Inclusive growth may get a much-needed shot in the arm, with the government planning to draft the twelfth five-year plan in consultation with civil society groups.

In fact, the consultations are already underway between activists and planning commission members.

“The planning commission wants the twelfth-five year plan wider, broader in consultations with the civil society groups, so we had a meeting with them on Tuesday,” Amitabh Behar, convenor, Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (WNTA), which tracks government policies in the social sector told Governance Now.

“Our discussion was that how we will plan the process. That was the idea. The good thing is that even the approach paper will be written after consultation,” Behar emphasised.

He said the civil society groups, under the banner of WNTA and National Social Watch Coalition, will be holding a series of consultations with different groups all over India on different subjects crucial to the coming plan.

“We will do 14 consultations on around specific constituencies like one around dalits, women and children. But we will also look around all the issues like education, health, water, markets, employment, and not just the traditional social sectors but  science & technology,” Behar informed.

December 15 is the deadline to when the planning commission members will start writing the approach paper for the next plan.

“We will also be writing very brief notes on the subjects on what would be the demands from the civil society groups,” the convenor of WNTA commented.

Arun Maira, member, planning commission, will anchor the consultation from the commission side while Syeda Hameed, another commission member will anchor it for the civil society groups.

Last week, Hameed had said in a conference here that the government is planning to allocate separate funds for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the plan. “As NGOs are eyes and arms of the government, significant portion would be allocated for these groups in the twelfth-five year plan,” she had said.