(a) Critically examine how Panchayati Raj system is catalyst in decentralized planning in India. 20 (b) Identify the major…

(a) Panchayati Raj as a catalyst of decentralised planning

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment (1992) gave Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) constitutional status: a three-tier structure, regular elections, State Finance Commissions, reservation for women and SC/ST, and the 11th Schedule with 29 subjects. Article 243G makes PRIs plan for economic development and social justice, and Article 243ZD requires a District Planning Committee to consolidate panchayat and municipal plans into a district plan.

Catalytic role:

• Plans are made from the village upward: the Gram Sabha identifies needs, and the Gram Panchayat Development Plan, with the People's Plan Campaign (2018), links local plans with central and State schemes.
• Kerala's People's Plan Campaign (1996) showed that giving panchayats funds and planning power improves local services.
• PRIs implement schemes such as MGNREGA (now succeeded by the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025), housing, sanitation and drinking water, and monitor them through social audits.
• Women's reservation has raised women's participation, and local bodies bring marginal groups into planning.

Critical view: functions, funds and functionaries are devolved unevenly (the "3Fs"); States keep control, and the 11th Schedule transfer is left to them; own revenue is small and grants are tied to schemes; District Planning Committees are weak or inactive in many States; capacity is low, and elite capture and proxy rule by relatives of women members (sarpanch-pati) persist.

Reform needs real devolution, untied funds, trained staff, empowered Gram Sabhas and active district planning committees.

(b) Industrial corridors of India and the Bengaluru–Mumbai Corridor

Industrial corridors are planned belts along transport routes, with industrial nodes, infrastructure and policy support to attract manufacturing. The National Industrial Corridor Development Programme covers corridors such as the Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Chennai–Bengaluru, Amritsar–Kolkata, Visakhapatnam–Chennai (East Coast), and Bengaluru–Mumbai. Defence corridors have also been set up in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The Bengaluru–Mumbai Economic Corridor runs along the NH-48 and railway route through Pune, Kolhapur, Belagavi, Hubballi–Dharwad, Davanagere and Tumakuru. Its characteristics: it links the western ports and financial hub of Mumbai with the technology and aerospace base of Bengaluru, and is built on existing industrial strengths: automobiles and engineering in Pune, sugar and foundries around Kolhapur and Belagavi, textiles and agro-processing in north Karnataka, and electronics, IT and aerospace around Bengaluru. It crosses regions of varied development, so it can spread industry to lagging districts, provided land, water, power and skilled labour are assured. Gains depend on logistics, multimodal connectivity and State coordination.

(c) Growth of multinational corporations in liberalised India

Before 1991, licensing, foreign-exchange control and limits on foreign equity kept multinational corporations (MNCs) few. Liberalisation changed this: industrial licensing was removed, foreign direct investment was allowed under the automatic route in most sectors, FERA was replaced by the milder FEMA (1999), tariffs were lowered, and special economic zones and later Make in India (2014) and production-linked incentives were added.

Growth: MNCs expanded in automobiles (Suzuki, Hyundai, Toyota), consumer goods, telecom, pharmaceuticals, retail and e-commerce (Walmart–Flipkart, Amazon), and electronics (Samsung, Apple suppliers). Services such as IT and business-process outsourcing, and global capability centres, grew very fast. FDI inflows have been above US$80 billion a year in recent years. Many Indian firms (Tata, Infosys) also became multinationals.

Benefits: capital, technology, jobs, exports, competition and better quality for consumers.

Concerns: outflow of profits, pressure on small domestic firms and retail, tax and transfer-pricing issues, environmental risk, and dependence on foreign supply chains. A balance of openness with regulation, local sourcing and technology transfer is needed.