Which five year plan of India was based on Mahalanobis model?

Question

Which five year plan of India was based on Mahalanobis model?

1. A. First
2. B. Second (Correct answer)
3. C. Third
4. D. Fourth

Correct Answer

Option B — Second

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Second.

Key Points

• India's Second Five Year Plan (1956–61), drafted by P.C. Mahalanobis, was based on the Mahalanobis model which emphasised heavy industrialisation and the development of capital goods industries.

Additional Information

• The Second Five Year Plan (1956–61) followed the Mahalanobis model, prioritising heavy and capital-goods industries to build a self-reliant industrial base.
• It underpinned the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956 and the founding of the public-sector steel plants at Bhilai, Rourkela and Durgapur.
• The First Plan (1951–56) was based on the Harrod-Domar model and focused on agriculture and irrigation after Partition.
• Planning ran from 1951 to 2017, ending with the Twelfth Plan; the Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015.