Many efforts have been made by the Government to strengthen and decentralize the planning process so that the development funds consumed by the Plans result in effective outcomes. However, the efforts have not sufficiently fructified. Some of the reasons are that the plans are prepared for each scheme separately resulting in lack of convergence of funds and sectoral integration; planning has traditionally been done at the district level, which is physically removed, from the citizens resulting in Plans that do not reflect the needs and aspirations of the people; there is no tight coupling between the Planned outlay and the actual expenditure incurred and there is no integration between plans of different local governments.
In an attempt to address these problems, the Planning Commission issued guidelines in 2007 that mandated that all plans from 11th Five Year Plan onwards should be prepared in a decentralized manner, starting from urban and rural local governments. Recognizing the potential of Information and Communication to demystify the planning process, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in collaboration with National Informatics Centres has designed and developed a software, Plan Plus, for simplifying and strengthening the planning process.
Plan Plus Features
Plan Plus is a very simple, easy to use software with local language interface that facilitates generation of District Plans through interactive workflows among all participating agencies. The key features of the software include:
Convergence of Funds
Plan Plus enables intelligent convergence of funds from different schemes for a work, there by ensuring, on the one hand, that the available funds are utilized to the maximum possible extent and on the other hand that important works are not abandoned for lack of funds.
Sectoral Integration
Plan Plus enables sectoral integration by stimulating the planner to think in terms of end-to-end projects rather than in terms of isolated islands of work.
Vertical & Horizontal Integration
Plan Plus provides facility for co-opting of works of a lower tier by a higher tier panchayat thereby facilitating vertical integration. It also incorporates the concept of supra-projects, which enables two or more local bodies (rural as well as urban) to collaborate to take up a work, which is of common interest.
Workflow
Allows customizable workflows of Plan creation-evaluation-modification-finalization as per State specific needs.
Plan Generation
The software generates various views of the Plan including Sectoral Plan and Scheme wise Plan, besides the normal Plan view.
Generation of District Plan
Plan Plus converges and integrates the Plans of urban and rural local governments to generate a consolidated District Plan.
Extensibility
Plan Plus can be easily extended to facilitate the preparation of state and central government plans.
Graphical and GIS Reports
A number of graphical reports are generated to help the Planner as well as the District Planning Committee to take a view of the investment profile of the Plan. This helps in ensuring that the Plan is not unjustifiably skewed in favor of a particular sector.
Adaptability to the Variations across States
In view of the varying levels of capacities and experiences of different states in the Planning process, the software allows easy customization so that States can configure it to suit their own level.
Local Language
The software supports local languages of the states to enable local bodies to function in their own languages.
Transparency
At every stage of the Planning process, the Plan is constantly available to the general public for scrutiny thus enabling a transparent and participative Plan preparation.
Availability
The software is web based and is available on 24 x 7 basis with appropriate authentication.
Target Users
The Target users in the country of the software are the Citizens, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs,) Municipalities, District Planning Committees (DPCs), Financial Institutions, and State Government Departments
. Implementation
Plan Plus was field-tested in four districts viz., Bir Bhum (West Bengal), Palakkad (Kerala), Gul Barga (Karnataka) and Dhamtri (Chhattisgarh). The software has now been launched and training being given to target users of 250 districts in the country that fall under Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF).
System Requirements
Plan Plus is web-based, platform independent software that is very simple to use and provides local language support using UNICODE fonts. The software can be accessed using Internet Explore 6.0 or above OR Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.1. Both online (on-line at http:// planningonline.gov.in) and offline versions of the software are available to cater to the connected as well as poorly connected or disconnected environments.
In an attempt to address these problems, the Planning Commission issued guidelines in 2007 that mandated that all plans from 11th Five Year Plan onwards should be prepared in a decentralized manner, starting from urban and rural local governments. Recognizing the potential of Information and Communication to demystify the planning process, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in collaboration with National Informatics Centres has designed and developed a software, Plan Plus, for simplifying and strengthening the planning process.
Plan Plus Features
Plan Plus is a very simple, easy to use software with local language interface that facilitates generation of District Plans through interactive workflows among all participating agencies. The key features of the software include:
Convergence of Funds
Plan Plus enables intelligent convergence of funds from different schemes for a work, there by ensuring, on the one hand, that the available funds are utilized to the maximum possible extent and on the other hand that important works are not abandoned for lack of funds.
Sectoral Integration
Plan Plus enables sectoral integration by stimulating the planner to think in terms of end-to-end projects rather than in terms of isolated islands of work.
Vertical & Horizontal Integration
Plan Plus provides facility for co-opting of works of a lower tier by a higher tier panchayat thereby facilitating vertical integration. It also incorporates the concept of supra-projects, which enables two or more local bodies (rural as well as urban) to collaborate to take up a work, which is of common interest.
Workflow
Allows customizable workflows of Plan creation-evaluation-modification-finalization as per State specific needs.
Plan Generation
The software generates various views of the Plan including Sectoral Plan and Scheme wise Plan, besides the normal Plan view.
Generation of District Plan
Plan Plus converges and integrates the Plans of urban and rural local governments to generate a consolidated District Plan.
Extensibility
Plan Plus can be easily extended to facilitate the preparation of state and central government plans.
Graphical and GIS Reports
A number of graphical reports are generated to help the Planner as well as the District Planning Committee to take a view of the investment profile of the Plan. This helps in ensuring that the Plan is not unjustifiably skewed in favor of a particular sector.
Adaptability to the Variations across States
In view of the varying levels of capacities and experiences of different states in the Planning process, the software allows easy customization so that States can configure it to suit their own level.
Local Language
The software supports local languages of the states to enable local bodies to function in their own languages.
Transparency
At every stage of the Planning process, the Plan is constantly available to the general public for scrutiny thus enabling a transparent and participative Plan preparation.
Availability
The software is web based and is available on 24 x 7 basis with appropriate authentication.
Target Users
The Target users in the country of the software are the Citizens, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs,) Municipalities, District Planning Committees (DPCs), Financial Institutions, and State Government Departments
. Implementation
Plan Plus was field-tested in four districts viz., Bir Bhum (West Bengal), Palakkad (Kerala), Gul Barga (Karnataka) and Dhamtri (Chhattisgarh). The software has now been launched and training being given to target users of 250 districts in the country that fall under Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF).
System Requirements
Plan Plus is web-based, platform independent software that is very simple to use and provides local language support using UNICODE fonts. The software can be accessed using Internet Explore 6.0 or above OR Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.1. Both online (on-line at http:// planningonline.gov.in) and offline versions of the software are available to cater to the connected as well as poorly connected or disconnected environments.
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