India Five Year Plan

The Indian economy was built with the help of five year plans from 1947 to 2017. NITI Aayog and the Planning Commission (1951-2014) created, implemented, and monitored the Five-Year Plans (2015-2017). The commission’s ex-officio chairman is the prime minister, while the commission’s nominated deputy chairman is a cabinet minister. The commission’s last deputy chairman was Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

1st Five-Year Plan

Period 

The 1st five year plan was for 1951-1956 

Focus of the Plan

• The fundamental goal of India’s first five-year plan was to raise people’s living conditions. The Government had taken attempts to rehabilitate landless workers, the majority of whom worked in agriculture
• Workers were given cash to conduct experiments and receive agricultural training at various cooperative institutes. The need for soil conservation was also emphasised. Posts and telegraphs, railway services, road tracks, and civil aviation were all improved by the Indian government. A sufficient amount of money was also set up for the industrial sector. In addition, steps were done to promote the growth of small businesses
• The strategy was a success owing to good harvests in the last two years of the plan. The objectives of refugee rehabilitation, food self-sufficiency, and price control were mostly met.

Outcomes

The Government had a plan to increase GDP growth by 3.6% but they could only manage 2.1%. 

2nd Five-year plan (1956 to 1961)

Period 

The 2nd plan was for 1956 to 1961. 

Focus of the Plan

• Agriculture was given a lower priority. In the second five-year plan, industries were given additional weight
• Heavy industries were the main focus. The Indian Government had strengthened the country’s industrial products industry. This was primarily done to help the public sector grow
• The plan emphasised fast industrialisation, particularly in the heavy and fundamental sectors. Large imports using foreign borrowing were advocated
• The Atomic Energy Commission was established during the second five-year plan.

Outcomes

The plan was to increase national income by 25% with the help of heavy industrialization. However, it could only increase by 20%. Moreover, per capita income grew by 8% only during this period. 

3rd five-year plan

Period

The 3rd five year plan was for 1961-1966. 

Focus of the Plan

It was thought that the Indian economy had reached a “take-off stage” when it was conceived. Its goal was to make India a “self-sufficient” and “self-generating” economy. Agriculture was given high priority to support exports and industry, based on the experience of the first two plans (agricultural production was considered as a limiting element in India’s economic development). 

With the short-lived Sino-Indian War of 1962, India shifted its focus to the country’s security. Agriculture drew attention once more during the years 1965 to 1966, thanks to the Green Revolution.

Outcomes

In many ways, this plan was a failure. Only in transportation, communication, and social services did the plan’s goal come to fruition. Otherwise, agricultural output dropped from 82 metric tonnes to 72 metric tonnes. Food and consumer goods prices rose significantly, while industrial output fell short of forecasts.

Three Annual Plans (1966- 69): Planned Holiday

The failure of the Third Plan, which resulted in the depreciation of the rupee (to stimulate exports) and an inflationary slump, caused the Fourth FYP to be postponed. Instead, three Annual Plans were introduced. A current agricultural crisis and a severe food deficit prompted a focus on agriculture during the Annual Plans. During the implementation of these programmes, a completely new agricultural approach was developed. It entails widespread distribution of high-yielding seed varieties, considerable fertiliser use, irrigation potential exploitation, and soil conservation. 

4th five-year plan(1969 to 1974)

Period

The 4th five year plan was for 1969 to 1974.

Focus of the Plan

• Due to the allies’ refusal to supply crucial equipment and raw resources during the Indo-Pak conflict, the Fourth Plan’s dual objectives of “development with stability” and “progressive achievement of self-reliance” were established
• The main focus was on agriculture’s development rate in order to allow other industries to advance
• The plan’s key objectives included the implementation of family planning programmes.

Outcomes

The plan’s first two years saw record production. Due to weak monsoon conditions, the previous three years failed to meet expectations. The Government had set a target of achieving 5.6% GDP growth whereas it could only achieve 3.3%. 

5th five-year plan (1974-1979)

Period

The 5th five year plan was for 1974 to 1979. 

Focus of the Plan

When the fifth five-year plan was drafted, the global economy was in disarray. The Indian economy suffered as a result of this. As a result of the sharp rise in energy and food prices, inflation became unavoidable. As a result, the food and energy sectors were given more focus in the fifth five-year plan.

It proposed to achieve two key goals: “poverty eradication” (Garibi Hatao) and “self-sufficiency.” Promotion of a high rate of growth improved income distribution, and considerable increases in domestic savings rates were seen as crucial instruments.

Outcomes

The Government had set a target of 4.4% growth. India grew at a growth rate of 4.7% during this period. When the Janta Party came to power in 1978, the FYP was consigned to the background, and the Plan was cancelled.

Rolling Plan

• Gunnar Myrdal is credited with inventing the rolling plan idea. When the Indian National Congress came to power in 1980, this plan was again rejected and a new sixth plan was drawn up
• The fundamental benefit of rolling designs is that they can be easily modified to suit your needs. The Rolling Plan is a plan in which the performance of the plan is evaluated each year and a new plan is created for the next year based on this evaluation
• During the course of implementing this strategy, the budget and goals will be adjusted accordingly. During the years 1977-78, India’s Janta government ended the fifth five-year plan and began its own, which it dubbed the “Rolling Plan,” for the subsequent five years of 1978-83.

6th five year plan(1980-1985): Target Growth: 5.2% Actual Growth: 5.7%

Period

The 6th five year plan was for 1980 to 1985. 

Focus of the Plan

The Janata Government Plan was innovative because it broke away from the Nehruvian model of Five Year Plans. Many things  changed in India as a result of the sixth five-year plan. On the one side, it attempted to strengthen India’s tourism business, while on the other, it aimed to promote the information technology sector.

The 6th Five-Year Plan began in 1980 and lasted for another five years, from 1980 to 1985. It aimed to Increased national revenue, technological modernization, ensuring continual reductions in poverty and unemployment through schemes for transferring skills (TRYSEM) and seats (IRDP) and providing slack season work (NREP), population control, and so on.

Outcomes

In general, the sixth Plan was a success since most of the objectives were met, even though many sections of the nation experienced severe famine during the previous year (1984-85) and agricultural output was lower than the previous year’s record output. The target growth rate was 5.2% while the actual growth rate was 5.7%. 

7th five-year plan

Period

The 7th five year plan was for 1985 to 1989.

Focus of the Plan

• The basis for economic development was built by the 6th Five Year Plan, therefore the 7th Five Year Plan got off to a good start
• The Congress Party, led by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, implemented the seventh five-year plan. Planned technological advancements were to be emphasised in order to raise industrial production levels
• The main goals of this plan were to increase economic productivity, increase the production of food grains, and create jobs through social justice. 

Outcomes

By boosting agricultural and industrial production, lowering inflation, and maintaining a balance in the exchange of products, services, and money, the Sixth Five Year Plan had already laid the path for economic progress. Employment was expected to grow at a pace of 4% per year, with the labour force expected to grow by 39 million by the end of the fifth year. With the decade of the 1980s struggling out of the Hindu Rate of Growth,the strategy was a huge success, with the economy growing at 6% instead of the targeted 5%.

8th five-year plan

Period

The 8th five year plan was 1992 to 1997. 

Focus of the Plan

• The eighth plan has been postponed for two years due to political uncertainty in the country’s capital
• During the start of the plan, the primary challenges were the worsening Balance of Payments position, mounting debt burden, widening budget deficits, industry slowdown, and inflation. During this time
• The main goal of the Ninth Plan was to make advantage of the country’s untapped economic potential in order to spur economic and social development. An effort was made to eliminate poverty in the country’s social arenas with the help of significant backing from the government. Since the Eighth Five-Year Plan’s successful implementation, states have been freed up to pursue more rapid growth.

Outcomes

Rapid economic growth (highest annual growth rate so far – 6.8%), significant growth in agriculture and allied sectors, and manufacturing sector, growth in exports and imports, and improvement in trade and current account deficit were some of the main economic outcomes of the eighth plan period. Even though the public sector’s portion of total investment had dropped to around 34%, a high growth rate was attained. The target growth rate was 5.6% while actual growth was 6.8%. 

9th five-year plan

Period 

The 9th five year plan was for 1997 to 2002. 

Focus of the Plan

• The 9th Five Year Plan was formulated after 50 years of Indian independence to operate as a vehicle for resolving the country’s economic and social challenges
• The United Front Government’s plan focused on “Growth with Social Justice and Equality” 
• The Ninth Plan aimed to rely primarily on the private sector – both domestic and foreign – and the state was expected to play a greater role as a facilitator and to become more involved in the social sector, such as education, health, and infrastructure, where private sector participation was expected to be limited
• It prioritised agriculture and rural development to create enough productive jobs and reduce poverty.

Outcomes

Agriculture grew at a 2.1% annual pace instead of the targeted 4.2%. The country’s industrial output grew at a rate of 4.5 percent, exceeding the objective of 3 percent. The service sector grew at a pace of 7.8% over the past year. The target growth rate was 6.5% while the actual growth rate was 5.4%. 

10th five-year plan

Period

The 10th five year plan was for 2002 to 2007.

Focus of the Plan

• Recognizing that economic growth cannot be the main goal of a national plan, the Tenth Plan established “monitorable targets” for a few important development indicators, in addition to the 8% growth target
• The goals included closing gender gaps in literacy and wage rates, lowering infant and maternal death rates, improving literacy, increasing access to safe drinking water, and cleaning key polluted rivers, among others
• Agriculture was deemed the primary drive engine of the economy, and governance was regarded as a determinant of progress
• With more involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions, the state’s role in planning was to be increased. The goal was to achieve the balanced development of all states by breaking down growth and social development targets by state.

Outcomes

$5.8 billion in spending for the tenth five year plan of 43,825 crore (Indian rupees). Out of the overall plan expenditure, 57.9 percent of it went to the central government and 42.1 percent to the states and union territories. The target growth was 8% while the actual growth was 7.6%. 

11th five-year plan

Period

The 11th five year plan was for 2007 to 2012. 

Focus of the Plan

After UPA returned to power on the promise of supporting Aam Aadmi, the Eleventh Plan was intended “Towards Faster & More Inclusive Growth” (common man). By the end of the Tenth Plan, India had become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Here are some of the objectives of the plan:

• To raise the number of 18- to 23-year-olds enrolled in higher education by 2011–12
• It was primarily concerned with distance learning and the integration of formal, informal, non-formal, and online education
• Growth that is both quick and broad in its appeal
• An emphasis on service delivery in the social sector
• Empowerment via education and training
• Gender equality reduction
• Long-term health of the environment.

Outcomes

The Eleventh Plan got off to a good start, with a growth of 9.3% in the first year, but with the global financial crisis, growth slowed to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09.

12th five-year plan(2012-2017):

Period

The 12th five year plan was for 2012 to 2017. 

Focus of the Plan

• The Twelfth Plan began at a time when the world economy was experiencing a second financial crisis, triggered by the Eurozone’s sovereign debt issues, which erupted in the Eleventh Plan last year. As a result, the Twelfth Plan emphasises that the economy’s top aim must be to restore rapid growth while ensuring that it is both inclusive and sustainable
• The subtitle reflects the overarching goals and aspirations that the Twelfth Plan intends to achieve: ‘Faster, Sustainable, and More Inclusive Growth’

Outcomes

Economic planning began with a total of 4 million kilometres of roadway. Indian roads now cover 3 million kilometres, making it one of the world’s most extensive. There has been a massive expansion in other types of transportation, including shipping and civil aviation. At the start of planning, the domestic savings rate was roughly 10% of GDP. By 1980-81, it had risen to around 19% of GDP. March 2007 had a 34.8 percent increase in this rate.

Conclusion

Economic and social growth strategies were centralised in the Five-Year Plans (FYPs). The first Five-Year Plan was executed in the late 1920s by Joseph Stalin, then president of the Soviet Union. Since the country had both public and private sectors, India pursued a socialist route as well, however the planning here wasn’t as complete as in other countries. In India, planning was exclusively concerned with the governmental sector, not with the private one. 1951 marked the beginning of the first Five-Year Plan of the Soviet Union. In order to achieve equal growth, government spending should be planned rather than left to the whims of the market.