DETAILED EXPLANATION OF FIVE YEAR PLANS

First Five Year Plan (1951-56)

• It was based on Harrod-Domar Model. Targeted growth rate was 2.1% and achieved rate was 3.6%.

• Only plan to see prices declining. Its objective to initiate a process of all-round balanced development to ensure a rising national income and a steady improvement in living standards. It emphasised on agriculture, price stability, power and transport.

Second Five Year Plan (1956-61)

• It is also called as Mahalanobis Plan after its chief architect PC Mahalanobis. Its objective was rapid industrialisation, particularly basic and heavy industries such as iron and steel, heavy chemicals like nitrogenous fertilizers, heavy engineering and machine building industry.

• The Industrial Policy of 1956 emphasised the role of public sector and accepted the establishment of a socialistic pattern of the society as the goal of economic policy. Durgapur, Bhilai and Rourkela steel plants were founded.

Third Five Year Plan (1961-66)

• It is also called Gadgil Yojana. The objectives of the plan included the expansion of basic industries, optimum utilisation of country's labour power and reducing the inequalities of income and wealth.

• Complete failure due to unforeseen misfortunes, viz. Chinese aggression (1962), Indo-Pak War (1965), severest drought (1965-66).

Annual Plans (1966-69)

• Due to the unfortunate failure of the Third Plan, the production in various sectors of the economy because stagnant.

• In 1966, the Government of India declared the devaluation of rupee, with a view to increase the exports of the country. So, the Fourth Plan was postponed and three Annual Plans were implemented. Some of the economists called him period (from 1966-1969) as Plan Holiday.

Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-74)

• Its objectives were growth with stability and progress towards self-reliance. Main emphasis on agricultural growth rate targeted 5.7% but achieved 3.3% growth rate only.

• Nationalisation of 14 banks and the Green Revolution began.

Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79)

• The Fifth Plan prepared and launched by DD Dhar. He proposed to achieve two main objectives viz, 'Removal of Poverty (Garibi Hatao) and Attainment of Self-reliance', through promotion of high rate of growth, better distribution of income and a very significant growth in the domestic rate of savings.

• It targeted a growth rate of 4.4% but achieved a growth rate of 4.8%. The plan was terminated in 1978 (instead thly of 1979) when Janta Government came to power.

Rolling Plan (1978-80)

• The Concept of Rolling Plan was given by Gunnar Myrdall. It was brought out by Janta Party. It meant that expenditures budgeted but unspent at the end of year would be carried over to the next year.

• The focus of the plan was enlargement of the employment potential in agriculture and allied activities, encouragement to household and small industries producing consumer goods for consumption and to raise the incomes of the lowest income classes through minimum needs programme.

Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85)

• Sixth Five Year Plan targeted 5.2%, but achieved a growth rate of 5.7%

• It includes increase in national income, modernisation of technology, ensuring continuous decrease in poverty and unemployment, population control through family planning etc.

Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-90)

• The Seventh Plan aimed at rapid growth in foodgrains production, increased employment opportunities and modern technological development.

• The economy recorded 6% growth rate against the targeted 5%. Indian economy finally broke the Hindu growth rate barrier.

Annual Plan (1991-92)

• Due to severe economic crisis, Eighth Five Year Plan was delayed by 2 years. The intervening years (1990-91 and 1991-92) were declared Annual Plans.

Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-97)

• It was based on Rao and Manmohan mode of economic growth. It sought to gradually open the Indian economy through LPG Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation measures.

• The most notable feature of the Eighth Plan period was that the GDP grew at an average rate of 6.68% exceeding the target growth rate of 5.4%.

Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002)

• Its objective was growth with social justice and equity.

• Growth rate of GDP during the plan was 5.4% per annum as against the target of 6.5%.

Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007)

• Its objectives were to attain a growth rate of 8.1% and reduction of poverty ratio to 20% by 2007 and to 10% by 2012.

• Universal access to primary education by 2007.

• The Tenth Plan focussed on ways and means of correcting the regional imbalance, gender inequality education, health of mother, infants and reducing pollution.

• The growth strategy of the Tenth Plan sought to ensure the rapid growth of those sectors which are most likely to create high quality employment opportunities, which included such sectors as construction, real estate and housing, transport, small-scale industries, modern retailing, entertainment, IT-enabled services etc.

^ The Tenth Five Year Plan achieved a growth rate of 7.8% below the targeted 8.0%, but higher than all previous five year plans.

Eleventh Five Year Plan

• Faster and inclusive development was its central theme. The growth rate during the Eleventh Plan period was albout 8.1%, which is higher than the 7.9% growth rate achieved in the Eleventh Plan.

• The Service sector continued to register a growth rate of more than 10%. However, the industrial growth rate showed at 7.9%.

Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17)

• The approach paper to the plan is based on the theme "faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth". Total plan size of Twelfth Plan is 37.7 lakh crore, 13,7% more than the Eleventh Plan.

• The paper indicates 14 key areas to be focussed by the Twelfth Five Year Plan. Some of these are energy transport, natural resources, rural transformation, health, transport, education and skill development.

Key Targets

There are eleven key targets of Twelfth Five Year Plan, which are as follow 

i. Real GDP growth rate 8% (down from earlier 8.1%).

ii. Agricultural growth rate 4%.

iii. Manufacturing growth rate 10%,

iv. Consumption poverty to be reduced by 10% points.

v. Employment 50 million new work opportunities in the non-farma sector.

vi. Mean years of schooling increase it to 7 years by 2017.

vii. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) reduce to 25.

viii. Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) reduce to 1 per 1000 live births.

ix. Child (0-6) sex ratio raise it to 950 by 2017.

x. Total fertility rate reduce it to 2.1.

xi. Gross irrigated area increase it from 90 million hectare to 103 million hectare by 2017.