The Fourth Five Year Plan was due to start in-
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → 1966
The Fourth Plan was due to start in 1966, but by then the novelty of planning had declined and India faced an acute economic crisis, so the government took a ‘plan holiday’.
NCERT (2025-26): “The Early Initiatives … The draft of the First Five Year Plan and then the actual Plan Document, released in December 1951, generated a lot of excitement in the country. People from all walks of life – academics, journalists, government and private sector employees, industrialists, farmers, politicians etc. – discussed and debated the documents extensively. The excitement with planning reached its peak with the launching of the Second Five Year Plan in 1956 and continued somewhat till the Third Five Year Plan in 1961. The Fourth Plan was due to start in 1966. By this time, the novelty of planning had declined considerably, and moreover, India was facing acute economic crisis. The government decided to take a ‘plan holiday’. Though many criticisms emerged both about the process and the priorities of these plans, the foundation of India’s economic development was firmly in place by then.” |