The Full Planning Commission is meeting today to give approval to the 12th Plan document that seeks to raise the average annual economic growth rate during the five-year period ending March 2017 to 8.2 per cent. The meeting will be chaired by the Chairman of the Commission and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Our correspondent reports that the meeting will also decide on various other social sector targets relating to poverty alleviation, infant mortality, enrollment ratio and job creation. After the document is approved by the full Plan panel, it will go to the Union Cabinet and then placed before the National Development Council, the apex decision making body, for final approval.

Besides other things, the 12th Plan seeks to achieve 4 per cent growth in agriculture and 10 per cent growth in manufacturing sector. The total plan size has been proposed at 47.7 lakh crore rupees, 135 per cent more than the investments realised in the 11th Plan (2007-12). The meeting will be attended by regular Planning Commission members and key Cabinet ministers.