Subhas Chandra Bose, a prominent leader in the Indian independence movement, had an indirect yet significant role in influencing India’s post-independence planning and economic strategies. While Bose himself passed away in 1945, before India’s independence in 1947, his vision for India’s industrial and economic growth continued to shape the policies adopted by the newly independent country.

Connection to the Planning Commission:

1. Economic Vision: Bose was a firm believer in state-led industrialization and economic planning. He was influenced by the Soviet model of central economic planning, advocating for rapid industrial development as a means to empower the nation and uplift the masses.
2. National Planning Committee (NPC): In 1938, when Bose was the president of the Indian National Congress, he set up the National Planning Committee (NPC) under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru. This committee was one of the earliest formal efforts to outline a blueprint for India’s economic development. The NPC aimed to devise plans for economic and industrial development, focusing on alleviating poverty, boosting employment, and enhancing self-reliance. Though its work was interrupted by World War II and the freedom struggle, it laid the foundation for the post-independence economic planning framework.
3. Influence on the Planning Commission: After independence, the Indian government established the Planning Commission in 1950, under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, who was inspired by many of the ideas initially discussed by the NPC and Subhas Chandra Bose. The Planning Commission's focus on state-directed economic development and its Five-Year Plans reflected the socialist leanings that Bose and Nehru had both admired.

While Bose was not directly involved in the creation of the Planning Commission (which was established after his death), his ideas about economic planning, state intervention in industry, and national self-reliance significantly influenced the course of India’s post-independence development strategy.