POLITICS OF PLANNED

DEVELOPMENT
ONE-SHOT LECTURE
(Added topics)
NOTES Pdf (Description)
Repeated PYQ (Last Year)

Cartoon based Question

 DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTAL GOALS

Orissa Important Investment Destination : has one of

the largest reserves of untapped iron ore in the country
State govt. signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with a Korean company.
Govt Believes - Capital Investment / Employment

Displacement - Fear of Tribal Population

Pollution/Deforestation - Environmentalists aruge

Outcome - People demonstrates outside the company

demanding cancellation of MoU.
Central Govt argue - industry is not allowed it would set a
bad example and discourage investments in the country.

DECISION MAKING : Political
Contestation
It is important to take advice from experts
on mining, from environmentalists and from
economists. Yet the final decision must be a
political decision, taken by people’s
representatives who are in touch with the
feelings of the people.
After independence our country
had to make a series of major
decisions like this.
Almost everyone agreed that the
development of India should mean
both economic growth and social
and economic justice.
 On the eve of independence, India had before it, two models
of modern development

COMMUNIST-SOCIALIST LIBERAL-CAPITALIST

Communism/Socialism followed by Capitalism / Democracy followed

USSR. by US & European Countries.
Many in India were impressed by Very few supporters.
socialist model i.e Communist
Party, Nehru

Broad Consensus Reflect - For some, industrialisation while others

seemed agriculture to be the preferred path.
Despite the various differences, there was a consensus on one point :
that development could not be left to private actors, that there was the
need for the government to develop a design or plan for development.
BOMBAY PLAN - Big industrialists got
together in 1944 and drafted a joint
proposal for setting up a planned economy
in the country.

The Bombay Plan wanted the state to take

major initiatives in industrial and other
economic investments.

Thus, from left to right, planning for

development was the most obvious choice for
the country after independence
 Left Vs Right

Left often refers to those who are in favour of

the poor, downtrodden sections and support
government policies for the benefit of these
sections.

The Right refers to those who believe that free

competition and market economy alone ensure
progress and that the government should not
unnecessarily intervene in the economy.
 PLANNING COMMISSION

Soon after India became independent,

the Planning Commission came into
being.
The Prime Minister was its Chairperson.
It became the most influential and
central machinery for deciding what
path and strategy India would adopt
for its development.
Ques - Which one of the following
commissions was formed for the
planned development of India, just
after independence ? 2021 Term 1

(a) Election Commission

(b) Planning Commission
(c) Shah Commission
(d) NITI Aayog
The National Development Council (NDC) or
Rashtriya Vikas Parishad is the apex body for
decision creating and deliberations on
development matters in India, presided over by
the Prime Minister.

It was set up on 6 August 1952 to strengthen and

mobilize the effort and resources of the nation in
support of the Five Year Plans made by Planning
Commission, to promote common economic
policies in all vital spheres, and to ensure the
balanced and rapid development of all parts of
the country.
 Understanding Five Year Plan Model
As in the USSR, the Planning
Commission of India opted for
five year plans (FYP).
Division of Budget of Central &
State Govt.
‘Non-Plan’ budget - spent on routine
items on a yearly basis.
‘Plan’ budget - spent on a 5 year basis
as per the priorities fixed by the plan.
The government of India
prepares a document that
has a plan for all its income
and expenditure for the
next five years.
Advantage - Permited the govt.
to focus on the larger picture
and make long-term intervention
in the economy.
FIRST FYP Sought to get the country’s economy out of the
(1951-56) cycle of poverty.

K.N. Raj, a young economist involved in drafting

the plan, argued that India should ‘hasten slowly’
for the first 2 decades as a fast rate of
development might endanger democracy.

PROBLEM - Agricultural sector was hit hardest

by partition and needed urgent attention

The First Five Year Plan addressed, mainly,

the agrarian sector including investment in dams
and irrigation.
Huge allocations were made
for large-scale projects like
the Bhakhra Nangal Dam
AIM - to raise the level of
income - planners sought to
push savings up
Focused on Land Reforms -
identified the pattern of land
distribution in the country as
the principal obstacle in the
way of agricultural growth
 SECOND FYP(1956-61)

Stressed on heavy industries. Drafted - by a team of

economists and planners under the leadership of P. C.
Mahalanobis.
Before this plan was finalised, the Congress party at its
Avadh, passed an resolution declaring ‘socialist pattern of
society’ its goal.
Govt. imposed tariffs on imports in order to protect
domestic industries.
Outcome - Helped in the growth of public & private
sector.
Increment in Saving & Investment - bulk of industries like
electricity, railways, steel, machineries & communication
could be developed in the public sector
India was technologically backward - it had to
spend precious foreign exchange to buy
tech. from the global market.

As Industry attracted more investment than

agriculture, the possibility of food shortage
loomed large.

The Indian planners found balancing industry

& agriculture really difficult.
Ques - Describe any three
features of 2 FYP. Also mention
the problems faced during its
implementation. (6M) 2019
 THIRD FYP(1961-66)
Stabilised both agriculture & DELAY IN 4 FYP
industrial development
Fourth Five Year Plan (1969) - 3 Years
Self-sufficiency in food grain Delay.
Meanwhile one year plan were
Expansion in employment introduced b/w 1966-69.
opportunities (Reasons - Indo-pak War, Indo-China
War, Drought, Oil prices rise, death of
Critics - pointed out that the plan PM Nehru)
was no different from 2 FYP &
strategies from this time around
displayed an unmistakable “urban
bias”.
Pg 62
Ques 1 Who is addressing the people in the
cartoon ?
Ans - Pt. Jhawarlal Nehru is addressing the
people in the cartoon.

Ques 2 What does the people symbolise it ?

Ans - The people sitting on the cartoon are
starved people symbolising poverty.

Ques 3 On which plan the cartoon is

highlighting ?
Ans - The plan highlighting the 3rd FYP.
Decentralised Planning - KERALA MODEL

Between 1987 and 1991, the government

Key areas of focus - Education,
launched the New Democratic Initiative
health, land reform, effective food
which involved campaigns for
distribution, and poverty alleviation.
development designed to involve people
directly in development activities
Despite low per capita incomes, & a
through voluntary citizens’
relatively weak industrial base -
organisations.
Kerala achieved nearly total
literacy, long life expectancy, low
The State has also taken initiative to
infant and female mortality, low
involve people in making plans at the
birth rates and high access to
Panchayat, block and district level.
medical care.
Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions:
It is not necessary that all planning always has to be centralised; nor is it that
planning is only about big industries and large projects. The ‘Kerala Model’ is
the name given to the path of planning and development chartered by the State
of Kerala. There has been a focus in this model on education, health, land
reform, effective food distribution, and poverty alleviation. Despite low per
capita incomes, and a relatively weak industrial base, Kerala achieved nearly
total literacy, long life expectancy, low infant and female mortality, low birth
rates and high access to medical care.(5M) 2020

a. What is meant by centralised planning?

b. In which two ways is decentralisation better than centralisation?

c. The ‘Kerala Model’ of planning and development focused on which areas?

Mention any two areas.
KEY CONTROVERSIES
 AGRICULTURE Vs INDUSTRIES

ARGUMENT (AGRICULTURE) Chaudhary Charan Singh, a

Many argued 2 FYP emphasis Congress leader who later
on industry caused agriculture broke from the party to form
and rural India to suffer. Bharatiya Lok Dal, supported
the view that plans must be
agrarian centric.
J.C. Kumarappa, an economist,
supported the plan of rural
industrialisation to escape the
vicious circle of poverty.
ARGUMENT (INDUSTRIES)
Others thought that without a drastic
increase in industrial production, there could
be no escape from the cycle of poverty.

They argued that Indian planning did

have an agrarian strategy to boost the
production of foodgrains - land reforms,
distribution of resources among poor, etc.
 PRIVATE Vs PUBLIC
MIXED ECONOMY
India neither accepted Much of the agriculture, trade and
capitalist model nor industry were left in private hands.
socialist model.
Elements from both these The state controlled key heavy
models were taken and industries, provided industrial
mixed together in India. infrastructure, regulated trade and
made some crucial interventions in
agriculture.
ARGUMENT (PRIVATE)
Critics argued that the planners refused to provide the
private sector with enough space.
The enlarged public sector produced powerful vested
interests that created enough hurdles for private capital,
especially by way of installing systems of licenses and
permits for investment

The state controlled more things than were necessary and

this led to inefficiency and corruption.
ARGUMENT(PUBLIC)

They pointed out that the state did not spend

much amount for public education & healthcare.

The state intervened only in those areas where

the private sector was not prepared to go.
Thus the state helped the private sector to make
profit.

Also, instead of helping the poor, the state

intervention ended up creating a new
‘middle class’ that enjoyed the privileges of high
salaries without much accountability
Ques - Evaluate the major
outcomes of the Indian model
of mixed economy (4M) 2016
Pg - 56
Ques 1 -What message does the cartoon
convey
Ans - Cartoon is trying to make balance b/w
private & public sector to maintain the
growth of an economy adopted by India.

Ques 2 Name the person who is making

efforts to balance both the sectors.
Ans - PT. Jhawarlal Nehru

Ques 3 How was both sectors managed ?

Ans - Pt. Nehru made balance b/w both the
sectors by adopting the model of mixed
economy to co-exist the private & public
model.
MAJOR OUTCOMES
Some of the largest developmental projects in India’s
history were undertaken during this period.

Mega-dams like Bhakhra-Nangal & Hirakud for irrigation

and power generation.

Some of the heavy industries in the public sector – steel

plants, oil refineries, manufacturing units, defense
production etc. – were started during this period.

Infrastructure for transport and communication was

improved substantially.

Of late, some of these mega projects have come in for a

lot of criticism. Yet much of the later economic growth,
including that by the private sector, may not have been
possible in the absence of these foundations.
LAND REFORMS
In the agrarian sector, this period
witnessed a serious attempt at
land reforms :
➔ Abolition of Colonial system
of Zamindari
➔ Attempts at consolidation of
land – bringing small pieces
of land together in one place
so that the farm size could
become viable for
agriculture.
But other 2 components of land reforms
were much less successful :-
➔ Though the laws were made to put
an upper limit or ‘ceiling’, people
with excess land managed to evade
the law.
➔ Similarly, the tenants who worked
on someone else’s land were given
greater legal security against
eviction, but this provision was
rarely implemented.
 PROBLEM WITH LAND REFORMS

The failure was not that of policy but its

non-implementation, because the landowning
classes had lot of social and political power.

Those who benefited from unequal development

soon became politically powerful and made it
even more difficult to move in the desired direction.

Therefore, many proposals for land reforms were

either not translated into laws, or, when made into
laws, they remained only on paper.
Ques - Describe any two land
reforms introduced in free India
which were fairly successful and
two which were less successful &
rarely implemented. (6M) 2019
 BIHAR : The victim 1960s Food Crisis

Between 1965 and 1967, severe droughts

occurred in many parts of the country.

Bihar’s Condition - It was estimated that the

calorie intake dropped from 2200 per capita
per day to as low as 1200 in many regions of
the state. Death rate raised by 34%, Inflation
was high.

Government had “zoning” policies that

prohibited trade of food across states; this
reduced the availability of food in Bihar
dramatically. In situations such as this, the
poorest sections of the society suffered the
most.
GREEN REVOLUTION
During the Food-crisis, the
country was clearly vulnerable to
external pressures and
dependent on food aid, mainly
from the US
The United States, in turn,
pushed India to change its
economic policies
The government adopted a new
strategy for agriculture in order to
ensure food sufficiency - Instead of the
earlier policy of giving more support to
the areas and farmers that were
lagging behind, now it was decided to
put more resources into those areas
which already had irrigation and those
farmers who were already well-off
Argument - those who already had
the capacity could help increase
production rapidly in the short run.
Thus the government offered HYV
seeds, fertilizers, pesticides & better
irrigation at highly subsidised prices.
The government also gave a
guarantee to buy the produce of the
farmers at a given price.
This was the beginning of what was
called the ‘green revolution’.
Beneficiaries - The rich peasants &
large landholders.
DISADVANTAGES
Rise in wheat production - raised the
availability of food in the country, but
increased polarisation between classes
and regions.
Some regions like Punjab, Haryana and
western Uttar Pradesh became
agriculturally prosperous, while others
remained backward.
Some argued - Environmental Pollution
 OTHER TWO MAJOR OUTCOMES

Existence of Middle Class -

The stark contrast between
These were farmers with
the poor peasantry and the
medium size holdings, who
landlords produced
benefited from the changes
conditions favourable for
and soon emerged politically
leftwing organisations to
influential in many parts of
organise the poor peasants
the country.
Ques - Describe any four Ques - Describe any two
consequences of Green positive and two negative
Revolution. (4M) 2015 impact of green revolution.
(6M) 2019 /2015
 White Revolution (Operation Flood)

The revolution was started by the Milkman of

India, Varghese Kurien.

Based in Anand, a town in Gujarat, Amul is a

dairy cooperative movement
joined by about 2 and half million milk producers
in Gujarat.

AIM - generating employment and income for

rural households and alleviating poverty.

Increased milk production - by bringing the

producer and consumer closer by eliminating
middlemen.
 Development took significant turn from the
end of 1960s

After Nehru’s death Indira Gandhi emerged as a

popular leader. The period from 1967 onwards
witnessed many new restrictions on private industry.
Fourteen private banks were nationalised. The
government announced many pro-poor
programmes. These changes were accompanied by
an ideological tilt towards socialist policies.
Outcome - generated heated debates within the
country among political parties and also among
experts.
However, the consensus for a state-led
economic development did not last forever.

➔ Between 1950 and 1980 the Indian

economy grew at a sluggish per annum
rate of 3 to 3.5%.
➔ People lost faith - due to inefficiency
and corruption.
➔ OUTCOME - led the policy makers to
reduce the importance of the state in
India’s economy from the 1980s onwards.
After independence, a Planning Commission
based on socialist model was formed for the
planned development of India. But in the era of
globalization, especially in the 21st century, it was
becoming ineffective and irrelevant, particularly
in terms of coping with the pressing challenges of
development.

Hence, during his Independence Day speech on 15

August 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
talked about the abolition of the Planning
Commission. NITI Aayog was constituted in place
of Planning Commission on 1 January 2015 with
the objective of
providing the necessary and technical advice to
the Union Government regarding policy making
at the Central and State levels.
NITI Aayog acts as a think tank of the Union Govt. - To
harmonize the interests of national security and economic
policy and to prepare strategic and long-term framework
of policy and programme,

The Prime Minister of India is the ex-officio Chairman of

NITI Aayog, and he appoints the Vice-Chairperson of
NITI Aayog.
First Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog - was Arvind
Panagariya.
Current VC - Dr. Rajiv Kumar.
Ques - Who among the following
appoints the Vice Chairperson of NITI
Ayog ? (2021 Term 1)
(a) President of India
(b) PM of India
(c) Vice president of India
(d) Lok Sabha speaker
Ques - In which year was the NITI
Ayog constituted ? (2021 Term 1)
(a) 2014
(b) 2015
(c) 2016
(d) 2017
Ques - Which among the following
statement about NITI Ayog is true ?
i NITI Ayog act as a think tank of Union
Govt.
ii NITI Ayog act against terrorism
iii NITI Ayog acts in the spirit of
cooperative federalism
iv NITI Ayog decides more role for bigger
states & smaller role for smaller states.
(2021 Term 1)

(a) i, ii, iv
(b) iii and iv
(c) i, iii, iv
(d) i and iii
 PYQ BASED - MAP WORK

C - U.P
2019
B - Bihar
A. State related to dairy cooperative
A - Gujarat movements under the name of Amul (2019
/2018) - Gujarat

2018
B. The state which faced a near famine
situation in 1960s - Bihar

C. State benefited by Green Revolution - U.P