Five Year Plans — Set 9

Correct Answer: B. 1951

• **1951** = The First Five Year Plan in India was launched in 1951 for the period from 1951 to 1956. • **Presented by Nehru in Parliament** — It was presented by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in Parliament, allocating 44% of outlay to agriculture and irrigation. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: 1956: 1956 marks the end of the First Plan and start of the Second; 1950: the Planning Commission was established in 1950, but the First Plan was launched in 1951; 1947: 1947 is India's year of independence, not the start of the First Five Year Plan.

Correct Answer: D. Jawaharlal Nehru

• **Jawaharlal Nehru** = Jawaharlal Nehru was the first ex-officio Chairman of the Planning Commission by virtue of being the Prime Minister of India. • **Commission established March 1950** — The Planning Commission was established in March 1950 to formulate and oversee national five-year plans. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Gulzarilal Nanda: he was the first Deputy Chairman, not the Chairman of the Planning Commission; Sardar Patel: Patel was Deputy Prime Minister but not associated with the Planning Commission chairmanship; Dr. Rajendra Prasad: he was the first President of India, not the Chairman of the Planning Commission.

Correct Answer: B. Heavy Industries

• **Heavy Industries** = The Second Five Year Plan (1956-61) primarily focused on rapid industrialisation and the development of heavy industries. • **Mahalanobis capital goods model** — It was based on the Mahalanobis model which prioritised capital goods production over consumer goods to build a strong industrial base. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Agriculture: the First Five Year Plan (1951-56) emphasised agriculture, not the Second; Education: education was part of planning but was not the primary focus of the Second Plan; Tourism: tourism was not a focus area of the Second Five Year Plan.

Correct Answer: D. 1960s

• **1960s** = The Green Revolution began in the late 1960s during the Annual Plans period (1966-69) between the Third and Fourth Five Year Plans. • **HYV seeds by Swaminathan and Borlaug** — High-yielding variety seeds of wheat and rice were introduced through the work of M. S. Swaminathan and Norman Borlaug. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: 1950s: the 1950s was the First Plan era focused on basic agricultural infrastructure, not the Green Revolution; 1970s: by the 1970s the Green Revolution was already established; 1980s: the main impact of the Green Revolution was in the late 1960s and 1970s, not the 1980s.

Correct Answer: A. Twelfth Plan

• **Twelfth Plan** = The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) was the final five-year plan implemented in India. • **Replaced by NITI Aayog framework** — It was replaced by a 15-year vision document and 3-year action agenda formulated by NITI Aayog after the Planning Commission was dissolved in 2014. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Eleventh Plan: the Eleventh Plan ran from 2007-12 and was not the last; Tenth Plan: the Tenth Plan ran from 2002-07; Thirteenth Plan: no Thirteenth Five Year Plan was ever formulated or implemented.

Correct Answer: A. Fifth Plan

• **Fifth Plan** = The Rolling Plan was introduced in 1978 after the Fifth Five Year Plan was terminated one year early by the Janata Government. • **Morarji Desai government** — The Rolling Plan concept was introduced by the Janata Government led by PM Morarji Desai as a more flexible alternative to fixed five-year planning. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Fourth Plan: the Rolling Plan was introduced after the Fifth Plan, not the Fourth; Third Plan: the Third Plan ran its course and was followed by the Plan Holiday period; Sixth Plan: the Sixth Plan was introduced when Congress returned to power in 1980, ending the Rolling Plan era.

Correct Answer: A. P. C. Mahalanobis

• **P. C. Mahalanobis** = Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis is called the 'Architect of Indian Planning' for designing the industrialisation strategy of the Second Five Year Plan. • **Founded ISI in 1931** — He was a statistician who founded the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in 1931 and developed the two-sector Mahalanobis model of growth. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Jawaharlal Nehru: Nehru was the political driver of planning but Mahalanobis is the technical architect; M. Visvesvaraya: he wrote 'Planned Economy for India' in 1934 but is not specifically called the architect of Indian planning; Dadabhai Naoroji: he is known for the 'drain of wealth' theory, not economic planning.

Correct Answer: D. Fifth Plan

• **Fifth Plan** = The Fifth Five Year Plan (scheduled for 1974-79) was terminated in 1978 by the Janata Party government that came to power in 1977. • **Congress resumed in 1980** — The Congress government under Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980 and resumed the five-year plan format with the Sixth Plan. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Sixth Plan: the Sixth Plan ran its full course from 1980-85 and was not terminated; Third Plan: the Third Plan ran its full course but failed to meet growth targets; Fourth Plan: the Fourth Plan completed its scheduled term from 1969-74.

Correct Answer: B. 2015

• **2015** = NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) was formally established on 1 January 2015. • **Replaced Planning Commission** — It replaced the Planning Commission that had been in existence since 1950, adopting a more cooperative and bottom-up approach to development. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: 2016: NITI Aayog was established on 1 January 2015, not 2016; 2014: it was announced in December 2014 but formally established on 1 January 2015; 2017: NITI Aayog was well-established before 2017.

Correct Answer: C. Indira Gandhi

• **Indira Gandhi** = Indira Gandhi coined the 'Garibi Hatao' (Remove Poverty) slogan during her 1971 general election campaign. • **Became Fifth Plan's central objective** — This theme became the central objective of the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79). • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Lal Bahadur Shastri: he is known for 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan', not 'Garibi Hatao'; Jawaharlal Nehru: Nehru's slogans related to industrialisation and socialism, not poverty removal; Rajiv Gandhi: he is associated with modernisation and the computer revolution, not the 'Garibi Hatao' slogan.