Which plan introduced Minimum Needs Programme?

Correct — C. The Minimum Needs Programme was introduced in the first year of the Fifth Five-Year Plan, in 1974.

The Fifth Plan set removal of poverty, garibi hatao, and self-reliance as its objectives. The MNP was meant to provide basic minimum needs and raise living standards.

Fifth → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Third — The Third Plan (1961–66) stressed agriculture and shifted towards defence after the 1962 war. The MNP came in 1974, eight years after it ended.
• (b)
  Fourth — The Fourth Plan (1969–74) aimed at growth with stability and used the Gadgil formula. The MNP was introduced in the plan that followed it.
• (d)
  Sixth — The Sixth Plan began in 1980, six years after the Fifth Plan introduced the MNP in 1974.

Plans are easiest to tell apart by their objectives. The Fifth Plan, drawn up for 1974–79, followed Indira Gandhi's garibi hatao campaign and made removal of poverty and self-reliance its aims.

The Minimum Needs Programme was its answer for basic services. The Janata government ended the Fifth Plan a year early, in 1978.

Key facts

• The Minimum Needs Programme was introduced in the first year of the Fifth Five-Year Plan, 1974.
• The Fifth Plan's objectives were removal of poverty and attainment of self-reliance.
• The Janata government ended the Fifth Plan in 1978, a year ahead of schedule.
• The Drought Prone Areas Programme began in 1973, during the Fourth Plan.

Common traps

• Placing the MNP in the Sixth Plan: it was introduced six years earlier, in 1974.
• Tying garibi hatao to the Fourth Plan: the slogan came from the 1971 campaign, but the plan that adopted it was the Fifth.

No directly related past PYQ was found.