What is a Plan?
Plan means thinking in advance what is to be done, how it is to be done and by whom it should be done.
What is a Plan in Economics?
A Plan is a list of goals an economy wants to achieve in a period of time
A plan spells out
How resources of a nation should be put to use
It has both general goals as well as specific objectives that are to be achieved over a period of time
How were Plans made by Indian Govt?
In India
Government made Plans for 5 year duration
These were called 5 Year plans
Note
India's plans did not specify each and every good that had to be produced
This was neither possible nor necessary
It specified only sectors where government will play a key role
Example - Power Generation Sector etc
What are Perspective Plans?
These were plans which specified long term objectives of economy over a period of 20 years
Our plan documents till 2017 not only specified what is to be achieved over next 5 years but also what were the
objectives to be achieved over the next 20 years
These 5 year plans formed the basis of perspective plans
When did 5 year Plans start in India
Five year Plan Duration
First 1951-56
Second 1956-61 -->This was called PC Mahanobis Model
Third 1961-66
Plan Holiday 1966-69
Fourth 1969-74
What was Plan Holiday
Plan Holiday Period was 1966-69
The government had to declare "plan holidays" (from 1966 to 1969) due to miserable failure of the Third Plan.
Which agency devised these 5 years Plans in India?
Planning Commission which was set up in 1950
Its Chairperson was the Prime Minister
National Development Council was established on 6 August 1952 to strengthen and consolidate national efforts
and resources to fund the Five Year Plan of the Planning Commission.
What was P.C. Mahalanobis Model?
This model of plan was Indianized from old Russian Model by scientist and statistician PC Mahalanobis in 1953
Mahalanobis model was used as framework for India's Second Five-Year Plan in 1955
Objective was to Industrialize the country by Govt investment in industry
What were the Goals of 5 Year Plans?
Goals of 5 Year plans were
1. Growth
It means increase in capacity to produce goods and service
2. Modernization
It means use of New technology for Increase in Output
3. Self Reliance
It means using own resources instead of resources imported from other nations
4. Equity
It means social justice and fairness to all sectors of society
Lets learn about these in Detail one by one
NCERT Questions
Question 1
Define a plan.
View AnswerA Plan is a list of goals an economy wants to achieve in a period of time
Question 2
Why did India opt for planning?
View AnswerAfter Independence, government had the challenge to revive the stagnant and backward Indian Economy.
So, for a systematic revival of the Indian economy they opted for planning.
Question 3
Why should plans have goals?
View AnswerA Plan is a list of goals an economy wants to achieve in a period of time.
It has both general goals as well as specific objectives that are to be achieved over a period of time.
Without goals, one cannot measure the progress of an economy over a period of time.
MCQ Other Books
In the following questions, select the correct answers:
Question 1
When was the Planning commission set up?
- 1949
- 1950
- 1956
- 1850
B. 1950
Explanation
Planning Commission which was set up in 1950
Its Chairperson was the Prime Minister
Question 2
Which of the following is a goal of five year plan?
- Growth
- Green Revolution
- Land Reforms
- Modernization
A. Growth
D. Modernization
Explanation
Goals of 5 Year plans were:
1. Growth
It means increase in capacity to produce goods and service
2. Modernization
It means use of New technology for Increase in Output
3. Self Reliance
It means using own resources instead of resources imported from other nations
4. Equity
It means social justice and fairness to all sectors of society
Question 3
The first five year plan was launched for a period from ______.
- 1948 - 1953
- 1959 - 1954
- 1951 - 1956
- 1955 - 1960
C. 1951 - 1956
Question 4
What was the Period of Plans prepared by the Planning Commission?
- 3 years
- 4 years
- 5 years
- 6 years
C. 5 years
Explanation
In India, Government made Plans for 5 year duration
These were called 5 Year plans.
Question 5
Indian Planning Commission was constituted in:
- 1947
- 1950
- 1951
- 1971
B. 1950
Explanation
Planning Commission which was set up in 1950
Its Chairperson was the Prime Minister
The 1st five year plan was 1951-56
Question 6
National Development Council has been Constituted in:
- 1950
- 1947
- 1951
- 1952
D. 1952
Explanation
It was established on 6 August 1952 to strengthen and consolidate national efforts and resources to fund the Five Year Plan of the Planning Commission.
Question 7
First Five Year Plan was started on:
- 15th August, 1947
- 1st April, 1951
- 2nd October, 1956
- 1st July, 1962
B. 1st April, 1951
Explanation
Planning Commission which was set up in 1950
Its Chairperson was the Prime Minister
The 1st five year plan was 1951-56.
Question 8
Plan Holiday Period was:
- 1961-64
- 1966-69
- 1972-75
- 1978-81
B. 1966-69
Explanation
Plan Holiday Period was 1966-69
The government had to declare "plan holidays" (from 1966 to 1969)
due to miserable failure of the Third Plan.
Question 9
Mahalanobis Model was adopted in Indian Planning in:
- First Plan
- Second Plan
- Third Plan
- Fourth Plan
B. Second Plan
Explanation
Mahalanobis model was created as a review framework for India's Second Five-Year Plan in 1955
as India saw the need to introduce a formal-plan model after the First Five Year Plan (1951-1956).
Question 10
Which of the following statements is not true about the Planning commission?
- The Planning Commission of India was established on 15th March, 1952.
- Its objective was to evaluate the physical, capital and human resources and on this basis make programmes for the Plan Development and its evaluation.
- The Planning Commission of India has now been dissolved in 2015.
- It was replaced by National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.
A. The Planning Commission of India was established on 15th March, 1952.
Explanation
Planning Commission which was set up in 1950
Question 11
Match the following items in Column A to those in Column B and choose the correct alternative:
Column A | Column B | |||||||||
1. Prime Minister | (a) Chairperson of Planning Commission | |||||||||
2. GDP | (b) Quantity of goods that can be imported | |||||||||
3. Quota | (c) The money value of all final goods and services produced within the economy in one year | |||||||||
4. Land Reforms | (d) Improvements in the field of agriculture to increase its productivity |
- 1 – (a)
- 2 – (b)
- 3 – (c)
- 4 – (d)
A. 1 – (a)
Explanation
Planning Commission which was set up in 1950
Its Chairperson was the Prime Minister