Origins · Planning Institutions · Five-Year Plans (1st–12th) — SSC / Railway / UPSC / BPSC
| Year | Plan/Proposal | Key Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1934 | Book "Planned Economy for India" | Published by M. Visvesvaraya |
| 1938 | National Planning Committee | Set up by INC under President Subhas Chandra Bose; chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 1944 | Bombay Plan | Jointly prepared and signed by eight leading industrialists/technocrats |
| 1944 | Gandhian Plan | By Sriman Narayan Agarwal |
| 1945 | People's Plan | By M.N. Roy |
| 1950 | Sarvodaya Plan | By Jayaprakash Narayan |
Objectives of Five-Year Plans: Development, Modernisation, Self-reliance, Equality
Third Plan sought self-reliance and a self-generating economy. Bokaro project/company was initiated in the 1960s with Soviet collaboration; production began later. Plans 1–3 did not formally share a single Trickle-Down model.
3 years; New Agricultural Planning; Green Revolution occurred worldwide (Father: Norman Borlaug; Father in India: M.S. Swaminathan)
Janata government introduced Rolling Plan in 1978: revised annually with a rolling horizon. TRYSEM began in 1979 and merged into SGSY in 1999. Priorities: employment, rural development, decentralisation and basic needs; a single formal Gandhian model is an oversimplification.
Political instability and Balance of Payments (BOP) crisis
Four Areas of Emphasis: Quality of life, Employment generation, Self-reliance, Regional balance
Key initiative: National Horticulture Mission
Impacted by the global financial crisis
Twelfth Plan strong-inclusive-growth scenario: real GDP ≈8%, agriculture 4%, manufacturing ≈10%; no single universal services = 9% core target
Last Five-Year Plan; replaced by NITI Aayog's approach
| Topic | Key Fact |
|---|---|
| Economic Planning | Subject in Concurrent List |
| Major Early Five-Year Planning Example | 1928, USSR by Joseph Stalin |
| India Inspired By | Russia |
| "Planned Economy for India" | M. Visvesvaraya (1934) |
| National Planning Committee | 1938; Set up by INC under President Subhas Chandra Bose; chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Bombay Plan | 1944; jointly prepared by eight industrialists/technocrats |
| Gandhian Plan | 1944; Sriman Narayan Agarwal |
| People's Plan | 1945; M.N. Roy |
| Sarvodaya Plan | 1950; Jayaprakash Narayan |
| Planning Commission | Est. 15 March 1950; Chairman: PM (Ex-Officio) |
| First Chairman (Planning Commission) | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Last Deputy Chairman | Montek Singh Ahluwalia (2004–14) |
| NDC | Established 6th August 1952 |
| NITI Aayog | Est. 1 January 2015; replaced Planning Commission |
| NITI CEO (September 2026, OP) | Anurag Jain (from 17 August 2026) |
| NITI Vice-Chairperson (September 2026, OP) | Ashok Kumar Lahiri |
| 1st Plan Model | Harrod-Domar; Agriculture focus; T=2.1%, A=3.6% |
| 2nd Plan Model | P.C. Mahalanobis; Heavy industry; T=4.5%, A=4.3% |
| 3rd Plan | Wars/droughts; T≈5.6%, A≈2.8%; June 1966 devaluation followed the Plan |
| Plan Holiday | 1966–69; agricultural recovery/Green Revolution; Lead Bank Scheme followed in December 1969 |
| Green Revolution (India) | M.S. Swaminathan; Father (World): Norman Borlaug |
| 4th Plan | 14 banks nationalised (1969), Operation Flood (1970), 1971 war; Pokhran-I was after Plan (May 1974) |
| 5th Plan | Terminated 1 year early; Regional Rural Banks (2 Oct 1975) |
| NABARD | Established 12 July 1982 (during 6th Plan) |
| EXIM Bank | Established 1982 (during 6th Plan) |
| LPG Reforms | 1991; PM: Narasimha Rao; FM: Dr. Manmohan Singh |
| 8th Plan | Exceeded target; T≈5.6%, A≈6.8%; success label is subjective |
| 12th Plan | Last Five-Year Plan (2012–17); T≈8% average real GDP growth; actual average below target, varying with GDP series/revision |