The initial proposal and subsequent release of the First Five-Year Plan in December 1951 generated considerable enthusiasm throughout the country. Individuals from diverse backgrounds, including academics, journalists, government officials, private sector employees, industrialists, farmers, and politicians, actively engaged in extensive discussions and debates surrounding the plan. The enthusiasm for planning reached its zenith with the commencement of the Second Five-Year Plan in 1956 and persisted to some extent until the Third Five-Year Plan in 1961. The implementation of the Fourth Plan was scheduled to commence in 1966.

Why was it difficult to push savings up when the first five-year plan was launched?

The total capital stock in the country was rather low compared to the total number of employable people.

Main feature of First Five-Year Plan in India (1951-56):

It was launched in 1951.
Aimed to uplift the economy and break the cycle of poverty in India.
Led by a team of economists and planners, including Pt. Nehru.
K.N. Raj, emphasized a cautious approach to development to protect democracy.
Based on the Harrod-Domar Model.
The main focus was on the agrarian sector, with investments in dams and irrigation.
Land reforms were identified as crucial for agricultural growth and overall development.
Significant allocations were made for large-scale projects like the Bhakhra Nangal Dam.
Identified the pattern of land distribution as a major obstacle to agricultural growth.
Emphasized the need for land reforms to drive the country's development.
Aims included raising the national income level, which was challenging due to already low spending levels that couldn't be reduced further and difficulty in increasing savings.

One of the basic aims of the planners was to raise the level of national income, which could be possible only if the people saved, more money than they spent. As the basic level of spending was very low in the 1950s, it could not be reduced anymore. So the planners sought to push savings up.
That too was difficult as the total capital stock in the country was rather low compared to the total number of employable people.