Sixth Social, Economic and Cultural Development Plan 2017-2021

This Plan consists of 20 Chapters divided into 124 articles: Macroeconomics (I); Budget and Public Finance (II); Business Environment, Privatization and Free Trade Zones (III); Monetary and Banking System and Financial Resources (IV); Rural Development and Empowerment of the Vulnerable Population (V); Administrative System, Transparency and Anti-Corruption (VI); Agriculture (VII); Water (VIII); Environment and Natural Resources (IX); Energy, Industry and Mining (X); Transport and Housing (XI); Public Education, Higher Education, Science and Technology (XII); Communication and Information Technology (XIII); Health, Insurance, Women and Family (XIV); Social Insurance, Social Protection and Social Damages (XV); Veterans Affairs (XVI); Culture, Art and Sport (XVII); Political Affairs, Defense and Security (XVIII); Legal Affairs (XIX); Monitoring and Evaluation (XX). The following topics are considered as the core issues of the Plan: water and environmental issues; recreation and improvement of inefficient urban areas, historical areas and rural areas; special economic matters in mining, agriculture, tourism, transit, new technology, development and energy; empowerment of vulnerable social groups; improve defense and security. The Government is responsible to combat water shortage through the development of modern irrigation systems, increasing the efficiency of the agriculture sector, producing crops compatible with salinity and drought, supporting the transfer of open space cultivation to controlled greenhouses, development of the fishing infrastructure and sustainable management of wastewater. The Government should modify drinking water use patterns and increase the systems efficiency in order to produce at least 30% of the required drinking water for the southern parts of the country through desalination by 2021. The Government should take necessary measures to preserve, manage and restore wetlands, especially the ones registered by the Ramsar Convention. The Government is obliged to recognize and exploit all the potentials of rural areas, improve the social status of villagers, promote the role of rural areas in the national economy and facilitate the development of rural areas. Regarding the economic development, the Government is required to prepare a development action plan for 5000 villages per year, considering the unique local, environmental and economic capacities of each village, with special attention to rural employment. For the infrastructure development, the Plan requires the Government to improve and expand rural waste disposal and sewage disposal systems, to integrate various plans for rural areas, nomads and agriculture development and to pay particular attention to border villages. The Plan also necessitates the recognition of rural areas that are in danger of natural disasters and to make rural buildings safe and resistant. The Government shall take necessary measures to ensure food security, achieve self-sufficiency in basic agriculture, livestock and aquaculture products to 95% by the end of this Development Plan, increase the export of agricultural products, and improve water and soil quality. The Plan also requires the Government to increase the financial support to agriculture development through: establishment and improvement of multipurpose technical warehouses; creation of new agricultural funds and increase financial resources of the existing funds; provision of exportation incentives; improvement of livestock insurance coverage against communicable diseases; and relevant education especially in water use management and protection of environment and natural resources. To increase the safety and resilience of the society, prevent and reduce the risks of natural and man-made disasters, and provide humanitarian services, the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran take the following actions: promote social capacities through increase in people’s participation and use of people’s potential; develop the relief and rescue mechanism; reduce risk and grow society’s resilience through public education.