Five Year Plans — Set 4

Correct Answer: B. 1985-1990

• **1985-1990** = The Seventh Five Year Plan was implemented from 1985 to 1990. • **Food, Work and Productivity** — It prioritised 'Food, Work and Productivity' as its main themes and achieved a healthy 6% growth rate. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: 1980-1985: this was the period of the Sixth Five Year Plan; 1990-1995: two Annual Plans (1990-92) were followed by the Eighth Plan starting in 1992; 1974-1979: this was the scheduled period of the Fifth Five Year Plan.

Correct Answer: A. Fifth Plan

• **Fifth Plan** = The 'Garibi Hatao' slogan was formally incorporated as a core objective in the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-78). • **Poverty alleviation focus** — The plan aimed at poverty alleviation, self-reliance, and reduced dependence on foreign aid. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Seventh Plan: the Seventh Plan focused on 'Food, Work and Productivity', not Garibi Hatao; Sixth Plan: the Sixth Plan targeted poverty through IRDP; Fourth Plan: the Fourth Plan focused on stability and bank nationalisation.

Correct Answer: A. Eighth Plan

• **Eighth Plan** = The Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-97) is known as the Rao-Manmohan Model plan, launched under PM P. V. Narasimha Rao with Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister. • **LPG reforms of 1991** — It formally embraced the Liberalisation, Privatisation, and Globalisation (LPG) reforms and shifted India from command to market economy. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Ninth Plan: it was formulated under the United Front government, not the Rao-Manmohan duo; Seventh Plan: it was launched under Rajiv Gandhi's government in 1985; Tenth Plan: it was launched under PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002.

Correct Answer: A. Second Plan

• **Second Plan** = The Second Five Year Plan (1956-61) emphasised the development of small-scale and cottage industries alongside heavy industry. • **Karve Committee 1955** — It followed the recommendations of the Village and Small-Scale Industries (Karve) Committee of 1955. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: First Plan: the First Plan focused on agriculture, irrigation, and large projects; Third Plan: the Third Plan aimed at industrial self-reliance and military preparedness; Fourth Plan: the Fourth Plan focused on agricultural modernisation and bank nationalisation.

Correct Answer: B. 1952

• **1952** = The National Development Council was set up on 6 August 1952. • **Apex review body** — Its purpose was to strengthen and mobilise national effort and resources in support of the national plan. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: 1950: the Planning Commission was established in 1950, not the NDC; 1956: the Industrial Policy Resolution was announced in 1956, not the NDC setup; 1954: the NDC was established in 1952, not 1954.

Correct Answer: B. Third Plan

• **Third Plan** = The Third Five Year Plan (1961-66) aimed to make the Indian economy self-reliant and self-generating, moving beyond dependence on foreign aid. • **Take-off stage intended** — It aimed to reach the 'take-off' stage of economic development as described by W. W. Rostow's stages of growth model. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Second Plan: the Second Plan aimed at rapid industrialisation through the Mahalanobis model; Fifth Plan: the Fifth Plan focused on poverty removal with the Garibi Hatao slogan; Fourth Plan: the Fourth Plan focused on stability and growth after wars.

Correct Answer: A. Sixth Plan

• **Sixth Plan** = The Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85) focused on poverty alleviation through the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP). • **Rural poor asset provision** — IRDP aimed to provide productive assets like land, livestock, and equipment to the rural poor to help them cross the poverty line. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Seventh Plan: the Seventh Plan focused on 'Food, Work and Productivity' and employment generation; Fifth Plan: the Fifth Plan focused on Garibi Hatao and the Minimum Needs Programme; Eighth Plan: the Eighth Plan focused on human resource development and LPG reforms.

Correct Answer: B. 1990-1992

• **1990-1992** = India implemented two Annual Plans from 1990 to 1992 due to a severe balance of payments crisis and political instability. • **Eighth Plan delayed by 2 years** — The Eighth Plan could not be launched on schedule in 1990, so two consecutive annual plans (1990-91 and 1991-92) were implemented instead. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: 1978-1980: this was the Rolling Plan period introduced after the Fifth Plan was terminated; 1969-1971: these years fall within the Fourth Five Year Plan period; 1966-1968: this period falls within the Plan Holiday (1966-69).

Correct Answer: B. Jawaharlal Nehru

• **Jawaharlal Nehru** = The National Planning Committee (NPC) was set up in 1938 under the presidency of Subhash Chandra Bose with Jawaharlal Nehru as its Chairman. • **First pre-independence planning attempt** — This was the first organised attempt at economic planning in pre-independent India. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Sardar Patel: Patel was not associated with the chairmanship of the NPC; Subhash Chandra Bose: he presided over the INC session that set up the NPC but Nehru was appointed its chairman; Purushottamdas Thakurdas: he was one of the industrialists behind the Bombay Plan, not the NPC.

Correct Answer: D. First Plan

• **First Plan** = India was the first country in the world to launch a national family planning programme, doing so in 1952 during the First Five Year Plan. • **1952 launch** — It aimed to stabilise the population at a level consistent with the requirements of the national economy. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Third Plan: the family planning programme was adopted in the First Plan, not the Third; Fourth Plan: the family planning programme was already operational long before the Fourth Plan; Second Plan: the programme was first adopted in the First Plan (1951-56).