In the context of Five Year Plans, what does the term "plan holiday" refer to?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
The correct answer is option 3 i.e. Discontinuity in five-year planning.
A "Plan Holiday" refers to the period (1966–1969) when the formal Five-Year Plans were suspended due to economic instability. Following the failure of the Third Plan, caused by the Indo-Pak war, Sino-Indian war, and severe droughts, the government replaced long-term planning with three Annual Plans. This temporary break allowed the economy to stabilize before the Fourth Plan was launched. It represented a strategic pause in the centralized planning process rather than a permanent policy shift.