Five year plans of Rajasthan state :

  Rajasthan's economy is predominantly agrarian and rural in nature and there are wide fluctuations in the growth rate of the net state domestic product due to uncertainties in agricultural production, which is almost entirely dependent on rainfall.

The basic objectives of the successive Five Year Plans has been to achieve a significant step up in the rate of growth of the State's economy, optimum utilisation of benefits from potential already created, and improving the living conditions of the people specially of the weaker sections.

1. In the First Five Year Plan the emphasis was on increasing agriculture production, extension of facilities for irrigation and power, and provision for basic social services i.e. education, medical facilities and arrangement for drinking water supply. The outlay for First Plan was kept at Rs 64.50 crores. Against this, an expenditure of Rs. 54.15 crores was incurred.

2 . In the Second Five Year Plan, Agriculture, Irrigation, Power and Social Services continued to receive attention. The Panchayati Raj Institutions were activated and Rajasthan become a pioneer State in introducing 3 tier Panchayati Raj System comprising of Zila Parishads, Panchayat Samities and Panchayats, from 2 October, 1959. The outlay for the Second Five Year Plan was kept at Rs. 105.27 crore. Against this an expenditure of Rs. 102.74 crores was incurred.

 3. In the Third Five Year Plan, creation of infrastructural facilities i.e. irrigation and power, were accorded highest priority. An elaborate programme for the industrial development of the State was also initiated. The expenditure incurred in Third Plan was to the extent of Rs. 212.70 crores against the outlay of Rs. 236.00 crores.

 4. The concept of area development was introduced in the Fourth Plan. The State Government embarked on an ambitious programme for specific areas such as that for the drought prone areas and Command Area Development (CAD). The latter also attracted external assistance. Besides this, emphasis was laid on taking up programmes for the creation of employment opportunities and for the upliftment of the weaker sections of the society. In this Plan, a sum of Rs. 308.79 crores was spent against the outlay of Rs. 306.21 crores.

5 . The process of grass roots planning conceived earlier was given a new thrust in the Fifth Plan. Economic emancipation of the weaker sections was accorded a very high priority and target groups oriented programmes were introduced. These target groups consisted of small farmers, marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, etc. Minimum Needs Programme was introduced for providing basic social services like elementary education, adult education, rural health, rural roads, rural water supply, rural electrification, rural housing and environmental improvement of urban 'Kachi bastis' and nutrition for children and women. Funds were earmarked under these programmes. Concept of area development was further strengthened by formulating a special plan for the tribal areas for accelerating the pace of economic upliftment of the tribals in the predominantly tribal belt of southern Rajasthan.

6.  In the Fifth Plan, against the outlay of Rs. 847.16 crores, the total expenditure incurred was to the extent of Rs. 857.62 crores.

 7. The programmes designed for rural development with the emphasis on poverty eradication and employment generation were accorded high priority in the Sixth Five Year Plan. The new Twenty Point Programme which aimed at accelerating the pace of development of the economy and the upliftment of the weaker sections of the society was also adopted in this Plan. The Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme and Massive Programme of Assistance for Development of Small and Marginal Farmers was also started in this Plan, to attain the objective of providing employment opportunities and raising the income levels of the rural poor. A sum of Rs. 2120.45 crores was incurred against the outlay of Rs. 2025.00 crores in the Sixth Plan.

 8.  The main objectives of the Seventh Five Year Plan were food, work and productivity. Maximisation of production in key sectors of the economy with special emphasis on rural economy, progressive reduction in poverty and an increasing emphasis on employment oriented programmes. The latter included programmes covered under MNP and Twenty Point Programme. In spite of recurrent droughts in the State in the past and particularly during the first three years of the Seventh Plan, the State, by and large was successful in attainment of the objectives as laid down in the Seventh Five Year Plan. As against the outlay of Rs. 3000.00 crores, the expenditure incurred was Rs. 3106.18 crores.

 9. In conformity with the national objectives and keeping in view the aspirations and development needs of the State, the State's Eighth Five-Year Plan aimed at faster growth, generation of larger employment opportunities, substantial reduction in poverty and regional disparities, provision of basic minimum facilities and greater peoples participation. The Plan has been growth oriented, with a rural bias aimed at better and fuller utilisation of natural endowments.

10. Priority areas of the Eighth Plan included reduction in the rate of growth of population and completion of on-going projects on time to avoid cost and time over-run. Emphasis was on diversification of the agricultural base with greater thrust on the sectors like horticulture, livestock, fisheries, agro- processing, etc.

11. The size of the State's Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-97) was kept at Rs. 11500.00 crores. Compared with the size of the Seventh Five-Year Plan, it was higher by 283 per cent. This substantial step up was necessary in view of the comparative backwardness of the State. Sector-wise, the highest priority had been assigned to the Power sector, for which 28.31 per cent of the total Plan size had been earmarked. Social and Community Services (21.41 per cent), Irrigation and Flood Control (16.70 per cent), Agriculture and Allied Activities (11.19 per cent) and Rural Development (8.88 per cent) followed. Among other sectors, Transport claimed 6.82 per cent, Industry and Minerals 4.66 per cent, Special Area Programmes 0.73 per cent and Economic and General Services and Scientific Services 1.30 per cent.

  The Basic Minimum Services programme has also been started during the last year of the Eighth Plan. The programme includes providing safe drinking water in every habitation according to the national norms, primary health care for every group of 5000 people, public housing assistance to all the shelter less poor persons, connectivity to all villages/habitation by providing an all weather road from every village to the nearest market or main road leading to the market, nutrition support to every child from the poor families at pre-school and elementary education levels, fair price shop system in every village/Panchayat and adequate arrangements for universal as well as compulsory primary education specially of women and girl child in every village together with related measures for the spread of literacy.

12. The basic objectives of the Ninth Five Year Plan are to reduce the gap between the per capita income in the State and the national average. For this a higher rate of growth is necessary. This in turn calls for substantial increases in agriculture production, more effective water management and general improvements in capacity utilisation in all sectors. Stress was laid therefore on completion of ongoing infrastructure projects, especially on power and water resources alongwith a focused thrust on sectors such as horticulture, livestock, fisheries, agro processing etc. The provision of basic minimum services, namely primary education, primary health, safe drinking water, housing, nutrition, village road connectivity and the public distribution system those related to particular attention.

               Characteristic feature of the State Domestic Product in Rajasthan has been its year-to-year fluctuation, which is determined entirely by the behavior of the monsoon. This makes analysis of the pattern difficult, as it is possible to generate any growth pattern, merely by changing the base and the terminal years. Therefore, the plan period wise growth rates  need to be interpreted with great caution as they often indicate merely whether the first year of the plan was good or bad.