Question

In which year was Planning Commission established in India?
1. 1950
2. 1951
3. 1952
4. 1955

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : 1950

The correct answer is 1950.

• On 15 March 1950 was Planning Commission established in India.
• The Planning Commission was an institution in the Government of India, which formulated India's Five-Year Plans, among other functions. 
• In 2014, the Narendra Modi government replaced it with the newly formed NITI Aayog to better represent the present needs and aspirations of the people of India. 
• Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Chairman of the Planning Commission.
• The first Five-Year Plan was launched in 1951, focusing mainly on the development of the agricultural sector.
• Two subsequent Five-Year Plans were formulated before 1965 when there was a break because of the Indo-Pakistan conflict.
• Two successive years of drought, devaluation of the currency, a general rise in prices, and erosion of resources disrupted the planning process and after three Annual Plans between 1966 and 1969, the fourth Five-Year Plan was started in 1969.
• Hence, option 1 is correct. 

• From 1947 to 2017, the Indian economy was premised on the concept of planning.
• This was carried through the Five-Year Plans, developed, executed, and monitored by the Planning Commission (1951-2014) and the NITI Aayog (2015-2017).
• Planning Commission's functions :
  • To formulate a plan for the most effective and balanced utilization of the country's resources.
  • To define the stages, on the basis of priority, in which the plan should be carried out and propose the allocation of resources for the due completion of each stage.
  • To indicate the factors that tend to retard economic development.
  • To determine the conditions which need to be established for the successful execution of the plan within the incumbent socio-political situation of the country.
  • To determine the nature of the machinery required for securing the successful implementation of each stage of the plan in all its aspects.