Consider the following statements about planning in India:
(A) The idea of five year plans was borrowed from the former Soviet Union, the pioneer in national planning.
(B) Plan documents up to the year 2017 also set out what was to be achieved over a period of twenty years.
(C) The long-term plan over a period of twenty years is called the annual plan.
(D) All the goals of a plan were given equal importance in every five year plan.
(E) A plan was to be specific about sectors where it plays a commanding role, such as power generation and irrigation.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → (A), (B) and (E) only
(A) The idea of five year plans was borrowed from the former Soviet Union, the pioneer in national planning. — Correct. India took the five-year form from the Soviet Union.
(B) Plan documents up to the year 2017 also set out what was to be achieved over a period of twenty years. — Correct. They looked twenty years ahead as well.
(C) The long-term plan over a period of twenty years is called the annual plan. — Incorrect. It is called the perspective plan.
(D) All the goals of a plan were given equal importance in every five year plan. — Incorrect. Resources are limited, so different plans stressed different goals.
(E) A plan was to be specific about sectors where it plays a commanding role, such as power generation and irrigation. — Correct. The rest was left to the market.
NCERT (2026-27): “Box 2.2: What is a Plan? A plan spells out how the resources of a nation should be put to use. It should have some general goals as well as specific objectives which are to be achieved within a specified period of time; in India plans were of five years duration and were called five year plans (we borrowed this from the former Soviet Union, the pioneer in national planning). Our plan documents upto the year 2017 not only specify the objectives to be attained in the five years of a plan but also what is to be achieved over a period of twenty years. This long-term plan is called ‘perspective plan’. The five year plans were supposed to provide the basis for the perspective plan. It will be unrealistic to expect all the goals of a plan to be given equal importance in all the plans. In fact the goals may actually be in conflict. For example, the goal of introducing modern technology may be in conflict with the goal of increasing employment if the technology reduces the need for labour. The planners have to balance the goals, a very difficult job indeed. We find different goals being emphasised in different plans in India. India’s five year plans did not spell out how much of each and every good and service is to be produced. This is neither possible nor necessary (the former Soviet Union tried to do this and failed). It is enough if the plan is specific about the sectors where it plays a commanding role, for instance, power generation and irrigation, while leaving the rest to the market.” |