Who opposed Planned Development in India?

The answer is A) Mahatma Gandhi, though the question is loosely worded, so read it in context. Gandhi did not oppose planning as a word. He opposed the model of centralised, heavy-industry development that planning came to stand for. In Hind Swaraj (1909) he criticised modern industrial civilisation, and his later writings favoured village swaraj, khadi and cottage industry over large factories.

• B) Nehru was the chief champion of planning. He set up the Planning Commission in 1950 and launched the Five Year Plans, and the Second Plan's Mahalanobis model prioritised heavy industry.
• C) Indira Gandhi continued the planning framework. She nationalised banks in 1969 and abolished the privy purses, so she did not oppose planning.
• D) Rajiv Gandhi partly loosened controls in the 1980s, but he worked within the planning system. Full liberalisation came in 1991 under Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.

Core concept: the Gandhian critique of industrialisation versus the Nehruvian model. This is a staple Mains theme on the development debate.

Trap: aspirants pick Nehru because he is linked with planning. The Swatantra Party, which actually opposed planning, is not among the options here.