The main objective of the 12th Five-Year Plan is

The correct answer is D. The 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17), approved by the National Development Council in 2013, set its theme as "Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable Growth". Its three components are speed of growth, inclusion of marginalised groups, and environmental and fiscal sustainability.

Why the others fall short:

• A leaves out sustainability and the need for faster growth. Poverty reduction was a result the plan aimed for, not its main objective.
• B drops the word "faster", which is the one element that distinguishes the 12th Plan's theme.
• C treats reducing unemployment as the main objective. Employment was a key target, but the plan's overarching framing was growth, not a single outcome.

The core concept is the shift in planning language from "growth" alone to inclusive and sustainable growth, which later shaped GS-III debates on growth versus redistribution. Note that the Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015, so the Five-Year Plan framework no longer operates in its earlier form.

Trap: Aspirants often pick B because "inclusive and sustainable" sounds like the standard pairing. The question tests the full official theme, and the word "faster" is what makes D correct.