CBSE Class 12 · Politics of Planned Development

The First and Second Five Year Plans: Patience Versus Speed (Class 12 Political Science)

Updated 16 October 2026 · Fact-checked

The First Five Year Plan (1951-1956) focused on agriculture, dams and land reform, and K.N. Raj advised India to 'hasten slowly'. The Second Plan, led by P.C. Mahalanobis, stressed heavy industry and quick structural change, protected by import tariffs. Balancing industry and agriculture proved hard, and critics later spoke of an 'urban bias'.

See the shift: the First Plan stressed farms and dams with patience, while the Second Plan backed heavy industry behind import tariffs.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand The First and Second Five Year Plans

Why this topic matters. Board papers ask this topic often: the features of the First Plan, the difference between the First and Second Plans, or who drafted which plan. NCERT sections: 'The Early Initiatives', 'The First Five Year Plan' and 'Rapid Industrialisation'. The debate between industry and agriculture is asked through the few sentences that the current NCERT text keeps on it.

1. What a five year plan is.

India followed the Soviet example of five year plans. The government prepares a document with a plan for all its income and expenditure for the next five years.
The First Plan document was released in December 1951 and caused great excitement; the excitement peaked with the Second Plan in 1956 and continued till the Third Plan in 1961. The Fourth Plan was due in 1966, but the novelty had declined and India faced an acute economic crisis, so a plan holiday was taken. (In Chapter 4, NCERT adds that the Fourth Plan began only in 1969, after three annual plans.)

2. The First Plan (1951-1956): patience.

Point	Detail
Aim	To take the economy out of the cycle of poverty
Idea	K.N. Raj, who helped draft it: India should hasten slowly for the first two decades, since a fast pace might endanger democracy
Focus	Mainly the agrarian sector, including dams and irrigation; agriculture had been hit hardest by Partition; large allocations to projects such as the Bhakra Nangal Dam
Land	The Plan saw the pattern of land distribution as the principal obstacle to farm growth and made land reforms the key
Savings	To raise national income, people had to save more than they spent; capital stock was low, so the rise in savings was less than hoped

3. The Second Plan (from 1956): speed.

Drafted by a team under P.C. Mahalanobis (scientist and statistician, founder of the Indian Statistical Institute, 1931). If the First Plan had preached patience, the Second wanted quick structural transformation by changing many things at once.
Before it was finalised, the Congress session at Avadi (near the then Madras) declared a 'socialist pattern of society' as its goal; this was reflected in the Plan.
It stressed heavy industries. The government imposed substantial tariffs on imports to protect domestic industry; the protected setting helped public and private industries. Electricity, railways, steel, machinery and communication were developed mainly in the public sector. NCERT calls this push a turning point in India's development.

4. The difficulties.

India was technologically backward, so precious foreign exchange had to be spent on buying technology.
Industry drew more investment than agriculture, so the possibility of food shortage loomed large; planners found balancing industry and agriculture really difficult.
The Third Plan was not significantly different from the Second. Critics saw an 'urban bias'; some said industry was wrongly given priority over agriculture; others wanted agriculture-related industries rather than heavy ones.
Even so, the foundation of India's economic development was firmly in place by the time of the plan holiday.

5. Politics behind the plans. Many Indians were impressed by the Soviet model, among them the Communist Party of India, the Socialist Party and leaders such as Nehru within the Congress; there were very few supporters of American-style capitalism. Yet the Congress itself showed two tendencies: the party executive endorsed state ownership and control of key sectors, while the government also offered incentives to private investment.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

hasten slowly
K.N. Raj, as reported in NCERT Chapter 3: His advice for the first two decades of planning.
Shows the First Plan's caution about pace and democracy.
socialist pattern of society
Congress resolution at Avadi, cited in NCERT Chapter 3: Declared as the Congress party's goal before the Second Plan was finalised.
Links the Second Plan to party ideology.
urban bias
Critics of the Third Plan, cited in NCERT Chapter 3: A charge made against the plan strategies from the Third Plan onwards.
Names the industry-versus-agriculture complaint.

The First and Second Five Year Plans: key facts

Plan dates: First Plan 1951-1956 (document December 1951)
Second Plan from 1956
Third Plan from 1961
Fourth Plan due 1966, begun 1969
Plan holiday; The Plan holiday fell between the Third and Fourth Plans.
First Plan: K.N. Raj
Hasten slowly
Agriculture, dams, irrigation
Land reform
Bhakra Nangal
Raise savings; Patience.
Second Plan: P.C. Mahalanobis
Heavy industry
Quick structural change
Import tariffs
Public sector
Avadi resolution; Speed.
Difficulties: Technology bought with foreign exchange
Food shortage risk
Balancing industry and agriculture
Urban bias
Third Plan not very different; For evaluate questions.

How to answer The First and Second Five Year Plans questions

Questions on the two plans ask you to state, compare or evaluate. A sure scheme is: planner, focus, method, then problem.

1Name the planner: K.N. Raj for the First, P.C. Mahalanobis for the Second.
2Give the focus: agriculture, dams and land reform; then heavy industry and the public sector.
3Add the method: patience and savings in the First; tariffs and quick structural change in the Second.
4For differences use a two-column answer, never a single paragraph of mixed points.
5End evaluate questions with the problems: foreign exchange, food shortage, urban bias.
6Stay with NCERT's account; do not add statistics from outside the book.

The First and Second Five Year Plans in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Hasten slowly versus quick transformation

Two groups plan a school hall. The first says: "Build in stages, so teaching is not disturbed and we keep the money for fees." The second says: "Build every wing at the same time, so the whole school changes in two years."

Which group resembles the planners of the First Plan and which resembles those of the Second? Name one risk the second approach carried in the Second Plan. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The first group is patient: it resembles K.N. Raj's "hasten slowly".
The second changes many things at once: it resembles the Second Plan's quick structural transformation.
A risk of the second: spending scarce foreign exchange on technology, or a food shortage as industry drew more investment than agriculture.

Answer: The first group resembles the First Plan and the second the Second Plan. A risk of the Second Plan approach was that industry attracted more investment than agriculture, so a food shortage became possible, and precious foreign exchange went on buying technology.

Memory hook: Raj builds in stages; Mahalanobis builds all wings at once.

Protection by import tariffs

A school canteen is new and weak. The school allows only a limited number of outside food sellers to enter the campus for a few years, so that the canteen can learn and grow.

Which Second Plan policy does this resemble, and which difficulty of that period could such protection not remove? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Limiting outside sellers is like imposing substantial tariffs on imports to protect domestic industry.
Protection helped industry grow, but India was technologically backward.
So precious foreign exchange still had to be spent to buy technology from the global market.

Answer: It resembles the substantial tariffs on imports imposed in the Second Plan to protect domestic industries. Protection could not remove the fact that India was technologically backward, so it still had to spend precious foreign exchange to buy technology from the global market.

Memory hook: A fence around a young plant.

Tricks to remember The First and Second Five Year Plans

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

Raj slow, Mahalanobis fast
Raj means the First Plan and patience; Mahalanobis means the Second Plan and speed.
Use it when: Planner and mood of each plan.
F-A-L / S-H-T
First: Agriculture, Land reform. Second: Heavy industry, Tariffs.
Use it when: Focus of each plan.
Fund, Food, Fence
Foreign exchange spent, Food shortage risk, urban-bias criticism.
Use it when: Problems of the Second Plan strategy.

The First and Second Five Year Plans: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Two statements on the Plans · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Read the two statements and choose the correct option.
Statement I: Planners found it difficult to balance industry and agriculture because industry attracted more investment than agriculture.
Statement II: The Third Plan marked a clear break from the strategy of the Second Plan.
(a) Both statements are true.
(b) Both statements are false.
(c) Statement I is true but Statement II is false.
(d) Statement I is false but Statement II is true.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT: industry attracted more investment than agriculture and balancing was difficult, so I is true (0.5 mark).
NCERT: the Third Plan was not significantly different from the Second, so II is false (0.5 mark).

Answer: (c) Statement I is true but Statement II is false.

Example 2: The Third Plan and its critics · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

The Third Plan was not significantly different from the Second. State any two criticisms that were made of the plan strategies from this time. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

One criticism (1 mark).
A second criticism (1 mark).

Answer: Any two: the strategies displayed an unmistakable urban bias; industry was wrongly given priority over agriculture; some wanted the focus to be on agriculture-related industries rather than heavy ones.

Example 3: Assertion and reason: the public sector · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

Assertion (A): In the Second Plan period, a bulk of industries such as electricity, railways, steel, machinery and communication could be developed in the public sector.
Reason (R): Savings and investment were growing in this period.
(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.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT links the growth of savings and investment to the ability to develop these industries in the public sector (1 mark).

Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

Example 4: From excitement to a plan holiday · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Trace how public enthusiasm for planning changed between the release of the First Plan document and 1966, and state why a plan holiday was taken. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The First Plan document and the public response (1 mark).
The peak and its continuation (1 mark).
The position by 1966 (1 mark).
The plan holiday and its reasons (1 mark).

Answer: The draft of the First Five Year Plan and then the Plan document, released in December 1951, generated a lot of excitement: academics, journalists, government and private sector employees, industrialists, farmers and politicians discussed and debated the documents extensively. The excitement reached its peak with the launching of the Second Five Year Plan in 1956 and continued somewhat till the Third Plan in 1961. By the time the Fourth Plan was due in 1966, the novelty of planning had declined considerably, and India was facing an acute economic crisis. The government therefore decided to take a plan holiday. NCERT adds that, though many criticisms had emerged about the process and the priorities of the plans, the foundation of India's economic development was firmly in place by then.

Example 5: Source-based: the First Plan · 4 marks · Source-basedHarder board level

Read the passage (based on NCERT) and choose the most appropriate answer for each question.

The First Five Year Plan sought to get the economy out of the cycle of poverty. An economist who helped draft it argued that India should hasten slowly for the first two decades, as a fast rate of development might endanger democracy. The Plan mainly addressed the agrarian sector, including investment in dams and irrigation, because agriculture had been hit hardest by Partition. Huge sums were set aside for large projects such as the Bhakra Nangal Dam. The Plan saw the pattern of land distribution as the principal obstacle to agricultural growth and made land reforms the key.

(i) Large allocations to a project such as the Bhakra Nangal Dam show that the Plan gave priority to:
(A) heavy industry (B) irrigation and farming (C) defence production (D) foreign trade
(ii) According to the passage, the main hurdle to farm growth, in the planners' view, was:
(A) shortage of dams only (B) the pattern of land distribution (C) high taxes (D) lack of foreign technology
(iii) According to the passage, the overall aim of the First Plan was to:
(A) build heavy industry quickly (B) get the economy out of the cycle of poverty (C) end imports (D) replace land reform
(iv) Which sector had been hit hardest by Partition, as the passage implies?
(A) Agriculture (B) Communication (C) Railways (D) Steel

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(i) (B): dams and irrigation serve agriculture (1 mark).
(ii) (B): land distribution was the principal obstacle (1 mark).
(iii) (B): the passage opens with this aim (1 mark).
(iv) (A): agriculture (1 mark).

Answer: (i) (B) irrigation and farming; (ii) (B) the pattern of land distribution; (iii) (B) get the economy out of the cycle of poverty; (iv) (A) Agriculture.

Example 6: Long answer: patience or speed · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

K.N. Raj advised India to hasten slowly, but the Second Plan chose speed. Evaluate which approach suited India better in the 1950s, using the achievements and problems of the two plans. (6 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Raj's argument (1 mark).
First Plan record (1.5 marks).
Second Plan record (1.5 marks).
Problems of the second approach (1 mark).
Reasoned conclusion (1 mark).

Answer: K.N. Raj, who helped draft the First Plan, argued that India should hasten slowly for the first two decades because a fast rate of development might endanger democracy. The First Plan (1951-1956) therefore concentrated on the agrarian sector, which Partition had hit hardest, with investment in dams and irrigation and large allocations to projects such as the Bhakra Nangal Dam, and it treated land distribution as the principal obstacle and land reform as the key. It sought to raise national income through higher savings, though savings rose less spectacularly than expected.

The Second Plan, drafted under P.C. Mahalanobis, wanted quick structural transformation. Backed by the Congress resolution at Avadi on a socialist pattern of society, it stressed heavy industry, protected industry with tariffs and developed electricity, railways, steel, machinery and communication in the public sector. NCERT calls this a turning point. But India was technologically backward and had to spend precious foreign exchange on technology, and as industry attracted more investment than agriculture, the possibility of food shortage loomed large. Balancing industry and agriculture was hard, and the Third Plan, little different, drew the charge of urban bias.

A reasoned view is that the two plans were stages of one effort: the first secured the base in agriculture and irrigation, the second used it to build industry. Neither avoided the trade-off between farm and factory, which is why the debate continued while the foundation of India's economic development was firmly in place.

Where students lose marks in The First and Second Five Year Plans

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Swapping the planners
Both names are in the chapter.
Wrong working
The First Plan was drafted by Mahalanobis.
Right working
K.N. Raj helped draft the First Plan; P.C. Mahalanobis led the team for the Second.
Do this: Raj slow, Mahalanobis fast.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Saying the Second Plan ignored agriculture
Overstating the contrast.
Wrong working
The Second Plan gave no attention to agriculture.
Right working
It stressed heavy industry; industry attracted more investment than agriculture, which raised the risk of food shortage.
Do this: Say "more investment in industry", not "none for agriculture".
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Dating the Fourth Plan wrongly
Due date and start date differ.
Wrong working
The Fourth Plan began in 1966.
Right working
It was due to start in 1966, but a plan holiday followed and it began in 1969.
Do this: Write both dates if you mention it.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Writing the differences as one paragraph
The marks are for matched points.
Wrong working
The first plan was about farms and the second about industry and tariffs.
Right working
Two columns: planner, focus, method, difficulty.
Do this: Use a table or numbered points.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

Exam tips

Asked in: 2026 board paper 59/3/1 Q15 (2 marks, two differences between the First and Second Plans); 2026 board paper 59/4/1 Q12 (1 mark, focus of the Second Plan); 2024 board paper 59/1/2 Q16 (2 marks, features of the First Plan) and 59/1/1 Q16 (2 marks, architect of the Second Plan); 2025 board paper 59/6/1 Q13 (2 marks, did the First Plan help development). Answers here are our own.
Always name the planner with the plan: Raj, then Mahalanobis.
Quote "hasten slowly" and "quick structural transformation" in comparison answers.
In evaluate questions give one achievement and one problem for each plan.
The words "urban bias" are the NCERT term for the complaint against later plan strategies.

Practice questions on The First and Second Five Year Plans

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The Fourth Five Year Plan was due to start in:
(a) 1961
(b) 1966
(c) 1969
(d) 1974
Hint
Due is not the same as begun.
Answer
(b) 1966. NCERT adds in Chapter 4 that it could be initiated only in 1969, after three annual plans.
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
A village has a few big landholders and many landless families. Using the First Plan's reading of the rural problem, what would planners name as the main obstacle, and what remedy would they make the key? (2 marks)
Hint
Pattern of land distribution.
Answer
They would name the pattern of land distribution as the principal obstacle to agricultural growth, and they would make land reforms the key to development, as the First Plan did.
Q3 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level
NCERT's chapter opens with stamps issued mostly between 1955 and 1968 that depicted a vision of planned development. Name any two subjects shown on the stamps and say what vision they suggest. (2 marks)
Hint
Dams, locomotives, refinery, fertilisers.
Answer
Any two of: Damodar Valley, Bhakra Dam, Hirakud Dam, Chittaranjan Locomotives, Gauhati Refinery, Sindri Fertilisers, Electric Train, Hindustan Aircraft Factory, Tractor. They suggest a vision of a modern India built on large dams, heavy industry and infrastructure under planned development.
Q4 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): The rise in people's savings in the first phase of planning was not as spectacular as had been expected at the beginning of the First Plan.
Reason (R): The total capital stock in the country was rather low compared to the total number of employable people.
(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.
Hint
Why was it difficult to push savings up?
Answer
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A: NCERT says pushing savings up was difficult because the capital stock was low compared with the number of employable people, so savings rose, but less than expected.
Q5 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Read the passage: "In the early years of Independence, two contradictory tendencies were already well advanced inside the Congress party. On the one hand, the national party executive endorsed socialist principles of state ownership, regulation and control over key sectors of the economy... On the other hand, the national Congress government pursued liberal economic policies and incentives to private investment that was justified in terms of the sole criterion of achieving maximum increase in production." (Francine Frankel) What contradiction does the author point out, and what political implication could it have? (4 marks)
Hint
Party executive versus government.
Answer
The author points out that the party and the government pulled in different directions. The national party executive endorsed socialist principles, namely state ownership, regulation and control over key sectors, to improve productivity and curb economic concentration. The government, however, followed liberal policies and gave incentives to private investment, justified by the sole aim of maximum production. A possible political implication is that groups supporting either tendency could each claim the party as theirs, and that critics from the left and from the right could each find reason to oppose it, so the party had to hold together differing views.
Q6 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
NCERT says that, despite many criticisms of the process and priorities of the plans, "the foundation of India's economic development was firmly in place" by the mid-1960s. Give two points from the First and Second Plans that support this verdict and two criticisms that qualify it. (4 marks)
Hint
Dams and irrigation; heavy industry in the public sector; urban bias; food shortage.
Answer
Support: the First Plan invested in the agrarian sector, dams and irrigation, with huge allocations to projects such as the Bhakra Nangal Dam, and made land reform the key to development. The Second Plan built heavy industry: electricity, railways, steel, machinery and communication were developed largely in the public sector, which NCERT calls a turning point in India's development. Criticisms: India was technologically backward and spent precious foreign exchange to buy technology, and as industry attracted more investment than agriculture, the possibility of food shortage loomed large. Critics also said the plan strategies from the Third Plan onwards showed an unmistakable urban bias and that industry was wrongly given priority over agriculture.
Q7 · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Examine how different political groups shaped the choices made in India's early planning. Refer to the Bombay Plan, admirers of the Soviet model, the Avadi resolution and the Frankel passage. (6 marks)
Hint
Left, right and the Congress itself.
Answer
Planning was shaped by a wide set of political positions. A section of big industrialists drafted the Bombay Plan in 1944, wanting the state to take major initiatives in investment; so planning had support from left to right.
On the left, many were deeply impressed by the Soviet model of development: the leaders of the Communist Party of India and the Socialist Party, and leaders such as Nehru within the Congress. There were very few supporters of American-style capitalism. India followed the Soviet example in adopting five year plans.
Within the Congress, the session at Avadi near the then Madras declared a socialist pattern of society as its goal, and this was reflected in the Second Plan, with its stress on heavy industry, tariffs and the public sector. Yet, as Francine Frankel notes, two tendencies coexisted: the party executive endorsed state ownership and control of key sectors, while the government gave incentives to private investment to maximise production.
Thus early planning was a compromise: a strong state role, shaped by left-leaning admiration of the Soviet model and by the Congress's declared goal, but with space for private enterprise, so that industry grew in both public and private sectors under the protection of tariffs.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.In which year was the Fourth Plan actually initiated?Show answer
1969, after three annual plans (Chapter 4).
2.Near which city was the Congress session at Avadi held?Show answer
Near the then Madras city.
3.What did the planners hope to raise in the First Plan by increasing savings?Show answer
The level of national income.
4.For how many decades did K.N. Raj advise India to hasten slowly?Show answer
The first two decades.
5.Which plan years did NCERT give for the Third Plan in Chapter 4?Show answer
1961 to 1966.
6.Which two parties besides the Congress leaders admired the Soviet model?Show answer
The Communist Party of India and the Socialist Party.

The First and Second Five Year Plans: frequently asked questions

Is the debate on industry versus agriculture still in the syllabus?

Only through the sentences that the current NCERT text keeps: the difficulty of balancing industry and agriculture, the urban-bias criticism and the call for agriculture-related industries. Learn these and nothing beyond.

How should the Third Plan be handled in answers?

Briefly: it was not significantly different from the Second, and critics spoke of an urban bias.

What links the Second Plan to the Congress party?

The Congress session at Avadi declared the goal of a socialist pattern of society before the Plan was finalised, and this was reflected in the Plan.

Is the Green Revolution taught on this page?

No. This page follows only what the current NCERT text and the 2026-27 syllabus keep on the plans; nothing rationalised out is taught here.