A plan is a proposed list of goals that an economy wants to achieve within a specific period of time. It suggests the optimum ways to utilize the scarce available resources to achieve the enlisted goals. In India, planning is done for a period of five years, which is called five year plan. Plans have both specific and general goals. Some of the common goals are economic growth, modernization, self-reliance and equity. Plans lay down the basic framework over which the policies are designed.