Q.Concept of Plan Holiday.

Plan holiday is the 1966-1969 period when, after the Third Plan, regular Five Year Plans were suspended and replaced by three Annual Plans, because of war, droughts, food shortage and devaluation. The Fourth Plan began only in 1969.

This is a 2-mark short note in AP Intermediate 2nd year Economics, part of the planning theme, treated in line with the NCERT/CBSE curriculum.

About Plan Holiday. After the Third Five Year Plan came to an end in 1966, the country faced a series of severe problems: the war with Pakistan in 1965, two consecutive years of drought and crop failure, acute food shortage, rising prices, and the devaluation of the rupee. Because of these difficulties and the shortage of resources, the government found it impossible to start the Fourth Five Year Plan immediately. Instead, during the three years from 1966 to 1969, three separate Annual Plans were implemented. This gap of three years in the system o …

Plan Holiday was the period 1966 to 1969 when India halted its Five Year Plans and ran three Annual Plans instead, because the Third Plan had failed, two wars and a severe drought had disrupted the economy, and there were acute food and foreign-exchange shortages. The Fourth Five Year Plan began in 1969. This is an AP Intermediate 2nd-year Economics topic on planning.

Meaning: The concept of 'Plan Holiday' refers to the break of three years (1966 to 1969) in India's regular Five Year Plans. During this period, instead of launching the Fourth Five Year Plan, the government implemented three separate Annual Plans (also called 'rolling plans' for those years).

Reasons for the Plan Holiday:

1. The failure of the Third Five Year Plan (1961 to 1966) to achieve its targets.
2. The Indo-China war (1962) and the Indo-Pak war (1965), which diverted resources to defence.
3. Severe droughts and crop failures that led to food shortages.
4. Shortage of foreign exchange and the devaluation of the rupee in 1966. …