SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 10 September 2024, Shift 1 · General Awareness · Question 5 of 98

Text as printed on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; answer per SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 10 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. The questions and options here are reproduced as printed on a candidate's own response sheet for this shift — the Commission's text, unchanged. Each answer is SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet; SSC allowed challenges to it and never publishes a final key. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Which Five-Year Plan primarily focused on the 'Garibi Hatao' initiative?

(a)Fourth Five-Year Plan
(b)Sixth Five-Year Plan
(c)Third Five-Year Plan
(d)Fifth Five-Year Plan

Answer

Why

Correct — D. The Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974-79) is the plan whose stated objectives were removal of poverty — garibi hatao — and attainment of self-reliance.

The slogan itself came from Indira Gandhi's 1971 election campaign. The Fifth Plan, drawn up afterwards, is the one that turned it into planning targets, the Minimum Needs Programme among them.

It was terminated a year early, in 1978, by the Janata government.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Fourth Five-Year Plan — The Fourth Plan (1969-74) is remembered for 'growth with stability' and progressive self-reliance, and for the Gadgil formula for central assistance to states.
(b)
Sixth Five-Year Plan — The Sixth Plan (1980-85) is the real trap, because poverty removal stayed on the agenda after 1980. The plan that took garibi hatao as its own defining objective is the Fifth.
(c)
Third Five-Year Plan — The Third Plan (1961-66) aimed at a self-reliant, self-generating economy and was wrecked by the wars of 1962 and 1965 and by drought. It predates the slogan by a decade.

Concept

Each Indian five-year plan carries a one-line identity, and that line is what SSC asks for.

First (1951-56) — agriculture, on the Harrod-Domar model.
Second (1956-61) — heavy industry, on the Mahalanobis model.
Third (1961-66) — self-reliance, derailed by war and drought.

Then three annual plans, the plan holiday of 1966-69.

Fourth (1969-74) — growth with stability.
Fifth (1974-79) — garibi hatao and self-reliance.

Learn the pair of number and phrase, and most of these items answer themselves.

The slogan is older than the plan. 'Garibi Hatao' belongs to the 1971 campaign, while the plan that adopted it as an objective begins in 1974.

Key facts

The Fifth Five-Year Plan ran from 1974 to 1979 and was terminated in 1978 by the Janata government.
Its two stated objectives were removal of poverty and attainment of self-reliance.
The Minimum Needs Programme was introduced during the Fifth Plan.
The years 1966 to 1969 were a plan holiday, covered by three annual plans.

Study next

The model behind each plan, from Harrod-Domar to MahalanobisThe plan holiday of 1966-69 and the rolling plan that followed the FifthPoverty-line committees: Lakdawala, Tendulkar and Rangarajan

Common traps

Choosing the Sixth Plan because poverty removal remained a stated goal after 1980
Dating slogan and plan together when the slogan is from 1971 and the plan begins in 1974

SSC asks plans by their model, their slogan or their years. The Mahalanobis model is asked at 11 Sep 2024, 16:00, GA Q.23, the Harrod-Domar model at 18 Sep 2024, 09:00, GA Q.12, and the 'food, work and productivity' slogan at 18 Sep 2024, 16:00, GA Q.15.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.