Q130. Assertion: NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission.
Reason: the change aimed to make planning more responsive and flexible.
Choose the correct relationship.
[BPSC DSO, 3 Aug 2025]
(A) Assertion true, reason false
(B) Both true; reason explains assertion
(C) Both true; reason does not explain assertion
(D) Assertion false, reason true
Answer: (B) Both true; reason explains assertion
Explanation: NITI Aayog superseded the Planning Commission in 2015 as India’s principal policy think tank. The institutional shift emphasised cooperation with states, policy advice and adaptability instead of a centrally directed Five-Year Plan allocation system. The reason supports the assertion.
Q129. NITI Aayog was constituted to take the place of which institution?
[UKPSC Lower PCS Prelims, 11 May 2025]
(A) National Development Council
(B) Inter-State Council
(C) Planning Commission
(D) Regional Council
Answer: (C) Planning Commission
Explanation: NITI Aayog was formed on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the Planning Commission. Its remit emphasises strategic policy advice, monitoring and cooperative federalism. It did not replace the constitutionally recognised Inter-State Council or any regional council.
Q128. In which year did India’s First Five-Year Plan start?
[SSC GD Constable, 5 Feb Shift 2 2025]
(A) 1947
(B) 1950
(C) 1951
(D) 1956
Answer: (C) 1951
Explanation: The first plan commenced in 1951 and ran through 1956. It was prepared after the Planning Commission’s establishment in 1950. Initial priorities included food production, irrigation, power and rehabilitation, marking the formal start of India’s five-year planning process.
Q127. Whose economic model chiefly informed India’s 1956–61 Five-Year Plan?
[SSC GD Constable, 18 Feb Shift 2 2025]
(A) P. C. Mahalanobis
(B) Harrod–Domar
(C) Jawaharlal Nehru
(D) D. R. Gadgil
Answer: (A) P. C. Mahalanobis
Explanation: P. C. Mahalanobis supplied the influential framework for the Second Five-Year Plan. It assigned a strategic role to heavy industries and capital-goods production, seeking long-run industrial capacity. Harrod–Domar is more closely associated with the First Plan.
Q126. Who serves as chairperson of NITI Aayog?
[DSSSB PGT Political Science, 13 Jul Shift 2 2025]
(A) Chief Justice of India
(B) Union Finance Minister
(C) President of India
(D) Prime Minister of India
Answer: (D) Prime Minister of India
Explanation: The Prime Minister is the chairperson of NITI Aayog. The organisation also includes a vice-chairperson, members, a CEO and its Governing Council. The council creates an institutional channel for the participation of states and Union Territories in development policy.
Q125. What is the correct expansion of NITI in NITI Aayog?
[SSC JE Mechanical, 6 Dec Shift 2 2025]
(A) National Institution for Technology and Innovation
(B) National Institution for Transforming India
(C) National Initiative for Transforming India
(D) National Initiative for Technology and Innovation
Answer: (B) National Institution for Transforming India
Explanation: NITI expands to National Institution for Transforming India. Established in January 2015, the institution serves as a government policy think tank. Its responsibilities include strategic advice, collaborative federalism, evidence-based programmes and monitoring of development outcomes.
Q124. Match Five-Year Plans with objectives:
Fifth—Garibi Hatao;
Seventh—Food, Work and Productivity;
Ninth—Growth with Social Justice;
Eleventh—Faster and More Inclusive Growth.
Which matching is correct?
[NDA I General Ability Test, 13 Apr 2025]
(A) Fifth–Faster Growth; Seventh–Social Justice; Ninth–Food/Work; Eleventh–Garibi Hatao
(B) Fifth–Garibi Hatao; Seventh–Food/Work; Ninth–Social Justice; Eleventh–Faster Inclusive Growth
(C) Fifth–Garibi Hatao; Seventh–Social Justice; Ninth–Food/Work; Eleventh–Faster Inclusive Growth
(D) Fifth–Faster Growth; Seventh–Food/Work; Ninth–Social Justice; Eleventh–Garibi Hatao
Answer: (B) Fifth–Garibi Hatao; Seventh–Food/Work; Ninth–Social Justice; Eleventh–Faster Inclusive Growth
Explanation: The Fifth Plan stressed poverty removal, the Seventh highlighted food, employment and productivity, the Ninth foregrounded growth with social justice, and the Eleventh pursued faster inclusive growth. Each slogan belongs to its own planning period, making the second mapping correct.
Q123. Which programme guarantees employment to rural households willing to undertake unskilled manual labour?
[SSC Selection Post Graduate, 29 Jul Shift 3 2025]
(A) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
(B) MGNREGA
(C) National Rural Livelihoods Mission
(D) DAY–NRLM
Answer: (B) MGNREGA
Explanation: MGNREGA provides a statutory guarantee of up to 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to eligible rural households demanding unskilled manual work. It is distinct from road connectivity programmes and livelihood missions organised around self-employment groups.
Q122. Which organisation issued the December 2024 white paper on S.A.F.E. accommodation for manufacturing workers?
[UPSSSC PET, 6 Sep Shift 1 2025]
(A) Ministry of Labour and Employment
(B) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
(C) Confederation of Indian Industry
(D) NITI Aayog
Answer: (D) NITI Aayog
Explanation: The paper on Secure, Affordable, Flexible and Efficient worker accommodation was released by NITI Aayog. It examined housing as an enabling condition for manufacturing expansion, worker mobility and better industrial employment opportunities rather than presenting a railway or education initiative.
