1. The Planning Commission has been abolished by Prime Minister
(a) Narendra Modi
(b) Morarji Desai
(c) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(d) I.K. Gujral
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2015]
Ans. (a) Narendra Modi
- In March 1950, Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, created the Planning Commission to make the best use of resources in the newly formed nation.
- On August 15, 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Planning Commission would be abolished.
- Following this announcement, the Union Government formed the NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) on January 1 to take its place.
- NITI Aayog will try to give important guidance and advice for development work.
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2. When was the Planning Commission established?
(a) 10th March, 1950
(b) 15th March, 1950
(c) 16th March, 1951
(d) 20th March, 1950
[47th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2005]
Ans. (b) 15th March, 1950
- The Planning Commission was not included in the Constitution, and was created by the Cabinet on March 15, 1950. The Prime Minister was the leader of the Commission.
- Its job was to create a 5 year plan and suggest annual plans for the States. Most of the grants from the Centre to the States were based on the Commission’s recommendation.
- It has been replaced by the NITI Aayog, which was created by the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015 and is also not part of the Constitution.
- The Central government gave around 70% of grants to the States based on the advice of the Commission.
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3. NITI Ayog was established in India in January 2015 by :
(a) Ordinance issued by President
(b) The Act of Parliament
(c) Union Cabinet passing a special resolution
(d) None of the above
[U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Mains) 2016]
Ans. (c) Union Cabinet passing a special resolution
- The Federal government gave the majority of its grants to the States according to the recommendations of the Commission. NITI Aayog has replaced the Planning Commission. This is an organization not mentioned in the Constitution. It was officially established by the Union Cabinet in a resolution on January 1st, 2015.
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4. Planning Commission was established by-
(a) Issuing ordinance by the President
(b) Making a law by Parliament
(c) A special resolution passed by the Union cabinet
(d) None of the Above
[U.P.P.C.S.(Pre) 1999]
Ans. (c) A special resolution passed by the Union cabinet
- The Planning Commission was a non-Constitutional institution.
- It is not mentioned in the Constitution. The Commission was formed by a resolution of the Cabinet on
March 15, 1950. Prime Minister used to be the ex-officio Chairman of this Commission. Its main function was to prepare a 5 year plan for the Union and to give suggestions on annual plans of the States.
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5. Which one of the following is an extra-Constitutional body?
(a) Finance Commission
(b) NITI Aayog
(c) Election Commission
(d) Inter-State Council
[U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2015]
Ans. (b) NITI Aayog
- Federal government gave the majority of its grants to the States according to the recommendations of the Commission.
- NITI Aayog has replaced the Planning Commission. This is an organization not mentioned in the Constitution.
- It was officially established by the Union Cabinet in a resolution on January 1st, 2015.
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6. Who was the first Vice-Chairman of the NITI Ayog?
(a) Arvind Panagariya
(b) Raghuram Rajan
(c) Chandrashekhara Subramanyam
(d) Rajiv Kumar
[M.P. P.C.S. (Pre) 2018]
Ans. (a) Arvind Panagariya
- NITI Aayog is a policy-making organisation created by the Government of India in 2015 to help reach Sustainable Development Goals and to involve state governments in the nation’s economic policy-making. It replaced the Planning Commission, which used a top-down model. Its initiatives include creating a 15 year plan and a 7 year vision, strategy and action plan.
- Arvind Panagariya was the first person to have the role of Vice-Chairman of the Niti Ayog.
- Rajiv Kumar is now the Vice-Chairman of the Niti Ayog
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7. Who had suggested a merger of Finance and Planning Commision?
(a) D. D. Basu
(b) Bhalchandra Goswami
(c) M.V. Mathur
(d) Ashutosh Pandey
[M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2015]
Ans. (c) M.V. Mathur
- M.V. Mathur, a member of the 3rd Finance Commission (formed in 1960), proposed merging the Planning Commission and Finance Commission.
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8. Which one of the following is not a Constitutional body?
(a) Union Public Service Commission
(b) State Public Service Commission
(c) Finance Commission
(d) Planning Commission
[U.P.P.C.S.(Pre) 2013]
Ans. (d) Planning Commission
- The Constitution of India states that the Union Public Service Commission and the Public Service Commissions for States under Article 315 and Finance Commission under Article 280 must be set up.
- The Planning Commission, however, is not mentioned in the Constitution. This means that it is an extra-Constitutional body, created in 1950 by executive order.
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9. Which of the following body/bodies does not/do not find mention in the Constitution?
1. National Development Council
2. Planning Commission
3. Zonal Councils
Select the correct answer using the codes given below
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) Only 2
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) All of these
[I.A.S. (Pre) 2013]
Ans. (d) All of these
- The Constitution of India does not mention the National Development Council, the Planning Commission, and the Zonal Councils.
- These are organizations made by the government, not the Constitution.
- The National Development Council and the Planning Commission were made in 1952 and 1950 respectively, and the Zonal Councils were set up under the State Reorganisation Act in 1956.
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10. Who was the First Chairman of the Planning Commission of India?
(a) M. Viswesvarya
(b) Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
(c) P. C. Mahalanobis
(d) John Mathai
[Uttarakhand P.C.S. (Pre) 2006]
Ans. (b) Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
- The Planning Commission was set up on March 15, 1950, by a decision of the Union Cabinet to make planning successful in India.
- Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Chairman of the Planning Commission and the Prime Minister was the leader of the Commission.
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11. Which one of the following is not correct about NITI Aayog?
(a) It was set up to replace the Planning Commission
(b) It has a full-time Chairman
(c) It was set up in January 2015
(d) It is based on the principle of Cooperative Federalism
[U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2015]
Ans. (b) It has a full-time Chairman
- NITI Aayog is a policy think-tank created by the Indian government to replace the Planning Commission.
- It’s an extra-constitutional body and works on the concept of Co-operative federalism.
- It was established on 1 January 2015.
- Therefore, all the statements are correct apart from the fact that it has a full-time Chairman because the Prime Minister is the head of NITI Aayog, however, this changes when their term in office is completed.
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12. Who among the following is associated with ‘NITI’ Aayog”?
(a) Narendra Modi
(b) Kaushik Basu
(c) Amartya Sen
(d) P. Chidambaram
[M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2016]
Ans. (a) Narendra Modi
- Niti Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) is a think tank created by the Indian government that started in 2015, replacing the Planning Commission.
- The current Chairperson of Niti Aayog is Shri Narendra Modi, who is also the Prime Minister of India.
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13. The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission is equivalent to-
(a) Vice-President
(b) Minister of the State
(c) Cabinet Minister
(d) Judge of the Supreme Court
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1991]
Ans. (c) Cabinet Minister
- The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission is the same as a Cabinet Minister in the Indian Government.
- Gulzarilal Nanda was the first person to hold this position.
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14. Who among the following has not been the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission in India?
(a) Dr. Manmohan Singh
(b) Pranab Mukherjee
(c) P. Chidambaram
(d) Montek S. Ahluwalia
[U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2015]
Ans. (c) P. Chidambaram
- P. Chidambaram has never been the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, but Dr. Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, and Montek Singh Ahluwalia have all held this position from 1985-1987, 1991-1996,
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15. Which one of the following statements in not true?
(a) Prime Minister is the Chairman of the Planning Commission of India.
(b) Planning Commission is the highest decision-making body for planning in India.
(c) Secretary of the Planning Commission is also the Secretary of the National Development Council.
(d) The National Development Council is presided over by the Prime Minister of India.
[U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2004]
Ans. (b) Planning Commission is the highest decision-making body for planning in India.
- The National Development Council is the most important group that makes decisions and talks about development in India. It is led by the Prime Minister.
- The Planning Commission is made up of the Prime Minister (as Chairman), Deputy Chairman, Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, and Members. The other three options are correct.
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16. Given below are two statements, one labeled as Assertion (A) and the other labeled as Reason (R):
Assertion (A): The Planning Commission has been defined as the economic cabinet, not merely for the Union but the States.
Reason (R): It formulates the five-year plans for the balanced utilization of natural resources.
In the context of the above statements, which one of the following is correct?
Code :
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is true, but (R) is false.
(d) (A) is false, but (R) is true.
[U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2010]
Ans. (b) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
- The Planning Commission creates plans for using natural resources in an even way over five years.
- It is usually known as the ‘Economic Cabinet’ of the Union and States because of the extra powers it has and the many topics it covers.
- Both the statement and the explanation are correct on their own, but the explanation does not explain the statement, so option (b) is the correct answer.
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17. The National Development Council (NDC) –
1. Discusses the progress of the National Plan.
2. Suggests the ways to achieve the goals of the National Plan.
3. Gives guidelines to formulate the National Plan.
4. Suggest allocation of money in Planning.
Considering the above statements, select the correct answer from the code given below :
Codes :
(a) 1, 2, and 3
(b) 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1, 2 and 4
(d) All of the above
[U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2010, U.P. P.C.S. (Mains) 2005]
Ans. (a) 1, 2, and 3
- The Government created the National Development Council on August 6, 1952. The Council’s main responsibilities are:
- Set rules for making the National Plan, including evaluating resources needed for the plan.
- To look at the National Plan made by the Planning Commission.
- The Planning Commission checks how the Plan is running and suggests changes that could help reach the goals of the National Plan.
- They also decide how money should be used for the National Plan, not the National Development Council.
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18. Who among the following constitutes the National Development Council?
1. The Prime Minister
2. The Chairman, Finance Commission
3. Ministers of the Union Cabinet
4. Chief Ministers of the States
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) Only 1, 2 and 3
(b) Only 1, 3 and 4
(c) Only 2 and 4
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
[I.A.S. (Pre) 2013]
Ans. (b) Only 1, 3 and 4
- The National Development Council was formed in August 1952.
- It is made up of the Prime Minister as its leader, Ministers of the Union Cabinet, the Chief Ministers of all the states, the Chief Minister or Administrators of the Union Territories, and members of the Planning Commission.
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19. The National Development Council is primarily related to –
(a) Approval of five-year plans
(b) Execution of village development plans
(c) Formation of development plans
(d) The financial relation between States and the Union.
[U.P.U.D.A./L.D.A. (Pre) 2002]
Ans. (a) Approval of five-year plans
- The Government created the National Development Council (NDC) on August 6, 1952 in order to involve States in making five-year plans.
- The Prime Minister is the head of the NDC and all State Chief Ministers are members.
- The Secretary of the Planning Commission is also part of the NDC.
- The NDC is responsible for approving the plans and connecting the Planning Commission with the State Governments.
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20. Who acts as the Secretary of the National Development Council (NDC)?
(a) Secretary, Ministry of Finance
(b) Secretary, Ministry of Planning
(c) Secretary, Planning Commission
(d) Secretary, Finance Commission
[Chhattisgarh P.C.S. (Pre) 2011]
Ans. (c) Secretary, Planning Commission
- The Government created the National Development Council (NDC) on August 6, 1952 in order to involve States in making five-year plans.
- The Prime Minister is the head of the NDC and all State Chief Ministers are members.
- The Secretary of the Planning Commission is also part of the NDC.
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21. Who presides over the meetings of the National Development Council of India?
(a) Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India
(b) Prime Minister of India
(c) Finance Minister of India
(d) Vice President of India
[Uttarakhand P.C.S. (Pre) 2006]
Ans. (b) Prime Minister of India
- The Prime Minister is the head of the NDC and all State Chief Ministers are members.
- The Secretary of the Planning Commission is also part of the NDC.
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22. When was the National Development Council formed in India?
(a) 26th January, 1950
(b) 2nd October, 1950
(c) 6th August, 1951
(d) 6th August, 1952
[U.P.P.C.S (Mains) 2016]
Ans. (d) 6th August, 1952
- The National Development Council was created on August 6, 1952, to help strengthen the nation’s efforts and resources to support the Plan, to promote economic policies in all important areas, and to help make sure that all parts of the country developed quickly and equally.
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23. Who among the following is the CEO of the NITI Aayog?
(a) Amitabh Kant
(b) S. S. Mundra
(c) Cyrus Mistry
(d) Soumya Kanti Ghosh
(e) None of the above/More than one of the above
[B.P.C.S. (Pre) 2018]
Ans. (a) Amitabh Kant
- Amitabh Kant is the CEO of the Niti Aayog.
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