GeographyCBSE Class 12 · Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context

Sectoral and Regional Planning, Target Area Planning, Hill Area and Drought Prone Area Programmes (Class 12 Geography, India: People and Economy, Chapter 6)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Planning in India follows sectoral planning (schemes for sectors such as agriculture or transport) and regional planning (reducing regional imbalance). Target area planning, introduced by the Planning Commission, focuses on backward areas through programmes like the Hill Area and Drought Prone Area Programmes. Target group programmes such as SFDA and MFDA focus on groups of people.

Understand Sectoral and Regional Planning, Target Area and Target Group Programmes

Why this topic matters. The planning chapter has five syllabus ideas: planning, target area planning, the Bharmaur case, sustainable development and its Indian case. This page covers the first two, which are asked as definitions, differences and programme facts. The Bharmaur and Indira Gandhi Canal cases have their own pages.

1. Meaning of planning. Planning involves thinking, formulating a scheme or programme and implementing actions to reach a goal. In the chapter it means the process of economic development, unlike traditional hit-and-miss methods.

2. The two approaches.

Sectoral planning: formulating and implementing schemes aimed at developing sectors such as agriculture, irrigation, manufacturing, power, construction, transport, communication, social infrastructure and services.
Regional planning: development is not uniform over space; some areas are more developed and some lag behind, so planners need a spatial perspective and plans that reduce regional imbalance.

3. Institutions. India adopted centralised planning after Independence and later moved to decentralised multi-level planning, with plan formulation at the Centre, State and district levels by the Planning Commission. On 1 January 2015 the Planning Commission was replaced by the NITI Aayog, set up to involve the states in economic policy making and give strategic and technical advice to the Centre and States.

4. Target area planning.

Resource-rich regions can remain backward because development needs technology and investment besides resources.
After about one-and-a-half decades of planning, regional imbalances were found to be growing. To arrest regional and social disparities, the Planning Commission introduced the target area and target group approaches.
Target area programmes: Command Area Development, Drought Prone Area Development, Desert Development and Hill Area Development Programmes.
Target group programmes: Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA) and Marginal Farmers Development Agency (MFDA).
In the 8th Five Year Plan, special area programmes were designed to develop infrastructure in hill areas, north-eastern states, tribal areas and backward areas.

5. Hill Area Development Programme.

Started in the Fifth Five Year Plan, covering 15 districts: all the hilly districts of Uttar Pradesh (present Uttarakhand), Mikir Hills and North Cachar hills of Assam, Darjeeling of West Bengal and Nilgiri of Tamil Nadu.
The National Committee on the Development of Backward Area (1981) recommended treating all hill areas above 600 m not covered under the tribal sub-plan as backward hill areas.
Plans take topographical, ecological, social and economic conditions into account and aim to use indigenous resources: horticulture, plantation, agriculture, animal husbandry, poultry, forestry, and small-scale and village industry.

6. Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP).

Started in the Fourth Five Year Plan to give employment in drought-prone areas and create productive assets. At first it stressed labour-intensive civil works; later it stressed irrigation, land development, afforestation, grassland development and rural infrastructure (electricity, roads, markets, credit, services).
The National Committee found it largely confined to agriculture and allied sectors, with focus on ecological balance. Because population pressure pushes people to cultivate marginal lands and causes ecological degradation, alternative employment is needed, and an integrated watershed development approach at the micro-level is advised; the balance between water, soil, plants, humans and animals should be basic.
The Planning Commission (1967) identified 67 districts (wholly or partly) prone to drought. The Irrigation Commission (1972) brought in the criterion of 30 per cent irrigated area to demarcate drought-prone areas.
Drought-prone tracts lie in the semi-arid and arid parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, western Madhya Pradesh, Marathwada, Rayalaseema and Telangana plateaus, Karnataka plateau and highlands and interior Tamil Nadu. Those of Punjab, Haryana and north Rajasthan are largely protected by irrigation.

Graph checklist. A two-column table: target area (programme, plan period, aim) and target group (SFDA, MFDA).

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

Sectoral planning means formulation and implementation of the sets of schemes or programmes aimed at development of various sectors of the economy.
NCERT, India: People and Economy, Chapter 6: Introduction to the two approaches to planning.
Definition to write before contrasting with regional planning.

Sectoral and Regional Planning, Target Area and Target Group Programmes: key facts

Approaches to planning: Sectoral planning: sector schemes
Regional planning: reduce regional imbalance
Target area
Target group; Target approaches were introduced by the Planning Commission.
Target area programmes: Command Area Development
Drought Prone Area
Desert Development
Hill Area Development; Target group examples: SFDA and MFDA.
Hill Area Programme facts: Fifth Five Year Plan
15 districts
600 m (1981 Committee)
Horticulture, plantation, animal husbandry, village industry; Mikir Hills, North Cachar, Darjeeling, Nilgiri and hilly districts of Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand).
Drought Prone Area facts: Fourth Five Year Plan
67 districts (1967)
30 per cent irrigated area (1972)
Watershed approach; Protected areas: Punjab, Haryana and north Rajasthan.

How to answer Sectoral and Regional Planning, Target Area and Target Group Programmes questions

Compare and list. For programmes, give plan period, area covered and aim; for approaches, give definition plus one example.

1Define planning and the two approaches, sectoral and regional.
2Explain why target area and target group approaches were introduced.
3List the programmes and give one example of a target group programme.
4For Hill Area and Drought Prone programmes give plan, districts or criteria and aims.
5Add NITI Aayog replacing the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015 if asked about institutions.

Sectoral and Regional Planning, Target Area and Target Group Programmes in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Sector versus region

Suppose a state prepares one scheme to improve its irrigation canals and another to bring roads, schools and clinics to its three most backward districts.

Which approach is each scheme, according to NCERT?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

A scheme for one sector such as irrigation is sectoral planning.
A scheme to reduce backwardness in particular districts is regional (target area) planning.

Answer: The irrigation scheme is sectoral planning; the one for backward districts is regional planning, specifically target area planning.

Memory hook: Sector is a slice, region is a place.

Dry district employment

Suppose a district with scanty rain offers labour on tank digging in lean months, and later adds orchards on grassland, village roads and electricity for villages.

Which programme resembles this and how did its emphasis shift?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The Drought Prone Area Programme gave employment through labour-intensive civil works.
Later it stressed irrigation, land development, afforestation, grassland and rural infrastructure.

Answer: It resembles the Drought Prone Area Programme, shifting from labour-intensive works to land, water and infrastructure development.

Memory hook: Work first, then wells and wires.

Tricks to remember Sectoral and Regional Planning, Target Area and Target Group Programmes

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

S-R-T
Sectoral, Regional, Target.
Use it when: Sequence of planning approaches.
CDDH
Command, Drought, Desert, Hill.
Use it when: Four target area programmes.
Fifth hill, Fourth drought
Hill in the Fifth plan with 15 districts; drought in the Fourth plan with 67 districts.
Use it when: Plan periods and numbers.
600 and 30
600 m for hills, 30 per cent irrigation for drought.
Use it when: The two criteria.

Sectoral and Regional Planning, Target Area and Target Group Programmes: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Meaning of SFDA and MFDA · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

The Small Farmers Development Agency and the Marginal Farmers Development Agency are examples of:
(A) sectoral programmes only
(B) target group programmes
(C) target area programmes
(D) sustainable development goals

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT cites SFDA and MFDA as target group programmes, aimed at groups of farmers rather than areas (1 mark).

Answer: (B) target group programmes

Example 2: Statements on the Hill Area Programme · 1 mark · MCQHarder board level

Consider the statements:
I. The Hill Area Development Programme began in the Fifth Five Year Plan.
II. It originally covered 15 districts.
III. The 1981 Committee recommended treating hill areas above 600 m as backward.
Which are correct?
(A) I and II only
(B) II and III only
(C) I and III only
(D) I, II and III

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

All three statements appear in NCERT, so all are correct (1 mark).

Answer: (D) I, II and III

Example 3: Assertion and reason on regional planning · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

Assertion (A): Regional planning is needed in India.
Reason (R): There is no uniform economic development over space; some areas are more developed and others lag behind.
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(C) (A) is true but (R) is false.
(D) (A) is false but (R) is true.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT states that uneven development over space makes planners adopt a spatial perspective.
R explains A (1 mark).

Answer: (A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Example 4: Source-based: Hill Area Development Programme · 3 marks · Source-basedHarder board level

Read the passage: "Hill Area Development Programmes were initiated during the Fifth Five Year Plan covering 15 districts. The National Committee on the Development of Backward Area in 1981 recommended that all the hill areas in the country having height above 600 m and not covered under the tribal sub-plan be treated as backward hill areas. The programmes aimed at harnessing the indigenous resources of the hill areas through development of horticulture, plantation, agriculture, animal husbandry, poultry, forestry and small-scale and village industry."
(i) In which Five Year Plan were the programmes initiated? (1)
(A) Third (B) Fourth (C) Fifth (D) Eighth
(ii) What height did the Committee recommend for backward hill areas? (1)
(A) Above 300 m (B) Above 600 m (C) Above 1,000 m (D) Above 2,000 m
(iii) Which activity is named among the aims of the programme? (1)
(A) Deep-sea fishing (B) Horticulture (C) Steel making (D) Shipbuilding

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(i) Fifth Plan, so (C) (1 mark).
(ii) Above 600 m, so (B) (1 mark).
(iii) Horticulture, so (B) (1 mark).

Answer: (i) C; (ii) B; (iii) B

Example 5: Why target area planning · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

Why were the target area and target group approaches introduced? Name two target area programmes. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Regional imbalances in economic development were getting accentuated after about one-and-a-half decades of planning (1 mark).
The approaches were meant to arrest regional and social disparities (1 mark).
Examples: Drought Prone Area Development Programme and Hill Area Development Programme (1 mark).

Answer: After about one-and-a-half decades of planning, regional imbalances in economic development were getting worse. To arrest regional and social disparities, the Planning Commission introduced the target area and target group approaches. Two target area programmes are the Drought Prone Area Development Programme and the Hill Area Development Programme.

Example 6: HOTS: why target area planning was needed · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Explain why the Planning Commission introduced target area and target group approaches, and compare the Hill Area and Drought Prone Area Programmes on plan period, coverage and aims. (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

After about one-and-a-half decades regional imbalances were found to be growing, so target approaches were introduced to arrest regional and social disparities (1 mark).
Resource-rich regions may remain backward because technology and investment are also needed (1 mark).
Hill Area: Fifth Plan, 15 districts, areas above 600 m, aims at horticulture, plantation, animal husbandry and village industry (1 mark).
Drought Prone Area: Fourth Plan, 67 districts in 1967, 30 per cent irrigation criterion, aims at employment and productive assets, later watershed and infrastructure (1 mark).
Both are target area programmes; DPAP stresses ecological balance (1 mark).

Answer: After about one-and-a-half decades of planning it was realised that regional imbalances in economic development were getting worse. The Planning Commission therefore introduced the target area approach (for backward areas) and the target group approach (for groups such as small and marginal farmers). Resource-rich regions can remain backward because technology and investment are needed besides resources.

Hill Area Development began in the Fifth Plan, covering 15 districts, and the 1981 Committee suggested treating hill areas above 600 m as backward; it aims to use local resources such as horticulture, plantations, animal husbandry, forestry and village industries. The Drought Prone Area Programme began in the Fourth Plan; the Planning Commission identified 67 districts in 1967 and the Irrigation Commission added a 30 per cent irrigated area criterion in 1972. It aimed at employment and productive assets and later stressed irrigation, land development, afforestation and an integrated watershed approach to restore ecological balance.

Where students lose marks in Sectoral and Regional Planning, Target Area and Target Group Programmes

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Calling Hill Area a target group programme
Hill communities are a group.
Wrong working
Hill Area Development is a target group programme.
Right working
It is a target area programme; SFDA and MFDA are target group.
Do this: Area = place, group = people.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Mixing plan periods
Fourth and Fifth look alike.
Wrong working
Drought Prone Area Programme in the Fifth Plan.
Right working
DPAP began in the Fourth Plan; Hill Area in the Fifth.
Do this: Use the 'Fifth hill, Fourth drought' trick.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Forgetting NITI Aayog's date
Only the name is remembered.
Wrong working
NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2014.
Right working
On 1 January 2015.
Do this: Link 2015 with 1 January.
Usually costs: 1 mark.

Exam tips

Define sectoral and regional planning in one line each before giving examples.
Use a two-column table for target area and target group programmes.
For DPAP always include the shift from civil works to watershed development.
Do not reproduce the Bharmaur case here; refer to it only as an example of a tribal area plan.

Practice questions on Sectoral and Regional Planning, Target Area and Target Group Programmes

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The Planning Commission was replaced by the NITI Aayog on:
(A) 15 August 1947
(B) 26 January 1950
(C) 1 January 2015
(D) 1 April 1951
Hint
New Year's Day.
Answer
(C) 1 January 2015.
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level
Name any two target area programmes and any one target group programme. (2 marks)
Hint
CDDH; SFDA, MFDA.
Answer
Target area programmes: any two of the Command Area Development, Drought Prone Area, Desert Development and Hill Area Development Programmes. Target group programme: Small Farmers Development Agency or Marginal Farmers Development Agency.
Q3 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): The Drought Prone Area Programme later stressed an integrated watershed approach.
Reason (R): Population pressure pushes people to cultivate marginal lands, causing ecological degradation.
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(C) (A) is true but (R) is false.
(D) (A) is false but (R) is true.
Hint
Why restore balance between water, soil and plants?
Answer
(A) Both are true and R explains A: NCERT advises the watershed approach because population pressure on marginal lands degrades ecology.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
The Planning Commission identified 67 drought-prone districts in 1967 and the Irrigation Commission added its criterion in 1972. Find the gap in years and state the criterion. If a district had 40 per cent of its area irrigated, would it qualify as drought-prone under that criterion? (3 marks)
Hint
Compare 40 with 30.
Answer
Gap = 1972 - 1967 = 5 years. The criterion is 30 per cent irrigated area; this page reads it as a district with irrigation at or below 30 per cent being demarcated drought-prone (an interpretation of NCERT's brief statement). A district with 40 per cent irrigated area is above 30 per cent and so would not be demarcated drought-prone on this basis.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
Which districts were covered when the Hill Area Development Programme began? Mention any four areas. (3 marks)
Hint
Uttar Pradesh hills, Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu.
Answer
The programme began in the Fifth Five Year Plan and covered 15 districts. These included all the hilly districts of Uttar Pradesh (present Uttarakhand), the Mikir Hills and North Cachar hills of Assam, the Darjeeling district of West Bengal and the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu.
Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
NCERT says that the Drought Prone Area Programme needs alternative employment opportunities and a watershed approach. Explain why with reference to population pressure. (3 marks)
Hint
Marginal land and ecological degradation.
Answer
Growing population pressure forces society to cultivate marginal lands, which causes ecological degradation. Dependence on agriculture alone is therefore risky, so alternative employment is needed. An integrated watershed approach at the micro-level restores the ecological balance between water, soil, plants and human and animal population.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.In which Five Year Plan did special area programmes for hills, the North-East and tribal areas appear?Show answer
The 8th Five Year Plan.
2.What height did the 1981 Committee suggest for backward hill areas?Show answer
Above 600 m.
3.Which Commission set the 30 per cent irrigated area criterion?Show answer
The Irrigation Commission (1972).
4.Which Tamil Nadu district was covered by the Hill Area Development Programme?Show answer
The Nilgiri district.
5.What did NITI Aayog replace?Show answer
The Planning Commission.

Sectoral and Regional Planning, Target Area and Target Group Programmes: frequently asked questions

Why can a resource-rich region still be backward?

Economic development needs technology and investment besides resources.

What is the difference between target area and target group?

Target area programmes aim at backward regions; target group programmes aim at groups such as small and marginal farmers.

Which areas does the Drought Prone Area Programme mainly cover?

Semi-arid and arid tracts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, western Madhya Pradesh, Marathwada, Rayalaseema and Telangana plateaus, Karnataka plateau and interior Tamil Nadu.

What is NITI Aayog's objective?

To involve states in economic policy making and give strategic and technical advice to the Centre and the States.