In India's Five Year Planning history, which Five Year Plan first placed explicit emphasis on the removal of poverty (Garibi Hatao) as a central objective?

Introduction / Context:
The history of India's Five Year Plans reflects changing development priorities over time. Early plans focused heavily on industrialisation, agriculture and infrastructure. Later, growing concern about persistent poverty led planners to explicitly adopt poverty removal as a central objective. This question asks you to identify the first Five Year Plan that clearly emphasised the removal of poverty, often associated with the famous slogan Garibi Hatao, making it a key theme in the plan document.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- The focus is on explicit emphasis on poverty removal as a central goal.- Options include several middle period Five Year Plans.- We assume awareness of broad themes of different plans in India.

Concept / Approach:
The Fifth Five Year Plan, covering 1974-79, is widely recognised as the first plan to place explicit and strong emphasis on the removal of poverty. It adopted Garibi Hatao as a declared objective, reflecting political and social priorities of the time. Earlier plans addressed growth, employment and distribution, but did not frame poverty alleviation as the primary explicit slogan or central theme. Subsequent plans continued to focus on poverty reduction, but the first explicit shift came in the Fifth Plan.

Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Recall that the early plans, especially the Second and Third, emphasised rapid industrialisation and self reliance.2. The Fourth Plan continued to address growth and stability but did not fully centre its slogan on poverty removal.3. Understand that the Fifth Five Year Plan explicitly adopted the goal of Garibi Hatao and placed removal of poverty at the core of its strategy.4. Recognise that while later plans such as the Sixth and Seventh also pursued poverty alleviation, they built on this shift rather than initiating it.5. Therefore, select the Fifth Five Year Plan as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Standard Indian economy textbooks and planning history summaries clearly note that the Fifth Plan focused on reducing poverty and improving the quality of life of the poorest sections. They highlight the Garibi Hatao emphasis and distinguish it from earlier growth centric plans. Coaching material for civil services and other exams also lists the Fifth Plan as the first to make poverty removal a central plan objective, confirming this answer.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- Fourth Five Year Plan: important for stability and growth, but did not carry the explicit Garibi Hatao focus.- Sixth Five Year Plan: continued policies on poverty alleviation but came after the Fifth, which first made it a central emphasis.- Seventh Five Year Plan: stressed productivity and modernisation but was not the first to prioritise poverty removal.- Third Five Year Plan: focused mainly on self reliant growth and basic industries, predating the explicit poverty removal slogan.

Common Pitfalls:
Because many plans mention poverty alleviation in some form, students sometimes confuse which plan first made it the central theme. Others may assume it was the Fourth Plan because it preceded the Fifth and also addressed distribution. To avoid such confusion, firmly associate Garibi Hatao and explicit emphasis on removal of poverty with the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79). This simple association will help you answer future questions about plan priorities accurately.

Final Answer:
The first Five Year Plan to place explicit emphasis on removal of poverty was the Fifth Five Year Plan.