Q.Explain the objectives of economic planning in India.

Indian planning has always pursued several goals together, though which one gets top priority has shifted from plan to plan.

Explain each objective briefly with how it was mainly pursued.

Indian economic planning has pursued five broad and recurring objectives across its plan history:

1. Growth — raising the rate of growth of national income and per-capita income, pursued mainly through higher rates of saving and investment and by raising the productivity of both agriculture and industry, since a growing economy is what makes every other objective achievable.
2. Self-Reliance (Atmanirbharta) — reducing dependence on other countries, particularly for foodgrains, capital goods, and foreign aid, pursued through domestic agricultural build-up (culminating in the Green Revolution) and a domestic heavy-industry base.
3. Modernisation — adopting new technology and diversifying the production structure, in both agriculture and industry, so that growth is achieved with up-to-date rather than outdated methods.
4. Equity / Social Justice — reducing inequalities of income and wealth and the incidence of poverty, most visibly foregrounded in the Fifth Plan's Garibi Hatao thrust of the mid-1970s, since growth alone does not guarantee its benefits reach the poorest sections.
5. Employment Generation — creating enough productive jobs for India's fast-growing labour force, pursued through both direct employment schemes and an emphasis on labour-intensive sectors.

No single Five-Year Plan gave all five objectives equal weight — the First Plan (1951–56) prioritised agriculture and irrigation, the Second Plan (1956–61) shifted sharply toward growth through heavy industry and self-reliance, and later plans progressively gave more explicit weight to equity and employment.