Chapter Overview

Economic planning (आर्थिक नियोजन) shaped independent India for 65 years. Twelve Five Year Plans ran from 1951 to 2017, steered by the Planning Commission (योजना आयोग). In 1991 a balance-of-payments crisis forced the LPG reforms (liberalisation, privatisation, globalisation), and planning moved from command to indicative. On 1 January 2015 the Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog (नीति आयोग), a policy think tank built on cooperative federalism. Chhattisgarh’s own story runs through all three phases. Bhilai Steel Plant came out of the Second Plan, BALCO at Korba was one of the best-known disinvestments of the reform era, and today the state plans through its own State NITI Aayog and the Anjor Vision @2047.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

Define planning and distinguish imperative, indicative, perspective and rolling plans
Name the pre-independence plans (Visvesvaraya, NPC, Bombay, Gandhian, People’s, Sarvodaya) and their authors
Explain the Planning Commission and National Development Council: when, how and why they were set up
Recall every Five Year Plan with its period, focus, model and growth record, including the plan holidays
Describe NITI Aayog’s structure, functions, office-holders (as of 2026) and flagship work such as the Aspirational Districts Programme
Compare the Planning Commission with NITI Aayog in a Mains-ready table
Explain the causes, measures and outcomes of the 1991 reforms, with a Chhattisgarh angle

Prerequisites

Basic Concepts and National Income: GDP and growth rates, the language every plan target is written in
Preamble and Salient Features of the Constitution: the socialist, welfare-state goals that planning tried to deliver

Learning Path

Follow the topics in this order:

graph TD
    A["1. Foundations of Planning
types, pre-1947 plans,
Planning Commission, NDC"] --> B["2. Five Year Plans
Plans 1–12, plan holidays,
Mahalanobis model"]
    B --> C["3. NITI Aayog
structure, functions,
indices, Aspirational Districts"]
    B --> D["4. Economic Reforms of 1991
BoP crisis, LPG,
sectoral committees"]
    C --> E["5. Quick Revision
One-page sheet"]
    D --> E
    E --> F["Next chapter:
Agricultural Economy"]

Topics in This Chapter

#	Topic	What it covers
1	Foundations of Economic Planning in India	Meaning and types of planning, pre-independence plans, Planning Commission (1950), NDC (1952), Gadgil formula, decentralised planning
2	The Five Year Plans (1951–2017)	All twelve plans with periods, focus, models and growth record; plan holidays; Rolling Plan; Bhilai and the Second Plan
3	NITI Aayog	Origin, composition, office-holders (as of 2026), functions, indices, Aspirational Districts and Blocks, Planning Commission vs NITI, Chhattisgarh State NITI Aayog
4	Economic Reforms of 1991	The BoP crisis, LPG measures, New Industrial Policy, sectoral committees, first and second generation reforms, BALCO and Chhattisgarh
—	Quick Revision	Every date, plan, committee and office-holder on one page

Where It Is Asked

Paper	What to expect
Prelims P-I (Part 1, India GS)	Fact MCQs: which plan had which theme or model, plan periods and holidays, founding dates (Planning Commission, NDC, NITI Aayog), NITI’s composition, authors of pre-independence plans, 1991 committees. Statement-based and match-the-following formats are common
Mains P-V (GS-III), Indian Economy	Short answers (“Mahalanobis model”, “NITI Aayog vs Planning Commission”, “plan holiday”) and long answers (evaluation of planning, the 1991 reforms and their impact, cooperative federalism) with Chhattisgarh examples

Exam focus

High-yield: Second Plan = Mahalanobis model; plan holiday 1966–69; Rolling Plan 1978–80; Eighth Plan = start of indicative planning; Eleventh = “faster and more inclusive”; Twelfth = “…and sustainable”; NITI Aayog = 1 January 2015, Cabinet resolution.
Common mistakes: calling the Planning Commission or NITI Aayog a constitutional or statutory body (both were set up by Cabinet resolution); thinking NITI allocates funds to states (it does not).
Chhattisgarh angle for Mains: Bhilai Steel Plant (Second Plan), ten Aspirational Districts (mostly in Bastar division), BALCO disinvestment (2001), the State NITI Aayog and Anjor Vision @2047.

Quick Reference: Planning at a Glance

Item	Key fact
Planning Commission	15 March 1950, Cabinet resolution; PM as Chairman; first Deputy Chairman Gulzarilal Nanda
National Development Council	6 August 1952; PM, all Chief Ministers, Planning Commission members
Plans	12 plans, 1951–2017; plan holidays 1966–69 and 1990–92; Rolling Plan 1978–80
Second Plan (1956–61)	P.C. Mahalanobis model, heavy industry; Bhilai, Rourkela, Durgapur steel plants
1991 reforms	PM P.V. Narasimha Rao, FM Manmohan Singh; New Industrial Policy 24 July 1991
NITI Aayog	1 January 2015, Cabinet resolution; Chairperson = PM; Vice-Chairperson Ashok Kumar Lahiri (since April 2026)
Constitutional peg	“Economic and social planning” is Entry 20, Concurrent List

Start Learning

Begin with the first topic:

→ Foundations of Economic Planning in India