Planning

Which among the following statements with regard to Five Year Plans in India is/are correct ?

• 1. The First and Ninth five year plans accorded high priority to agriculture
• 2. The Third Plan was based on the Harrod-Domar Model
• 3. Seventh Plan focused on food, work and productivity
• 4. The Ninth five year plan emphasized on massive investments in public sector

Select the answer using the code given below :

[amp_mcq option1=”1 only” option2=”1 and 3″ option3=”3 and 4″ option4=”1, 2 and 4″ correct=”option2″]

Statement 1 is correct. The First Five Year Plan (1951-1956) accorded high priority to agriculture, aiming to overcome food shortages and address inflationary pressures. The Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) also emphasized agriculture and rural development as a key area for achieving the goal of ‘Growth with Social Justice and Equity’. Statement 3 is correct. The Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-1990) had ‘Food, Work and Productivity’ as its main objectives, focusing on generating productive employment and increasing food production. Statement 2 is incorrect. The First Five Year Plan was based on the Harrod-Domar model. The Third Plan (1961-1966) used aspects of the Mahalanobis model and faced significant challenges. Statement 4 is incorrect. The Ninth Five Year Plan, operating in the post-liberalization era, emphasized economic reforms, efficiency, productivity, and encouraging the private sector, rather than massive investments solely in the public sector as was characteristic of earlier plans.

The First Plan prioritized agriculture, and the Seventh Plan focused on food, work, and productivity. The models used and the emphasis on public vs. private sector investment varied across plans.

The First Plan focused on primary sector development. The Second Plan focused on rapid industrialization (Mahalanobis model). The Third Plan aimed at self-sufficiency in food grains and expansion of basic industries. The Seventh Plan was formulated during the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi.

Who among the following is known as the architect of Indian planning ?

[amp_mcq option1=”V.K.R.V. Rao” option2=”Sukhamoy Chakravarty” option3=”P.C. Mahalanobis” option4=”John Mathai” correct=”option3″]

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis is widely regarded as the “architect of Indian planning”. He played a pivotal role in formulating India’s Second Five Year Plan (1956-1961), which focused on heavy industries and the Mahalanobis model. He also founded the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) and contributed significantly to statistics and economic planning in India.

P.C. Mahalanobis designed the statistical framework and the investment strategy for India’s Second Five Year Plan, which laid the foundation for industrialization.

V.K.R.V. Rao was a prominent economist who contributed to national income accounting and development economics. Sukhamoy Chakravarty was an economist known for his work on planning models. John Mathai was India’s first Railway Minister and later Finance Minister. While all contributed to India’s economic discourse, Mahalanobis is specifically credited with shaping the early planning framework.

Which Five Year Plan of India focused on rapid industrialization based growth process ?

[amp_mcq option1=”First Five Year Plan” option2=”Second Five Year Plan” option3=”Fifth Five Year Plan” option4=”Seventh Five Year Plan” correct=”option2″]

The First Five Year Plan (1951-1956) primarily focused on agriculture and irrigation. The Second Five Year Plan (1956-1961), based on the Mahalanobis model, shifted the focus towards rapid industrialization, particularly emphasizing the development of heavy industries and infrastructure. The Fifth (1974-1979) focused on poverty eradication and self-reliance. The Seventh (1985-1990) aimed at growth in foodgrains production, employment, and productivity.

The Second Five Year Plan is known for its focus on rapid industrialization and heavy industries.

The Second Five Year Plan laid the foundation for India’s industrial structure by establishing large public sector undertakings in steel, coal, machine building, etc.

Consider the following events :

• Establishment of the Planning Commission
• Formation of the National Development Council (NDC)
• Approval of the First Five-Year Plan by the NDC
• Constitution of the National Planning Committee

Which one of the following is the correct sequence of the above events?

[amp_mcq option1=”1-2-3-4″ option2=”2-1-3-4″ option3=”4-1-2-3″ option4=”1-4-2-3″ correct=”option3″]

The correct chronological sequence of the given events is Constitution of the National Planning Committee (1938), Establishment of the Planning Commission (1950), Formation of the National Development Council (NDC) (1952), and Approval of the First Five-Year Plan by the NDC (after 1952).

The National Planning Committee was set up in 1938 under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru by the Indian National Congress, marking an early conceptualization of planning in India. After independence, the Planning Commission was established in March 1950 by a Resolution of the Government of India as an advisory body to formulate Five-Year Plans. The First Five-Year Plan was launched in 1951. The National Development Council (NDC) was constituted in August 1952 as the highest body below the Union Cabinet for planning and approval of plans. The NDC reviews and approves national plans, including the Five-Year Plans. Although the First Plan was launched in 1951, its formal approval and oversight fell under the purview of the NDC once it was formed in 1952.

The National Planning Committee (1938) represented pre-independence efforts towards economic planning. The Planning Commission was the central body for drafting plans post-independence, which was replaced by the NITI Aayog in 2015. The National Development Council served as a link between the Union government, state governments, and the Planning Commission for plan formulation and approval.

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists :

List I (Major Objective)	List II (Five Year Plan)
A. Faster and more inclusive growth	1. First
B. Faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth	2. Fifth
C. Correction of disequilibrium caused by Second World War	3. Eleventh
D. Attaining self-reliance	4. Twelfth

Code :

	A	B	C	D
(a)	3	1	4	2
(b)	3	4	1	2
(c)	2	4	1	3
(d)	2	1	4	3

[amp_mcq option1=”(a) 3 1 4 2″ option2=”(b) 3 4 1 2″ option3=”(c) 2 4 1 3″ option4=”(d) 2 1 4 3″ correct=”option2″]

The correct match is A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2.

Matching the objectives with the respective Five Year Plans:
A. Faster and more inclusive growth: This was the stated objective of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012).
B. Faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth: Sustainability was added to the objective in the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017).
C. Correction of disequilibrium caused by Second World War: The First Five Year Plan (1951-1956) in India focused on rehabilitation after Partition and World War II, addressing inflation, food shortages, and agricultural development.
D. Attaining self-reliance: While a general goal, attaining self-reliance became a more prominent and explicit objective alongside poverty alleviation in the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-1979).

The Five Year Plans in India evolved their objectives over time, reflecting the changing economic context and national priorities. From focusing on basic infrastructure and agriculture initially, they later shifted emphasis to industrialization, poverty reduction, self-reliance, and eventually faster, more inclusive, and sustainable growth.

The call for Garibi Hatao was incorporated in

[amp_mcq option1=”Fourth Five Year Plan” option2=”Fifth Five Year Plan” option3=”Sixth Five Year Plan” option4=”Seventh Five Year Plan” correct=”option2″]

The call for ‘Garibi Hatao’ was incorporated into the Fifth Five Year Plan.

The slogan “Garibi Hatao Desh Bachao” (Remove Poverty, Save the Country) was given by Indira Gandhi during the 1971 general election. The objectives derived from this slogan, primarily poverty alleviation and achieving self-reliance, formed the core strategy and aims of the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-1979).

While poverty was implicitly addressed in earlier plans through growth strategies, the Fifth Plan made its removal a specific, explicit objective. The plan aimed at a significant step-up in the rate of growth, better distribution of income, and a significant increase in the domestic rate of savings to reduce dependence on foreign aid.

The principal component(s) of Nehru-Mahalanobis strategy of economic development was/were

• 1. Restructuring economic dependency on metropolitan capitalism into independent economic development.
• 2. Transition from semi-feudal agriculture to capitalist farming.

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

[amp_mcq option1=”1 only” option2=”2 only” option3=”Both 1 and 2″ option4=”Neither 1 nor 2″ correct=”option1″]

A

The Nehru-Mahalanobis strategy, primarily associated with the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61), focused heavily on rapid industrialization with an emphasis on basic and heavy industries within a mixed economy framework, dominated by the public sector. Statement 1, “Restructuring economic dependency on metropolitan capitalism into independent economic development,” accurately reflects a core objective of this strategy: to build a self-reliant industrial base to reduce dependence on developed Western economies for manufactured goods and technology through import substitution. Statement 2, “Transition from semi-feudal agriculture to capitalist farming,” describes a process of agricultural transformation, which was a separate, albeit related, goal often pursued through land reforms during this period. However, the *principal component* of the Nehru-Mahalanobis *strategy of economic development* specifically refers to the industrial planning model focused on heavy industries for self-reliance, making statement 1 the correct principal component related to the strategy itself.

P.C. Mahalanobis was a statistician and a close advisor to Jawaharlal Nehru. His model provided the theoretical basis for the Second Five Year Plan. Key features included: emphasis on heavy industries, public sector dominance, rapid growth, import substitution, and a closed economy model to achieve self-sufficiency. While agricultural development was also important, the defining characteristic of this strategy was the focus on industrial structure.

The Nehru-Mahalanobis Strategy of Development was implemented for the first time by which one of the following Five-Year Plans?

[amp_mcq option1=”First Five-Year Plan” option2=”Second Five-Year Plan” option3=”Third Five-Year Plan” option4=”Seventh Five-Year Plan” correct=”option2″]

The correct answer is the Second Five-Year Plan.

The Nehru-Mahalanobis strategy, focusing on rapid industrialization with an emphasis on the development of heavy industries, was the core approach adopted for the Second Five-Year Plan (1956-1961).

The First Five-Year Plan (1951-1956) was based on the Harrod-Domar model and focused primarily on agriculture, irrigation, and power. The Second Plan marked a significant shift towards an industrial base.

Which one of the following was set as a target of average growth of GDP of India over the plan period 2012 – 2017 by the Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan ?

[amp_mcq option1=”7 percent” option2=”8 percent” option3=”9 percent” option4=”10 percent” correct=”option3″]

The Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) initially set a target for average annual GDP growth rate of 9 percent for the plan period. This target was ambitious and was later revised downwards due to prevailing domestic and global economic conditions.

The Twelfth Five Year Plan’s original growth target, as outlined in the Approach Paper, was 9%.

The actual growth rate achieved during the 12th Plan period was significantly lower than the initial target, closer to 7% on average, reflecting economic slowdowns. The Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015, midway through the 12th Plan period. The 12th Plan was the last formal Five Year Plan in India.

Which one of the following statements regarding the objectives of the Second Five-Year Plan is not correct ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Development of the basic and heavy industry sector” option2=”Increase in national income to raise living standards” option3=”Expansion of the consumer goods sector” option4=”Expansion of employment opportunities” correct=”option3″]

The expansion of the consumer goods sector was not a primary objective of the Second Five-Year Plan.

The Second Five-Year Plan (1956-1961), based on the Mahalanobis model, focused strongly on rapid industrialization, particularly emphasizing the development of basic and heavy industries (capital goods industries). Other key objectives included increasing national income to raise living standards, large-scale expansion of employment opportunities, and reducing income inequalities. The emphasis was on building the industrial base, with less direct focus on the immediate expansion of the consumer goods sector.

The focus on heavy industries was intended to make India self-sufficient in the long run, but it sometimes led to neglect of agriculture and consumer goods production in the short term. Option C directly contradicts the plan’s primary focus on capital goods industries.