CONTENTS

Vol XXIII No 17 April 23, 1988 Numbers Matter The First Five-Year Plan's long-term perspective of doubling the per capita income in 27 years was based on projections of growth of national income and population. Population growth, however, was in fact 2.24 per cent per annum during the period 1961-71 to 1971-81 compared to the 1.25 per cent per annum projected in the First Plan. At this rate it would take 45 years and not 27 to double per capita NDP. 837 Privatising the Nation's Welfare The withdrawal of budgetary support to public enterprises, enforcement of management policies and practices based on business norms in the private sector and opening up of 'reserved' industries for private enterprise, Indian and foreign, add up to a policy of privatisation which has been unfolding for the last three years. 823 The Maharashtra government's decision-to charge for public hospital facilities will only push people towards making greater use of private medicare and will in turn accelerate the trends towards privatisation of state ' welfare'. 812 Whose Game?