22 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markThe actual First Five Year Plan Document was released in
(A) December 1951(B) November 1951(C) January 1952(D) March 1950 - 1 markWho argued that India should ‘hasten slowly’ for the first two decades?
(A) P. C. Mahalanobis(B) Jawaharlal Nehru(C) Francine Frankel(D) K.N. Raj - 1 markThe Congress session that declared ‘socialist pattern of society’ to be its goal was held at
(A) Nagpur(B) Avadi near the then Madras city(C) Bombay(D) Bhubaneswar - 1 markIn which district was the proposed POSCO-India steel plant that people were protesting against?
(A) Bhubaneswar(B) Dhinkia(C) Gadakujanga(D) Jagatsinghpur - 1 markOn the eve of Independence, the two models of modern development before India were
(A) the Gandhian model and the Soviet model(B) the agrarian model and the industrial model(C) the mixed economy model and the free market model(D) the liberal-capitalist model and the socialist model - 1 markAccording to the newspaper report, the demonstration at the Korean company’s office was organised by
(A) the three gram panchayats acting together(B) the Orissa government(C) the Rashtriya Yuva Sangathan and the Nabanirman Samiti(D) the environmentalists opposing the mining - 1 markAccording to the chapter, the proportion of savings in the country actually dropped consistently
(A) through the whole of the First Five Year Plan(B) from the early 1960s till the early 1970s(C) from 1966, during the plan holiday(D) from the launch of the Second Plan in 1956
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The Planning Commission’s recommendations became effective only when the Union Cabinet approved them.
Reason (R): The Planning Commission had an advisory role.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true but R is false(D) A is false but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): The excitement with planning reached its peak with the launching of the Second Five Year Plan in 1956.
Reason (R): The Second Five Year Plan was drafted by a team of economists and planners under the leadership of P. C. Mahalanobis.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true but R is false(D) A is false but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): The First Five Year Plan made huge allocations for large-scale projects like the Bhakhra Nangal Dam.
Reason (R): The agricultural sector had been hit hardest by Partition and needed urgent attention.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A(C) A is true but R is false(D) A is false but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch the term in List I with its description in List II.
List I: (i) Five Year Plan, (ii) ‘Non-plan’ budget, (iii) ‘Plan’ budget, (iv) Indian Statistical Institute
List II: (A) Founded in 1931 by P.C. Mahalanobis, (B) A government document that has a plan for all its income and expenditure for the next five years, (C) Spent on a five year basis as per the priorities fixed by the plan, (D) Spent on routine items on a yearly basis
(A) (i)-B, (ii)-D, (iii)-A, (iv)-C(B) (i)-D, (ii)-B, (iii)-C, (iv)-A(C) (i)-B, (ii)-A, (iii)-C, (iv)-D(D) (i)-B, (ii)-D, (iii)-C, (iv)-A - 1 markMatch the plan in List I with what the chapter says about it in List II.
List I: (i) First Plan, (ii) Second Plan, (iii) Third Plan, (iv) Fourth Plan
List II: (A) Stressed on heavy industries, (B) Was due to start in 1966 but gave way to a plan holiday, (C) Addressed mainly the agrarian sector, (D) Was not significantly different from the one before it
(A) (i)-C, (ii)-A, (iii)-D, (iv)-B(B) (i)-A, (ii)-C, (iii)-D, (iv)-B(C) (i)-C, (ii)-D, (iii)-A, (iv)-B(D) (i)-C, (ii)-A, (iii)-B, (iv)-D
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements about the Bombay Plan.
(i) It was drafted by a section of the big industrialists in 1944.
(ii) It wanted the state to keep out of industrial and other economic investments.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)(B) Only (ii)(C) Both (i) and (ii)(D) Neither (i) nor (ii) - 1 markConsider the following statements about NITI Aayog.
(i) It came into existence on 1 January 2005.
(ii) Its full form is the National Institute of Transforming India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)(B) Only (ii)(C) Both (i) and (ii)(D) Neither (i) nor (ii)
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange the following in the correct chronological order.
(i) The Planning Commission is set up
(ii) The Bombay Plan is drafted
(iii) The Second Five Year Plan is launched
(iv) The First Five Year Plan Document is released
(A) (ii), (iv), (i), (iii)(B) (i), (ii), (iv), (iii)(C) (ii), (i), (iv), (iii)(D) (ii), (i), (iii), (iv)
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markWith the Fourth Plan due in 1966 and India facing an acute economic crisis, the government decided to take a ‘________’.
(A) plan freeze(B) plan holiday(C) plan recess(D) planning pause - 1 mark“Critics pointed out that the plan strategies from this time around displayed an unmistakable ‘________’.”
(A) import bias(B) regional bias(C) class bias(D) urban bias
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markThree of these are named by the chapter among the industries developed in the public sector in this period. Which is the odd one out?
(A) Electricity(B) Railways(C) Textiles(D) Steel
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
In the politics of most countries, you will always come across references to parties and groups with a left or right ideology or leaning. These terms characterise the position of the concerned groups or parties regarding social change and role of the state in effecting economic redistribution. Left often refers to those who are in favour of state control of the economy and prefers state regulation over free competition. The Right refers to those who believe that free competition and market economy alone ensure progress and that the government should not unnecessarily intervene in the economy.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what do the terms Left and Right characterise?
(A) The position of groups or parties on social change and the state’s role in economic redistribution(B) The seating arrangement of parties inside a legislature(C) The religious and cultural leanings of political parties(D) The size of a party’s membership and its electoral strength - 1 markWhich of the following positions does the passage attribute to the Left?
(A) That the government should not unnecessarily intervene in the economy(B) That free competition alone ensures progress(C) That state regulation is preferable to free competition(D) That the market should decide how resources are distributed
Passage
These questions cannot be answered by an expert. Decisions of this kind involve weighing the interests of one social group against another, present generation against future generations. In a democracy such major decisions should be taken or at least approved by the people themselves. It is important to take advice from experts on mining, from environmentalists and from economists. Yet the final decision must be a political decision, taken by people’s representatives who are in touch with the feelings of the people.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, why can these questions not be answered by an expert alone?
(A) Because experts on mining and economics disagree with one another(B) Because such decisions involve weighing the interests of one social group against another, and the present generation against future generations(C) Because the government does not consult experts before taking decisions(D) Because experts have no information about the environment
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 mark(i) The stamps at the start of the chapter were issued mostly between 1955 and 1968.
(ii) The caption says they depicted a vision of India’s foreign policy.
(A) Both statements are true(B) Both statements are untrue(C) (i) is true and (ii) is untrue(D) (i) is untrue and (ii) is true
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (A) The chapter says the draft of the First Five Year Plan and then the actual Plan Document, released in December 1951, generated a lot of excitement in the country. Keep the two dates apart: the Plan period is 1951 to 1956, and the Plan document came out in December 1951.
- (D) The chapter names K.N. Raj, a young economist involved in drafting the First Plan, and gives his reason: a fast rate of development might endanger democracy. Mahalanobis led the team that drafted the Second Plan, and Francine Frankel is the author of the passage in the chapter’s own exercise.
- (B) The chapter says that before the Second Plan was finalised, the Congress party at its session held at Avadi near the then Madras city passed an important resolution declaring that ‘socialist pattern of society’ was its goal, and that this was reflected in the Second Plan.
- (D) The report says the people facing displacement by the proposed POSCO-India steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district staged a demonstration. Bhubaneswar is where the Korean company’s office was, and Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujanga are the three gram panchayats the protesters came from.
- (D) The chapter says that on the eve of Independence India had before it two models of modern development: the liberal-capitalist model as in much of Europe and the US, and the socialist model as in the USSR. It adds that there were very few supporters of the American style capitalist development in India.
- (C) The report ends by saying the demonstration was organised by the Rashtriya Yuva Sangathan and the Nabanirman Samiti. The more than 100 men and women who took part came from the gram panchayats of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujanga, but the report does not say the panchayats organised it.
- (B) The chapter says people’s savings did rise in the first phase of the planned process until the end of the Third Five Year Plan, though not as spectacularly as expected at the beginning of the First Plan, and that later, from the early 1960s till the early 1970s, the proportion of savings in the country actually dropped consistently.
Assertion-Reason
- (A) Both sentences come from the same line of the chapter, and the second is exactly why the first is so: “It has an advisory role and its recommendations become effective only when the Union Cabinet approved these.” An advisory body proposes, so someone else has to approve.
- (B) Both are the chapter’s own statements, but they do not stand in a cause and effect relation. The chapter never says the excitement peaked because of who drafted the plan; it says the excitement generated by the First Plan document reached its peak with the Second Plan’s launch and continued somewhat till the Third Plan in 1961.
- (A) Both are the chapter’s own sentences and they sit together: “Agricultural sector was hit hardest by Partition and needed urgent attention. Huge allocations were made for large-scale projects like the Bhakhra Nangal Dam.” The urgent need of the agricultural sector is why the First Plan, which addressed mainly the agrarian sector including dams and irrigation, put huge sums into such projects. So R explains A.
Match the Following
- (D) The chapter explains a Five Year Plan as a document in which the Government of India plans all its income and expenditure for the next five years. The budget of the central and all the State governments is then divided into a ‘non-plan’ budget spent on routine items on a yearly basis, and a ‘plan’ budget spent on a five year basis as per the priorities fixed by the plan. The Mahalanobis profile box says he founded the Indian Statistical Institute in 1931.
- (A) The First Plan addressed mainly the agrarian sector including investment in dams and irrigation. The Second stressed on heavy industries. The chapter says in so many words that the Third Plan was not significantly different from the Second. The Fourth was due to start in 1966, and instead the government decided to take a plan holiday.
Statement-Based Questions
- (A) The second statement reverses the chapter. The Bombay Plan wanted the state to take major initiatives in industrial and other economic investments, and the chapter uses that fact to show that even private investors, who are commonly assumed to be averse to planning, wanted a planned economy here.
- (D) Both are wrong on the detail the Fast Forward box actually prints. NITI Aayog came into existence on 1 January 2015, not 2005, and its full form is the National Institution for Transforming India, not Institute. The box also gives its website, http://niti.gov.in, and asks you to find out its objectives and composition from there.
Chronological Ordering
- (C) The chapter’s dates are 1944 for the Bombay Plan, March 1950 for the Planning Commission, December 1951 for the First Plan Document and 1956 for the launch of the Second Plan.
Fill in the Blanks
- (B) The chapter’s phrase is ‘plan holiday’, in quotation marks in the book itself. The two reasons it gives are that the novelty of planning had declined considerably and that India was facing an acute economic crisis.
- (D) The phrase in the chapter is urban bias, and it is printed in quotation marks because it is the critics’ own charge. The complaint is that the plans favoured the cities and heavy industry over the countryside and agriculture.
Odd One Out
- (C) The chapter’s list is electricity, railways, steel, machineries and communication. Textiles is not in it, and is not mentioned anywhere in this chapter.
Passage-Based Questions
- (A) The passage’s second sentence says exactly this: these terms characterise the position of the concerned groups or parties regarding social change and role of the state in effecting economic redistribution.
- (C) The passage says the Left often refers to those who are in favour of state control of the economy and prefers state regulation over free competition. The other three options are the passage’s description of the Right.
- (B) The passage’s second sentence gives exactly this reason. It is a question of whose interest is to be preferred, which is a choice between people, and no technical expertise can settle it.
True / False
- (C) The date range is right. The subject is not: the caption says the stamps depicted a vision of planned development, and the eleven subjects it names, from the Damodar Valley to the Hindustan Aircraft Factory, are dams, factories, refineries, railways, a tractor and the Wheat Revolution.
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