What is the meaning of Self-Reliance?
- To achieve self-reliance, the goods should be produced in our own country rather than imported from other countries and to increase our economic growth in every aspect. The idea of self-reliance was essential for a developing country like India.
- The main objectives of the fourth five-year plan were that it is not acceptable for countries to depend on other countries for survival.
Fourth Five Year Plan: Self-Reliance
On December 8, 1951, our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, presented the five-year plan to the Indian Parliament. The Harrod Domar model was used to create it. At that time, India faced three problems- The influx of refugees, a severe shortage of food, and mounting inflation arising from the after-effect second World War, from which our country India faced an imbalance in the economy.
The first plan had the objective of rehabilitation. The focus of the second plan was Rapid industrialization, especially the development of heavy industry and capital goods like industrial Chemicals. Establishing India’s Self-Reliance and a Self-Generating economy were the primary goals of the third plan. The third plan included agriculture development as one of the objectives to achieve balance. From 1966 to 1969, three annual methods were devised and designed.
Growth with stability and progressive achievement of Self-Reliance with a focus on agriculture’s growth rate were the objectives of the fourth five-year plan. So the fourth – five-year plan was the most appropriate. The duration was from 1969 to 1974, under the leadership of Indira Gandhi.