There were two Sixth Plans. The Janata Party Sixth Plan (1978-83) sought to reconcile the objectives of higher production with greater opportunity for employment. The focus of the Plan was enlargement of the employment potential in agriculture and allied activities, encouragement to household and small industries producing consumer goods for mass consumption and to raise the incomes of the lowest income classes through a minimum needs programme.
The new Sixth Plan (1980-85) was launched by the Congress (I) with prime objective of direct attack on the problem of poverty by creating conditions of an expanding economy. The strategy adopted for the Plan consisted essentially in moving simultaneously towards strengthening infrastructure for both agriculture and industry. Stress was laid on dealing with inter-related problems through a system approach rather than in separate compartments, greater management, efficiency and intensive monitoring and active involvement of the people.
The total public sector outlay of the Plan was Rs. 97,500 crore with targeted annual growth rate of 5.2 per cent (achieved growth rate 5.4 per cent).