The Tenth Five-Year Plan recognised the importance of which field?

Concept

A Five-Year Plan sets national development priorities by identifying sectors that can drive growth, public services, and institutional change.

To identify a plan’s emphasis, match the field with the official plan’s sectoral objectives and implementation themes, rather than merely selecting any field useful to development.

Application

The Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002–07) gave explicit importance to information technology. Its policy framework sought sustained growth of software and IT-enabled services, expansion of the domestic IT market, greater use of IT in governance, and reduction of the digital divide.

Contrast

• Population studies supports demographic planning, but it is not the sectoral emphasis identified in this item.

• Extension education supports community outreach and knowledge transfer, but it is not the sectoral emphasis identified in this item.

• Social work supports welfare and community services, but it is not the sectoral emphasis identified in this item.

Cross-check

The Plan also stressed telecommunications infrastructure because information technology and IT-enabled services depend on high-quality connectivity. This independently supports the same identification.

Therefore, the answer is information technology.