Read the following Assertion (A) and Reason (R) carefully and choose the correct option. Assertion (A): The Mahalanobis strategy prioritized heavy industries and capital goods. Reason (R): It was believed that investing in such industries would create long-term capacity for growth.

Correct — A. Assertion true: the Second Five Year Plan (1956–61), built on P. C. Mahalanobis's model, directed investment to heavy industry and capital goods such as steel, machinery and power.

Reason true, and it explains A: the model held that making machines at home would raise India's capacity to invest, and so its growth rate, over the long run → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A. — R is the model's stated logic, not a side fact. Building long-term capacity through capital goods is why the plan favoured heavy industry.
• (c)
  A is true but R is false. — The Reason is true. Raising future growth by building a capital-goods base was the Mahalanobis model's central argument.
• (d)
  A is false but R is true. — The Assertion is true. The Second Plan's heavy-industry push set up the public-sector steel plants at Bhilai, Rourkela and Durgapur.

P. C. Mahalanobis, the statistician who founded the Indian Statistical Institute, built the model behind the Second Five Year Plan (1956–61).

It divided the economy into sectors making consumer goods and capital goods, and argued that putting more investment into capital goods raises the long-run growth rate.

The First Plan (1951–56) had centred on agriculture. The Second turned to rapid industrialisation led by the public sector.

Key facts

• The Second Five Year Plan ran from 1956 to 1961 and was based on the Mahalanobis model.
• The First Five Year Plan (1951–56) was based on the Harrod–Domar model and prioritised agriculture.
• The Bhilai, Rourkela and Durgapur steel plants were set up in the public sector during the Second Plan.
• National Statistics Day, 29 June, marks Mahalanobis's birth anniversary.

Common traps

• Choosing 'R is not the correct explanation' because R sounds general. R states the model's own rationale, so it explains A.
• Crediting the Second Plan to the Harrod–Domar or Keynesian model. Harrod–Domar belongs to the First Plan.

No directly related past PYQ was found.