NABARD' was founded in which five year plan ?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 3 (Sixth):

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was established on July 12, 1982, by an Act of Parliament. This establishment took place during India's Sixth Five-Year Plan, which ran from 1980 to 1985. The Sixth Plan period marked a critical focus on agricultural and rural development, aiming to address rural poverty and generate employment. NABARD was created based on the recommendations of the B. Sivaraman Committee to serve as the apex development bank to promote sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural prosperity by providing credit support, development, and supervisory functions for all agricultural and rural non-farm sector activities in India. Its founding was a major institutional step in consolidating and channeling rural credit effectively under one specialized body.

The incorrect option is 1 (First):
The First Five-Year Plan ran from 1951 to 1956 and primarily focused on developing agriculture, irrigation, and power projects immediately after independence. NABARD's creation in 1982 came nearly three decades after the conclusion of the First Plan, as the specialized need for an apex rural finance body evolved much later.

The incorrect option is 2 (Third):
The Third Five-Year Plan (1961–1966) focused on achieving self-reliance in food grains and expanding basic industries. This period was characterized by challenges like the Sino-Indian War and subsequent poor harvests, and it did not see the establishment of key financial institutions like NABARD.

The incorrect option is 4 (Ninth):
The Ninth Five-Year Plan was much later, running from 1997 to 2002. By this time, NABARD had already been functioning for over fifteen years, playing an established role in financing rural infrastructure and micro-finance initiatives in the post-liberalization era.