Consider the following statements about the Second Five-Year Plan : 1. It was drafted under the leadership of K. N. Raj. 2. It proposed that industries like electricity, railways, steel, machineries and communication could be developed in the public sector. 3. The drafters found balancing industry and agriculture very difficult. 4. The drafters found balancing industry and agriculture really easy. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 only
- B.1 and 2
- C.2 and 3
- D.3 and 4
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, 2 and 3. The Second Plan put heavy and basic industries in the public sector, and its planners found it hard to balance industry with agriculture; but it was drafted under P. C. Mahalanobis, not K. N. Raj.
The Second Five-Year Plan (1956–61) followed the Mahalanobis model, which gave top priority to heavy industry such as steel, machinery, electricity, railways and communications, mostly owned and run by the state. The steel plants at Bhilai, Durgapur and Rourkela came up in this period. Because so much investment went into industry, agriculture got less, and the planners themselves admitted how difficult the balance was; food shortages in the 1960s showed the cost.
Option A is wrong, because statement 1 is false: K. N. Raj was a young economist linked with drafting the First Plan, while Mahalanobis led the Second. Option B is wrong, because it includes the false statement 1. Option D is wrong, because statement 4 contradicts statement 3 and is false.
Exam tip: First Plan agriculture (Harrod-Domar), Second Plan heavy industry (Mahalanobis).
Practice Questions
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