50 MCQs on Economic Planning to NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) was established on 1st January 2015 by a Cabinet Resolution replacing the Planning Commission. It adopted cooperative federalism approach.

The Second Five Year Plan (1956-61) is called the Nehru-Mahalanobis Plan as it was based on P.C. Mahalanobis Model and reflected Nehru’s vision of building heavy industries for self-reliant growth.

The Mahalanobis Model or Heavy Industry Strategy emphasized development of capital goods and heavy industries as the primary engine of growth. It was inspired by Soviet planning model and formed basis of Second Plan.

NITI Aayog was established through a Cabinet Resolution like its predecessor Planning Commission. It is not a constitutional body or statutory body. It can be modified or dissolved by Cabinet decision.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog has the rank of Secretary to Government of India. The first CEO was Sindhushree Khullar. Current CEO is appointed by the Prime Minister.

The National Development Council (NDC) was established in 1952 to strengthen cooperation between Centre and States in planning. It was chaired by PM and included all CMs Union Ministers and Planning Commission members.

The Planning Commission was established by a Cabinet Resolution not by Constitution or Parliament. Hence it was an extra-constitutional and non-statutory body. It had advisory functions and no executive powers.

The Sarvodaya Plan was prepared by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1950. It was based on Gandhian principles and Vinoba Bhave’s concept of Sarvodaya emphasizing decentralization and land reforms.

The Green Revolution began during the Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-74). High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds were introduced and the focus was on agriculture modernization leading to significant increase in food production.

The Bombay Plan (1944) was prepared by eight leading industrialists including JRD Tata GD Birla and others. It proposed state intervention for industrialization and influenced post-independence planning.

The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of NITI Aayog just like Planning Commission. The Vice Chairman is appointed by the Prime Minister and is the operational head. CEO has rank of Secretary to Government.

Arvind Panagariya was the first Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. He served from January 2015 to August 2017. He was succeeded by Rajiv Kumar. The Vice Chairman has rank of Cabinet Minister.

The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) had a target growth rate of 8% which was later revised downward to 8.2% and then further due to global slowdown. Actual growth achieved was lower around 6.5-7%.

The slogan Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty) was associated with the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79). It was launched by Indira Gandhi and the plan focused on poverty alleviation and social justice.

The Aspirational Districts Programme was launched by NITI Aayog in 2018. It aims to rapidly transform 112 most underdeveloped districts across India by focusing on key social indicators.

NITI Aayog functions as a think tank providing strategic and technical advice to governments. It fosters cooperative federalism designs policy frameworks and monitors implementation. It does not allocate funds.

The People’s Plan was prepared by M.N. Roy in 1945. It was based on Marxist principles and advocated for agriculture as the foundation of economic development with nationalization of industries.

The National Development Council was headed by the Prime Minister as its Chairman. It was the apex body for decision-making on development matters and approved Five Year Plans before Cabinet approval.

The Gadgil Formula was introduced in 1969 for distribution of Central Plan assistance among states. It was named after D.R. Gadgil then Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission. It considered population backwardness and other factors.

The Governing Council of NITI Aayog includes Chief Ministers of all States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories. It is the premier body for inter-state coordination and promoting cooperative federalism.

The Third Five Year Plan (1961-66) could not achieve its targets due to the 1962 Indo-China War 1965 Indo-Pak War and severe drought. It was followed by three Annual Plans (1966-69) called Plan Holiday.

The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) was the last Five Year Plan. The Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog in January 2015 and the system of Five Year Plans was discontinued after 2017.

The Industrial Policy Resolution 1956 divided industries into three categories or schedules. Schedule A (17 industries under exclusive state control) Schedule B (mixed sector) and Schedule C (private sector).

The Gandhian Plan was prepared by Sriman Narayan Agarwal in 1944. It emphasized decentralized economic development agriculture cottage industries and self-sufficient village communities based on Gandhian principles.

The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) achieved the highest average growth rate of about 8% per annum. It was called the Plan for Faster and More Inclusive Growth.

The First Five Year Plan (1951-56) was based on the Harrod-Domar Model which emphasized the role of savings and investment in economic growth. The plan focused on agriculture and irrigation especially after the food crisis.

Plan Holiday refers to the period 1966-69 when no Five Year Plan was implemented. Three Annual Plans were implemented instead due to failure of Third Plan wars and economic difficulties.

NITI Aayog follows Cooperative Federalism with bottom-up approach while Planning Commission followed top-down directive planning. NITI Aayog is a think tank without fund allocation powers.

NITI Aayog releases several indices including SDG India Index Composite Water Management Index School Education Quality Index Health Index and Export Preparedness Index to rank states on various parameters.

The Aspirational Districts Programme covers 112 districts across 28 states. These districts were identified based on composite index of health education agriculture infrastructure and financial inclusion indicators.

NITI Aayog does NOT have power to allocate funds to states and ministries unlike Planning Commission which allocated Plan funds. NITI Aayog is a think tank providing strategic and technical advice.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is an initiative of NITI Aayog to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. It includes Atal Tinkering Labs in schools and Atal Incubation Centres for startups.

NITI Aayog prepared a Three Year Action Agenda for 2017-18 to 2019-20. It replaced the traditional Five Year Plans with a 15-year vision document seven-year strategy and three-year action agenda.

Gulzarilal Nanda was the first Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. The Deputy Chairman held the rank of Cabinet Minister and was the de facto executive head responsible for day-to-day functioning.

The First Five Year Plan (1951-56) gave priority to agriculture irrigation and power development. This was because India faced severe food shortage after partition and needed to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains.

NITI stands for National Institution for Transforming India. It was established to foster cooperative federalism through structured support to state governments.

Regional Councils in NITI Aayog are formed to address specific issues affecting multiple states in a region. They are convened by the Prime Minister and include Chief Ministers of concerned states.

The period 1966-69 is called Plan Holiday as no Five Year Plan was implemented during this period. Instead three Annual Plans were implemented due to failures of Third Plan Indo-Pak War and economic crisis.

The concept of Core and Core of Core sectors was used during Sixth and Seventh Five Year Plans for allocating plan resources to priority sectors like energy transport and agriculture.

The Rolling Plan concept was introduced by the Janata Party Government (1978-80) under Morarji Desai. The plan was revised annually based on changing conditions but it was abandoned after the government fell.

The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) had the theme of Faster Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth. This was the last Five Year Plan as NITI Aayog replaced Planning Commission in 2015.

The Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-97) introduced the concept of Indicative Planning moving away from centralized directive planning after economic liberalization of 1991. Private sector was given greater role.

The Second Five Year Plan (1956-61) was based on P.C. Mahalanobis Model which emphasized rapid industrialization with focus on heavy industries and capital goods. It laid foundation for industrial development in India.

P.C. Mahalanobis is known as the architect of Indian Planning. He was a statistician who designed the Second Five Year Plan based on his four-sector model emphasizing heavy industries.

Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Chairman of the Planning Commission. The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of Planning Commission. The day-to-day work was managed by the Deputy Chairman who was the de facto executive head.

The Planning Commission was established on 15th March 1950 by a Cabinet Resolution. It was not a constitutional or statutory body. Jawaharlal Nehru was its first Chairman. It was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015.

The Governing Council of NITI Aayog is similar to the National Development Council (NDC) of Planning Commission era. It includes all Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors for policy deliberations.

The Eighth Five Year Plan could not be launched in 1990 due to political instability. Two Annual Plans (1990-91 and 1991-92) were implemented. The Eighth Plan was finally launched in 1992 after liberalization.

The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) had the theme of Faster and More Inclusive Growth. It aimed at 9% GDP growth and focused on agriculture education health and infrastructure development.

The Planning Commission was described as the Economic Cabinet of India by K. Santhanam because of its enormous influence over economic policy-making. It controlled Plan allocations and had significant power.