The idea of Planning in Independent India was drawn from
- (a)the Bombay Plan
- (b)the demand made by peasants
- (c)the demand made by workers' unions
- (d)the Gandhian vision of India’s future
Correct — A, the Bombay Plan. The idea of centralised economic planning in independent India drew heavily on the Bombay Plan of 1944–45, a set of proposals for state-guided industrial development drawn up by eight of India's leading industrialists (including J.R.D. Tata and G.D. Birla). It envisaged a large role for the state and a doubling of per-capita income, and its thinking fed directly into the Planning Commission (1950) and the Five Year Plans.
- (b)the demand made by peasants — Peasant movements pressed mainly for land reform, not for the framework of national economic planning that India adopted.
- (c)the demand made by workers' unions — Trade unions campaigned for wages and labour rights; the model of centralised Five Year Plans did not originate in their demands.
- (d)the Gandhian vision of India’s future — The Gandhian vision stressed decentralised village self-sufficiency and cottage industry — almost the opposite of the centralised, heavy-industry planning India actually took up (there was a separate 'Gandhian Plan' by S.N. Agarwal, but the mainstream idea of planning came from the Bombay Plan).
After independence India adopted centralised economic planning through the Planning Commission (set up 1950) and successive Five Year Plans (from 1951). Several pre-independence blueprints influenced this, but the most direct antecedent was the Bombay Plan (1944–45), authored by top industrialists, which argued for a strong state role in building heavy industry and infrastructure.
The trap is to pick the Gandhian vision because it sounds home-grown and patriotic. But India's actual planning model — centralised, industry-first and state-led — mirrors the Bombay Plan, not Gandhian village economics.
- The Bombay Plan (1944–45) was drafted by eight industrialists, including J.R.D. Tata and G.D. Birla.
- It proposed a major state role in industrialisation and aimed to double per-capita income over about 15 years.
- The Planning Commission was set up in 1950; the First Five Year Plan ran 1951–56.
- Other pre-independence blueprints included the People's Plan (M.N. Roy) and the Gandhian Plan (S.N. Agarwal).
India's centralised Five Year Plans drew most directly from the Bombay Plan — option (a).
- Choosing the Gandhian vision because it feels indigenous — India's model was centralised, not Gandhian village economics.
- Confusing the Bombay Plan (industrialists) with the Gandhian Plan (S.N. Agarwal).
Asks the source of the 'idea of planning' — the Bombay Plan, not peasant or worker demands or Gandhian economics.
A Five Year Plan in India is finally approved by the
- (a) Union Cabinet
- (b) President on the advice of the Prime Minister
- (c) Planning Commission
- (d) National Development Council
Answer(d) National Development Council
Same area — India's planning machinery. That item tests who finally approves a Five Year Plan; this one tests where the idea of planning itself came from.
Before the inception of the First Five year Plan, which among the following Plans were initiated in India? 1. Bombay Plan 2. Peoples Plan 3. Sarvodaya Plan 4. Gandhian Plan
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 1 and 3 only
- (c) 3 and 4 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Same concept — the pre-independence plans (including the Bombay Plan) that preceded the First Five Year Plan and shaped India's idea of planning.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Bombay Plan (1944) was prepared by
- (a)British colonial administrators
- (b)leading Indian industrialists
- (c)the Indian National Congress
- (d)peasant leaders
Answer(b) leading Indian industrialists — including J.R.D. Tata and G.D. Birla.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Planning Commission of India was set up in which year?
- (a)1947
- (b)1950
- (c)1951
- (d)1956
Answer(b) 1950 — by a Cabinet resolution; the First Five Year Plan followed in 1951.