The Fifth Plan (1974-79) was formulated against the backdrop of severe inflationary pressures. The Plan proposed to achieve the two main objectives, viz., removal of poverty and attainment of self-reliance, through promotion of higher rate of growth, better distribution of income and very significant step-up in the domestic rate of saving.
The Plan targeted an annual growth rate of 5.5 per cent in national income while the actual achievement was only 5 per cent. The Fifth Plan was terminated by the Janata Party Government at the end of the fourth year of the Plan in March 1978.