NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Political Science, Chapter 3 - Politics of Planned Development

In the previous chapters, you studied the problems that free India faced in nation-building, and in establishing the first democratic government and immense popularity of Congress as a political party. Now, you’ll study the challenges that were faced by free India in the economic developments of the country. It is interesting to know that the Government made several plans (popularly known as the Five Year Plans) and various strategies for quick industrialisation as well as for agricultural development of India. Many people criticised the focus on industrial development and others criticised the emphasis laid on agricultural growth. However, both were necessary and required immediate attention by the Government of India after independence. You’ll also study the difficulties faced by the Government in practically implementing these plans as the landlords had political power and influence. Still, in the midst of failures and lack of proper execution, the developments that took place just after independence, laid the strong foundation for today’s growth of India economy.

Thus, an in-depth study of Class 12 Political Science Chapter 3 will give you a good understanding of Politics of Planned Development.

Let’s take a look at topics and sub-topics of Class 12 Political Science Chapter 3 – Politics of Planned Development

• Political Contestation

• Ideas of Development

• Planning

• The Early Initiatives

• The First Five Year Plan

• Rapid Industrialisation

• Key Controversies

• Agriculture versus industry

• Public versus Private sector

• Major Outcomes

• Foundations

• Land Reforms

• Food Crisis

• The Green Revolution

• Later Developments

In Class 12 Political Science Chapter 3, you will learn – 

Political Contestation – In this section, you will study about various decisions that the government took in free India. No decision could be taken independently as they were linked to each other. You’ll also learn about the difficulties faced by leaders in executing and implementing these strategic decisions. As every decision led to some or other political consequences, political contestation was required at every step.

Ideas of Development – In this section, you’ll learn that different ideas of development for different people led to a lot of controversies and debates, as some stressed on agricultural growth and others on the industrial growth. You’ll also study that ‘West’ was considered as the yardstick to measure growth and development in India.

Planning – In this section, you’ll study about various plans (the Five-Year Plans) and strategies implemented by the government for fast industrialisation and agricultural growth of India. You’ll also learn about the emergence of the Planning Commission, a joint proposal drafted by big industrialists in 1944 for setting up a planned economy in India.

The Early Initiatives – In this section, you’ll study about the Five –Year Plan (FYP), income and expenditure for the next five years, the advantage of five-year plans, the excitement among people for the first five-year plan (1951-1956), plans for building dams and agricultural reforms.  You’ll also come across the second Five-Year Plan that stressed on industrialisation and economic growth of the country.

Key Controversies – In this section, you’ll learn that the strategies of development followed in the early years raised several important questions; two leading disputes that continued for long were Agriculture versus Industry and Public versus Private sector. It is interesting to know that India neither followed the Capitalist economy nor the Socialist economy, it followed the Mixed Economy. Whatever decisions the Government took, you’ll learn about the criticism faced by the Government leading to inefficiency and corruption.

Major Outcomes – In this section, you’ll learn about the major outcomes of the plans and strategies made by the leaders of India. It is important to note that the land reforms could not be implemented successfully due to political power and the strong influence of landowning classes, leading to increasing inequalities in society. You’ll acquire knowledge about the agricultural situation of India that declined drastically in the 1960s due to severe droughts in 1965 and 1967 and due to the foreign exchange crisis. You’ll study about the remedial measures taken by Government in improving the agricultural situation of India in the attempt to make it self-sufficient.

In this chapter, you are provided with several maps, images and quotes given by famous leaders to have a clear understanding about Politics of Planned Development. To know more about Political Science Chapter 3 you should explore the exercises mentioned in this chapter. You can also download the Politics of Planned Development PDF, solved by our experts.