POLITICAL SCIENCE

ASSIGNMENT II-III

SUBMITTED BY:
GUNEET BHACHU
ROLL NO 16
PU-ISSER
DEVELOPMENT & PLANNING MODEL OF
INDIA: AN APPRAISAL
As in USSR, the planning commission of
India opted for five year plans (FYP).The
idea is simple: The government of India
prepares a document that has a plan of all
its income and expenditure for the next five
years. A five year plan has the advantage of
permitting the government to focus on the
larger picture and make long-intervention in
the economy. The draft of 5 yr plan and the
actual plan was released in December 1951.
People from all walks of life-academics,
journalists, government and private sector
employes, industrialists, farmers, politicians
etc discussed and debated the documents
extensively. The second five year came up
in 1956 followed by third yr plan in 1961.
The 4th plan was due in 1966. By this time
the novelty of planning had declined
considerably and moreover India was facing
acute economic crises. The government
then decided to take a “plan holiday”
(annual plans were made during this time
period).
FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN (1951-56)
The First Five Year Plan launched in 1951-52
was a 'ground preparing' exercise which gave
its primary attention to the achievement of
economic stability and elimination of shortage
of food and basic resources. The plan aimed at
increasing the rate of investment from 5 per
cent to 7 per cent of the national income. The
plan had the following objectives: (i) to restore
the economy which had run down as a result of
the war, to resist the inflationary pressures that
were prevalent, to build up the transport
system and to ease the food and raw materials
position. (ii) To initiate measures of social
justice on a wide scale, to build up a society
envisaged by the Constitution. (iii) to build up
administrative machinery to cope with the
massive programmes of reconstruction to
which the nation is committed.16 The basic aim
was to secure a balanced development in
different sectors of economy, agriculture on
scientific lines, cottage and small scale
industries, large scale consumer goods
industries and capital goods industries.
SECOND FIVE YEAR PLAN (1956-61)
the time of the Second Five Year Plan, however,
a major change was brought about, Indian
planners operated on the assumption of a low
elasticity of export demand accompanied by a
system of strict import allocation. It mainly
stressed on heavy industries. The plan was
introduced by PC Mahalanobis. During this plan
the congress party had declared itself as
“socialist party”. It was reflected in the 2nd 5 yr
plan. the government imposed substantial
tariffs on imports in order to protect domestic
industries as saving and investment were
growing in this period a bulk of these industries
like electricity,steel,railways,steel could be
developed in public sector.
THIRD 5 YEAR PLAN (1961-65)
The draft outline of the Third Five Year Plan
published in June 1960, keeps in view both our
basic social and economic objectives and
perspective of growth over the next 15 years.
The Third plan was being formulated with the
following aims.35 a) To secure an annual
increase in national income of over 5 per cent;
b) To achieve self sufficiency in food grains and
to increase agricultural production to meet the
requirements of industry and exports
c) To expand basic industries in order to meet
the requirements of further industrialization
d) To utilize to the fullest possible extent the
main power resources of the country and to
ensure substantial expansion in employment
opportunities.
FOURTH 5 YR PLAN (1969-74)
The Fourth Plan sought to avoid inflation,
improve people's consumption standard,
reduce economic and social disparities, to
provide avenues of employment to all who seek
them, and to accelerate the tempo of
development to ensure quicker progress
towards self-reliance. The rate was not less
than 6 per cent per annum.The finalization of
the fourth plan was delayed on account of the
situation created by the Indo-Pak war in 1965,
two successive years of severe drought,
devaluation of currency, general rise in prices.
FIFTH 5 YR PLAN (1974-79)
The Fifth Five Year Plan had two broad aims,
reducing poverty and achieving self-reliance.
The plan programmes were designed to raise
the level of consumption of the lowest 30 per
cent of the population. It also aimed at meeting
the foreign exchange requirements, other than
debt services charges, from the country's own
resources. The fifth plan was projected a target
rate of growth of five and a half per cent which
is higher than the rate of which the economy
has grown over the fourth plan.
CONCLUSION
India has not succeeded to solving the basic
problems of the Indian economy. The rate of
poverty and unemployment is increasing even
after we completed 9 five year plans. 'Although
government of India launched various poverty
alleviation programs they have not benefited
properly the people who were targeted. It is a
fact that the fruit of development in our
country is being appropriated by the affluent
sections in the country. It may be argued that
the very orientation of our economic policy is
biased towards the upper strata of the Indian
society. Though vast majority of the people are
living in rural areas nothing worthwhile has
been done to improve the living conditions of
the rural people of our country. Progress and
facilities were available only in the urban
centers of our country.