Three Five-Year Plans (1961-1976) -Development Plans

  

His Majesty launched Bhutan on the path of planned social and economic progress. With the visit of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in 1958, Bhutan got assistance from Indian Government in terms of financial, administrative and technical personnel to help Bhutan implement the Bhutan’s development plans.

First Five Year Plan (1961-1966)	Second Five Year Plan (1966-1971	Third Five Year Plan (1971-1976
*Major objective in this first plan was building roadlinks to India to end the country’s state of isolation. Budget Outlay- Nu.107 million. Roads-1700 kms of roads were built connecting Thimphu and Paro to Phuentsholing, Trongsa to Gelegphu, Tsirang   to Sarpang and Trashigang to Samdrup Jongkhar. Transport and communication- Bhutan Government Transport Service (BGTS) was established in 1962. Post Offices were opened in Thimphu, Paro and Phuentsholing. Education- many new schools were established with teachers recruited from India to teach in the country. Health- three Hospitals and eleven dispensaries were set up. Other departments (Forestry, Agriculture & Animal Husbandry) were established and Fruit Processing Factory and distillery at Samtse was established, etc.	*priority was given in the agriculture sector and food productions. Budget Outlay- Nu.102 million. Agriculture-introduced modern farming methods (improved seeds, use of fertilizers, cash crops, etc), Agriculture Research and extensions were established, livestock breedin centres was established, etc. Education- increased the budget by double   and saw achievement in education sector (105 schools and 11,600 students), Teacher Training Institute was established in Samtse and Technical school at Phuentsholing was also established, students were sent to India for further studies, etc. Health-six hospitals and thirty four dispensaries were established, started the programmes to eradicate diseases such as malaria, smallpox, leprosy and tuberculosis, training of nurses and health workers began, etc. -started town planning in Thimphu and reconstruction of Tashichoedzong. -in 1968, Bank of Bhutan was established (it signify the moving of country from barter system to monetary economy).	*continuation of development plans such as education, agriculture, health, transport and communication, etc. were strengthened with increased budget. Budget Outlay-Nu.475 million. [3% of the total budget was received from UNO and 7% of the budget was generated from internal resources signifying steps towards goal os self-sufficiency.

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