From 50 Years Ago: Planning Commission: Abdicating a Distinct Role?

Planning Commission: Abdicating a Distinct Role?

The Planning Commission has apparently completed its mid-term appraisal of the Fourth Plan. From reports which have appeared in the press, it does not appear that the Planning Commission’s diagnosis of the factors responsible for the low growth of industrial output goes very much beyond what the Minister for Industrial Development has been saying recently. What is particularly interesting is that the Planning Commission appears to concur with the popular view of industrial licensing as the principal villain holding back investment in industry and hence the rate of industrial growth. According to the Commission, in some important industries inadequate or delayed licensing has led to capacity bottlenecks. Two other features of licensing policy also come in for comment. First, the policy of giving licences to new entrepreneurs has apparently led to a large number of licences remaining unimplemented. Second, there have emerged imbalances in the issue of licences between substantial expansions and new units and between investment in developed and in backward areas. Isn’t there some contradiction here, one wonders. If the risk of non-implementation of licences issued to new entrepreneurs is to be avoided, then the licensing authorities are likely to favour applications for substantial expansion against those for new units.