Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for a separate meeting of the full Planning Commission to discuss development strategy for backward states. This follows an intervention made by Railway minister Lalu Prasad in the Commission's meeting last week stating that the mid-term appraisal (MTA) of the Tenth Plan did not sufficiently reflect the requirements of backward states. Taking note of Mr Prasad's point, Dr Singh asked the Planning Commission to prepare a strategy paper on the issue. He said the full Planning Commission should meet again to discuss the paper on backward states.