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Question 4 of 8 · Planning in India & NITI Aayog
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India's First Five-Year Plan mainly focused on the development of:

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Answer: Option C — Agriculture (primary sector)

Detailed Solution

India's First Five-Year Plan covered the period from 1 April 1951 to 31 March 1956. It was presented to Parliament by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who was also the Chairman of the Planning Commission, in 1951. Gulzarilal Nanda was the Deputy Chairman.

At the time of Independence, India faced serious problems: a severe shortage of food grains, the effects of Partition (refugees and the loss of fertile irrigated land and jute areas to Pakistan), inflation and poverty. India had to import food grains. Therefore, the First Plan gave the highest priority to agriculture, irrigation and power. About 31% of the plan outlay went to agriculture and community development, and a large share to irrigation and energy projects.

Major projects of the First Plan period include:

  • The Bhakra-Nangal Dam on the Sutlej river (Punjab and Himachal Pradesh), which Nehru called one of the "temples of modern India".
  • The Damodar Valley Corporation (1948) and the Hirakud Dam on the Mahanadi (Odisha).
  • The Community Development Programme, launched on 2 October 1952, for rural development.
  • Land reforms, including the abolition of zamindari.

The Plan was based on the Harrod-Domar model, which explains economic growth in terms of savings and investment. It was largely drafted by the economist K.N. Raj. It targeted a growth rate of 2.1% per year and achieved about 3.6%, exceeding its target, helped by good monsoons.

Some important institutions were also set up in this period, such as the first Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur (1951) and the University Grants Commission (1953).

The Second Plan (1956-61) shifted the focus to heavy industries under the Mahalanobis model. After twelve Five-Year Plans (1951-2017), the Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Heavy industries were the focus of the Second Plan.
  • ✗The services sector was not a focus of early plans.
  • ✗Defence production was not the main focus of the First Plan.

Quick tip

Remember: First Plan (1951-56) = agriculture and irrigation (Bhakra-Nangal, Hirakud), Harrod-Domar model, K.N. Raj, growth 3.6% against 2.1% target; Community Development Programme = 2 October 1952.

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Planning in India & NITI Aayog — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Planning in India & NITI Aayog, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers economic planning in India: the Planning Commission and the twelve Five-Year Plans, their models, targets and achievements, the plan holidays, the National Development Council, and NITI Aayog, which replaced the Planning Commission in 2015. Exams test the focus of each plan: the First Plan focused on agriculture, the Second Plan was based on the Mahalanobis model and focused on heavy industry, and the Eleventh Plan aimed at 'faster and more inclusive growth'. Other questions ask who chairs NITI Aayog (the Prime Minister) and when the Planning Commission was set up (1950). Practise the planning in India questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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