Question

Plan holiday period of five-year plans was

• A. 1956-59
• B. 1970-73
• C. 1961-63
• D. 1966-69

Hint:

Remember the key disruptions in India's Five-Year Plan timeline: the first Plan Holiday (1966-69), the Rolling Plan (1978-80), and the period of Annual Plans (1990-92). Understanding the reasons for these breaks is also important.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
India's economic development after independence was guided by a series of Five-Year Plans. A "Plan Holiday" refers to a period when the regular five-year planning process was suspended, and annual plans were adopted instead.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The Third Five-Year Plan spanned from 1961 to 1966. This plan failed to achieve its targets due to several severe challenges, including the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, and severe drought conditions.
Due to the failure of the Third Plan and the strained economic situation, the government decided to postpone the Fourth Five-Year Plan.
Instead, it implemented three Annual Plans for the years 1966-67, 1967-68, and 1968-69. This three-year period is known as the "Plan Holiday".
The focus during this period was on tackling the immediate crisis in agriculture and managing inflation.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The Plan Holiday period in the context of India's five-year plans was from 1966 to 1969.