Perspective plan
Also called: Long-term plan · Topic: Economic Planning in India: Goals, Models and Import Substitution · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "Indian Economy 1950-1990"
Meaning
A perspective plan is a long-term plan covering about twenty years. It sets the broad direction the economy should take. Five Year Plans were meant to be its building blocks: each one moves the country a step closer to the long-term goal. The Planning Commission set up a Perspective Planning Division in 1958 to prepare such long-range plans.
Example
Indian plan documents up to 2017 set two kinds of targets:
- Five-year targets for the current plan period.
- Twenty-year targets showing where the economy should be in the long run.
Each Five Year Plan was one stage towards the twenty-year targets.
Don't confuse with
- Five Year Plan: it covers only five years and has specific targets for that period. A perspective plan covers about twenty years and gives the long-term direction.
- Rolling plan: it is revised every year, and a new year is added so that it always looks five years ahead. India used one in 1978–80. It is not a twenty-year plan.