2). Economic Planning (47 – 50):

2). Economic Planning (47 – 50):

“A king must act with forethought; he must reflect and consult before acting; he must choose suitable methods for actions. He should weigh the pros and cons of any act; he must reflect on the strengths and the resources available before taking a decision; he should know what will be loss and what will be the gain of any action; he should not act only for profit; he must weigh his ability before setting out for a war; As a crow overcomes an owl in daytime, so must a king weigh his time, season, opportunity and place, in order to conquer his enemy; he must “think first before beginning any work; he should find suitable methods for works; The world will not approve of things which are done without reflection”; he will have an end to his life if he climbs further than the end of a branch”; even if his income is small, there will be no loss, if his expenditures are small”; the wise never hastily reveal their anger.”

This is a lesson to planners and policy makers on economic governance and budget making. According to Valluvar, the energy and effort spent in action without adequate prior planning will not produce the desired result. This is what we call today “ cost-benefit analysis”. Verse 478 is an excellent principle of public finance and financial administration: “ If the revenue of the State are limited, the king should keep the expenditure within bounds”. Our failure in economic development in India reflects our inefficient planning, administration and implementation at different levels. In this connection, I am reminded of what A.H. Hanson observed 40 years ago about Indian planning:
The men are able, the organization is adequate, and the procedures are intelligently devised. Why, then, have the Plans, since 1956, so persistently run into crisis?”

Hanson’s answer to his question is also revealing:
For various reasons, Indian planners have never treated the ‘objective function’ with sufficient respect. Their tendency is to give themselves the fullest benefit of every possible doubt… Too many of their aims are contingent upon the adoption, by various sections of the Indian community, of attitudes they are exceedingly unlikely to adopt….

Planning needs to be people oriented, and for real growth and development. Then only the forecasts of a well known economist Kirit Parikh that India could have a per capita income of US$ 30,000 by the year 2047, and of an American professor, A. J. Rosensweig that India’s GDP would exceed that of Japan by the year 2025 and that India would be the third largest economy in the world (behind USA and China) could be transformed into reality.