Q.Define economic planning. State any three essential features of a good economic plan.

A plan is more than a wish-list of goals — it needs a specific structure to actually be implementable and checkable.

Economic planning is the deliberate, conscious direction and coordination of a country's economic activity by the state, according to a pre-determined plan, aimed at achieving specific economic and social objectives within a specified period.

Any three of the following essential features (the chapter lists five in total) may be given:

1. Clearly defined objectives — the plan states in advance exactly what it aims to achieve, e.g. a target growth rate or a target level of employment, so that success or failure can later be judged against a known standard.
2. A specified time period — plans are typically time-bound (most commonly five years), allowing periodic review of actual performance against the original targets.
3. A central planning authority — a designated body responsible for formulating the plan, allocating resources across sectors, and monitoring how well it is implemented.
4. Optimum and coordinated use of resources — the plan allocates the economy's limited capital, labour and raw materials across competing uses in a coordinated way, rather than leaving this entirely to uncoordinated individual decisions. …

Defining planning too vaguely as 'the government controlling the economy' without mentioning the essential elements of pre-set OBJECTIVES and a specified TIME PERIOD — both are what …