17. The index number of industrial production thus recorded a cumulative rate of expansion of about 7 per cent per annum. The actu- al increase was, in fact, more pronounced than indicated by the above figures, because a number of new industries which have generally shown more marked progress, are at present not adequately provided for in the index.
18. Even more significant than the quantum of industrial devel- opment has been the direction in which the expansion has taken place, especially under the Second Plan. During the First Plan period what had been initially proposed for large industry was chiefly to encour- age the already existing factories to use their capacity to the full. Industrial production, even with this mild stimulation, rose by 39 per cent during the quinquennium.
19. With the successful completion of the First Plan, it was possible to take up in a large way the development of new industries, especially the capital and producer goods industries, which constitute the basis for any programme for accelerated industrial growth. Judg- ing by the progress so far achieved by the metallurgical, mechanical and electrical engineering and chemical industries in augmenting industrial potential and taking cognisance of the heavy machine-build- ing projects recently initiated, it can be stated that some of the basic conditions required for an accelerated growth towards the goal of a selfreliant economy have been successfully established over the last decade.
20. A key role was assigned to the public sector in the develop- ment of basic and heavy industries. Total public sector outlay on industries and minerals amounted to Rs. 974 crores over the decade. Investment in the Second Plan period alone amounted to as much as Rs. 870 crores in the public sector or 56 per cent of the total investment in organised industry, public and private. What is more important, most of the public sector industries were of a heavy or basic type. This development has not only helped to strengthen the public sector, but also to create conditions conducive to a rapid growth of medium and light industries in the private sector.
21. A major step forward was taken with the establishment of three new steel plants in the public sector and the expansion of the two units in the private sector. The new projects have now reached the stage of production and the output of steel ingots has increased from 1.4 million tons in 1950-51 to 3.5 million tons in 1960-61 and of pig iron from 3.5 lakh tons to 9 lakh tons. The availability of other essential industrial materials like aluminium, cement, heavy chemicals and dyestuffs, of fuels such as coal and petroleum, and of power has also increased substantially since 1950-51.
22. Another significant development has been the rapid growth of machine-building industries. India is now producing progressively increasing quantities of machine tools and machinery for use in agri- culture and transport and for such industries as chemicals and pharma- ceuticals, textiles, jute, cement, tea, sugar, flour and oil mills, paper, mining etc. Indigenous manufacturing capacity now exists for most of the machinery and equipment needed by the railways, except diesel and electric locomotives. A large variety of electrical equip- ment and scientific instruments are also now being produced in the country. The value of graded machine tools produced in the country has increased from Rs. 34 lakhs in 1950-51 to Rs. 550 lakhs in 1960- 61. Steps have been recently taken for the establishment of a heavy machine-building plant and the foundry/forge plant at Ranchi and the coal mining machinery plant at Durgapur. The aggregate value of the- various kinds of industrial machinery and capital goods was eleven times as much as at the beginning of the decade. The Heavy Electrical Project at Bhopal has entered the stage of initial production. When all stages are completed Rs. 25 crores worth of equipment will be produced.
23. The progress made by chemical industries, particularly pharmaceuticals, heavy chemicals and fertilisers, has also been sig- nificant and capacity of production for a wide range of primary organ- ic chemicals has been stepped up.
24. Modernisation and re-equipment of important industries, such as jute, cotton textiles and sugar have made progress. In the case of the jute industry, the programme is at an advanced stage on the. spinning side. The bulk of the machinery required for the modernisa- tion of the
22 THIRD FIVE YEAR PLAN
jute industry in the preparatory and spinning departments has been manufactured within the country.
25. Another achievement during the period under review was the progress made in increasing the indigenous content of industrial products manufactured in the country. Yet another indicator of the country's industrial development is the production of a growing number of new industrial items e.g. industrial boilers, milling machines and other types of machine tools, tractors, industrial explosives, sulpha and antibiotic drugs, D.D.T., newsprint, motor-cycles and scooters, calcium carbide, dyestuffs, staple fibres, etc.
26. There has been also considerable progress in consumer indus- tries. The production of older industries like textiles and sugar recorded substantial expansion yet more rapid progress was made in industries manufacturing durable items such as automobiles, bicycles, motor-cycles, scooters, fans, radios, electric lamps and sewing ma- chines.
27. The following Table gives some idea of the progress made in the production of important producer and consumer goods during the last decade :
Table 8 : Production in selected industries
item unit 1950-51 1960-61
steel ingots million tons 1.4 3.5
aluminium 000 tons 3.7 18.5
diesel engines 000 numbers 5.5 40
electric cables (ACSR
conductors) 000 tons 1.7 22.0
nitrogenous fertilisers
( in terms of N) 000 tons 9 110
phosphatic fertilisers
(in terms of P2 O5) 000 tons 9 55
sulphuric acid 000 tons 99 363
cement million tons 2.7 8.5
cotton textiles
(mill-made) million yards 3720 5127
sugar* million tons 1.1 3.0
paper and paper board 000 tons 114 350
bicycle (organised
sector only) 000 numbers 101 1050
automobiles 000 numbers 16.5 53.5
MINERALS 28. Another notable feature of the period under review was the attention given to mineral exploitation and production. The organisa- tions for the exploration, assessment and exploitation of the country's mineral resources were considerably strengthened. The principal minerals in respect of which more successful exploitation and production were recorded were coal, iron ore and bauxite. The production of coal increased from 32.3 million tons in 1950-51 to 54.6 million tons in 1960-61 and of bauxite from 64,000 tons in 1950 to 377,000 tons in 1960. Most of these increases took place in the Second Plan period.
29. While the output of mineral oil within the country is as yet small, valuable oil resources have been found in Nahorkatiya area in Assam and indicators obtained of a sizeable oil field in Cambay- Ankleshwar area in Gujarat. Prospecting operations are in progress in other areas as well. In view of the importance of establishing in- digenous sources of oil, an Oil and Natural Gas Commission was set up for undertaking, on an intensified scale, geological surveys, geophys- ical investigations and exploratory drilling for oil. Construction of two refineries at Nunmati and Barauni was taken up in the public sector and the Indian Oil Company, a Government agency for the distri- bution of oil products, was formed in 1959.
VILLAGE AND SMALL INDUSTRIES 30. The development of village and small industries as an inte- gral element in an expanding national economy has been from the begin- ning, one of the key programmes under the Five Year Plans. They were expected to lead to fuller use of local resources, meet a significant part of the expanding demand for consumer goods, form a vital link between agriculture and large-scale industries, and provide increasing opportunities for employment-both in rural and in urban areas. During the last decade, Rs. 218 crores have been spent by Government for the development of these industries. All-India Boards were set up with a view to formulating, guiding and, to an extent, implementing coordi- nated programmes for the development of small scale industries, hand- loom industry, khadi and village industries, handicrafts, coir and sericulture. An industrial extension service was developed and Small Industries Service Institutes were set up in every State and 53 Exten- sion Centres were also established. About 60 industrial estates comprising over 1000 small factories using power were established. Special arrangements were made for the provision of credit, technical advice and raw materials and the supply of imported and indigenous machines on hire-purchase terms. The growth of a vigorous class of small entrepreneurs was a significant development of the last ten years. In a number of industries, notably, machine tools, sewing machines, electric motors and fans, bicycles, builders' hardware and hand tools, there have been increases in production varying from 25 to 50 per cent during the last five years. Production would have been much larger but for the shortage of some basic raw materials like steel and non-ferrous metals. Among the traditional industries, which provide considerable employment, the production of handloom cloth increased from 742 million yards to about 1900 million yards, of khadi from 7.3 million yards to 74 million yards and of raw
TEN YEARS OF PLANNING 23
silk from about 2.5 million lb to 3.6 million lb between 1950-51 and 1960-61. Steps were taken during this period to introduce a scheme for enlarging credit facilities for small scale industries from banking agencies by providing Government guarantee, to assist weavers' cooperatives to purchase powerlooms and to manufacture and distribute an improved type of spinning wheel (Ambar charkha).
POWER 31. Provision of adequate power is one of the basic requirements for the development of both large and small scale industries. A number of hydroelectric and thermal power projects were constructed during this period and the total public sector investment in power amounted to Rs. 705 crores. The four multi-purpose projects, Damodar Valley, Bhakra-Nangal, Tungabhadra and Hirakud, which were begun before the First Plan, were incorporated in the integrated programme of river valley development. Among the river valley projects started during the last decade, mention may be made of Chambal, Rihand, Koyna and Nagarjunasagar. A large programme for thermal power generation was also undertaken. The installed capacity of hydroelectric power increased from 0.56 million kW to 1.93 million kW and of thermal power from 1.74 million kW to 3.77 million kW during the last decade. The total installed capacity thus rose from 2.3 million kW in 1950 to 5.7 million kW in 1960-61. Impressive as this increase was, it fell substantially short of the target of 6.9 million kW. The shortfall is mainly due to foreign exchange difficulties that arose during the early years of the Second Plan and also delays in the execution of some of the major projects. Special attention was paid to extending electricity to rural areas as this was considered to be an important measure for developing and modernising the rural economy. The total number of towns and villages electrified went up from 3687 in 1950-51 to 23,000 in 1960-61.
TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS 32. Considerable improvement and expansion of the country's transport system took place during the past decade the total public sector outlay was Rs. 1823 crores. The main task under the First Plan was the rehabilitation and replacement of rolling stock and fixed assets of the railways which had been subjected to severe strain on account of the War and the Partition. To meet the 'growing demands of the agricultural and industrial sectors, additional facilities were provided by increasing rolling stock and constructing new lines during the Second Plan. There was also substantial expansion in road trans- port, shipping and air services. An idea of the development of the transport services during the last decade may be obtained from the following Table :
Table 9 : Transport
items unit 1950-51 1955-56 1960-61
railways-
new lines added miles ... 380* 800*
rolling stock :
locomotives 000 numbers 8.5 9.2 10.6
coaches 000 numbers 20.5 23.2 28.2
wagons 000 numbers 222.4 268.5 341.0
passenger miles billions 41.3 38.8 48.6
freight carried million tons 91.5 114.0 154.0
roads
surfaced including
national highways 000 miles 97.51 22.0 144.0
unsurfaced 000 miles 151.01 95.0 250.0
road transport-
commercial vehicles
on road 000 numbers 116 166 210
shipping-
tonnage lakh GRT 3.9 4.8 9.0
major ports-
capacity million tons 2025 37
33. The expansion of industrial and commercial activity had its impact on the demand for communication facilities. The number of postal articles handled increased by about 80 per cent and of trunk telephone calls by about fivefold between 1950-51 and 1960-61. The number of post offices increased from 36,000 to 77,000 and of tele- phones from 168,000 to 460,000. Appreciable progress was also achieved in broadcasting. Each language area was provided with one transmitting station and there were as many as 28 stations in 1960-61. A programme for the provision of community listening sets in rural areas was taken up. The number of radio licences increased by about fourfold during the period.
* Relates to the quiquennium ending 1955-56 and 1960-61 respectively
24 THIRD FIVE YEAR PLAN
SOCIAL SERVICES 34. The development of the human resources of the country through the provision of facilities for education, health and social welfare is one of the major objectives of planned development. In the First as well as the Second Five- Year Plans, considerable importance was attached to social services and altogether Rs. 1289 crores were spent for their development during the decade, but undoubtedly the needs to be met were much larger.
35. Education.-There was all-round development of education. The number of students in schools increased from 23.5 million in 1950- 51 to as many as 43.5 million in 1960-61-an increase of 85 per cent. The proportion of children attending schools in the age group 6-11 increased from 42.6 per cent to 61.1 per cent and in the age "group 11-14 from 12.7 per cent to 22.8 per cent. The number of primary schools increased from 210,000 to 342,000 while that of high and higher secondary schools from 7300 to 17,000. The number of universi- ties increased from 27 to 46 and of colleges (excluding intermediate colleges) from 542 to 1050.
36. Special emphasis was placed on developing facilities for technical education which is the very basis of industrial development. Facilities in existing institutions were expanded and improved and 51 new degree colleges and 110 polytechnics were opened during the last ten years. The total intake of students in these institutions in- creased from 10,000 in 1950-51 to 39,400 in 1960-61. The outturn of engineering graduates increased by about three times and that of diploma holders expanded more than threefold. Technical training facilities were provided in' a number of industrial establishments in the public sector, particularly, in the steel and electrical plants. Special training facilities were also provided for various small scale industries. The annual intake of agriculture and veterinary colleges increased about fourfold.
37. scientific research.-The promotion of scientific and techno- logical research was given a high priority and a large number of new research institutions was established. These include 20 national laboratories and 3 regional research centres. Notable progress was made in basic and applied research in nuclear science and the peaceful uses of atomic energy, and a strong scientific and technical organi- sation was built lip, which enabled the design and development of instruments land plants required for this work without foreign techni- cal consultancy. The research departments of universities were also strengthened considerably.
38. Health.-There was a considerable expansion of health serv- ices. A large number of new hospitals, dispensaries, health units and maternity and child welfare centres were opened and special programmes for water supply and sanitation, Control of communicable diseases and expansion of training facilities were undertaken. In 1950-51, there were 8600 medical institutions with about 113,000 beds. In 1960-61, the number increased to 12,600 institutions with 185,600 beds. In addition, 2800 primary health centres were opened. The number of medical colleges increased from 30 to 57 and that of doctors in prac- tice or in service increased from 56,000 to 70,000. The entire popu- lation was covered by the malaria eradication programme. As a result of all these measures, the average expectation of life at birth im- proved by about 10 years over the last decade.
39. Early in the First Plan, the promotion of family planning was adopted as a public policy and by 1960-61 there were 549 urban centres and 1100 rural centres engaged in family planning service, A number of non-official organisations engaged in family planning work were given special financial and technical assistance. The programme, however, is a most difficult one to carry out and raises problems of great complexity. Sustained and intensive efforts are required over a fairly long period before family planning can become a popular move- ment and a part of the accepted attitudes of the people generally.