
Media Theatrical format, which was well received by
the people.

Broad Objectives, Targets and Thrust Areas
during the Twelfth Five Year Plan
16.81. The growth potential of Media and
Entertainment sector needs to be harnessed in order
to place Broadcasting sector on a higher growth trajectory by taking advantage accrued due to convergence of technologies. In the liberalised economy,
the role of Government has undergone a phenomenal change from a services provider to facilitator
and there is a need for creating supportive policy
environment for different stakeholders in the media
and entertainment sector in order to step up the
growth trend. There is a need to promote and facilitate the Broadcasting, Films and Print media industry in India to ensure its growth and development
and to generate employment. Media Units need to
be strengthened further to ensure dissemination of
public messages in a more purposeful and efficient
manner. Keeping in view the present day realities
and emerging scenarios, their individual roles also
need to be clearly redefined so as to achieve complete
synergy in delivery mechanism among the media
units. There is a need to ensure free flow of information to the public and safeguarding freedom of the
media in general. The Government’s role in making information available to people in strategic and
inaccessible areas of the country should continue
to remain paramount. Last but not the least, the

Communication 281

potential of software in film and broadcasting needs
to be exploited internationally to make India a global
soft power and there is a need to review the Acts,
Rules and Regulation as per the contemporary needs
of this sector. During the Twelfth Five Year Plan
thrust would be on the following major programmes:
Broadcasting Sector
1. Digitalisation needs to be given thrust with special emphasis on convergence technology. The
digitalisation of AIR, Doordarshan, Cable sector
should be completed as per schedule.
2. Digital content needs to be given push during
Twelfth Plan along with comprehensive programme audit of DD and AIR and to improve
the content being telecast by DD/AIR.
3. Restructuring and strengthening of Prasar
Bharati with the twin objectives of (i) enabling
it to perform its primary role of Public Service
Broadcaster (PSB) more purposefully and efficiently; (ii) making the non-PSB component
self-financing within Twelfth Plan period.
4. Enhancing broadcast coverage in boarder areas
and North Eastern areas through expansion of
broadcasting infrastructure and services in the
border areas.
5. Earmarking of some frequencies/channels of DD
and AIR for niche programmes.
6. Expansion of FM coverage in the Twelfth Plan
and dedicating one channel for nationwide news
and current affairs FM channel.
7. Strengthening the capacity of Electronic Media
Monitoring Centre (EMMC) for monitoring
broadcast content including Private FM channels and Community Radio services.
8. Notification of policy and guidelines for Mobile
TV services.
9. Supporting Community Radio Movement and
Information, Entertainment and Communication (IEC) activities.
10. Installation of DRM+ transmitters at 50 locations including all state capitals and some other
major cities in the country.
11. Replacement of 28 MW transmitters by FM and
installation of 330 new FM transmitters (150
at the locations where private FM is coming

in phase III [but AIR does not have FM set up
there], 25 at the locations for which demands
from a number of VIPs are pending, 5 for additional channels and 150 in the uncovered areas).
12. Broadcasting
Infrastructure
Network
Development.
13. Special Projects like Auditorium, Global
Coverage of DD International Channel and
Broadcast Museum.
14. IEC activities for promoting Digitalisation,
Automation of Broadcasting wing and Capacity
building of Cable TV industry in Digital wire
line Broadcasting.
Film Sector
1. To devise appropriate policy initiatives for creating an enabling environment conducive to the
growth and development of film sector including preservation and sustenance of the film heritage of India.
2. To devise appropriate policy for simplifying the
procedure for clearance for setting up of film
theatres.
3. To preserve and enhance public access to
the archival wealth of films, video and audio
resources.
4. To devise single window clearance system for
film shooting in India, for both domestic and
international film production houses.
5. To promote India as a film destination in film
market and film festivals.
6. To aggressively pursue for entertainment tax
and services tax to be subsumed in Goods and
Services Tax (GST).
7. Establishment of a National Museum of Indian
Cinema at Mumbai to coincide with the centenary year of Indian cinema in 2013.
8. Infrastructure Development Programme relating to Film Sector.
9. Development Communication and Dissemination of Film Content.
10. Anti-Piracy initiatives.
11. Setting up of National Film Heritage Mission.
12. Setting up of National Centre for Animation,
Gaming and VFX.

282

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Information Sector
1. To encourage information dissemination in traditional media through PPP mode for intensive
campaign at village fairs, festivals and social
gatherings.
2. To create awareness on social issues through
inter-personal and live performance.
3. Media Infrastructure Development Programme.
4. Development Communication and
Dissemination.
5. Human Resource Development.

Key Constraints and Challenges
16.82. Information and Broadcasting sector in the
country will undergo a major facelift Twelfth Five
Year Plan making it comparable with that of developed world. Some of the game changers and challenges for the sector are as follows:
1. Going digital in TV and Radio
a. The Government is committed to adhere to
the date-line already notified for Cable TV
digitalisation. HITS is an alternate platform
to the cable sector.
b. Digitalisation of terrestrial transmission,
adding to the digital network capacity in the
country.
c. Digitalisation of All India Radio, particularly MW, SW and FM is another challenge.
PrasarBharati has designed a plan of action to
go digital to replace analogue MW and SW
transmission through adoption of DRM+
technology.
d. Ensuring that PrasarBharati re-gains its
lost position as public service broadcasting
agency and becoming self-financing for nonPSB component.
2. Community Radio Expansion and Community
Empowerment
a. Provision for adequate availability of fund for
NGOs to initially set up Community Radio
stations and judicious decision in terms of

policy intervention for increasing commercial airtime.
b. Making this sector a vibrant medium of IEC,
spurring content innovation and carrying
message from the Government to the local
people.
3. Film Heritage Mission
a. Film Heritage Mission will not only consolidate and add value to the cultural assets but
also will act as a game changer in converting thousands of films to digital format. This
Mission will help propagate India’s cultural
values to different countries.

Policy Issues and Recent Initiatives
16.83. The Ministry has taken a number of initiatives in the recent past with the objective to create an
enabling environment in the information and broadcasting sector. These include:
1. Broadcasting Sector
a. Policy on Headend in the Sky (HITS): HITS
would provide greater channel capacity and
is capable of bringing down the investments
required at the level of the last mile operator,
thereby enabling deeper penetration of cable
services into rural areas. However, there is
some constraint with regard to availability
of transponder capacities for HITS services.
The implementation of Digital Addressable
System (DAS) in the cable TV sector would
have a great positive impact on HITS services
as it would enable HITS to penetrate and
capture greater market share, particularly in
rural areas.
b. Policy on IPTV Service: IPTV platform is
promising due to its superior quality and
interactive service but the reach is limited to
households having broadband connections.
Once broadband penetration in rural India
improves, IPTV would stand a better chance
of success. However, it is likely to take some
time before the service makes inroads in the
market.

Communication 283

c. Digital Addressable System (DAS) in the Cable
TV Sector: The Ministry has taken a major
decision at reforming the present analogue
cable television networks by digitalising the
same to address the inherent drawbacks in
the analogue networks. DAS will be implemented in a phased time bound manner with
the complete switch off of analog cable TV
service in the country by 31 December 2014.
The implementation of DAS will be a game
changer for the television sector and will take
growth of broadcasting sector to new heights.
It will benefit all stakeholders including cable
operators, broadcasters, customers and the
government.
d. Enhancement of FDI Limits in the Broadcasting Sector: Rationalisation of Foreign
Investments (FI) limits in various segments
of broadcasting sector needs to be addressed.
There is need for a holistic review of the
existing FI limits for different segments of
broadcasting sector.
e. Content Regulation and Broadcasting
Regulator: Regulation of content of
Television channels and setting up an independent regulator for the broadcasting sector has been a much debated issue. Within
the industry, the preponderant view is that
self-regulation is the best way to regulate
the media and no purpose would be served
by introducing any other measures to regulate content. The Indian Broadcasting
Foundation (IBF), taking a cue from NBA’s
self-regulation and in consultation with the
Ministry, has set up a mechanism for selfregulation in case of general entertainment
channels. As part of this, IBF has laid down
Content Code and Certification Rules 2011
covering an entire gamut of content-related
principles and criterion for television broadcast. The self-regulation mechanism put in
place by the broadcasters will, however, not
replace the existing regulatory functions of
the Government, arising out of the extant
statute, namely, Cable Television Networks
(Regulation) Act, 1995 and Rules framed
thereunder.

f. Amendment to the Guidelines on Uplinking/
Downlinking of Channels: There is need to
make changes with respect to existing policy
on uplinking/downlinking of Channels and
teleports which, inter-alia, includes uniform
permission period of 10 years for uplinking/downlinking of channels and teleports,
stipulating time frame for operationalisation,
enhancement of permission fee, mandatory
submission of performance Bank Guarantee
for fulfilling the roll out obligations. The
proposed policy also provides for transfer
of permission in case of merger/demerger/
amalgamation with the approval of the
Government.
g. Interoperability of DTH Set-Top-Boxes (STB):
Interoperability of the STBs has been a long
pending issue. Technical interoperability
essentially protects the interest of the subscribers by enabling them to shift from one
operator to another without having to buy a
new STB.
h. License Fee Computation in DTH Sector:
Presently, the license fee collected by the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
from DTH operators is based on the Gross
Revenue, as defined in the Article 3 of the
Schedule to the DTH License Agreement. As
per this definition, taxes revenue earned from
the sale of Set Top Box, installation, commissions, content cost, subscription and service
are required to be included for the purpose of
calculation of annual license fee. The TDSAT
has, however, in its orders dated 26 August
2008 and 28 May 2010, applied the principle
of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) for determination of annual license fee, removing
majority of components such as installation
charges, taxes, commissions, content cost,
sale of STBs and so on. The Government
has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court
against these TDSAT orders. As of now, the
DTH operators are paying license fee as per
adjusted gross revenue which is less than
according to gross revenue computation.
i. Rationalisation of Taxes in Broadcasting
Sector: A long standing demand of the

284

Twelfth Five Year Plan

broadcasting sector has been for DTH, Cable
Services, IPTV services, HITS services and
for similar content distribution services, the
Service Tax, Entertainment Tax and VAT
be subsumed under the proposed Goods
and Services Tax regime (GST) and only a
single/unified GST rate be notified for these
services.
j. Music royalty in FM Radio: Music royalty
issue is a major bone of contention between
radio and music players and the royalty rates
have been one of the problems affecting the
viability of the private FM industry. The
Copyright Board, which was given powers
by the Supreme Court of India to decide in
the matter of radio companies versus music
rights owners on the issue of royalty payment, has decided to reduce the royalty payment to two per cent of their net advertising
revenues. This matter is still not settled as
music companies have challenged this order
in court and the industry will need to wait for
a final decision; however no stay has yet been
granted.
k. Promotion of Indigenous Manufacturing
Capacity: A concern has been raised in various quarters that there is a lack of indigenous
manufacturing capacities for broadcasting
equipment in India. With digitalisation being
one of the priority agenda for all the stakeholders, there is a need to enhance domestic
manufacturing capabilities for production of
STBs and other digital equipments.
2. Film Sector
a. The Government has initiated steps for setting up of a mechanism for single window
clearance for film shooting in India.
b. The Ministry has taken up the matter with
the Ministry of Finance for adoption of GST
subsuming all service tax and entertainment
tax under it.
c. To enable expansion of the exhibition sector,
the issue of simplification of regulatory clearances for setting up exhibition outlets needs
to be addressed. State Governments will need

d.
e.

to be asked to explore possibility for granting exemption from entertainment tax to
low cost theatres for Indian and world award
winning cinema.
Revision of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
Declaring SRFTI, FTII as national centres of excellence enabled by an Act of the
Parliament.
There is a need to resolve issues with respect
to high rates of entertainment tax and lack of
uniformity in tax structure, across States.
There are issues which need to be addressed
as digital technology and broadband infrastructure include:
i. Establishment of uniform standards of
technology for theatres;
ii. An effective preservation and archiving
of films in digital formats vis-à-vis traditional forms of storage; and
iii. internet and web-based piracy of films.

h. Countering Piracy: The film sector faces the
massive challenge of grappling with pirated
software on web-based platforms in the current Indian environment. Further, mechanisms for regulation of content on the
Internet are non-existent. Appropriate policy
framework needs to be designed.
3. Information Sector
a. In DAVP, on-line billing has been introduced. This has substantially raised the transparency level of its functioning. There is a
need to take the matter forward by making
DAVP’s operation entirely online.
b. There is a need to periodically review the
pricing of the Government spot in various
channels in order to ensure that Government
spots reach the maximum viewers and particularly at the regional channels catering to
niche viewers.
c. While the Government has been spending
a large sum of its publicity budget through
DAVP, there is a need for periodical evaluation
of the campaigns to ascertain their impact.

Communication 285

d. There is a need to cover all districts of
the country though Public Information
Campaigns (PICs) during the Plan period
and support for expansion of ‘Jamunia’ in all
regional languages of the country.
e. There is a need to take appropriate steps to
make DFP (Directorate of Field Publicity)
effective.
f. There is need for an integrated approach by
combining all the media units such as PIB,
DAVP, DFP and S&DD engaged in information dissemination to ensure maximum
impact of the Government information campaign on the people.
g. Inter
Media
Publicity
Coordination
Committee (IMPCC), at the State capital
level duly constituted by the Ministry needs
to be strengthened and rejuvenated through
appropriate policy direction to regularly
meet, assess and refocus its media campaign.
h. IIMC (Indian Institute of Mass Communication) needs to be upgraded to an institute of excellence in media education and
research.

Path Ahead
16.84. The Twelfth Five Year Plan would aim at
transforming the information, film and broadcasting sector into a modern, efficient, responsive and
vibrant sector. To achieve this objective, necessary
policy intervention, suitable infrastructure, investment in traditional as well as modern media unit,
participation of private sector in PPP model, viable
policy environment for facilitating and sustaining
growth and development of media and entertainment sector need to be created. Apart from these,
barriers in the way of investment in infrastructure,
reaching out to rural, remote and inaccessible and
strategic area need to be tackled effectively and
efficiently. For optimal and efficient utilisation of
resources, both manpower and capital, synergy
between various media units of media and entertainment sector is required. Suitable plan/policies/programmes are needed in this direction.
16.85. The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) outlays
(GBS) for the Ministry of Communications and IT
and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting are
given in Annexure 16.1.

ANNEXURE 16.1
Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–17) Outlays for the Ministry of Communications and IT and
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
` in crore

Ministry/Department

GBS

IEBR

Twelfth Plan Outlay

• Department of Telecommunications

20,825.00

51,285.40

72,110.40

• Department of Electronics and IT

36,078.00

3,944.29

40,022.29

1. Ministry of Communications and IT

• Department of Posts
2. Ministry of I&B
Total

5,527.00

0.00

5,527.00

7,583.00

1,000.00

8,583.00

70,013.00

56,229.69

1,26,242.69

17
Rural Development
17.1. The Eleventh Plan period saw major new initiatives towards inclusive growth in rural India. The
total budgetary allocation for all rural development
programmes by the Government of India in the
Eleventh Plan was `2,91,682 crores which accounted
for 25 per cent of the total Central Budget Plan provision. Rural development programmes cover employment through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act and the National Rural
Livelihoods Mission, housing via the Indira Awaas
Yojana and other State schemes and bank support,
sanitation through the Total Sanitation Campaign,
provision of drinking water via the National Rural
Drinking Water Programme, social security through
the National Social Assistance Programme, watershed development via the Integrated Watershed
Management Programme (covered in Chapter 5 of
Volume 1), road connectivity through the Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (described in Chapter
15 of Volume 2) and electrification via the Rajiv
Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (described in
Chapter 14 of Volume 2).
17.2. Based on a critical review of these programmes
and their performance in the Eleventh Plan, this
chapter outlines the major new initiatives proposed
during the Twelfth Plan period.

MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL
EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT (MGNREGA)
The Experience So Far
17.3. The most significant rural development initiative of the Eleventh Plan period was the Mahatma

Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA). Over the last six years, MGNREGA
has delivered the largest employment programme
in human history, which is unlike any other in its
scale, architecture and thrust. Its bottom-up, peoplecentred, demand-driven, self-selecting, rights-based
design is new and unprecedented. Never have in
such a short period so many crores of poor people
benefited from a Government programme.
17.4. In 2011–12, nearly 5.00 crore families were
provided over 211 crore person-days of work under
the programme. Over the last six years, MGNREGA
has generated more than 1,200 crore person-days of
work at a total expenditure of over `1,66,760 crores.
The share of SC/ST families in the work provided
under MGNREGA has been 55 per cent and 45 per
cent of workers are women. Average wages of workers have gone up by 54 per cent over the last five years
and wages have now been so indexed that workers
will be protected from the ravages of inflation. Nearly
10 crore bank/post office accounts of our poorest
people have been opened and around 80 per cent of
MGNREGA payments are made through this route,
an unprecedented step in the direction of financial
inclusion. An overview of MGNREGA performance
from 2006–07 to 2011–12 is given in Table 17.1.
17.5. In many parts of the country, spectacular
successes have been recorded in water harvesting. Distress migration has been arrested in several
areas. Some State Governments have been leaders
in this and the National Consortium of Civil Society
Organisations on MGNREGA has also set up examples of excellent work.

Rural Development 287

TABLE 17.1
Overview of MGNREGA Performance, 2006–12
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
(200 Districts) (330 Districts) (All Districts Hereon)
Households Employed (crore)

2.10

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12

3.39

4.51

5.26

5.49

4.99

143.59

216.32

283.59

257.15

211.41

Person-days of Employment
generated (crore)

90.5

Work Provided per year to
Households who worked (days)

8,640.85

12,610.39

30,000.19

33,506.61

35,768.95

29,184.85

Total Funds Available (including
Opening Balance) (` crore)

12,073.55

19,305.81

37,397.06

49,579.19

54,172.14

43,273.58

Budget Outlay (` crore)

11,300

12,000

30,000

39,100

40,100

8,823.35

15,856.89

27,250.10

37,905.23

39,377.27

37,548.79

100

117

Central Release (` crore)

Expenditure (` crore)
Average Wage per day (`)
Total Works taken up (lakhs)

8.35

17.88

27.75

46.17

50.99

74.13

Works completed (lakhs)

3.87

8.22

12.14

22.59

25.90

15.01

Source: Ministry of Rural Development, GoI.

17.6. Many critics and sceptics of MGNREGA who
were extremely vocal during the years leading up to
its passage by Parliament and in the early years of its
implementation have been silenced, especially after
it was recognised that the purchasing power the programme created in rural areas and the operation of
the Keynesian multiplier played a crucial role in generating demand for industry during the dark days of
the recession and assisted in our comparatively faster
emergence out of it.
17.7. However, there is no denying the fact that the
true potential of MGNREGA as an instrument of
rural transformation is yet to be fully realised. Since
the programme marks a radical departure from earlier efforts of a similar kind, there have been many
problems in infusing the system with the new culture of demand-driven, rights-based, decentralised
decision-making. The MGNREGA provides a historic opportunity for strengthening Panchayati Raj
in India but the experience so far also alerts us to the
need for doing much more in this direction.
17.8. There are problems that arise from the sheer
scale of the programme. At the same time, new
opportunities have arisen because of advances in

Information Technology that allow us to get rid of
inefficiencies and corruption in a manner quite
inconceivable in the past. The MIS currently used
by MGNREGA is already the best we have ever had.
More than 8 crore muster rolls and over 12 crore
job cards have been placed online. But there is huge
scope for further improvement in overcoming systemic delays as shown by the software being used, for
example, in Andhra Pradesh.
17.9. We also need to view MGNREGA as a programme whose success will, in itself, pave the way for
its downscaling. A large proportion of MGNREGA
workers are small and marginal farmers, the productivity of whose lands has been so decimated over the
years, that they have been compelled to work under
MGNREGA. The real success of MGNREGA will lie
in raising the agricultural productivity of millions of
these farmers who will then be able to return once
again to farming and will no longer need to depend on
MGNREGA for their survival. Urgent measures are
required to convert MGNREGA into a productivityenhancing instrument that will also allay the falsely
perceived conflict between MGNREGA and agriculture—for MGNREGA is the foundation for solving
the problems of the poorest farmers of our country.

288

Twelfth Five Year Plan

Relationship with Agriculture and
Rural Livelihoods
17.10. Ever since work on MGNREGA was launched
in 2006 there have been two divergent perceptions
about its relationship with agriculture—one, as a
relationship of positive synergy and the other, of a
potential source of conflict. The sources of synergy
are many:
17.11. The MGNREGA has led to major increases in
wages of rural workers and when we recognise the
fact (attested by NSSO data on ‘landed labourers’)
that the majority of MGNREGA workers are impoverished small and marginal farmers, especially in our
tribal areas, we can see the direct impact MGNREGA
has made on raising incomes of our small and marginal farmers.
17.12. A comprehensive time series of rural wage
data—both agricultural and non-agricultural—
put together by the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation indicates that the
advent of MGNREGA has resulted in a significant
structural break in rural wage increases.1 Between
1999 and 2005, pre-MGNREGA, nominal wages
in the rural economy grew at an average annual
rate of 2.7 per cent (year on year average). PostMGNREGA, the rate of average wage increases
almost quadrupled to 9.7 per cent between 2006
and 2009. And between January 2010 and May
2011 (the last date for which this data is available),
annual nominal wage growth averaged almost 18.8
per cent. Since January 2010, agricultural wages
rose 20.2 per cent over year ago while non-agricultural rural wages increased 16.7 per cent over year
ago. Wage growth for men in the agricultural sector averaged 19.7 per cent over year ago while that
for women 20.8 per cent over year ago. The average daily wage rates for male agricultural labour are
given in Table 17.2 (A).
17.13. State-wise trends in the wages of casual workers in rural areas compiled by the Labour Bureau,
Shimla indicate that agricultural wages are booming at the fastest rate ever. The Labour Bureau’s data,
compiled on a monthly basis, are based on primary
information collected from 600 sample villages over

20 States. They cover wage payments both in cash as
well as kind, with the latter valued at the prevailing
local retail prices.
17.14. The tightening of the labour market postMGNREGA is a positive indicator of poverty alleviation and also signals a pressure for technological
advances that raise farm productivity in areas of relative labour shortage. This is the process of agrarian
transformation the world over.
17.15. What is more, since a very large proportion
(80 per cent) of the works under MGNREGA are
also focused on soil and water conservation on the
lands of the small and marginal farmers, it is clear
that MGNREGA is making a potential contribution to raising their incomes through improved
agricultural productivity, and also reducing the
need for small and marginal farmers to continue
to work on MGNREGA sites. Studies conducted
by Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore;
Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal;
Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad
and University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore
have all concluded that MGNREGA works have
had a positive impact on agricultural productivity. In one of the studies conducted in Chitradurga
district of Karnataka, IISc found that MGNREGA
works, besides enhancing agricultural productivity, successfully reduced water, soil and agricultural
vulnerability.
17.16. As far as the perception of conflict between
MGNREGA and agriculture is concerned, this
is based on a number of misconceptions and
exaggerations.
17.17. Let us first remember that the average annual
person-days of work generated under MGNREGA
since inception has never exceeded 54 days. Surely
this in itself indicates the critical but still small and
supplementary nature of this employment for our
self-selecting poorest people. And if we closely examine the question of seasonality of this work, an analysis of the quantum of MGNREGA works provided
across the year indicates a powerful seasonal fluctuation, with a disproportionately higher share of works

Rural Development 289

TABLE 17.2 (A)
Average Daily Wage Rates for Agricultural Labour: Male
(in `)
State

December

% Increase

2008

2009

Andhra Pradesh

98.31

137.95

176.29

40.32

27.79

Assam

81.19

96.40

114.10

18.73

18.36

Bihar

71.42

86.55

101.85

21.18

17.68

Gujarat

78.72

82.76

91.36

5.13

10.39

Haryana

132.64

168.22

195.02

26.82

15.93

Himachal Pradesh

164.72

180.42

195.22

9.53

8.20

72.90

87.54

111.76

20.08

27.67

220.27

250.79

319.13

13.86

27.25

Karnataka
Kerala

2010

Dec 09/Dec 08

Dec 10/ Dec 09

Madhya Pradesh

61.33

69.79

84.43

13.79

20.98

Maharashtra

82.61

95.10

119.36

15.12

25.51

Orissa

68.05

86.70

123.96

27.41

42.98

Punjab

130.63

133.49

176.21

2.19

32.00

Rajasthan

109.84

113.65

145.69

3.47

28.19

Tamil Nadu

113.28

137.98

174.08

21.80

26.16

Uttar Pradesh

81.14

94.89

116.53

16.95

22.81

West Bengal

87.40

99.94

118.47

14.35

18.54

Note: Average rate for five operations (ploughing, sowing, weeding, transplanting and harvesting) has been considered.

being done during the off-season in agriculture. The
month-wise employment data under MGNREGA
during FY 2010–11 (Table 17.2 B) indicates that
it is in the lean agricultural season (January–June),
that around 70 per cent of person-days of work were
generated. And if we were to correct for the fact that
in major MGNREGA States like Tamil Nadu this
is actually not the lean season, the proportion of
MGNREGA work provided in the off-season in agriculture would be even higher.

Expanded List of Works
17.18. During the Twelfth Plan we propose to allow
the largest possible number of works which help
strengthen the synergy between MGNREGA and
agriculture without compromising on the fundamental features of the Act or its architecture, which
have been celebrated across the globe. The more rural
people feel a sense of resultant ownership and a stake
in the programme, the more efficiency and transparency we will be able to achieve. The list of works

has also been expanded in response to demands of
the States for greater location-specific flexibility in
permissible works, as also to help improve the ecological balance in rural India and provide a cleaner,
healthier environment to its people (Table 17.3). In
response to each of these demands, Schedule I of the
Act has been modified to provide an additional list
of permissible works under MGNREGA. Some of
these works are new but many of them come within
the category of works already permitted under
MGNREGA. This is being provided in response to
demands from States for more elaborate, specific and
unambiguous list of works that could be taken up
under the categories currently permissible.
17.19. Each work indicates the unit cost as also the
labour–material ratio. These unit cost estimates are
indicative and provide a broad order of magnitude.
They may vary depending on local conditions and
more updated SoRs. However, the labour–material
ratio specified for each work must be strictly adhered

290

Twelfth Five Year Plan

TABLE 17.2 (B)
Seasonality of MGNREGA Employment Provided during 2010–11
State

Andhra Pradesh

April

May

June

July

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

March

Total

23.5

33.3

22.5

6.9

2.5

1.1

1.0

0.7

0.8

1.8

5.2

100.0

Assam

9.8

6.6

4.2

3.3

4.9

6.5

6.7

9.6

13.7

11.8

11.1

11.7

100.0

Bihar

11.2

13.7

11.4

6.2

5.6

6.8

5.4

5.7

8.9

9.5

9.3

6.3

100.0

Chhattisgarh

19.6

27.1

14.2

1.3

0.7

1.0

2.0

1.8

3.2

9.7

10.8

8.7

100.0

6.9

7.7

7.3

6.8

7.4

4.8

6.5

5.8

10.1

14.5

12.8

9.4

100.0

Gujarat

18.1

26.8

10.7

4.0

2.8

2.3

3.1

4.3

6.3

8.4

7.2

5.9

100.0

Haryana

3.8

3.5

3.1

3.4

5.1

6.0

8.1

10.3

13.5

16.3

13.8

13.2

100.0

Himachal Pradesh

9.7

12.9

12.0

10.1

9.5

9.4

7.2

8.2

5.4

1.9

4.2

9.4

100.0

Goa

Jammu And Kashmir

3.7

3.3

3.0

5.6

7.0

8.8

11.2

12.7

14.9

12.4

9.3

8.0

100.0

Jharkhand

11.9

13.2

11.3

7.6

6.8

8.6

6.2

4.8

5.9

7.7

8.6

7.5

100.0

Karnataka

0.5

0.6

1.3

1.6

2.2

3.2

4.7

5.4

7.5

13.3

26.9

32.8

100.0

Kerala

3.0

6.0

7.6

9.8

8.0

10.1

7.1

7.2

8.8

11.3

11.2

9.9

100.0

Madhya Pradesh

15.7

18.0

16.6

7.5

3.8

3.2

3.4

3.8

6.7

8.1

7.6

5.4

100.0

Maharashtra

28.8

25.1

12.9

3.4

1.7

1.3

1.5

1.3

3.4

4.7

7.3

8.6

100.0

Manipur

3.3

11.8

4.7

11.5

13.0

10.9

10.2

5.0

4.3

12.7

8.8

3.9

100.0

Meghalaya

8.7

7.2

8.7

9.1

10.4

11.6

10.2

9.2

6.8

6.6

6.1

5.5

100.0

Mizoram

6.7

6.4

9.8

7.0

7.1

8.9

8.1

8.2

6.3

7.2

14.0

10.4

100.0

Nagaland

14.0

11.6

8.9

7.1

8.6

5.9

7.0

11.1

7.8

7.0

5.5

5.6

100.0

Odisha

16.8

24.6

12.7

3.1

2.8

3.3

4.0

4.7

5.9

6.8

8.2

7.2

100.0

Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim

7.8

9.6

10.4

6.8

7.4

7.9

7.5

5.7

5.5

8.2

17.5

100.0

12.4

22.9

26.5

9.4

2.7

1.5

1.1

1.2

2.9

6.0

7.2

6.1

100.0

6.5

9.0

9.5

8.9

5.0

6.6

3.3

5.9

11.1

15.6

11.5

7.0

100.0

12.4

12.6

12.1

15.9

10.7

7.6

7.7

3.2

3.8

3.6

5.2

100.0

Tripura

3.7

7.7

9.4

9.5

11.9

13.2

7.2

5.7

5.2

8.6

8.0

9.9

100.0

Uttar Pradesh

8.8

9.8

10.5

9.6

5.9

2.9

1.9

4.5

11.1

13.5

12.2

9.3

100.0

Uttarakhand

8.2

6.0

6.3

6.8

7.7

6.1

6.2

7.6

11.3

14.5

11.3

7.8

100.0

West Bengal

17.0

16.3

14.6

7.4

4.1

4.0

3.2

2.9

4.8

8.3

9.9

7.4

100.0

Andaman and Nicobar

Tamil Nadu

23.7

9.7

11.7

3.7

1.5

0.0

0.8

1.3

25.3

16.8

4.0

100.0

Lakshadweep

4.5

1.9

11.1

24.0

11.2

10.7

4.8

11.7

9.1

6.5

4.3

0.3

100.0

Puducherry

4.1

12.0

19.6

24.0

16.7

13.6

9.9

0.0

0.1

0.0

100.0

13.5

17.3

14.4

8.0

5.0

4.1

3.7

5.7

7.6

8.7

8.3

100.0

All India

to. Many of these activities entail a higher material
component but it must be ensured that in the final
mix of activities chosen by the Gram Panchayat,
the overall labour–material ratio in each Gram
Panchayat is maintained at 60:40. The selection of
more material-intensive works and their number
must be done within this overall constraint. While

taking up works under MGNREGA, the following
conditions will need to be followed:
• Only those works to be taken up that result in creation of durable assets
• The order of priority of works will be determined
within the GP

Rural Development 291

TABLE 17.3
Additional List of Permissible Works Under MGNREGA
No

Work

Standard Dimensions

Unit Cost

Wage: Material
Cost Ratio

A. WATERSHED RELATED WORKS
1.

Contour Trenches

Cross section 0.5m*0.5m

`11,300 per hectare

100:0

Contour Bunds

height 0.6m, base width 2.0m and cross-sectional
area of 0.66 sq.m

`13,637 per hectare

100:0

Boulder Checks

7m length, maximum height 1m, upstream and
downstream slopes 1:1 and 3:1, top width of 0.5m

`1,600

100:0

Farm Bunding

height 0.6m, base width 1.7m and cross-section area `7,729 per hectare
0.57 sq.m

Gabion Structures

2m height, 1m top width and 12m length

`45,000

30:70

Underground Dykes

12m length, 6m maximum depth and 2m top width

`43,000

70:30

Earthen Dams

65m length, maximum height 4.65m, upstream and
downstream slopes 2:1 and 2.5:1, top width 2m

`2.63 lakhs

95:5

Dugout Farm Ponds

25m*20m*2m

`98,470

100:0

Stop Dams

length 20m, maximum height 2.7m, top width 1.5m
and side slopes 1:1

`5.32 lakhs

25:75

100:0

B. WATERSHED RELATED WORKS IN MOUNTAIN REGIONS
10.

Springshed Development

Various watershed interventions

`18,000–`38,000 per
hectare

90:10–60:40

C. AGRICULTURE RELATED WORKS
11.

NADEP Composting

3.6m*1.5m*0.9m

`8,000

25:75

12.

Vermi-Composting

3.6m*1m*0.75m

`9,000

25:75

13.

BioLiquid Manure

Sanjeevak Pit 1m*1m*1m

`2,000

30:70

7.5 sq m for 100 birds

`40,000

20:80

D. LIVESTOCK RELATED WORKS
14.

Poultry Shelter

15.

Goat Shelter

7.5 sq m for 10 animals

`35,000

25:75

16.

Pucca Floor, Urine Tank
and Fodder Trough for
Cattle

Cattle shed floor 26.95 sq.m, 1 cu.m fodder trough
and cattle urine collection tank 250 litres

`35,000

30:70

17.

Azolla Cattle-Feed

Azolla pit 2m x 2m x 0.2 m

`2,000

15:85

500 cu.m fish nursery pond, excavation of 15000
cu.m in tank bed, fish drying platform 30 sq.m

`11 lakhs (`75 per
cubic metre)

80:20

E. FISHERIES RELATED WORKS
18.

Fisheries in Water Bodies
on Public Land

F. WORKS IN COASTAL AREAS
19.

Fish Drying Yards

10m*10m, 15 cm thick plain cement concrete, brick
protection work 20 cm thickness

`75,000

15:85

20.

Belt Vegetation

Plant

`20

80:20

21.

Storm Water Drains

100 m long storm water drain

`2.3 lakhs

15:85

G. RURAL DRINKING WATER RELATED WORKS
22.

Soak Pits

NRDWP specifications

`2,000

50:50

23.

Recharge Pits

NRDWP specifications

`5,000

50:50
(Contd.)

292

Twelfth Five Year Plan

(Table 17.3 Contd.)
No

Work

Standard Dimensions

Unit Cost

Wage: Material
Cost Ratio

H. RURAL SANITATION RELATED WORKS
24.

Household Toilets

TSC specifications

`4,500