The Eighth Plan (1992-97) aimed at an average annual growth rate of 5.6 per cent and an average industrial growth rate of 7.5 per cent.
The salient features of the plan included: (a) faster economic growth, (B) faster growth of manufacturing sector and agriculture and allied sector, (c) significant growth rates in exports and imports, (d) improvement in trade and current account deficit, and (e) significant reduction in the Central Government’s fiscal deficit.
Under the Plan various structural adjustment policies were introduced so that the economy could be pushed to a higher growth path and to improve its strength and thus prevent the Balance of Payment and inflation crisis in future.
To meet these challenges and social problems, the following objectives were accorded to the Eighth Plan : (i) Generation of adequate employment to achieve near full employment level by the turn of the century; (ii) Containment of population growth through active people’s co-operation and an effective scheme of incentives and disincentives; (iii) Universalisation of elementary education and complete eradication of illiteracy among the people in the age group of 15 to 35 years; (iv) Provision of safe drinking water and primary health care facilities, including immunisation, accessible to all the villages and the entire population and complete elimination of scavenging; (v) Growth and diversification of agriculture to achieve self-sufficiency in food and generate surplus for exports; and (vi) Strengthening the infrastructure (energy, transport, communication, irrigation) in order to support the growth process on a sustainable basis.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
However, there was shortfall in the attainment of the Plan objectives due to lack of mobilization of adequate resources owing to deterioration in the balance of current revenues, erosion in the contribution of state electricity boards and state road transport corporations, negative opening balance, mounting non-Plan expenditure and shortfalls in the collection of small savings, etc.