Q50. How was NITI Aayog established in January 2015?
[UPPSC RO/ARO Mains 2016]
(A) Presidential ordinance
(B) Act of Parliament
(C) Union Cabinet resolution
(D) Judicial direction
Answer: (C) Union Cabinet resolution
Explanation: NITI Aayog was formed by a Union Cabinet resolution in January 2015. It is therefore an executive institution rather than a constitutional or statutory commission. Its establishment followed the replacement of the Planning Commission, also an executive body.
Q49. By which mechanism did the Government of India create NITI Aayog?
[WBCS Prelims 2016]
(A) Union Cabinet resolution
(B) Amendment of the Constitution
(C) Both the above
(D) Neither of the above
Answer: (A) Union Cabinet resolution
Explanation: NITI Aayog was created by Cabinet resolution on 1 January 2015, replacing the Planning Commission. Neither institution was established as a constitutional body. Its mandate stresses public-policy advice, cooperative federalism and outcome-oriented monitoring.
Q48. Who became the first vice-chairperson of NITI Aayog?
[WBCS Prelims 2016]
(A) Jagdish Bhagwati
(B) T. N. Srinivasan
(C) Arvind Panagariya
(D) Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Answer: (C) Arvind Panagariya
Explanation: Arvind Panagariya served as the inaugural vice-chairperson of NITI Aayog from 2015 until 2017. Montek Singh Ahluwalia had served as deputy chairperson of the old Planning Commission, making those two similarly named leadership positions important to distinguish.
Q47. Between which years did India implement the three Annual Plans commonly called the Plan Holiday?
[WBCS Prelims 2016]
(A) 1969–1971
(B) 1966–1969
(C) 1968–1970
(D) None of these
Answer: (B) 1966–1969
Explanation: After the Third Five-Year Plan ended in 1966, India adopted three Annual Plans covering 1966–69. Financial pressures, wars and drought prevented the immediate start of a regular Fourth Plan, which ultimately began in 1969.
Q46. Who formulated the 1944 Gandhian Plan for India’s development?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2016]
(A) Mahatma Gandhi
(B) Shriman Narayan Agarwal
(C) M. N. Roy
(D) P. C. Mahalanobis
Answer: (B) Shriman Narayan Agarwal
Explanation: Shriman Narayan Agarwal presented the Gandhian Plan in 1944, drawing on village-centred development and decentralised production. Its emphasis on self-sufficient rural industries contrasted with heavy-industry-led strategies developed in subsequent national economic planning.
Q45. NITI Aayog was constituted to replace which body?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2015]
(A) National Human Rights Commission
(B) Finance Commission
(C) Law Commission
(D) Planning Commission
Answer: (D) Planning Commission
Explanation: The Planning Commission’s functions in national development planning were succeeded by NITI Aayog in 2015. The Finance Commission retains a distinct constitutional role under Article 280, while the Law and Human Rights Commissions operate under different mandates.
Q44. Which Prime Minister announced the replacement of the Planning Commission?
[UPPSC PCS Prelims 2015]
(A) Narendra Modi
(B) Morarji Desai
(C) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(D) I. K. Gujral
Answer: (A) Narendra Modi
Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in August 2014 that the Planning Commission would be replaced. NITI Aayog was subsequently formed on 1 January 2015 as a policy think tank intended to foster participation by the states.
Q43. Which statement about NITI Aayog is incorrect?
[UPPSC Lower Subordinate Prelims 2015]
(A) It replaced the Planning Commission
(B) It has a full-time chairperson other than the Prime Minister
(C) It was created in January 2015
(D) It supports cooperative federalism
Answer: (B) It has a full-time chairperson other than the Prime Minister
Explanation: NITI Aayog has the Prime Minister as chairperson and a full-time vice-chairperson. It does not have a separate full-time chairperson of the sort proposed in the second option. It replaced the Planning Commission in January 2015.
Q42. Arrange rural development schemes by inception: (I) Employment Assurance Scheme; (II) TRYSEM; (III) JRY; (IV) RLEGP.
[BPSC 56th–59th Prelims 2015]
(A) II, IV, I, III
(B) IV, II, III, I
(C) IV, III, I, II
(D) II, IV, III, I
Answer: (D) II, IV, III, I
Explanation: TRYSEM started in 1979, RLEGP in 1983, Jawahar Rozgar Yojana in 1989 and Employment Assurance Scheme in 1993. The resulting chronological order is II, IV, III, I. They reflect successive approaches to rural employment generation.
Q41. Which pairing is incorrectly associated with rural versus urban employment?
[UPPSC PCS Prelims 2015]
(A) Industrial finance—SIDBI
(B) Social security—Bharat Nirman
(C) Rural credit—NABARD
(D) Rural employment—SJSRY
Answer: (D) Rural employment—SJSRY
Explanation: Swarnajayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojana was an urban employment and livelihoods programme. Its classification as rural employment is therefore incorrect. NABARD has a rural credit remit, and SIDBI is associated with financing small industries.
