PET 2026 · Economy

Five-Year Plans: changing priorities

Track growth models, core priorities and economic thinkers from the First to the Ninth Plan

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MINDMAPS FOR UPSCPET 2026 · VISUAL REVISION

Five-Year Plans: changing priorities

Track growth models, core priorities and economic thinkers from the First to the Ninth Plan

Timeline
Indian Planning Models & Priorities (1951–2002)
  1. First Plan · 1951–56

    • Based on the Harrod–Domar growth model linking growth rate to savings/investment and capital-output ratio.
    • Primary emphasis was on agriculture, price stability, irrigation and multi-purpose river valley projects.
    • Laid the post-Partition recovery foundation before India shifted toward heavy industrialisation.
  2. Second Plan · 1956–61

    • Drafted by P.C. Mahalanobis, known as the 'Architect of Indian Planning' (founded Sankhya journal in 1933).
    • Emphasised rapid industrialisation through heavy and basic capital-goods industries (steel plants, machinery).
    • Trap alert: the Mahalanobis model stressed heavy/basic industries, not heavy investment in consumer goods.
  3. Fifth Plan · intended 1974–79

    • The Fifth Five-Year Plan emphasised 'Poverty Removal (Garibi Hatao) and Attainment of Self-Reliance'.
    • The Fifth Plan’s intended period was 1974–79; it was ended early in 1978.
    • Plan periods and their themes are historical facts; do not read them as current policy targets.
  4. Seventh and Ninth Plans

    • The Seventh Five-Year Plan focused on 'Food, Work and Productivity' to boost grain output and jobs.
    • The Ninth Five-Year Plan focused on 'Growth with Social Justice and Equality' in the post-reform era.
    • Compare each plan’s main emphasis; avoid substituting one plan’s slogan for another’s.
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