Question

Define a plan.

Answer 1

A plan is a proposed list of goals that an economy wants to achieve within a specific period of time. It suggests the optimum ways to utilise the scarce available resources to achieve the enlisted goals. In India, planning is done for a period of five years, which is called five year plan. Plans have both specific and general goals. Some of the common goals are economic growth, modernisation, self-reliance and equity. Plans lay down the basic framework over which the policies are designed. Often various goals are conflicting to each other, for example, modernisation reduces labour employment. So there is a need to maintain a balance among different goals.