Ninth Five Year Plan for Co-operative Development in India (1997-2002)

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When India launched the Ninth Five Year Plan in 1997, the country stood at an important crossroads. Five decades of independence had brought progress, but persistent poverty, rural distress, and widening inequality demanded a sharper, more focused response. The Ninth Plan (1997-2002), formulated under the motto “Growth with Social Justice and Equity,” was the government’s answer – a blueprint that placed agriculture, cooperative institutions, and inclusive development at the very center of national policy.

Table of Contents

Context and evolution of the Ninth Plan

The Ninth Five Year Plan emerged after the transformative Eighth Plan, which had ushered in India’s liberalization era. By 1997, the post-reform economy needed a course correction – growth was picking up, but its benefits were uneven. The plan was launched on 1 April 1997 and ran until 31 March 2002, covering a period that also witnessed the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Kargil conflict, and devastating natural disasters like the Odisha super cyclone and the Gujarat earthquake – all of which tested the plan’s resilience.

The Planning Commission, under the National Development Council’s (NDC) approval, designed this plan to shift the government’s role from a direct economic operator to a growth facilitator. Since the Ninth Plan, the emphasis shifted from expanding the public sector to making the government enable private enterprise while focusing state resources on social sectors and infrastructure. This was a decisive philosophical break from earlier plans.

Core objectives of the Ninth Plan

The NDC-approved objectives of the Ninth Plan were wide-ranging, covering economic as well as social dimensions. The primary focus was unmistakably on agriculture and rural India. The plan prioritized agriculture and rural development to generate productive employment and eradicate poverty, while also ensuring food and nutritional security – especially for vulnerable sections of society.

Beyond agriculture, the plan committed to several other goals. These included accelerating economic growth with stable prices, providing basic minimum services such as safe drinking water, universal primary education, primary healthcare, shelter, and connectivity to all citizens within a time-bound manner. The plan also placed significant emphasis on population control, environmental sustainability, and regional balance – recognizing that lopsided growth was a structural problem requiring deliberate intervention.

Empowerment and participatory development

A notable feature of the Ninth Plan was its emphasis on empowerment – not just as a social goal but as an economic strategy. The plan introduced the Women’s Component Plan (WCP), directing both the central and state governments to ensure that not less than 30 percent of funds from all general development sectors flowed directly to women. This was a structural commitment, not merely a rhetorical one.

The plan also focused on promoting and developing people’s participatory institutions – Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), cooperatives, and self-help groups – as key vehicles of grassroots development. For the cooperative sector, this recognition was significant. It acknowledged that cooperatives were not peripheral agencies but central actors in rural credit, agricultural marketing, input distribution, and community-led economic activity.

Policy thrust: the role of cooperatives

Within the Ninth Plan’s framework, cooperatives occupied a distinct and important place. The plan’s approach to rural development and food security was inseparable from the cooperative structure. The Ninth Plan’s agricultural development strategy was built on a policy of food security aimed at doubling production and making India hunger-free, and cooperatives were explicitly identified as institutions that would be strengthened as part of this push.

The plan also promoted agro-processing and agro-industries, sectors where cooperative enterprises had a natural role – pooling produce, adding value, and connecting farmers to markets. Credit cooperatives were expected to play a critical role in channeling increased financial flows to agriculture, ensuring that farmers – especially small and marginal ones – had timely access to inputs and institutional credit rather than being forced to depend on informal moneylenders.

Special Action Plans (SAPs)

To fulfill time-bound targets within available resources, the Ninth Plan introduced Special Action Plans (SAPs) covering social and physical infrastructure, agriculture, information technology, and water policy. These SAPs gave the plan an implementation backbone – converting broad objectives into sector-specific, monitorable programs. For cooperative institutions, this meant their role in agricultural credit, rural infrastructure, and food distribution was formally embedded into the state’s implementation machinery.

Agricultural growth strategy

Agriculture was the Plan’s defining priority, and the targets set were ambitious. The Ninth Plan targeted a growth rate of approximately 4.5 percent per annum in agricultural output and aimed for food grain production of 234 million tonnes by 2001-02. This was far higher than what previous plans had achieved and required a fundamentally different strategy.

The Planning Commission recommended four key strategies for achieving this: Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanisms, input subsidy policy, food security measures, and alleviation of hunger. Together, these strategies formed a safety net beneath agricultural production – protecting farmers from price volatility while ensuring adequate food supply for the population.

Regionally differentiated approach

The plan adopted a regionally differentiated strategy based on agro-climatic regional planning, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach could not address the enormous diversity in Indian farming conditions. Emphasis was placed on allied sectors – horticulture, fisheries, livestock, and dairy – as growth drivers alongside food grain production. Bio-fertilizers and biotechnological research were to be encouraged as part of sustainable agriculture, reducing dependence on chemical inputs over time.

The plan also called for increased public investment in rural infrastructure – irrigation, roads, power – that could unlock agricultural productivity at scale. Timely availability of inputs and expansion of institutional credit were identified as key enabling conditions. Without these foundational elements, the 4.5 percent growth target would remain aspirational.

Liberal market policy and private sector engagement

The Ninth Plan marked a deliberate opening toward private capital. The Plan aimed to depend predominantly on the private sector – both domestic and foreign (through FDI) – while the state was envisaged to play the role of facilitator, increasingly focusing on social sectors and infrastructure where private participation was likely to be limited.

This liberal market orientation had direct implications for cooperatives. The plan expected cooperatives to professionalize, modernize, and compete effectively in a more open economic environment. At the same time, the government committed to retaining support mechanisms – price support, credit guarantees, and input subsidies – that would protect cooperative members, particularly small farmers, from the volatility of liberalized markets.

Infrastructure as a growth enabler

The Ninth Plan’s strategies included promoting infrastructure development such as electricity, telecommunication, and railways, alongside ensuring equal participation of Panchayati Raj institutions in the development process. Infrastructure investment was seen as a prerequisite for rural economic growth – without reliable roads, power, and communications, even well-designed cooperative institutions could not function efficiently or connect to wider markets.

Plan performance: achievements and shortfalls

The Ninth Plan’s performance was mixed. The plan had set a target growth rate of 6.5 percent but achieved only 5.4 percent. Multiple external shocks played a significant role in this underperformance. The 1997 Asian financial crisis dampened export demand and investor confidence. Poor agricultural performance during 1997-2000, combined with the Kargil war and natural disasters, diverted public resources away from planned investments and disrupted supply chains.

The rate of investment during the Ninth Plan stood at 24.2 percent of GDP, with the savings rate at 23.3 percent – with the private sector accounting for the bulk of savings. The fiscal position of both central and state governments worsened during this period due to low internal resource generation by the public sector and a decline in tax revenues, creating pressure on plan expenditure. Agriculture and allied sectors achieved a growth rate of only 2.7 percent against the 4.5 percent target – a significant shortfall driven partly by erratic monsoons and partly by structural weaknesses in input delivery and rural credit.

Legacy for cooperative development

Despite its shortfalls in aggregate growth numbers, the Ninth Plan left an important institutional legacy for India’s cooperative movement. By explicitly including cooperatives and self-help groups as agents of development, the plan gave these institutions a recognized place in the state’s planning architecture. The emphasis on women’s empowerment through targeted fund flows aligned naturally with the expansion of women’s self-help groups that became a defining feature of rural cooperative activity in the 2000s.

The Planning Commission’s approach was holistic – recognizing that cooperatives operate across multiple sectors including agriculture, credit, consumer goods, housing, and industrial production – and by dedicating specific policy space to cooperative development, the Commission ensured that cooperative growth was strategically planned rather than left to chance. The Ninth Plan reinforced this tradition and set the direction for deeper cooperative integration in subsequent plans.

Key elements of the Ninth Plan’s strategy – a summary

The main strategic elements of the Ninth Five Year Plan can be understood across five interconnected areas. First, it prioritized agriculture-led growth with a clear 4.5 percent annual growth target backed by MSP support, input subsidies, and food security measures. Second, it committed to infrastructural investment in irrigation, power, and rural connectivity as prerequisites for rural economic expansion. Third, it positioned cooperatives and PRIs as participatory institutions integral to development delivery – not mere welfare channels. Fourth, it adopted a liberal private sector stance, inviting FDI and domestic private investment while retaining the state’s role in social sectors. Finally, it introduced the Women’s Component Plan to structurally embed gender equity into spending priorities across all development sectors.

What do you think? Given that the Ninth Plan fell short of its 4.5 percent agricultural growth target despite strong policy intent, what structural changes in the cooperative credit system could have improved outcomes for small farmers during this period? And considering the plan’s dual emphasis on liberal private markets and cooperative empowerment, do you think these two objectives can coexist without one undermining the other in the context of rural India?

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References
  1. https://www.iassite.com/ninth-five-year-plan-upsc/
  2. https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/ias-preparation-economy-planning-in-india/
  3. https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/planning/indias-ninth-five-year-plan-1997-2002/23422
  4. https://www.insightsonindia.com/indian-economy-3/agriculture/indian-agriculture-under-the-five-year-plans/
  5. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/agricultural-development-through-five-year-planspptdr-k-vanangamudi/253232317
  6. https://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/Statistical_year_book_india_chapters/ch7.pdf
  7. https://ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in/mgmtp12/chapter/five-year-plans-in-india/
  8. https://agriculture.institute/cooperative-and-farmers-organizations/planning-commission-cooperative-development/
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Co-operation – Genesis, Principles, Values, Growth and Development

1 Genesis of Co-operative Movement in India and Few Selected Countries

  1. Characteristics of Co-operative Enterprise
  2. Objectives of Co-operation
  3. Origin and Development of Co-operative Movement in India
  4. History of the Co-operative Movement in India up to 1947
  5. England (Consumer Co-operative Movement)
  6. Germany (Raiffeisen and Schulze)
  7. Dairy Co-operatives in Denmark
  8. Co-operatives in Israel (Collective Farming)
  9. New Age Co-operatives

2 Development of Co-operative Principles and Values including ICA Restated Principles, 1995

  1. International Co-operative Alliance (ICA)
  2. Rochdale Principles
  3. ICA Statement on Co-operative Identity – 1995
  4. Principles of 1995 Co-operative Statement
  5. Co-operative Values

3 Co-operative Autonomy, Distinctive Features of Democratice Management in Co-operatives vis-a-vis Companies

  1. Nature of Co-operatives
  2. Principles of Co-operatives
  3. Democratic Member Control as a Restated Principle (1995)
  4. Features of a Co-operative
  5. Comparison between a Co-operative and Company

4 Co-operative Policy and Support at Centre and States (After 1990)

  1. Model Co-operative Law
  2. Andhra Pradesh Mutually Aided Co-operative Societies Act 1995
  3. Enactment of Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act 2002
  4. National Co-operative Policy 2002
  5. Vaidyanathan Committee Recommendations

5 Phase-I 1st to 3rd Five Year Plan

  1. First Five Year Plan (1951-1956)
  2. Second Five Year Plan (1956-1961)
  3. Third Five Year Plan (1961-1966)

6 Phase-II 4th to 8th Five Year Plan

  1. Introduction
  2. Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-1974)
  3. Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-1979)
  4. Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-1985)
  5. Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-1990)
  6. Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-1997)

7 Phase-III 9th to 11th Five Year Plan

  1. Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002)
  2. Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007)
  3. Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012)

8 Present Status of Co-Operative Movement

  1. Spread of Co-operatives
  2. Share of Co-operatives in National Economy
  3. Significance of Co-operative Movement
  4. Important Sectors of Co-operative Movement
  5. Problems of Co-operative Movement
  6. Issues/Challenges before Co-operative Movement

9 Types of Co-Operatives

  1. Co-operative Marketing
  2. Co-operative Processing
  3. Co-operative Farming
  4. Consumer Co-operative
  5. Industrial Co-operatives
  6. Housing Co-operatives
  7. Dairy Co-operative
  8. Fishery Co-operatives
  9. Transport Co-operatives
  10. Education Societies
  11. Labour Co-operatives
  12. Hospital Co-operatives
  13. Agri-tourism Co-operatives

10 Study of Co-Operative Credit Institutions

  1. Origin
  2. Co-operative Rural Credit Institutions in India
  3. Credit Co-operative Movement after Independence
  4. Long Term Credit
  5. Co-operative Rural Credit Institutions – Issues
  6. Non-Agricultural Co-operative Credit Institutions

11 Study of Marketing, Consumer, Processing Co-Operatives

  1. Marketing Co-operative
  2. Consumer Co-operative
  3. Sugar Co-operative
  4. Dairy Co-operative

12 Study of Co-Operatives for Weaker Section– Labour, Tribal, Fishery, Weavers, Women

  1. Importance of Weaker Section Co-operatives
  2. Different Weaker Section Co-operatives
  3. Fishery Co-operatives
  4. Tribal Co-operatives
  5. Labour Co-operatives
  6. Weavers’ Co-operatives
  7. Women Co-operatives

13 Study of Other Types of Co-Operatives- Housing, Fertilizer

  1. Housing Co-operatives
  2. Fertilizer Co-operatives
  3. Health Co-operatives
  4. Tourism Co-operatives
  5. Tree Growers’ Co-operative Societies

14 Findings and Recommendations of Important Committees (1954- 1989)

  1. All India Rural Credit Survey Committee Report – 1954
  2. Committee on Co-operation – 1965
  3. All India Rural Credit Review Committee (AIRCRC) – 1969
  4. Madhava Das Committee – 1978
  5. Report of the Committee on Co-operative Law for Democratisation and Professionalisation of Management in Co-operatives – 1987
  6. Report of the Agricultural Credit Review Committee – 1989

15 Findings and Recommendations of Important Committees (1991- 2010)

  1. Report of the Committee on Model Co-operative Act – 1991
  2. Report of the Committee on Licensing of New Urban Co-operative Banks
  3. Report of the Task Force on Revival of Rural Co-operative Credit Institutions (2005)
  4. Report of the High Powered Committee on Co-operatives (2009)

16 Role of Regulatory and Development Institutions for Co-operative Movement

  1. Role Functions of Reserve Bank of India
  2. Role Functions of NABARD
  3. Role Functions of NCDC
  4. Role Functions of NDDB
  5. Promotional Role of Registrar of Co-operative Societies in Co-operative Development

17 Co-Operative Training and Education

  1. Evolution of Co-operative Training and Education
  2. Structure of Co-operative Training and Education under NCUI
  3. Co-operative Training and Education Facilities in Junior Training Centres in States
  4. Co-operative Training and Education provided by other Co-operative Organizations