Read the given passage and then answer the following questions: 

At the time of Independence in 1947 India was considered an underdeveloped or at best a developing economy. Not only the country had a small GDP and a low per capita income, there were also inter-regional and inter-sector differences in levels of development. Level of industrialization was low and the economy had not recovered from the negative effects of the Second World War. Partition of the country had also had its toll and the country faced multifarious problems including the problem of a large refugee population. The national economy needed reconstruction from the ravages of the World War and partition and reorientation from an economy exploited by colonial rulers to one catering to the needs of the teeming millions in the country. A big planned and coordinated investment based push was necessary for the revival of the economy. It is in this background that a comprehensive programme of development and economic planning was initiated. Planning in India was conceived as a mechanism of economic growth with social justice. To achieve this, the Government of India set up the Planning Commission in 1950 with Prime Minister as its Chairman (The Planning Commission was set up as an extra constitutional body). The Commission was entrusted the task of devising objectives and strategies for the development of the country. Accordingly, the Commission suggested the system of Five Year Plans taking into account the needs and means of the country. First Five Year Plan in India was launched in 1951.