'Education, skill development top priority of 12th Plan'

Kolkata, Aug 6 (IANS) Education and skill development would be the "overriding priority" of the 12th Five Year Plan even as India's current slow economic growth rate might affect total outlay of the plan, said a member of the plan panel Monday.

Allocation for the 12th Plan period (2012-17) would be declared in a month and the total size of the plan outlay would be "commensurate with the growth rate", Planning Commission member Narendra Jadhav told reporters here.

While in 2011-12, the economy grew at 6.5 percent, according to Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deficient monsoon could pull down the growth rate to close to 6 percent.

Ahluwalia recently said the Planning Commission might lower its ambitious growth target for the 12th Five-Year Plan to 8.2-8.3 percent from 9 percent.

Jadhav, however, said education and skill development followed by healthcare and infrastructure will remain the top priorities in the plan period as prior to the 11th Plan, the central government did little for the sectors, resulting in a "large backlog".