PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND SPECIAL INITIATIVES DEPARTMENT

POLICY NOTE 2023 - 2024

 The Union Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog, with the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG) as its primary objective. Accordingly, the function of the
planning bodies both at Union and State levels in the preparation and monitoring of
plans and expenditure has been replaced by drawing of focus to the SDGs, based on
outcomes and outputs of policies & schemes.

 Hence, the activities of this department have been restructured to focus on the universal
expression at a global level that works towards the „future we want‟ covering social,
economic and environmental aspects.

 This department works with all departments in their visioning and monitoring of
progress towards achieving SDG targets The department also functions as the nodal
department of the State Government for coordination and interaction with NITI Aayog
and the Union Government through PRAGATI (Pro Active Governance and Timely
Implementation) e-Samiksha Portals.

 The Hon‟ble Prime Minister directly interacts with Government of India Ministries and
State Governments on the issues related to high priority schemes and flagship
programmes under PRAGATI portal. This department is regularly uploading the
present status of the issues received from the various departments regarding issues
raised in the PRAGATI portal

MAIN ACTIVITIES

 Co-ordination with the Union Government and NITI Aayog, the successor institution of
the Union Planning Commission;

 Preparation of long term strategic and medium-term operational plans through the
State Planning Commission

 Ensuring balanced growth and development of the State based on economic and social
indicators through the implementation of State Balanced Growth Fund (SBGF)
Programme

 Recommending, administering and monitoring schemes under the Tamil Nadu

Innovation Initiatives (TANII)

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  Stewarding studies on the formulation and implementation of specific programmes
relating to land and water use and impact of changing environmental factors like
pollution, global warming etc., through the Tamil Nadu State Land Use Research Board

 State level co-ordination and monitoring of the Aspirational Districts Programme

through the State Planning Commission;
 Co-ordinating with all departments to focus the State Government‟s efforts towards
achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Agenda:2030 and monitoring of all
SDGs, targets and indicators Promotion of Evidence Based Policy Making in
Government;

 Overseeing the preparation of District Development Plans through District Planning

Cells which function as supporting arms of the District Planning Committees;

 Evaluation of schemes sponsored by Union / State Governments and external agencies

through the Department of Evaluation and Applied Research;

 Reviewing the progress of major infrastructure projects costing more than Rs.100 crore;

NOTES ON ACTIVITIES

Sustainable Development Goals

 Sustainable Development Goals is an agenda of unprecedented scope and significance

that has been accepted by all countries and applies to all, considering the different State
realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting local policies and priori
ties. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of
sustainable development – social, economic and environmental. The Secretary General
of the United Nations, Mr.Antonio Guterres highlighted social and economic rights and
the right to development as a priority while describing 2023 as "a year of reckoning."

 The Government of Tamil Nadu, guided by the Hon‟ble Chief Minister‟s vision of social
justice and equality has a commitment to provide “Everything for Everyone” and is
working towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals based on its
unique and acclaimed Dravidian Model of Governance.

 The State scored 66 points and stood third in the SDG India Index baseline report
brought out by NITI Aayog. In the second edition released in 2019, it moved up slightly
by one point to 67 and retained the third position. The third edition of the Index 2020-
21, which is a broadened version, 13 placed the State in the second position with a score
of 74

District Good Governance Index (DGGI)

 A District Good Governance Index has been prepared on the lines of the Good
Governance Index of India, 2021 by the Department of Administrative Reforms and
Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India.

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  The State‟s DGGI identified 75 Indicators, 25 of which were classified as “Impact
Indicators” with a weight of 0.2 each, and “Support Indicators” with a weight of 0.1
each, based on the level of significance to be accorded in strengthening the needy areas
to promote the progress of the State's ranking at All-India level.

Policy Driven programming for SDGs

 Tamil Nadu has been formulating several policies to address issues of concern. The
policies 19 for women, children and senior citizens have been prepared by the Social
Welfare and Women Empowerment Department.

 The Climate Change Mission aims to make the State climate-smart and make the state
achieve carbon neutrality much ahead of 2070. It takes up the climate agenda on a
priority basis by forming district missions and putting climate officials in place in the
State

SDG Co-ordination Centre and partnership with international agencies

 A SDG Co-ordination Centre under this Department is to commence functioning

shortly and will try to improve the indicators and help the State achieve the SDGs even
before 2030. The UNDP, who will assist in operationalising the SDGCC, will engage
consultants and experts drawn from other UN agencies like UNICEF and UN Women
for this purpose.

Twenty Point Programme-2006

 The Twenty Point Programme (TPP) was formulated as a composite poverty alleviation
project in 1975 and was restructured in 1982, 1986 and 2006. Now, it is renamed as
“Twenty Point Programme -2006”

 The main objective of the Programme is to eradicate poverty and improve the quality of
life of the poor and under-privileged population.

 The Programme components span specific issues of reduction in poverty, employment

generation, education, housing, health, agriculture, land reforms, irrigation, drinking
water, protection and empowerment of weaker sections and consumer protection.

STATE PLANNING COMMISSION

 The State Planning Commission (SPC) makes its recommendations to the Government
on various aspects pertaining to the development of the State and functions as an
advisory body. The State Planning Commission is headed by the Hon‟ble Chief
Minister as Ex-Officio Chairman and the present State Planning Commission was
reconstituted in June 2021 with 10 members consisting of a Vice Chairman, two Full
Time Members and seven Part Time Members.

 The Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Planning and Development

Department and the Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Finance Department

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 are ex-officio Members of the State Planning Commission and the Member Secretary is
in charge of the administration of the State Planning Commission.

Tamil Nadu Innovation Initiatives (TANII)

 To encourage the culture of innovation in the Government Departments and

Government Agencies, Tamil Nadu Innovation Initiatives (TANII) scheme was
formulated in State Planning Commission to herald an era of innovation in the State of
Tamil Nadu during September 2014.

 Tamil Nadu Innovation Initiatives addresses this issue to foster innovation through
funding support for innovative schemes and programmes. Accordingly, the State
Innovation Fund has been created with an outlay of Rs.150.00 crore or as determined by
the Government every year.

Tamil Nadu State Land Use Research Board

 The Tamil Nadu State Land Use Research Board (TNSLURB) was constituted in the
year 2011 as a permanent body within the State Planning Commission with a view to
assess the land resources and advise the Government for policy interventions in the
areas of land and water resources

Transformation of Aspirational Districts Programme

 „Transformation of Aspirational Districts‟ programme was introduced by the

Government of India in the year 2017. The Programme is implemented on the
principles of Cooperative Federalism, Convergence (of Union & State Schemes),
Collaboration (of Union, State Level Officers & District Collectors) and Competition
among districts driven by a mass movement with the strong commitment to raise the
living standards of all citizens and ensuring inclusive growth for all.

 Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar are the districts which have been included from
Tamil Nadu in the list of 115 Aspirational Districts identified based on a composite
index. The selection of districts is based on certain criteria based on the challenges faced
by the districts in terms of Poverty, Health and Nutrition, Education and Infrastructure.

Focus Area

 Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion &
Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure are the core focus areas of the programme.

Real Time Monitoring and Ranking

 An online monitoring portal for capturing the progress made by the districts in the
49 key performance indicators on a monthly basis has been established by NITI
Aayog.

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Funding Support

 NITI Aayog, in addition to this, also provides incentive funding through Externally
Aided Projects (EAP), and the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) for the
districts based on performance in the key performance indicators.

Performance of District

 Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram Districts are progressing steadily since the

inception of the programme and have reached a composite index score of 64.8 and 64.1
respectively in January 2023 from their baseline value of 45.6 and 46.8 respectively in
April 2018. Ramanathapuram District has also secured a good ranking in overall delta
during the month of April 2022 for which Rs. 4 Crore has been awarded to the district

Aspirational Blocks Programme

 Based on the significant progress made by Aspirational Districts, the template of the
Aspirational Districts Programme has now been extended to the Block level. NITI
Aayog has launched the Aspirational Blocks Programme in January 2023. Under this
programme 500 under developed blocks have been identified across the country.

 The progress of the blocks are to be monitored in sectors like Health and Nutrition,
Education, Agriculture and Water Resources Management, Skill Development and
Financial Inclusion, Basic Infrastructure and Self Help Groups (SHGs) along with 5 state
specific indicators

 In Tamil Nadu the following 16 Aspirational Blocks (with one block from each
Aspirational District) have been selected for implementation of the programme

SDG India Index – Ranking of States / UTs

 SDG India Index is being released by the NITI Aayog, Government of India being the
Nodal Agency for the country to oversee the progress on the SDG 2030 Agenda.The
objective of the Index is to promote healthy competition among the States/UTs in their
journey towards achieving the global goals and support the States/UTs in identifying
priority areas which demand more attention.

 The third edition - SDG India Index 3.0 (2020-21) has been released in June 2021, in 64
which all States/UTs are ranked based on their performance across the identified
indicators under SDGs. Tamil Nadu has been ranked second with a composite index
score of 74.

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

 Index of Industrial Production (Base year 2011-12) measures the general level of
industrial performance in the economy. Monthly Index is compiled based on the
production data received from three major sectors viz., Mining, Manufacturing and
Electricity sectors consisting of 253 items

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Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

 Under “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana” (PMFBY) scheme, the crop cutting
experiments are conducted by Assistant Agriculture Officers and the average yields are
estimated to provide indemnity to the farmers affected by natural calamities such as
drought, flood, cyclone, attack of pests, diseases, etc.

State Income

 The State Income Estimates- Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and Net State
Domestic Product (NSDP), District Income Estimates and Per Capita Income are
computed every year for 17 sectors of the State economy. The GSDP / NSDP estimates
in the New Series (Base Year 2011-12) for the years 2019-20 (Revised Estimates),

Capital formation

 The analysis of the accounts of Non Departmental Commercial Undertakings (NDCU)

of State/Centre and Autonomous Institutional bodies (public and educational
institutions) in Tamil Nadu have been completed upto the year 2020-21 and tables have
been sent to the Government. Also, the analysis for the year 2021-22 is in progress.

Wholesale Price Index (WPI)

 Wholesale Price Index of Tamil Nadu is compiled and released every month with base
year 2011-2012=100. WPI tracks the changes in the prices of goods before the retail level.
Wholesale Prices for agricultural and non-agricultural commodities are collected from
83 centres for compilation of Wholesale Price Index

Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW)

 Under Central Series, the Consumer Price Index for Industrial workers is compiled and
released for 7 centres by Government of India viz., Chennai, Salem, Madurai,
Coimbatore, Coonoor, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu by Labour Bureau,
Shimla with base year as 2016=100. The weekly / monthly price details for the
compilation of this index are collected by this department staff from 14 markets and
sent to Labour Bureau, Shimla

SDG Dashboard

 This department also contributed to the core team that redesigned the SDG Dashboard,
which was developed by the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA) and the
dashboard is in use since January 2021.

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Tamil Nadu State Statistical Training Institute

 The Tamil Nadu State Statistical Training Institute (TNSSTI) was established in 2012
with the mandate of imparting statistical training to enrich and enhance statistical
knowledge in order to improve the efficiency of staff members working in the
Department of Economics and Statistics (DoES).

SPECIAL INITIATIVES DEPARTMENT

 The Special Initiatives Department, which was formed in the year 2003, processes
special initiative schemes/ projects that emanate from different sources, in consultation
with respective administrative departments of the Secretariat and other line
departments.

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL)

 The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) was incorporated as a State-owned Special
Purpose Vehicle under the Companies Act to implement metro rail projects in
December 2007. The company was restructured subsequently in the year 2009 as a joint
venture with equity stakes of the Central and State Government as 50:50. Under this
arrangement, the Government of India

Chennai Metro Rail Project-Phase-I (including Extension)

 The Phase-I of Chennai Metro Rail Project, covering two corridors, one from
Washermenpet to Chennai Airport and another from Chennai Central to St. Thomas
Mount, was initially proposed in June 2006.

 The Government accorded in-principle approval to the project in December 2007 and
recommended it to the Government of India for funding and external financial
assistance.

 The Government of India accorded administrative approval for implementing the two
corridors under Phase-I in February 2009. The project covering a total length of 45.1 km
was sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.14,600 crore as a joint venture between the
Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu.

 The Government of Tamil Nadu also approved the extension of Corridor–1 of Phase-I
of the Chennai Metro Rail Project from Washermenpet to Thiruvottriyur / Wimco
Nagar by a length of 9.051 km.

 This proposal was recommended to the Government of India for necessary approval for
funding and external assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in
October 2010. The Government of India accorded administrative approval for
implementing the project at an estimated cost of Rs.3770 crore on 15.06.2016

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Chennai Metro Rail Project- Phase–II

 The Government of Tamil Nadu, in April 2017, accorded in-principle approval for the
Phase-II project covering three metro rail corridors with a total length of 107.55 Km and
recommended it to the Government of India for its approval, funding, and for obtaining
external loan assistance from bilateral/ multilateral agencies.

Funding tie ups for Phase-II

 The loan agreement with JICA for 1st tranche amounting to 75 Billion 519 Million
Japanese Yen, was signed in December 2018 and the loan was effectuated in April 2019.

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