The above caption is a quotation from the book I referred to two days ago, The Great Indian Dream. It is there as a chapter heading. The efficacy of planning is emphasised in this fashion. Prof. Arindam has published a book with this title which became a national best seller. Our activities can be considered under two different headings. One is the work we are used to - weddings, house building, exams, tours, office inspection, factory production, etc. The other is a work we are not used to. There are works which many do, but they are new to us as we do it for the first time. There are other works that no one has experience in.
Planning of any known work can be made perfect over time and there you can expect the results. A rocket that was launched was planned to land at a given time. It landed exactly on the minute at the given place. It was late by nine seconds. Planning can be that accurate. When you introduce a new product in the market, planning cannot predict the results. Our age-old wisdom of not counting the chickens before they are hatched is entirely true in such contexts. Jawaharlal Nehru found Indian planning that new in 1950. Perhaps to the Government of India the challenge remains to this day.
It is very rewarding to see that economic professors of standing find Indian Planning is something where we can predict results. A high placed official of the Planning Commission once was dismayed by the suggestion that India could catch up with the West. Now that the population, especially the youth, is awake, all the money we need is available in India, all the technology for progress is at hand, it is possible to plan for Prosperity. I would like to add an individual strain to this national theme. Individuals can come forward to study Professor Arindam's theme and plan their own future Prosperity. Every individual who rises above poverty, who raises his level of Prosperity is discharging a patriotic duty of abolishing poverty. After all, India is a collection of a billion individuals.