What was the actual growth rate of the first five-year plan?

Correct — C. The First Five Year Plan ran from 1951 to 1956 and set an annual growth target of about 2.1%.

The economy grew faster than the plan asked for: the achievement recorded for the period is about 3.6% a year.

The question asks for the actual rate, not the target, so the answer is option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  4.2% — 4.2% overstates the outcome. It is roughly double the plan's own target, and it is not the figure recorded for the First Plan.
• (b)
  2.6% — 2.6% sits between the 2.1% target and the 3.6% achievement, and matches neither of them.
• (d)
  2.1% — 2.1% is the target the plan set for itself, which is why it appears here. The stem asks what was achieved, not what was aimed at.

The First Plan was built on the Harrod-Domar model, which ties the growth rate to how much a country saves and how much capital it needs per unit of output. The lever it offers is investment, so the plan pushed savings and public investment.

Spending went mainly to agriculture, irrigation and power — a deliberate response to the food supply disruption after Partition, and the reason the large river-valley projects date from this period.

Growth came in above the target, and the good agricultural years of the period are the usual explanation.

Key facts

• The First Five Year Plan covered the years 1951 to 1956.
• Its annual growth target was about 2.1% against a recorded achievement of about 3.6%.
• The plan was based on the Harrod-Domar model.
• Its priority sectors were agriculture, irrigation and power.

Common traps

• Selecting 2.1%, which is the target rather than the achievement.
• Carrying over the Second Plan's figures, because the two plans are usually taught back to back.

No directly related past PYQ was found.