UPSC Prelims 2019 · GS Paper I
Question 70: Economy and Social Development
With reference to India’s Five-Year Plans, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1.From the Second Five-Year Plan, there was a determined thrust towards substitution of basic and capital good industries.
- 2.The Fourth Five-Year Plan adopted the objective of correcting the earlier trend of increased concentration of wealth and economic power.
- 3.In the Fifth Five-Year Plan, for the first time, the financial sector was included as an integral part of the Plan.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a).
Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The Second Plan, built on the Mahalanobis model, put the thrust on heavy industry and the production of basic and capital goods. The Fourth Plan took up the objective of correcting the earlier trend of increasing concentration of wealth and economic power. UPSC treats statement 3 as false: the Fifth Plan is remembered for removal of poverty and self-reliance, not for bringing in the financial sector.
- 1. The Second Plan stressed basic and capital goods industries.
- 2. The Fourth Plan aimed to correct concentration of wealth and economic power.
- 3. The Fifth Plan's themes were poverty removal and self-reliance, not the financial sector.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 1 is correct, (b) and (c) go: each of them leaves 1 out.
What you needed to know: The Second Plan stressed basic and capital goods industries.
- Then, if you were sure statement 3 is not correct, (d) goes: it includes 3.
What you needed to know: The Fifth Plan's themes were poverty removal and self-reliance, not the financial sector.
Only (a) is left. You didn’t need statement 2.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Correct: statements 1 and 2 hold and statement 3 does not.
- (b) Statement 1 is also correct.
- (c) Statement 3 is false.
- (d) Statement 3 is false, so all three cannot be correct.
Worth knowing: Statement 3 rests on a textbook claim about the financial sector in the Plans that is hard to verify; UPSC's key treats it as false.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2019, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.