Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Political Science

Chapter

Politics in India Since Independence: Politics of Planned Development

Question:

Which of the following statements is correct about the First Five Year Plan?

Options:

It focused on heavy industries.

It sought to get the country's economy out of the cycle of poverty.

It reflected the Congress Party's commitment to 'socialist pattern of society'.

It was drafted by a team of economists and planners under the leadership of P.C. Mahalnobis.

Correct Answer:

It sought to get the country's economy out of the cycle of poverty.

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (2) → It sought to get the country's economy out of the cycle of poverty.

" The First Five Year Plan (1951–1956) sought to get the country’s economy out of the cycle of poverty. K.N. Raj, a young economist involved in drafting the plan, argued that India should ‘hasten slowly’ for the first two decades as a fast rate of development might endanger democracy. The First Five Year Plan addressed, mainly, the agrarian sector including investment in dams and irrigation. Agricultural sector was hit hardest by Partition and needed urgent attention. Huge allocations were made for large scale projects like the Bhakhra Nangal Dam. The Plan identified the pattern of land distribution in the country as the principal obstacle in the way of agricultural growth. It focused on land reforms as the key to the country’s development."

The other options are incorrect because:

  • Focus on heavy industries came in the Second Five Year Plan.

  • The idea of a “socialist pattern of society” was emphasized later (from the Second Plan onwards).

  • The Mahalnobis model guided the Second Plan, not the First.