Previous Year Question
Which edition of the Five-Year Plan aimed at accelerating food-grain production, increasing employment opportunities and raising productivity with a focus on “Food, Work and Productivity”, and was highly successful?
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
The Seventh Five-Year Plan (1985–1990) placed special emphasis on food production, employment and productivity. Official Planning Commission records describe “Food, Work and Productivity” as three major guiding objectives during the Seventh Plan. This meant increasing food availability, generating productive employment opportunities and improving the productivity of the economy.
The Plan also gave importance to agriculture, industry, energy, infrastructure, technological modernisation and employment generation. Its broader objective was to strengthen a development process that could combine growth in production with employment creation and the fulfilment of social needs.
Its economic performance was also notable. According to the Government of India's Economic Survey, average real economic growth during the Seventh Plan was about 6% per year. A later Economic Survey also records this performance as a benchmark while comparing it with the Eighth
Plan.