Five Year Plans
1.First Five Year Plan (1951-56)
The basic objectives of our planning were growth, employment, self reliance and social justice. At the first five year plan (1951-56) Indian was faced with three problems influx of refugees, severe food shortage and mounting inflation. India has also current disequilibrium in the economy caused by the Second World War and the partition of the country. The objectives of the first five year plan were rehabilitation of refugee and rapid agriculture development. Although program could not make much headway because of the inadequate administrative structure and financial allocation. The establishment of central social welfare board in 1953 was the most significant achievement during this period. The state social welfare board was also set up to supplement the efforts of central social welfare board. At the end of the plan period in 1956 Indian Institute of Technology were started as major technical institute, University Grants Commission was also set up in November 1956 to take care of the higher education system of the country.2.Second Five Year Plan (1956-61)
At this stage it was felt that Indian economy had reached a stage where agriculture could be assigned a lower priority and a forward thrust made in the development of heavy and basic industries of the economy for a more rapid advance in future. The basic philosophy of the second plan was thereof to give a big push to the economy so that it enters the take off stage. The government announced its industrial policy in 1956 accepting the establishment of socialistic pattern of society as the goal of economic policy. This necessitated the orientation of economic policy to confirm the national goal of ‘socialist economy’.It emphasized that “social welfare is concerned with the well being of entire community and not only of particular section of the society which may be handicapped in one way or other. Targeting the 25 percent increase in the national income through rapid industrialization actual achievement was only 20 percent. Hydroelectric power projects and five steel mills at Bhilai, Durgapur and Rourkela were established.The inputs on modern industrial development towards building a domestic consumptions good sector in India was given by a well known statistician Mr.Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis also known as ‘Mahalanobis Model’