With reference to India’s Five-year Plans, which of the following statements is/are correct ? I. From the Second Five-year Plan, there was a determined thrust towards substitution of basic and capital good industries. II. The Fourth Five-year Plan adopted the objective of correcting the earlier trend of increased concentration of wealth and economic power. III. 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.

The correct answer is A (1 and 2 only). The question tests whether you can tell the stated thrust of each plan from later, loosely worded claims.

• Statement 1 is correct. The Second Plan (1956-61), drafted under P.C. Mahalanobis, gave a determined push to heavy industry, basic and capital goods, and import substitution. This was the strategic core of the state-led industrialisation model.
• Statement 2 is correct. The Fourth Plan (1969-74) explicitly set out to correct the rising concentration of wealth and economic power. It paired this with growth with stability and self-reliance, and it is the plan most associated with the Garibi Hatao framing.
• Statement 3 is wrong. The Fifth Plan was not the first to bring the financial sector into planning as an integral component. Financial institutions and credit planning had figured in earlier plans, so the 'first time' claim does not hold.

Core concept: the evolution of planning objectives from industrialisation (Second Plan) to redistribution and social justice (Fourth Plan). This is useful for Mains on the shift from growth to equity in Indian economic thought.

Trap: aspirants often accept a 'first time' claim just because it sounds specific. Check the chronology of the plan documents before accepting such claims.