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Q57 (IAS/2014) Economy › Growth, Development, Poverty & Employment › Economic planning India Official Key

Which of the following are associated with 'Planning' in India? 1. The Finance Commission 2. The National Development Council 3. The Union Ministry of Rural Development 4. The Union Ministry of Urban Development 5. The Parliament Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: C
Explanation

All five institutions listed are associated with planning in India. The Finance Commission has been involved through financial transfers to states and making these more equitable[1]. The National Development Council (NDC) approved the Approach to the Twelfth Five Year Plan and set growth targets[3]. The Ministry of Rural Development implements several major schemes including MGNREGA and rural livelihood missions[4]. The Ministry of Urban Development has been involved in regional planning, such as the National Capital Region plan[5]. The Parliament (legislature) provides a platform for discussing national policies and development plans[6], and India adopted planning as an instrument of rapid economic progress after independence, with the Planning Commission coordinating and supervising resource management[7]. Therefore, all five institutions have been associated with planning in India.

Sources
  1. [1] https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-08/12fyp_vol1.pdf
  2. [2] https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-02/Niti_annual_report-2014-15.pdf
  3. [3] https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-08/12fyp_vol1.pdf
  4. [4] https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-02/Niti_annual_report-2014-15.pdf
  5. [5] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 15: Regional Development and Planning > Table 15.1 > p. 95
  6. [6] Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science, Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 6: The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive > Challenges to the Effective Functioning of the Legislatures > p. 157
  7. [7] Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: FEDERALISM > FEDERALISM WITH A STRONG CENTRAL GOVERNMENT > p. 161
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Which of the following are associated with 'Planning' in India? 1. The Finance Commission 2. The National Development Council 3. The Unio…
At a glance
Origin: Books + Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 4/10 · 6/10
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This question is a classic test of 'Institutional Mandates'. It hinges entirely on distinguishing the specific role of the Finance Commission (Fiscal Federalism/Tax Devolution) from the Planning machinery (Five Year Plans). If you know the Finance Commission deals with Article 280 and not Plan formulation, the answer is derived purely by elimination.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Is the Finance Commission of India associated with planning in India?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 4/5
"of financial transfers to the States have been transfers under the Finance Commission awards and Plan transfers. The successive Finance Commissions have tried to make these more equitable."
Why this source?
  • Directly links Finance Commission awards with Plan transfers to states, indicating an interaction between finance allocation and planning.
  • Explains that successive Finance Commissions have influenced the formula for Plan transfers, showing a role in planning-related resource distribution.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"preferably by the Finance Commission, Planning Commission, Centre of Excellence in Environmental Economics and the MoEF."
Why this source?
  • Places the Finance Commission alongside the Planning Commission as part of an institutional mechanism for implementing environmental compensation and related schemes.
  • This pairing indicates the Finance Commission is considered a stakeholder in planning and policy implementation processes.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Planning is also consistent with the guidance of India’s Fifteenth Finance Commission."
Why this source?
  • States that planning is consistent with the guidance of India’s Fifteenth Finance Commission, directly linking the Commission to the planning function.
  • Frames the Finance Commission as providing guidance relevant to planning at the federal level.

Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 46: Finance Commission > ADVISORY ROLE > p. 432
Strength: 5/5
“33 1. As rightly observed by 1) P. V. Rajwani, the Chairman of the Fourth Finance Commission, 'Since the Finance Commission is a constitutional body expected to be quasi-judicial, its recommendations should not be turned down by the Government of India unless there are very compelling reasons. The Constitution of India envisages the Finance Commission as the balancing wheel of fiscal federalism in India. However, till 2014, its role in the Centre-state fiscal relations was under determined by the erstwhile Planning Commission, a non-constitutional and a non-statutory body. The Dr. P. V. Report of the Fourth Finance Commission , New Delhi, Government of India, 1965, pp.”
Why relevant

States that the Finance Commission is a constitutional body for fiscal federalism but that its role was 'undermined by the erstwhile Planning Commission' until 2014, implying an interaction or overlap between fiscal allocation and planning functions.

How to extend

A student could use this to check whether planning bodies (e.g., Planning Commission) historically made fiscal decisions that affected planning, suggesting the Finance Commission's role might intersect with planning finance.

Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 46: Finance Commission > ADVISORY ROLE > p. 432
Strength: 5/5
“3D.D. B..1 su, I lIrmdt/criml /0 tlu: Gotlslitution of Illdia, Wadhw<I 19lh Ed ition, 2001 , p. 331. As rightly observed by 1)1: P. V. R..janwllnar, the Chairn11l of the Fourth Finance Commissio n, uSince the Finance Commission is a constitutiona l body expected to be quasijudicial, its recommendations shou ld not be turned down by the Gove rnment of India unless there are very compell ing reason s". The Constitution of India envisages the Finance commission as the balancing wheel of fiscal federalism in India. However, till 2014, its role in the Centre-state fiscal relations was undermined by the erstwhile Planning Commission, a non-constitutional and a non-statutory body.”
Why relevant

Repeats that the Finance Commission is constitutional and that the erstwhile Planning Commission undermined its Centre–State fiscal role, again indicating a relationship (or competition) between planning machinery and the Finance Commission's fiscal remit.

How to extend

One could compare the mandates of both bodies to see whether planning functions implied control over resources that the Finance Commission also recommends.

Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 56: NITI Aayog > ERSTWHILE PLANNING COMMISSION > p. 471
Strength: 4/5
“The erstwhile Planning Commission was established in March 1950 by an executive resolution of the Government of India, (i.e., the Union Cabinet) on the recommendation of the Advisory Planning Board constituted in 1946, under the chairmanship of K.C. Neogi. Thus, the erstwhile Planning Commission was neither a constitutional body nor a statutory body. In India, it was the supreme organ of planning for social and economic development. Functions The functions of the erstwhile Planning Commission included the following: • 1. To make an assessment of material, capital and human resources of the country, and investigate the possibilities of augmenting them. • 2.”
Why relevant

Describes the Planning Commission as the 'supreme organ of planning' and lists its planning functions, establishing what 'planning' entailed and which body performed it.

How to extend

A student could contrast this catalogue of planning functions with the Finance Commission's constitutional mandate to see if planning tasks fall within the Finance Commission's remit or remain with the Planning/its successors.

Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 15: Regional Development and Planning > REGIONAL DIMENSIONS OF PLANNING IN INDIA > p. 12
Strength: 4/5
“The main functions of the Planning Commission of India are: • (i) to formulate five year/annual plan;• (ii) to supervise the work of national planning;• (iii) to consider the national plans formulated by the Planning Commission;• (iv) to recommend measures for achieving the targets set out by the plans;• (v) to review the working and to monitor the plans from time to time; (vi) to encourage people's participation in the planning process. Unfortunately, the planning process in India in its first two Five-Year Plans did not incorporate the regional dimension. There were no”
Why relevant

Lists concrete functions of the Planning Commission (formulating five-year/annual plans, supervising national planning, recommending measures), clarifying the practical scope of planning in India.

How to extend

Using these functions, one could test whether the Finance Commission's reports or terms of reference ever include these planning activities or only fiscal distributions.

Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 15: Centre State Relations > Punchhi Commission > p. 164
Strength: 3/5
“be either referred to the next Finance Commission or an expert committee be appointed to look into the matter. • 31. Bring greater accountability, all fiscal legislations should provide for a annual assessment by an independent body and the reports of these bodies should be laid in both Houses of Parliament/state legislature.• 32. Considerations specified in the Terms of Reference (To R) of the finance Commission should be even handed as between the Centre and the states. into a full-fledged department, serving as the permanent secretariat for the Finance Commissions. • 37. The Planning Commission has a crucial role in the current situation.”
Why relevant

Notes that matters may be referred to the next Finance Commission or an expert committee and states 'The Planning Commission has a crucial role', implying procedural links between planning bodies and the Finance Commission in addressing fiscal or planning issues.

How to extend

A student could investigate specific instances where planning issues were referred to the Finance Commission to judge the extent of association between planning and the Finance Commission.

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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