SSC · Railway
Which Five-Year Plan is also known as the 'Gadgil Yojana'?
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Answer: Option B — Third Five-Year Plan
Detailed Solution
The Third Five-Year Plan (1961-1966) is also called the "Gadgil Yojana", after Dhananjay Ramchandra Gadgil, an eminent economist who was associated with its approach. (Gadgil was later Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission from 1967 to 1971, and also gave the Gadgil formula of 1969 for distributing central assistance among states.)
The main aim of the Third Plan was to make the Indian economy self-reliant and self-generating ("take-off" into self-sustained growth). It gave priority to agriculture and to the production of wheat, while also continuing to develop basic industries such as steel, chemicals, fuel and power. Panchayat elections and state electricity boards were promoted during this period.
However, the Third Plan was a failure, mainly because of:
- The war with China in 1962.
- The war with Pakistan in 1965.
- A severe drought in 1965-66, which led to food shortages.
The targeted growth rate was 5.6%, but the actual growth was only about 2.4%. Because of these problems, the Fourth Plan could not start on time. Instead, the government followed three Annual Plans from 1966 to 1969, a period called the "Plan Holiday". During this period, the Green Revolution was introduced, with high-yielding varieties of seeds, and the rupee was devalued in 1966.
Brief overview of early plans:
- First Plan (1951-56): focused on agriculture and irrigation; based on the Harrod-Domar model; it was successful.
- Second Plan (1956-61): focused on rapid industrialisation and heavy industries; based on the Mahalanobis model; steel plants at Bhilai, Rourkela and Durgapur.
- Third Plan (1961-66): self-reliance; failed due to wars and drought.
- Fourth Plan (1969-74): "growth with stability" and "progressive achievement of self-reliance"; banks nationalised in 1969.
- India had twelve Five-Year Plans in all, the last ending in 2017.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The First Plan was based on the Harrod-Domar model.
- ✗The Second Plan is called the Mahalanobis Plan.
- ✗The Fourth Plan aimed at growth with stability.
Quick tip
Remember: Third Plan (1961-66) = Gadgil Yojana, self-reliance, failed (1962 and 1965 wars, drought), followed by the Plan Holiday (1966-69); Second Plan = Mahalanobis model.
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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.