Politics of Planned Development | Class 12 Political Science Notes
By ConceptScroll Team · Published on 17 July 2026 · 3 min read
Politics of Planned Development – this guide gives you a concise, exam-ready overview of Politics of Planned Development from Class 12 Political Science, written by ConceptScroll editors and reviewed against the latest NCERT textbook.
Summary and Critical Reflections
This concluding section summarizes the major themes and debates of India's planned development in the early decades after Independence. There was a broad consensus that development should combine economic growth with social and economic justice, and that the government must play a key role. However, disagreements persisted over the extent and nature of government intervention, the balance between agriculture and industry, and the prioritization of social justice versus rapid growth. The Bombay Plan, drafted by industrialists, surprisingly supported state-led planning and investment. The First Five Year Plan focused on agriculture and poverty alleviation with a cautious approach, while the Second Plan emphasized rapid industrialisation and the public sector under the leadership of P.C. Mahalanobis. Despite achievements, challenges such as technological backwardness, food shortages, and urban bias remained. The chapter ends with questions for reflection on contradictions within the Congress party’s policies and the unresolved debates on development strategy. These political contestations continue to influence India’s economic policies.
📊 Diagram: Table on page 10 listing questions about contradictions in Congress policies and political implications (See table_1).
🧪 Activity: Answer the questions in the table to critically analyze contradictions in early Congress economic policies and their political implications.
🔗 Connection: Concludes the chapter and connects back to the broader themes of politics and development in India.
Table on page 10 (3×2)
| (a) | What is the contradiction that the author is talking about? What would be the political implications of a contradiction like this? |
|---|---|
| (b) | If the author is correct, why is it that the Congress was pursuing this policy? Was it related to the nature of the opposition parties? |
| (c) | Was there also a contradiction between the central leadership of the Congress party and its Sate level leaders? |
Frequently asked questions
1. Which of these statements about the Bombay Plan is incorrect? (a) It was a blueprint for India’s economic future. (b) It supported state-ownership of industry. (c) It was made by some leading industrialists. (d) It supported strongly the idea of planning.
The incorrect statement is (b) It supported state-ownership of industry. The Bombay Plan was drafted by leading industrialists who supported a mixed economy but did not strongly advocate state ownership of industry. They favored a significant role for the private sector alongside the state.
2. Which of the following ideas did not form part of the early phase of India’s development policy? (a) Planning (b) Liberalisation (c) Cooperative Farming (d) Self sufficiency
The correct answer is (b) Liberalisation. The early phase of India's development policy focused on planning, cooperative farming, and self-sufficiency. Liberalisation was introduced much later, in the 1990s.
3. The idea of planning in India was drawn from (a) the Bombay plan (b) experiences of the Soviet bloc countries (c) Gandhian vision of society (d) Demand by peasant organisations i. b and d only ii. d and c only iii. a and b only iv. all the above
The correct answer is (iii) a and b only. The idea of planning in India was primarily influenced by the Bombay Plan and the experiences of the Soviet bloc countries. Gandhian vision and peasant demands were influential but not direct sources of the planning model.
4. Match the following. (a) Charan Singh (b) P C Mahalanobis (c) Bihar Famine (d) Verghese Kurien i. Industrialisation ii. Zoning iii. Farmers iv. Milk Cooperatives
The correct matching is: (a) Charan Singh - iii. Farmers (b) P C Mahalanobis - i. Industrialisation (c) Bihar Famine - ii. Zoning (d) Verghese Kurien - iv. Milk Cooperatives
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Clear NCERT-aligned notes on भारतीय राजनीति में नए बदलाव for Class 12 Political Science.
- भारतीय राजनीति में नए बदलाव | Class 12 Political Science Notes
Clear NCERT-aligned notes on भारतीय राजनीति में नए बदलाव for Class 12 Political Science.
- भारतीय राजनीति में नए बदलाव | Class 12 Political Science Notes
Clear NCERT-aligned notes on भारतीय राजनीति में नए बदलाव for Class 12 Political Science.