Sixth Five Year Plan: (1980-85)

Background:
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, prioritized speedy industrial development, with special emphasis on the information technology sector. From the Fifth Five Year Plan, the nation had been able to achieve self sufficiency in food.
The Janta Government had adopted a sixth plan (1978-83) which was conceived as a “rolling Plan”. Indira Gandhi’s Government in 1980 discarded this plan and Sixth Plan was redrafted. The top priority was poverty alleviation. The slogan “Garibi Hatao” was given in this plan. The slogan was actually a continuation of the 20 point program given in 1975.

A basic paper entitled "Sixth Five Year Plan 1980-85-A Framework" was presented to the National Development Council on its 34th meeting held on August 30 and 31, 1980. This paper stated “The basic task of economic planning in India is to bring about a structural transformation of the economy so as to achieve a high and sustained rate of growth, a progressive improvement in the standard of living of the masses leading to the eradication of poverty and unemployment and provide the material base for a self-reliant socialist economy”
Main Points:

1. Top Priority: Poverty Alleviation, very high emphasis on investment in the energy sector represents our resolve not to let energy availability become an undue constraint on the growth process.
2. Final size of the public sector outlay was fixed at Rs. 97,500 crores at 1979-80 prices.
3. This outlay is in real term 80 per cent higher than the outlay in the Fifth Five Year Plan.
4. The share of States and Union Territories in the Plan is Rs. 50,250 crores, which was 51.54 per cent of the total outlay
5. Growth Target : 5.2%
6. Achieved Growth : 5.3%
7. Increase in 16 % per annum in real investment in fixed assets by private sector.
8. Poverty declined from 48.3 % in 1977-78 to 37.4 % in 1983-84.
9. National Rural Employment Programme, Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment (TRYSEM), Integrated Rural Develop, National Rural Employment Programme NREP were launched.