Politics of planned development


1. Which of these statements about the Bombay Plan is incorrect?

(a) It was a blueprint for India’s economic future.

(b) It supported state-ownership of industry.

(c) It was made by some leading industrialists.

(d) It supported strongly the idea of planning.n

Answer: (a) It was a blueprint for India’s economic future.


2. Which of the following ideas did not form part of the early phase of

India’s development policy?

(a) Planning                 (c) Cooperative Farming

(b) Liberalisation        (d) Self sufficiency

Answer: (b) Liberalisation.


3. The idea of planning in India was drawn from

 (a) the Bombay plan (c) Gandhian vision of society

(b) experiences of the Soviet                   (d) Demand by peasant bloc countries organisations

i. b and d only                                         iii. a and b only                

ii. d and c only                                        iv. all the above

Answer: (iv) All of the above.


 4. Match the following.

(a) Charan Singh                 i. Industrialisation

(b) P C Mahalanobis           ii. Zoning

(c) Bihar Famine    iii.  Farmers

(d) Verghese Kurien            iv. Milk Cooperatives

Answer: (a)-(iii), (b)-(i), (c)-(ii), (d)-(iv)


5. What were the major differences in the approach towards development

at the time of Independence? Has the debate been resolved?

Answer.  

Development at independence was about becoming more like the industrialized countries of the West, associated with the breakdown of traditional social structures and the rise of capitalism and liberalism.

1. Modernization referred to growth, material progress and scientific rationality.

2. At the time of India’s independence, two models of modern development were under consideration to be adopted i.e. the liberal capitalist model as in Europe and USA and the socialist model as in the USSR.

3. Communists, Socialists and P.T.

J.L. Nehru endorsed the socialist model to reflect a broad consensus to be forged during the national movement.

4. The objectives stated above made it clear that the government prioritized social and economic redistribution as well as poverty alleviation.

5. At the same time, these leaders disagreed and debated:

(a) entrepreneurship should be the preferred route or.

(b) Agricultural development should take place or.

(c) Rural poverty should be eradicated.


6. What was the major thrust of the First Five Year Plan? In which ways

did the Second Plan differ from the first one?

Answer.  

The First Five Year Plan was commenced in 1951 to be drafted by Young Economist

K.N. Roy with the emphasis on poverty alleviation. Its main thrusts were as follows:

1. To invest in dams and irrigation to improve agricultural sector with the urgent attention.

2. Huge allocations were made for large scale projects like Bhakra-Nangal Dam.

3. It focused on land reforms for the development in rural areas.

4. It aimed to increase level of National Income.

The first five year plan differed from the second five year plan:

(a) TheSecondFiveYearPlanstressed on heavy industrialisation.

(b) Second Five Year Plan wanted to bring quick structural transformation in all possible directions in place of slow and steady growth like First Five Year Plan.


7. Read the following passage and answer the questions below:

“In the early years of Independence, two contradictory tendencies

were already well advanced inside the Congress party. On the one 


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