Indian Planning History (Post-Independence)
After independence, India launched its First Five-Year Plan (FYP) in 1951, under the socialist influence of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
The process began with the setting up of the Planning Commission in March 1950 in pursuance of the declared objectives of the Government:
- to promote a rapid rise in the standard of living of the people,
- to achieve efficient exploitation of the resources of the country,
- to increase production, and
- to offer opportunities to all for employment in the service of the community.
The Planning Commission was charged with the responsibility of:
- making assessment of all resources of the country,
- augmenting deficient resources,
- formulating plans for the most effective and balanced utilisation of resources, and
- determining priorities.
Break in Five-Year Plans
- The First Five-Year Plan was launched in 1951.
- Two subsequent Five-Year Plans were formulated till 1965, when there was a break because of the Indo-Pakistan Conflict (1965).
- Two successive years of drought, devaluation of the currency (1966), a general rise in prices, and erosion of resources disrupted the planning process.
- This led to Three Annual Plans (1966–1969) before the launch of the Fourth Five-Year Plan in 1969.
Eighth Five-Year Plan (1992–1997)
- The Eighth Plan could not take off in 1990 due to the fast-changing political situation at the Centre.
- The years 1990–91 and 1991–92 were treated as Annual Plans.
- The Eighth Plan was finally launched in 1992, after the initiation of structural adjustment policies (1991 LPG Reforms).
Shift in Planning Approach
- For the first eight Plans (1951–1992), the emphasis was on a growing public sector with massive investments in basic and heavy industries.
- Since the launch of the Ninth Plan in 1997, emphasis on the public sector has become less pronounced.
- The current thinking on planning in the country is that it should increasingly be of an indicative nature rather than strictly directiv
