The Second Five Year Plan covers the period from April 1956 through March 1961. The second plan was to put India on a path toward industrialization. The second five-year plan's driving force was P.C. Mahalanobis. He placed the greatest emphasis on strengthening the economy's industrial basis. The 1948 Industrial Policy Resolution was updated in this light, and a new resolution was enacted in 1956. In this article, we will study the Second five-year plan, which is important for the UPSC Examination.

Second five-year plan

• The leaders' confidence was boosted by the success of the First Five-Year Plan. Because the first plan's agriculture growth target was met, the government soon turned its attention to areas other than agriculture.
• industry, particularly heavy industry, was the focus of the second five-year plan. Rapid industrialization was used to set a goal of a 25% rise in national income.
• The Mahalanobis model is used in the second five-year plan. PC Mahalanobis, the founder of the Indian Statistical Institute and a close aide of Nehru, Indianized the USSR model.
• Through an elaborate input-output model, this approach is known to have provided the statistical foundations for state-directed investments and created the intellectual underpinnings of the licensing raj.
• This model recommended that the Indian economy should place a greater emphasis on heavy industries, which might lead to stronger long-term growth.
• This concept was used to establish India's second five-year plan and the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956, which cleared the way for the rise of the public sector and the license raj.

Some of the Second Five-Year Plan's important points are

• In the second five-year plan, steel mills were built in Bhilai, Durgapur, and Rourkela.
• This plan included increased coal production and the addition of extra railway lines.
• Homi J. Bhabha was the first head of the Atomic Energy Commission, which was established in 1957.
• As a research institute, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research was founded.
• A talent search and scholarship program was started in 1957 to locate exceptional young students who could be trained for the nuclear power industry.

Second Five-Year Plan Achievements

• The second five-year plan, based on a socialist model, aimed for a 25% rise in national income through rapid industrialization, but only 20% was realized. Furthermore, per capita income increased by only 8%.
• Domestic industrial product manufacturing was encouraged, particularly in the public sector's development.
• This plan fell short of its target growth rate of 4.5%, achieving 4.27% instead.

Critical Assessment of the Second Five-Year Plan

• The second five-year plan was a big leap forward, with a strong focus on heavy industry.
• During this plan period, the Industry Policy Resolution was revised, and the Public Sector was given major responsibility for development. The private sector was largely limited to the consumer goods industry.
• During this plan, the small and cottage industries remained sluggish.
• Imports grew dramatically, exposing India's sterling balances. India was compelled to devalue its currency twice under the third plan, as a result of the results

Conclusion

The socialist-inspired second five-year plan aimed for a 25% increase in national GDP through fast industrialization. The Mahalanobis model is used in the second five-year plan. Industrialization, particularly the development of basic and heavy industries, was given top importance in the second five-year plan. It planned to expand public enterprise in the areas of industrial and mineral development significantly. However, huge imports and poor backward and forward linkages resulted in falling short of the set targets.