The central objective of economic planning in India was to initiate a process of development which would raise living standards and create new opportunities for a richer and more varied life. In the earlier years of planning in India, maximization of employment opportunities was not considered to be an important objective in itself. Employment generation was looked upon as byproduct of the economic growth. . It was clearly stated in the First Five Year Plan that full employment was not an end in itself and should be regarded as a corollary of development rather than a direct objective.

The Five Year Plans adopted employment generation as an important goal of economic planning. But since employment was until recently treated as a derivative of growth, the plan strategy did not make much dent on the unemployment problem. Apart from promoting the infra-structure for improving productivity and social development in rural areas, a strategy to reach the poorer sanctions of society through programmes of asset building, income generation and wage employment has been evolved over successive plan periods.