The Concept of Planning / Developing Planning
Planning is defined as the deliberate government attempt to implement, monitor, supervise as well as coordinate electronic decisions made on economic issues of the nation. In other words, it is defined as the conscious & deliberate choice of economic priorities by some public authorities.
The sixteenth plan is the second development plan formulated by the federal government of Nepal formed after the second election under the new Constitution 2012. The plan has been formulated with a long-term vision of "Prosperous Nepal. Happy Nepal". The plan aims to ensure good governance in political, administrative, judicial sector.
Vision
The vision of the sixteenth plan is Good Governance, Social Justice, Prosperity.
The sixteenth plan has embraced this vision by following to the principle of prosperity & happiness, as outlined in the long-term strategy for 2100.
Objectives
The main objective of the sixteenth plan is for the common citizen to experience development of governance in their lives. The primary sectoral objectives or goals based on the vision of the plan are as follows:
- To maintain good governance in political administration, judicial, private & non-government sectors
- To ensure social justice in health education, employment housing security public service delivery.
- To achieve prosperity in human life & the national economy
Overall Strategies
The overall strategies of the Sixteenth Plan are as follows:
- To enhance production, productivity & competitive capacity by identifying, addressing & eliminating the structural barriers across all sectors & dimensions of the development.
- To implement sustainable development plans through the interrelationship to operational capacity of federal provincial local governments, private sector cooperatives, non-governmental organizations & development partners.
- To internalize gender mainstreaming, the use of modern technology, environmental protection, & disaster risk minimization in all sectors dimensions of development.
- To formulate policies & implement development programs based on study research, facts & evidence.
General Evaluation of Immediate Past/15th Plan of Nepal
The fifteenth plan targeted an overall average annual growth rate of 9.6 percentage. However, this target was not met due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited the average annual growth rate during the plan period to 2.6 percentage. In the first year of the plan, the fiscal year 2076/77, Nepal's economy experienced a negative growth rate of 24 percentage. The pandemic severely affected the socio-economic status of the country resulting in minimal progress in implementing the plan. Additionally, the national economy, which was gradually recovering, faced another challenge from the Russia-Ukraine war, further negatively affecting Nepal's economy. The targets reducing poverty unemployment were also not achieved. There was a decrease in investment in the agriculture productive sectors but an increase in investment in the service sector. However, there was significant success in controlling inflation. The plan aimed to reduce inflation from 6.5 percentage to 7.5 percentage. While the average inflation rate during the plan period was 4.2 percentage.
Despite limited achievements in the economic sectors, there were notable successes in the social index goals set by the plan. Improvements were seen in life expectancy at birth, reduction in child mortality rates below five years, lower above percent fertility rates, increased enrollment rates in basic education grades 1-8, enhanced access to electricity, increased access to safe drinking water. There was significant improvement in female's ownership of houses and or both. Women's involvement in the civil service increased to 23.7 percentage. The area of irrigated land also expanded. All areas of the country were connected with road transportation, communication networks during the plan period. In conclusion, the achievements were minimal compared to the existing resources development potential during the Fifteenth Plan.
Process of Plan Formulation in Nepal
In Nepal, plan is formulated as follows:
1. Study of existing situations
The prerequisite of the formulation of sound planning is study of existing situation of the economy. For this, condition of existing potential resources, condition of fiscal sectors, condition of human resources etc. are thoroughly studied.
2. Objectives
After the study of existing situation of the economy, the planners formulate the broad objectives of the plan in a clear concise manner. These objectives should be stated in as lower words as possible. The nature of development objectives depends on national preferences. The stage of development of the country. The objectives of a plan may differ from country to country.
3. Plan targets
The next step is to quantify the development objective of the plan. When an objective is quantified it is transformed into a target. For e.g., the objective of the plan may target at increasing the per capita income of the country. But more specifying the objective does not pay. The planner has to quantify the rate of increase in per capita income, say 5% per annum. Thus, the target expresses the goal.
4. Mobilization of resources
The next step is to decide the important questions of investment for the development of national economy. There are various internal & in external resources that help in financing a plan. The plan should specify such policies & instruments for mobilizing resources, as will accomplish the financial outlay of the plan. The policies & instruments should encourage corporate & household savings of the private sector.
5. Implementation of evaluation
The implementation of a plan is as important as its formulation. Implementation of evaluation are related to the study of the impact of planning. In Nepal, plan is implemented by National Planning Commission. The main executors of plan in Nepal are ministers. Planning units composed of different ministers prepare the annual periodic programs.