UPSC Prelims 1995 · General Studies
Question 31: Economy and Social Development
Which of the following are among the non-plan expenditures of the Government of India? I. Defence expenditure II. Subsidies III. All expenditures linked with the previous plan periods IV. Interest payment Choose the correct answer from the codes given below:
AnswerThe answer is (d).
Non-plan expenditure is spending outside the Five-Year Plan outlay, mostly committed items: defence, subsidies, interest payments, and the running and maintenance costs of assets created in earlier plan periods. All four items listed fall in this group. Remember: defence, subsidies, interest and earlier plan commitments are non-plan.
- I. Defence spending is non-plan.
- II. Subsidies are non-plan.
- III. Running costs of assets created in earlier plans are non-plan.
- IV. Interest payments are non-plan.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incomplete: interest payments and earlier plan commitments are also non-plan.
- (b) Incomplete: leaves out subsidies and interest.
- (c) Incomplete: leaves out defence and earlier plan commitments.
- (d) Right: all four are non-plan expenditure.
Worth knowing: The plan and non-plan classification was dropped from the Union Budget from 2017-18, so the question uses a split no longer in use.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 1995, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.