Five Year Plans were the centralised, time-bound programmes for India's economic and social development. India ran twelve Five Year Plans from 1951 to 2017 through the Planning Commission. The themes and key facts of major plans are common exam questions.
Planning Framework
- The Planning Commission was set up in 1950 with the Prime Minister as chairman.
- The plans were modelled on the Soviet idea of planned development.
- The National Development Council (NDC) approved the plans.
- In 2015, the Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog.
Important Plans
- First Plan (1951-56) - based on the Harrod-Domar model; focused on agriculture and irrigation; the most successful early plan.
- Second Plan (1956-61) - based on the Mahalanobis model; focused on heavy industries.
- Fourth Plan (1969-74) - aimed at growth with stability and self-reliance.
- Fifth Plan (1974-79) - focus on poverty removal (Garibi Hatao).
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Later Plans
- Eighth Plan (1992-97) - followed the 1991 reforms; focus on human resource development.
- Eleventh Plan (2007-12) - theme of 'inclusive growth'.
- Twelfth Plan (2012-17) - 'faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth'; the last Five Year Plan.
- There was a Plan Holiday from 1966 to 1969 due to war and drought.
End of Planning Era
- NITI Aayog now works through long-term vision documents instead of fixed plans.
- Plans helped build dams, steel plants and the green revolution base.
Quick Revision Points
- First Five Year Plan: 1951-56, on agriculture, Harrod-Domar model.
- Second Plan: heavy industry, Mahalanobis model.
- Plan Holiday: 1966-1969.
- Fifth Plan focus: poverty removal.
- Eleventh and Twelfth Plans: inclusive growth.
- Twelfth Plan (2012-17) was the last.
- Planning Commission replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015.