NDA (II) 2025 General Ability Test · Question 90 of 147

Correct — B, 1966-1969. After the Third Five Year Plan ended in 1966, India did not begin the Fourth Plan immediately. Instead it ran three one-year Annual Plans (1966-67, 1967-68 and 1968-69) — a period nicknamed the 'Plan Holiday'. The break was forced by the wars of 1962 and 1965, two years of severe drought and famine, and the June 1966 devaluation of the rupee, which together strained resources. The Fourth Plan then began in 1969.

• (a)1956-1957 — This falls inside the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61), which was running normally — there were no Annual Plans then.
• (c)1975-1976 — This is a year within the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79); it was a regular plan year, not an Annual Plan.
• (d)1992-1993 — The second gap of Annual Plans actually fell in 1990-92, after the Seventh Plan; by 1992-93 the Eighth Plan (1992-97) had already begun, so this pair is wrong.

India's development is normally organised into Five Year Plans, but twice the sequence was interrupted by one-year 'Annual Plans'. The first and best-known interruption — the 'Plan Holiday' — covered the three years 1966-69 between the Third and Fourth Plans. A second stretch of Annual Plans occurred in 1990-92 before the Eighth Plan.

The trap is to pick a year that merely sounds like a transition. The reliable anchor is the phrase 'Plan Holiday' = 1966-69, the three years after the Third Plan. Knowing why (wars, drought, rupee devaluation) helps confirm the dates.

• Three Annual Plans ran in 1966-67, 1967-68 and 1968-69 — the 'Plan Holiday'.
• Causes: the 1962 and 1965 wars, back-to-back droughts, and the June 1966 rupee devaluation.
• The Third Plan ended in 1966; the Fourth Plan began in 1969.
• A second set of Annual Plans occurred in 1990-92, before the Eighth Plan (1992-97).

• 1992-93 is the start of the Eighth Plan, not an Annual Plan; the real second gap was 1990-92.
• Do not confuse a mid-plan year (like 1975-76) with an Annual Plan year.

Asked by dating the 'Plan Holiday' or by identifying which years had Annual (one-year) Plans.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The 'Plan Holiday' in India refers to which period?

  • (a)1962-1965
  • (b)1966-1969
  • (c)1969-1974
  • (d)1978-1980

  Answer(b) 1966-1969 — the three Annual Plans between the Third and Fourth Five Year Plans.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which of the following was a major cause of the Plan Holiday of 1966-69?

  • (a)The Bengal famine of 1943
  • (b)The 1965 war, drought and the 1966 rupee devaluation
  • (c)The 1991 balance-of-payments crisis
  • (d)Bank nationalisation of 1969

  Answer(b) The 1965 war, drought and 1966 devaluation — these strained resources and forced the shift to Annual Plans.