The State and Development Planning in India

Planning in India THE conference on "The State and Development Planning in India" organised by the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, from April 21 to 24 was not a part of Nehru's centenary celebrations but could easily have been the best tribute to the man. In exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the planning process and experience in India it underscored the uniqueness of that experience and offered critical and balanced perspectives on it. As Terry Byres, conference convenor and chairperson explained in his invitation to participants at the conference, "As Indian planning approaches the end of its fourth decade of operation, a sufficient time span now exists to allow an adequate consideration of its functioning and achievements over the longer term, in relation to both domestic and foreign sectors". Byres posed a set of questions offering a broad outline to the scope of the conference: "Are the supposed inefficiencies in resource allocation