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Economic Systems and the Five Year Plans for CUET Economics

About 5 min to learn · 54 questions

Capitalist, socialist and mixed economies and why India chose a mixed economy, what a plan is, the Planning Commission and NITI Aayog, P.C. Mahalanobis and the Second Plan, and the four goals of planning (growth, modernisation, self-reliance and equity), with the traps CUET sets.

Syllabus area
Indian Economic Development
On this page · 8 sections
  1. 01The core idea
  2. 02Three economic systems
  3. 03Planning in India
  4. 04The four goals of planning
  5. 05Exam shortcuts
  6. 06Common mistakes
  7. 07Quick revision
  8. 08Check your understanding

The core idea

Every economy must decide what to produce, how to produce it and for whom. After 1947, India answered through a mixed economy guided by Five Year Plans, with four goals: growth, modernisation, self-reliance and equity.

Three economic systems

SystemWhat to produceFor whom
CapitalistWhat the market demands and is profitableThose with purchasing power
SocialistWhat the state judges society needsBy need; the state owns the means of production
MixedThe market, with the state filling the gapsMarket, plus state provision of essentials

Why a mixed economy?

A purely capitalist economy can leave the poor without essentials, since goods go to those who can pay. A socialist economy can be slow to give people what they want, since the state, not demand, decides output. India's leaders, Jawaharlal Nehru above all, admired Soviet planning but wanted a democratic India with private enterprise. So the state would provide what the market failed to, and lead in key industries. The Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948 and the Directive Principles reflect this outlook.

Planning in India

A plan says how a nation's resources will be used to reach set goals over a period. India planned for five years at a time, within a perspective plan of about 20 years.

  • The Planning Commission was established in March 1950 by a Government of India resolution, with the Prime Minister as Chairperson.
  • The First Five Year Plan ran from 1951 to 1956; India had twelve five year plans, formulated between 1950 and 2014, the Twelfth running 2012–17.
  • NITI Aayog was constituted on 1 January 2015, with the Prime Minister as Chairperson, replacing the Planning Commission. It works as a policy think tank and does not draw up Five Year Plans.

Watch out

1950 is the Planning Commission; 1951 is the start of the First Plan. The Commission was set up by a government resolution, not an Act of Parliament.

Who was Mahalanobis?

P.C. Mahalanobis, a statistician, is called the architect of Indian planning. Planning in the real sense began with the Second Plan (1956–61), built on his ideas: a stress on heavy industry (capital goods) and the public sector, because machines raise the capacity to produce in future. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta in 1931 and started its journal, Sankhya.

The First Plan had put agriculture first.

The four goals of planning

GoalMeaningExample
GrowthA rise in the capacity to produce goods and services, measured by GDPGDP rises by 6% in a year
ModernisationNew technology, and a change in social outlookNew seed varieties; equal rights for women
Self-relianceAvoid importing what India can produce, above all foodGrowing enough grain at home
EquityGrowth's gains reach the poor; everyone meets basic needsLand for the landless; cheap food

Why self-reliance?

A country that must import food can be pressured by those who supply it, so depending on others for food could expose India to interference in its policies. The first seven plans stressed self-reliance.

Can the goals clash?

Yes. Resources spent on one goal are not available for another, and a labour-saving machine may modernise production while throwing workers out of work, which works against equity. Each plan therefore chose its priorities.

Watch out

Modernisation is not only machines: the change in social outlook (such as accepting that women should have the same rights as men) is part of it. And self-reliance never meant stopping all trade.

Exam shortcuts

  • Planning Commission March 1950, PM as chair; First Plan 1951–56; Twelfth 2012–17; NITI Aayog 1 January 2015.
  • Mahalanobis: Second Plan, heavy industry, ISI 1931, Sankhya.
  • Four goals: growth, modernisation, self-reliance, equity.
  • Capitalism distributes by purchasing power; socialism by need.

Common mistakes

  • Saying NITI Aayog makes Five Year Plans.
  • Giving the First Plan a heavy-industry focus (that was the Second).
  • Treating a rise in GDP as modernisation.
  • Calling India's economy purely socialist.

Quick revision

Systems

  • Capitalist: market, purchasing power
  • Socialist: state, need
  • Mixed: India's choice

Planning

  • Planning Commission 1950, NITI Aayog 2015
  • First Plan 1951–56; twelve plans in all
  • Mahalanobis and the Second Plan

Goals

  • Growth, modernisation, self-reliance, equity
  • Goals can conflict

How planning changed farming is in land reforms and the green revolution.

Next · 07Quick revision

Check your understanding

54 questions, grouped by type, easy to hard. Pick an answer and check it. The worked solution opens when you ask for it.

Economic systemsQ1 of 54Q1

Economic systems

14 questions

Every economy has to answer three questions. Which of these is NOT one of them?

Options for question 1

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AnswerB · Who should govern the country?

  1. What to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce are the three central questions; who governs is a political question.

In a capitalist economy, what is produced is decided mainly by

Options for question 2

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AnswerD · market forces of demand and supply

  1. Firms produce what buyers want and will pay for, since that earns a profit.

After independence, India chose

Options for question 3

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AnswerB · a mixed economy

  1. India combined a large public sector with a private sector: the state and the market would both play a role.

In a capitalist economy, goods are distributed among people according to

Options for question 4

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AnswerA · their purchasing power

  1. Goods go to those who can buy them; someone who cannot pay goes without, whatever the need.

In a socialist economy, goods are distributed according to

Options for question 5

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AnswerC · what people need

  1. The government decides what to produce in line with society's needs, and distributes by need, not by purchasing power.

Read the two statements and choose the correct option.

I. In a socialist economy, the government decides what goods are to be produced.

II. In a socialist economy, private property is widespread.

Options for question 6

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AnswerA · Only I

  1. I is true: production follows the state's view of society's needs.

  2. In a socialist society the state owns the means of production, so II is false.

In a mixed economy, the government steps in mainly to

Options for question 7

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AnswerC · provide essential goods and services the market fails to provide

  1. The market supplies what it can produce well; the state supplies essentials the market leaves out.

Assertion (A): A purely capitalist economy may leave the poor without essential goods.

Reason (R): In a capitalist economy, goods go to those who can pay for them.

Options for question 8

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AnswerA · Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

  1. Distribution by purchasing power means the poor can be priced out of essentials.

  2. R explains A.

Which pair of documents reflected India's choice of a mixed economy with a strong public sector?

Options for question 9

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AnswerA · The Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948 and the Directive Principles

  1. The Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948 and the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution both set out this outlook.

Match each economic system with how it answers 'for whom to produce'.

List IList II
A. CapitalistI. By the market, with the state filling gaps
B. SocialistII. By purchasing power
C. MixedIII. By custom and tradition
D. Traditional village economyIV. By need, as the state judges it
Options for question 10

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AnswerD · A-II, B-IV, C-I, D-III

  1. Capitalism distributes by the ability to pay; socialism by need; a mixed economy uses both.

  2. A traditional economy follows custom.

Assertion (A): Planning in India set targets for both the public and the private sector.

Reason (R): India's economy had no private sector at all after independence.

Options for question 11

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AnswerC · A is true, but R is false.

  1. In a mixed economy the plans guided both sectors, so A is true.

  2. A large private sector existed, so R is false.

Read the two statements and choose the correct option.

I. Jawaharlal Nehru favoured a socialist pattern of society but did not want to abolish private property altogether.

II. India's planners wanted the public sector to play a leading role in the economy.

Options for question 12

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AnswerC · Both I and II

  1. Nehru admired Soviet planning but wanted a democratic India with private enterprise too: I is true.

  2. The public sector was given the commanding heights of the economy: II is true.

Assertion (A): The early plans gave the public sector a leading role.

Reason (R): Private investors in 1950 had neither the capital nor the market to build heavy industry.

Options for question 13

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AnswerA · Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

  1. Heavy industry needed huge investment with a long wait for returns, which private firms could not supply.

  2. So the state took the lead. R explains A.

Assertion (A): A socialist economy may be slow to give consumers what they want.

Reason (R): In a socialist economy, the state, not consumer demand, decides what is produced.

Options for question 14

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AnswerA · Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

  1. When production follows a plan rather than demand, it can lag behind what people actually want.

  2. R explains A.

Planning and the Planning Commission

13 questions

A plan, in economics, spells out

Options for question 15

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AnswerC · how resources will be used to reach set goals

  1. A plan sets general and specific goals for a period and says how resources will be used to reach them.

The Planning Commission of India was set up in

Options for question 16

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AnswerB · 1950

  1. It was set up in March 1950 by a government resolution, with the Prime Minister as its chairperson.

Worth noting

1951 is when the First Five Year Plan began, not when the Commission was set up.

Who was the chairperson of the Planning Commission?

Options for question 17

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AnswerA · The Prime Minister

  1. The Prime Minister chaired the Planning Commission, as the Prime Minister now chairs NITI Aayog.

The First Five Year Plan covered the period

Options for question 18

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AnswerB · 1951–56

  1. The First Plan ran from 1951 to 1956; the Second, built on Mahalanobis's ideas, from 1956 to 1961.

Which body replaced the Planning Commission, and when?

Options for question 19

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AnswerD · NITI Aayog, on 1 January 2015

  1. NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) was constituted on 1 January 2015, with the Prime Minister as chairperson.

How many Five Year Plans did India have before planning by Five Year Plans ended?

Options for question 20

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AnswerC · 12

  1. Twelve Five Year Plans were drawn up; the Twelfth ran from 2012 to 2017.

Besides five-year goals, India's planners also set long-term goals over about 20 years. Such a plan is called a

Options for question 21

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AnswerA · perspective plan

  1. A perspective plan sets long-run goals; each Five Year Plan is meant to be a step towards them.

Read the two statements and choose the correct option.

I. Every Five Year Plan gave equal weight to all four goals of planning.

II. The goals of a plan should be stated clearly and be realistic.

Options for question 22

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AnswerB · Only II

  1. Limited resources mean each plan stresses some goals more than others, so I is false.

  2. II is true: vague or impossible goals cannot guide the use of resources.

Arrange these in chronological order.

A. The Second Five Year Plan begins

B. The Planning Commission is set up

C. NITI Aayog is constituted

D. The First Five Year Plan begins

Options for question 23

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AnswerD · B, D, A, C

  1. Planning Commission 1950, First Plan 1951, Second Plan 1956, NITI Aayog 2015.

Assertion (A): India adopted five-year planning soon after independence.

Reason (R): The Planning Commission was chaired by the Prime Minister.

Options for question 24

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AnswerB · Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.

  1. Both statements are true: the First Plan began in 1951, and the Prime Minister chaired the Commission.

  2. Who chaired the Commission does not explain why India chose to plan, so R is not the explanation.

Assertion (A): The Planning Commission was set up by an Act of Parliament.

Reason (R): The Prime Minister was the chairperson of the Planning Commission.

Options for question 25

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AnswerD · A is false, but R is true.

  1. It was set up by a government resolution, not an Act, so A is false.

  2. R is true.

Assertion (A): NITI Aayog is chaired by the Prime Minister.

Reason (R): NITI Aayog was set up before the Planning Commission.

Options for question 26

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AnswerC · A is true, but R is false.

  1. A is true.

  2. NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2015, so R is false.

Read the two statements and choose the correct option.

I. NITI Aayog draws up Five Year Plans just as the Planning Commission did.

II. The last Five Year Plan was the Twelfth, which ran from 2012 to 2017.

Options for question 27

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AnswerB · Only II

  1. Five Year Plans ended with the Twelfth Plan; NITI Aayog works as a policy think tank instead. I is false.

  2. II is true.

Mahalanobis and the Second Plan

8 questions

Who is called the architect of Indian planning?

Options for question 28

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AnswerB · P.C. Mahalanobis

  1. Planning in the real sense began with the Second Plan, whose ideas came from P.C. Mahalanobis.

Which Five Year Plan was based on the ideas of P.C. Mahalanobis?

Options for question 29

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AnswerC · The Second Plan

  1. The Second Plan (1956–61) followed Mahalanobis's model, with its stress on heavy industry.

The Second Five Year Plan laid special stress on

Options for question 30

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AnswerC · heavy industry and the public sector

  1. Mahalanobis argued that capital goods industries would lay the base for long-run growth, and the public sector was to build them.

Worth noting

The First Plan, not the Second, put agriculture first.

P.C. Mahalanobis founded the

Options for question 31

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AnswerB · Indian Statistical Institute

  1. He set up the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta in 1931, and started its journal, Sankhya.

Sankhya, a journal still used by statisticians, was started by

Options for question 32

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AnswerD · P.C. Mahalanobis

  1. Mahalanobis started Sankhya alongside the Indian Statistical Institute.

Read the two statements and choose the correct option.

I. Mahalanobis was a statistician.

II. Mahalanobis's plan model favoured consumer goods over capital goods.

Options for question 33

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AnswerA · Only I

  1. He was a statistician of world standing: I is true.

  2. His model favoured capital goods (heavy industry), so II is false.

Assertion (A): The Second Plan stressed industries making capital goods.

Reason (R): Capital goods raise a country's capacity to produce in the future.

Options for question 34

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AnswerA · Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

  1. Machines make more goods later; building them first was meant to raise long-run growth.

  2. R explains A.

Assertion (A): The Second Five Year Plan was the first to be based on P.C. Mahalanobis's model.

Reason (R): P.C. Mahalanobis was an economist trained only in agriculture.

Options for question 35

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AnswerC · A is true, but R is false.

  1. A is true.

  2. He was a statistician, which is why he founded the Indian Statistical Institute. R is false.

The goals of planning

19 questions

The four common goals of India's Five Year Plans were

Options for question 36

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AnswerA · growth, modernisation, self-reliance and equity

  1. Growth, modernisation, self-reliance and equity ran through all the plans, with different weights.

Growth, as a goal of planning, means

Options for question 37

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AnswerD · more capacity to produce goods and services

  1. Growth means more output: a larger stock of capital, more efficient services, or both. It is measured by the rise in GDP.

Equity, as a goal of planning, means

Options for question 38

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AnswerA · that the gains from growth reach the poor too

  1. Growth alone may leave the poor behind; equity asks that each Indian can meet basic needs: food, a decent house, education and health care.

Read the two statements and choose the correct option.

I. Equity means that every Indian should be able to meet basic needs such as food, a decent house, education and health care.

II. Equity also means that inequality in the distribution of wealth should be reduced.

Options for question 39

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AnswerC · Both I and II

  1. Both are part of the goal of equity, so both are true.

Modernisation, as a goal of planning, includes

Options for question 40

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AnswerA · both new technology and changes in social outlook

  1. Modernisation means adopting new technology, and also a change in social outlook, such as accepting that women should have the same rights as men.

A farmer switches to a new seed variety, and a factory buys a newer machine. These are examples of

Options for question 41

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AnswerC · modernisation

  1. Adopting new technology to raise output is modernisation.

Self-reliance, as a goal of the early plans, meant

Options for question 42

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AnswerB · avoiding imports of goods that India could make itself

  1. The first seven plans stressed self-reliance: produce at home what could be produced at home.

  2. Dependence on other countries for food could open India to their interference in its policies.

Why did planners fear depending on other countries for food?

Options for question 43

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AnswerB · It could open India to foreign pressure on its policies

  1. A country that must import food can be pressured by those who supply it.

Match each goal of planning with an example of it.

List IList II
A. GrowthI. Farmers adopt new seed varieties
B. ModernisationII. Land is given to the landless
C. Self-relianceIII. GDP rises by 6% in a year
D. EquityIV. India stops importing food grains
Options for question 44

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AnswerD · A-III, B-I, C-IV, D-II

  1. More output is growth; new technology is modernisation; producing food at home is self-reliance; spreading assets to the poor is equity.

Read the two statements and choose the correct option.

I. The goals of planning can sometimes conflict with one another.

II. Modern labour-saving technology can work against the goal of providing jobs.

Options for question 45

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AnswerC · Both I and II

  1. I is true: resources spent on one goal are not available for another.

  2. II is true and is an example of I: a new machine may replace workers, which can hurt equity.

Assertion (A): Accepting that women should have the same rights as men is part of modernisation.

Reason (R): Modernisation means only the adoption of new machines.

Options for question 46

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AnswerC · A is true, but R is false.

  1. Modernisation includes a change in social outlook, so A is true.

  2. It is not only machines, so R is false.

The goal of self-reliance was given the most importance in

Options for question 47

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AnswerC · the first seven Five Year Plans

  1. Self-reliance ran through the first seven plans, until the reforms of 1991 opened the economy.

Which of these does NOT help the goal of equity?

Options for question 48

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AnswerB · Tax cuts that benefit only the richest households

  1. Equity means spreading the benefits to the poor; a cut that helps only the rich widens the gap.

A goal of planning that matters especially when a country's farmers adopt new seeds and machines is

Options for question 49

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AnswerC · modernisation

  1. New seeds and machines are new technology, which is modernisation.

Assertion (A): Growth in GDP is a goal of planning.

Reason (R): A larger GDP means the country produces more goods and services.

Options for question 50

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AnswerA · Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

  1. More output means more goods and services for people, which is why growth is a goal.

  2. R explains A.

Read the two statements and choose the correct option.

I. Self-reliance in the early plans meant that India would not trade with any other country.

II. Modernisation is measured by the rise in a country's GDP.

Options for question 51

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AnswerD · Neither I nor II

  1. Self-reliance meant avoiding imports of what India could make, not ending trade. I is false.

  2. A rise in GDP measures growth, not modernisation. II is false.

Assertion (A): Modernisation and equity can pull in different directions.

Reason (R): Labour-saving machines can raise output while cutting jobs.

Options for question 52

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AnswerA · Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

  1. A new machine modernises production but may throw workers out, which hurts equity.

  2. R explains A.

Assertion (A): High growth by itself may not improve the lives of most people.

Reason (R): The benefits of growth may go mainly to the rich.

Options for question 53

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AnswerA · Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

  1. If the gains go to a few, most people see little change; that is why equity is a separate goal.

  2. R explains A.

A country's GDP grows fast, but most of the extra income goes to the richest tenth of households. Which goal of planning is it failing?

Options for question 54

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AnswerD · Equity

  1. Output is rising, so growth is met. The gains are not shared, so equity is not.

NTA's Economics syllabus is three courses: Introductory Microeconomics, Introductory Macroeconomics and Indian Economic Development, each split into units with a list of topics. It prints no chapters and no split of the 50 questions across the courses. So the areas here are NTA's three courses, and the chapters inside them are ours: a unit that covers several ideas, such as consumer behaviour and demand, is split into a chapter for each, so that a chapter can be practised in one sitting. All three courses are here.