Planning is the widely accepted strategy for judicious use of resources. That is, to balance the access of resources to the people so that everyone can consume them properly.

It has importance in India, which has enormous diversity in the availability of resources. There are regions which are rich in certain types of resources but are deficient in some other resources.

Example, the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are rich in minerals and coal deposits. Arunachal Pradesh has abundance of water resources but lacks in infrastructural development. The state of Rajasthan is very well endowed with solar and wind energy but lacks in water resources.