Economic planning is the process in which the limited natural resources are used skillfully so as to achieve the desired goals. The concept of economic planning in India or a five-year plan is derived from Russia (then USSR). India has launched 12 five year plans so far. The twelfth five-year plan will be the last one. The government of India has decided to stop the launching of five-year plans and it was replaced by NITI Aayog.
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First Five Year Plan (1951-1956)
- It was based on the Harrod-Domar Model.
- Its main focus was on the agricultural development of the country.
- This plan was successful and achieved the GDP growth rate of 3.6% (more than its target)
Second Five Year Plan (1956-1961)
- It was based on the P.C. Mahalanobis Model.
- Its main focus was on the industrial development of the country.
- This plan was successful and achieved a growth rate of 4.1%
Third Five Year Plan (1961-1966)
- This plan was called ‘GadgilYojana’ also.
- The main target of this plan was to make the economy independent and to reach self-prepared position or take off.
- Due to the Indo -China war, this plan could not achieve its growth target of 5.6%
Plan Holiday (1966-1969)
- The main reason behind the plan holiday was the Indo-Pakistan war & failure of the third plan
- During this plan, annual plans were made and equal priority was given to agriculture, its allied sectors and the industry sector.
Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-1974)
- There are two main objectives of this plan i.e. growth with stability and progressive achievement of self-reliance.
- This plan failed and could achieve a growth rate of 3.3% only, against the target of 5.7%.
Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-1979)
- In this plan top priority was given to agriculture, next came industry and mines
- Overall this plan was successful, which achieved a growth rate of 4.8% against the target of 4.4%.
- The draft of this plan was prepared and launched by D.P. Dhar. This plan was terminated in 1978
Rolling Plan
This plan was started with an annual plan for 1978-79 and as a continuation of the terminated fifth-year plan.
Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-1985)
- The basic objective of this plan was poverty eradication and technological self-reliance. Garibi-Hatao was the motto.
- It was based on investment yojana.
- Its growth target was 5.2% but it achieved 5.7%.
Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-1990)
- The objectives of this plan included the establishment of a self-sufficient economy and opportunities for productive employment.
- For the first time, due to the pressure from private sector the private sector got the priority over public sector.
- Its growth target was 5.0% but it achieved 6.0%.
Annual Plans
Eighth five-year Plan could not take place due to the volatile political situation at the centre. So two annual programmes are formed in 1990-91& 1991-92.
Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-1997)
- In this plan, the top priority was given to the development of the human resources i.e. employment, education and public health.
- During this plan, New Economic Policy of India was introduced.
- This plan was successful and got an annual growth rate of 6.8% against the target of 5.6%.
Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002)
- The main focus of this plan was “growth with justice and equity”.
- This plan failed to achieve the growth target of 7% and Indian economy grew only at the rate of 5.6%.
Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007)
- This plan aimed to double the per capita income of India in the next 10 years.
- It aimed to reduce the poverty ratio to 15% by 2012.
- Its growth target was 8.0% but it achieved only 7.2%.
Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012)
- Its main theme was “faster and more inclusive growth”.
- Its growth rate target was 8.1% but it achieved only 7.9%
Twelfth Five Year Plan(2012-2017)
- Its main theme is “Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable Growth”.
- Its growth rate target is 8%.
Here it can be concluded that since the Indian Independence the five-year plans of India played a very prominent role in the economic development of the country. These plans had guided the Government as to how it should utilise scarce resources so that maximum benefits can be gained. It is worthy to mention here that the Indian Government adopted the concept of five-year plans from Russia.
