Outlining his views on planning for an economy, he said, "until such time as India becomes a capital surplus country, investment planning in the sense of working out the investment needs of different sectors of the economy in order to ensure inter-sectoral consistency continues to be valid".

Pant indicated that the single largest user of the plan projections was the private sector which helped them make investment decisions.

"The single biggest challenge before Indian planners in the next decade will be to provide employment to a labour force which is growing faster than ever before," he said at a lecture on "India's planning in the next millennium" organised by the All India Association of Industries (AIAI).

Quantifying the gravity of the situation, Pant said the country faced thepossibility of adding 20 lakh people to the unemployed ranks each year which could lead to social unrest and deterioration in law and order.

The ninth plan document in keeping with the new economic realities did not lay down investment pattern in a rigid manner, he said adding it only indicated the sectoral needs, the investment that is likely to occur and thereby the areas which may receive excessive or insufficient resources.

"No development strategy can be successful unless each component of the economy works towards a common purpose with the full realisation of the role it has to play within an overall structure of responsibilities," Pant said.

Planning commission had a pivotal role to play in coordinating the activities of the central and state governments, he said. The commission was currently carrying out mid-term review of the ninth plan which would make the macro-economic picture of the country clear, Pant revealed.

A planning system should foster an environment of innovation, he saidpointing to the adverse effect of absence of a conducive policy climate on technological innovation.

Pant said development should be balanced by the need for preservation of environment.