NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

The National Development Council (NDC) or the Rashtriya Vikas Parishad is the apex body for decision making and deliberations on development matters in India, presided over by the Prime Minister.

The Council comprises the Prime Minister, the Union Cabinet Ministers, and Chief Ministers of all States or their substitutes, representatives of the union territories and the members of the Commissions. It is an extra-constitutional and non-statutory body. Its status is advisory to Planning Commission but not binding.

HISTORY

The N.D.C. was set up for the first time on august 6, 1952 by Government of India with a view to bring about a coordination of plans between the Central Ministers and the State Governments and to strengthen and mobilize the effort and resources of the nation , to promote common economic policies in all vital spheres, and to ensure the balanced and rapid development of all parts of the country.

The first meeting chaired by Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru on November 8, 1952 and he described it as a forum for 'intimate cooperation' between the central and state governments in the task of national development. Thus, apart from reviewing the working of the National Plan, the NDC is charged with considering important questions of social and economic policy affecting national development and recommending measures to achieve the aims and targets set out in the National Plan.

OBJECTIVES

It has been set up with following objectives

1.To strengthen and mobilize the effort and resources of the nation in support of the Plan.

2.To promote common economic policies in all vital spheres.

3.To ensure the balanced and rapid development of all parts of the country and 

4.To secure cooperation of States in the execution of the plan.

FUNCTIONS

The functions of the Council are:

1.To prescribe guidelines for the formulation of the National Plan, including the assessment of resources for the Plan;

2.To consider the National Plan as formulated by the Planning Commission;

3.To consider important questions of social and economic policy affecting national development; and

4.To review the working of the Plan from time to time and to recommend such measures as are necessary for achieving the aims and targets set out in the National Plan.

The NDC  strengthen and mobilise the effort and resources of the nation in support of the Plan, to promote common economic policies in all vital spheres, and to ensure the balanced and rapid development of all parts of the country. It is a true all-India body that reflects the federal character of our Union. But that is on paper. In practice, the NDC's role has steadily eroded.

Today, it is reduced to a pale shadow of what was envisaged back in 1952. Part of the reason lies in the declining importance of the Five-Year Plans in the postreform era. But an equally-important reason has to do with the rise of extra-constitutional bodies like the National Advisory Council whose views and debates on developmental issues have dominated the government's agenda, unlike the views of the NDC or of the Inter-State Council.

This is not to dispute the wisdom of the policy initiatives that have emerged from the NAC — whether it is the Right to Education Act or the proposed Food Security Act. But the success of any policy is assured only when people, and their elected representatives, own it. The Centre would do well to bear that in mind and restore the NDC to its past position of eminence.