HPAS/Allied Mains 2022 Answer Writing Challenge Day 204: Model Answer

Question: What were the objectives of Economic Planning in India? (8 marks/120 words)

Answer:

Economic planning in India was undertaken by the Planning Commission, which was replaced by NITI Aayog on January 1, 2015. NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog was established with the objective of achieving sustainable development goals through cooperative federalism.

Objectives

1. Economic Development:

The main objective of Indian planning is to achieve the goal of economic development economic development is necessary for under developed countries because they can solve the problems of general poverty, unemployment and backwardness through it. Economic development is concerned with the increase in per capita income and causes behind this increase.

2. Increase Employment: Another objective of the plans is better utilization of man power resource and increasing employment opportunities.
3. Self-Sufficient: It has been the objective of the plans that the country becomes self-sufficient regarding food grains and industrial raw material like iron and steel etc. Also, growth is to be self-sustained for which rates of saving and investment are to be raised.
4. Economic Stability:

Stability is as important as growth. It implies absence of frequent end excessive occurrence of inflation and deflation. If the price level rises very high or falls very low, many types of structural imbalances are created in the economy. Economic stability has been one of the objectives of every Five year plan in India.

5. Social Welfare and Services: The objective of the five year plans has been to promote labour welfare, economic development of backward classes and social welfare of the poor people. Development of social services like education, health, technical education, scientific advancement etc. has also been the objective of the Plans.
6. Regional Development:

Different regions of India are not economically equally developed. Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh etc. are relatively more developed. But U.P., Bihar, Orissa, Nagaland, Meghalaya and H.P. are economically backward. Rapid economic development of backward regions is one of the priorities of five year plans to achieve regional equality.

7. Comprehensive Development:

All round development of the economy is another objective of the five year plans. Development of all economic activities viz. agriculture, industry, transport, power etc. is sought to be simultaneously achieved. First Plan laid emphasis on the development of agriculture. Second plan gave priority to the development of heavy industries. In the Eighth Plan maximum stress was on the development of human resources.

8. To Reduce Economic Inequalities:

Every Plan has aimed at reducing economic inequalities. Economic inequalities are indicative of exploitation and injustice in the country. It results in making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Several measures have been taken in the plans to achieve the objectives of economic equality specially by way of progressive taxation and reservation of jobs for the economically backward classes. The goal of socialistic pattern of society was set in the second plan mainly to achieve this objective.

9. Social Justice:

Another objective of every plan has been to promote social justice. It is possible in two ways, one is to reduce the poverty of the poorest section of the society and the other is to reduce the inequalities of wealth and income.

10. Increased Standard of Living: Increasing the standard of living by increasing the per capita income and equal distribution of income is one of the main aims of India’s economic planning.

Conclusion: Economic planning helps the country in optimum utilization of resources (both material and Human resource) which led to holistic development of a Country.