Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-01-02
BY RICHARD CRITCHFIELD
Special to The Star

NEW DELHI - Embattled
India, while regearing It's econ
omy to defend its northern
borders from future Chinese
attacks, is going to try to reach
most Of its vitally-needed
peacetime economic targets as
well.
midas economic planners,
whose talks here are now en-
tering the advanced stages, are
determined to avoid scaling
down the overall production or
investment targets of the
country's third five-year-p plan,
now ending It's second year.
In fact, Prime Minister ia
waharlal Nehru's nine-man
Planning Commission is only
re-examining the planning tar
gets for next year. There is no
attempt to revise the third
plan as a whole.
Top consideration is defense
spending. midas 500.000-man
army is being doubled as fast
as possible to meet an enemy
of 2.5 million battle-ready
troops and an estimated 80
million more in Chinese reserve
military training units. China
500, 000-man air force alone is
equivalent to midas present
total defense force. OF these
10000 men are thought to be
jet-trained to man China
1000 planes, including MIG
los and old-model bombers
supplied by Russia.
Defense Spending to Double
The Indian government has
made the broad decision to
double its current annual de-
Tense expenditure Of $500 mil
lion a year. The planners an
ticipate raising about $400 mil
lion Of this by curtailing some
construction and spending Of
social services but hope to
match this amount in aid from
abroad.
The United States and Brit
ain have so far flown in about
$50 million worth of emergency
arms aid. But this amount,
coupled with the 500 million
to $120 million in military
equipment to be given to In
dia by the United States and
the Commonwealth nations
under an agreement readied in
Nassau is still strikingly short
Of what India hopes to receive.
The plain truth is that In
dia's economic planning is on
a modest scale to start with
and when the rate of growth
dropped from IL per cent to
% per cent last year, coupled
with midas population grow
ing at 2 per cent annually. it
became clear that the country
could not afford any cutback
in its industrial or agricultural
targets.
Emphasis on Heavy Industry
The Planning Commission
here is deciding to give highest
priority to heavy engineering
heavy electricals, heavy ma
chine tools and plates and
structurals projects next year
Fertilizer plans have also been
given high priority.
A Commission spokesman
said that as long as India S
production of food, cloth and
other essential commodities
can be kept up to the level of
the third plan targets, the pay
and allowances to the double
sized army will not impinge the
development process.
The big change in India S
economy will be one of reori-
entation rather than reduction.
All trucks and jeeps will be
taken off the civilian market
for military use. Machine tools
and road rollers will be
switched from civilian use to
armament factories and build
ing roads in the northern from
tier areas.
In the next few months, the
Indian consumer will feel the
pinch as such standard of liv-
ing indicators as cars and re-
frigerators go off the market.
Buyers will discover not only a
dwindling supply of luxury
goods, but of motorcycles and
bikes and wooden textiles as
these industries are being
turned over for defense use