Planning in India has been conceived as a multi-layered and multi-level process to address the vast diversity of its population, regions, and socio-economic conditions. Given the size of the country and the wide rural–urban divide, planning has evolved through different levels so that national objectives can be translated into regional, local, and grassroots action. These levels of planning are interrelated and together aim to achieve balanced development, social justice, and sustainable growth, especially in rural areas where disparities have historically been acute. At the national level, planning occupies the apex position and provides the overall vision, priorities, and framework for development. This level of planning is concerned with the macro-economic and macro-social objectives of the country, such as economic growth, poverty reduction, employment generation, reduction of regional inequalities, and social welfare. In India, national planning emerged after independence with the establishment of the Planning Commission in 1950, which was later replaced by the NITI Aayog in 2015. National planning involves setting long-term goals, formulating medium-term strategies, and identifying key sectors for investment and reform. It also involves the allocation of resources among states and sectors, balancing between agriculture, industry, services, infrastructure, and social development. From the perspective of rural development, national planning plays a critical role in shaping policies related to agriculture, irrigation, rural employment, land reforms, poverty alleviation, education, health, and rural infrastructure. National plans provide a unified direction, ensuring that development efforts across states and regions move toward common national objectives while responding to challenges such as food security, rural livelihoods, and inclusive growth. Below the national level lies state-level planning, which is of immense importance in a federal structure like India. States differ widely in terms of natural resources, demographic composition, economic base, and level of development. State-level planning translates national objectives into region-specific strategies that reflect local needs and priorities. Each state prepares its own development plans, often aligned with national goals but adapted to its unique socio-economic conditions. State planning focuses on sectoral development within the state, such as agriculture, rural industries, irrigation, education, health, transport, and power. In the context of rural development, state governments play a decisive role in implementing agricultural policies, managing land and water resources, running rural development schemes, and strengthening local institutions. State-level planning also involves intra-state resource allocation to address regional imbalances, for example, between developed and backward districts. By tailoring development strategies to local realities, state planning ensures that national policies do not remain abstract but become actionable and relevant on the ground. Regional planning occupies an intermediate position between state and local levels and focuses on specific regions that may cut across administrative boundaries or represent distinct geographic, economic, or cultural units. The objective of regional planning is to reduce spatial disparities and promote balanced development by addressing the special problems of particular regions. In India, regional planning has been applied to backward regions, tribal areas, drought-prone regions, hill areas,