Who is credited with implementing the Rolling Plan in India?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:

D. T. Lakdawala (Dantwala Twinandev Lakdawala) is credited with implementing the Rolling Plan in India. The Rolling Plan concept, which was initially conceived by Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal, was adopted in India in 1978 during the Janata Party government's tenure. Dr. Lakdawala was the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission at that time, and he was the chief architect responsible for operationalizing and implementing this plan in the country. The Rolling Plan marked a departure from the traditional rigid Five-Year Plans, introducing flexibility by having an annual plan that was continuously reviewed and extended, a plan for a fixed number of years (e.g., three, four, or five) that rolled forward, and a perspective plan for 10, 15, or 20 years. Although the Janata government fell in 1980, limiting the plan's effective duration to 1978-80, Lakdawala remains the figure who spearheaded its domestic application.

The incorrect option is 2:
Gunnar Myrdal, a noted Swedish economist, is the intellectual founder of the Rolling Plan concept, which he proposed in his book "Asian Drama." While he formulated the idea, he was not involved in its implementation in India, which was done by the Planning Commission.

The incorrect option is 3:
M. S. Swaminathan is universally known as the Father of the Green Revolution in India for his pivotal role in introducing high-yielding varieties of crops and modern farming techniques to achieve food self-sufficiency, and he is not associated with the implementation of the Rolling Plan.

The incorrect option is 4:
P. C. Mahalanobis was a renowned statistician responsible for the Second Five-Year Plan (1956–61), which focused on the heavy industry sector. He contributed the famous Mahalanobis model to Indian planning but had no role in the later Rolling Plan period of 1978–80.