The document has been prepared with the basic surmise that “Wildlife Management, Ecotourism and Animal Welfare are to be treated as a Priority Sector during the 12th Plan as the conservation of our natural wealth, biodiversity and ecology has tremendous economic consequences and its wellbeing is in the larger national interest as well as being in the interest of mankind.

The Planning Commission vide their Order No.18/3/2011-Tpt dated 06.04.2011 has constituted a Working Group on Road Transport for the Formulation of Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017). In order to assist the Working Group in finalization of its report, MoRT&H vide its OM No.RT-21012/4/2011-T dated 7th June, 2011 had formed a subgroup on “State Road Transport Undertakings” in Road Transport. The Terms of Reference (ToR) of this sub-group gave a wide mandate on different issues concerning SRTCs.

By October 2011, India is expected to have a National Manufacturing Policy which will aspire to create 100 million additional jobs in the next 10 years. This aim will be achieved by increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) share of the manufacturing sector from the current level of 16% to 25% by 2025. The country will need to ensure that the environmental impact and effects arising from this increase in manufacturing activities is addressed and controlled without affecting increased industrial growth.

The latest poverty estimates for the country released by Planning Commission shows a decline in poverty by 7.3 per cent over the past five years & says that anyone with a daily consumption expenditure of Rs. 28.35 & Rs. 22.42 in urban and rural areas respectively is above the poverty line.

India has unacceptable levels of rural poverty, estimated at 42%. In some of the northern and north‐eastern states, there is an even higher level of rural poverty. Government of India has been deeply concerned about rural poverty in India. To eradicate rural poverty, National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) has been established. By the end of 2010, the Mission Document of the NRLM has been finalized and the mission was formally launched in June 2011.

India stands today at the cross-roads where it is becoming abundantly clear that not paucity of funds, but deficit in governance is the most significant challenge before the society. A frank assessment of the current functioning of Forestry and Wildlife Establishment brings out that: Given the extremely weak base, often subject to deliberate manipulation, of empirical information, and lack of democratic culture of science, the management is far from scientific;

The Planning Commission had set up one Steering Committee on Water Resources and Sanitation and the following eight Working Groups for addressing the issues related to the Water Resources and Sanitation for the formulation of the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017). During the first meeting of the Steering Committee, the Terms of Reference and issues to be addressed by the eight Working Groups were discussed.

The Planning Commission's decision to set up a working group on MGNREGS to contribute to the formulation of the 12th five year plan is reflective of the critical contribution of MGNREGS to poverty reduction. The Working Group has the welcome opportunity to suggest steps to address the current challenges faced by MGNREGS and improve its effectiveness. The agenda set for the Working Group was broad enough to enable a set of recommendations that could contribute to the effectiveness of MGNREGS.

The report of the working group on forests and sustainable management of natural resources is a collective effort to introduce and explain the concerns and challenges faced by the sector and the strategy to address them in the Twelfth Five Year Plan. Forests can no longer be considered as nature’s factory that produces wood alone. The focus of the report is the contemporary relevance of the forests, its immense potential and relative neglect.

In July 2011, the Steering Committee on Environment, Forests & Wildlife and Animal Welfare for the Twelfth Five Year Plan of the Planning Commission formed a Sub-Group on Climate Change (as part of the Working Group on Environment & Climate Change). The Sub Group was asked to make recommendations on climate change for the 12th Five Year Plan, based on review of the existing programmes, policies and initiatives taken for adaptation and mitigation, including regulatory mechanism, research and development, infrastructure and institutional mechanism.