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Class 12 Economics Chapter 6 Development Policies and Experience(1947–1990)
Selected Questions & Answers
A. Very Short Answer Questions: (Marks for each – 1)
1. What is the meaning of Malmal-Khas?
Ans: Malmal-Khas is a type of cloth worn by members of the royal family.
2. What is Muslin?
Ans: Muslin is a type of high-quality cotton cloth.
3. What was the main occupation of the people of India before Independence?
Ans: Agriculture.
4. What is the tax imposed on imports called?
Ans: Tariff (Import duty).
5. Where was the first Iron and Steel industry of India established?
Ans: At Jamshedpur.
6. What does the primary sector of the economy include?
Ans: Agriculture.
7. What was the growth rate of per capita income in India before Independence?
Ans: 0.5%.
8. What was the life expectancy of people in India before Independence?
Ans: 32 years.
9. What is another name of the service sector?
Ans: Tertiary sector.
10. Into how many sectors is the occupational structure of India divided?
Ans: Into three sectors.
11. In which year was Tata Air Lines established?
Ans: In 1932.
12. In which year did railway transport begin in India?
Ans: In 1853.
13. Which places were connected by the first railway line in India?
Ans: Mumbai and Thane.
14. During the colonial period, what proportion of India’s total workforce was engaged in agriculture?
Ans: 70–75 percent.
15. What was the female literacy rate during British rule?
Ans: 7 percent.
16. What is the Suez Canal?
Ans: The Suez Canal is an artificial waterway running from north to south through the Isthmus of Suez in north-eastern Egypt.
17. Who is the author of the book “Poverty and Famine”?
Ans: Amartya Sen.
18. Which seas are connected by the Suez Canal?
Ans: The Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
19. In which year were population data first collected in India during British rule?
Ans: In 1881.
20. What was the annual growth rate of per capita income in India during the first half of the twentieth century?
Ans: 0.05%.
21. In which year was the Industrial Policy introduced in India?
Ans: In 1948.
22. In which year was the Planning Commission of India formed?
Ans: In 1950.
23. Who is regarded as the architect of Indian planning?
Ans: Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.
24. Who is the chairman of the Planning Commission?
Ans: The Prime Minister of India.
25. What is the main objective of India’s Five-Year Plans?
Ans: The main objectives are improvement of the standard of living, modernization, self-reliance, and establishment of economic equality.
26. What are the three economic systems prevalent in the world today?
Ans: Capitalism, Socialism, and Mixed economy.
27. At the time of Independence, what percentage of the population depended on agriculture?
Ans: 75%.
28. What are the three basic economic problems?
Ans: What to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce.
29. What is India’s planning called?
Ans: Five-Year Planning.
30. What is meant by Perspective Planning?
Ans: A long-term plan (about 20 years) is called Perspective Planning.
31. What percentage did the service sector contribute to Gross Domestic Product in 1990?
Ans: 40.59 percent.
32. Which plan forms the basis of Perspective Planning?
Ans: The Five-Year Plan.
33. What is the name of the journal published by Mahalanobis?
Ans: ‘Sankhya’.
34. Who established the Indian Statistical Institute and where?
Ans: Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis established it in Kolkata.
35. What is meant by marketable surplus?
Ans: The portion of agricultural produce that farmers sell in the market is called marketable surplus.
36. Name two places in India where iron and steel projects are located.
Ans: Kolkata and Jamshedpur.
37. What is India’s share in world export trade?
Ans: 0.4 percent.
38. How many industries were reserved for the public sector in Industrial Policy of 1956?
Ans: 17 industries.
39. In 1990, what percentage of people in India were engaged in agriculture?
Ans: 65 percent.
40. When was the National Development Council established?
Ans: In 1959.
41. Who formulated the People’s Plan?
Ans: M. N. Roy.
42. What is the investment limit for small-scale industries?
Ans: One crore rupees.
43. In which year was the New Economic Policy introduced in India?
Ans: In 1991.
44. Mention one type of tax imposed on imported goods.
Ans: Import duty.
B. Short Question–Answers: (Marks for each – 2)
1. What is meant by stagnation in the agricultural sector?
Ans: Stagnation in the agricultural sector refers to the very slow development of the agricultural sector or the lack of development.
2. What is meant by the commercialization of agriculture?
Ans: Commercialization of agriculture refers to the process in which farmers produce cash crops instead of food crops in order to earn money.
3. What is meant by the primary sector?
Ans: The primary sector refers to the sector where goods are produced based on resources obtained directly from nature. It includes agriculture, mining, forestry, fishing, etc.
4. With which countries did India have foreign trade during colonial India?
Ans: During colonial India, India’s foreign trade was mainly with England, although there was also some trade with countries like China, Sri Lanka, and Iran.
5. Mention some goods that India imported during the colonial period.
Ans: During the colonial period, India imported several goods mainly from Britain. Some of the important imported goods were:
(a) Cotton textiles (machine-made cloth)
(b) Silk and woollen cloth
(c) Metal goods such as iron and steel products
(d) Machinery and industrial equipment
(e) Luxury goods like perfumes, wines, and other finished products. These imports increased especially after the Industrial Revolution, when British factories began producing large quantities of manufactured goods.
6. What is the tertiary sector?
Ans: The sector that provides services such as transport, communication, and trade is called the tertiary sector.
7. What is meant by the secondary sector?
Ans: The secondary sector refers to the sector where one type of good is transformed into another type of good.
8. Did the British make any positive contributions in India?
Ans: The British made some positive contributions in India in the fields of industry, trade, and communication. Commercialization of agriculture began. The production of cash crops increased. After the Second World War, small industries such as sugar, cement, and paper developed. Roads and railway transport were introduced for the infrastructural development of India.
9. Identify some major economic challenges faced by India at the time of Independence.
Ans: Some major economic challenges faced by India at the time of Independence were: Stagnation in the agricultural sector due to the pressure of excessive population, productive capacity decreased. The handicraft industry had fallen into destruction.
Foreign trade was very limited. Per capita income was very low.
10. What is meant by the drain of Indian wealth during the colonial period?
Ans: The drain of Indian wealth during the colonial period refers to the transfer of a large amount of wealth from India to England.
11. What was the main cause of stagnation in Indian agriculture during the colonial period?
Ans: The main cause of stagnation in Indian agriculture during the colonial period was the introduction of the zamindari system by the British. As a result, the profits from agriculture went to the zamindars instead of the farmers. Due to exploitation by the zamindars, the farmers suffered greatly. Moreover, the use of low-quality traditional technology, lack of irrigation, etc., also caused problems in the agricultural sector.
12. Mention the names of some persons who estimated the national income of India during the colonial period.
Ans: Some persons who estimated the national income of India during the colonial period were Dadabhai Naoroji, William Digby, Findlay Shirras, V. K. R. V. Rao, and R. C. Desai.
13. Why were the jute industries of India affected due to the partition of the country?
Ans: At the time of partition, most of the regions producing jute became part of East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh). As a result, due to the shortage of raw materials, the jute industries of India were adversely affected.
14. Mention two effects of commercialization of agriculture during the British period.
Ans: Two effects of commercialization of agriculture during the British period were:
(a) Greater importance was given to irrigation.
(b) Instead of improving the condition of farmers, commercial agriculture opened the way for greater exploitation by the zamindars.
15. What is meant by small-scale industry?
Ans: A small-scale industry refers to an industry in which the maximum investment can be up to one crore rupees. (In 1950, the maximum investment limit for small-scale industries was five lakh rupees.)
16. What are the main policy measures in the agricultural sector?
Ans: The main policy measures in the agricultural sector are land reforms and the Green Revolution.
17. Mention five export items of India.
Ans: Five export items of India are tea, coffee, jute, cotton yarn, and sugar.
18. What are miracle seeds?
Ans: High-yielding variety seeds are called “miracle seeds.”
19. What is meant by Gross Domestic Product?
Ans: Gross Domestic Product refers to the monetary value of all final goods and services produced within an economy in a particular year.
20. Mention one advantage of tariff and quota.
Ans: Tariffs and quotas limit imports and protect domestic businesse nterprises from foreign competition.
21. Mention three import items of India.
Ans: Three import items of India are chemical fertilizers, petroleum, and engineering equipment.
22. Why is the Indian economy called a mixed economy?
Ans: The Indian economy is called a mixed economy because both the private sector and the public sector coexist in it.
23. What is the name of the authority that approves the Five-YearPlans of India?
Ans: The authority that approved the Five-Year Plans of India was the National Development Council.
24. What is import substitution?
Ans: Import substitution refers to producing domestically those goods or services that are expensive to import, thereby reducing the volume of imports.
25. What is a quota?
Ans: A quota generally refers to a fixed quantity or fixed value limit on the import or export of a commodity.
26. What is meant by subsidy?
Ans: Subsidy refers to the portion of the cost of a good or service that the government pays on behalf of an individual or institution purchasing it.
27. What is meant by industrial policy?
Ans: Industrial policy refers to all the policies, actions, and regulations related to industrial development
28. What is meant by the Green Revolution?
Ans: The Green Revolution refers to the remarkable increase in agricultural production through the use of improved seeds, chemical fertilizers, irrigation, and modern production techniques.
29. What is meant by land reform?
Ans: Land reform refers to the reform of the traditional land system that had been in practice since earlier times. Recognizing its importance for increasing agricultural production and establishing social justice, land reform laws were enacted in India after Independence.
C. Medium Length Question–Answers: (Marks for each – 4)
1. What were the effects of the exploitative rule of the British on the Indian economy?
Ans: The British ruled India for nearly two hundred years. Their main political objective was to exploit India economically. As a result of their exploitative rule, the Indian economy was affected in the following ways:
(a) India mainly developed as an agriculture-dominated country. There was also some expansion of commercial crops.
(b) The cottage and handicraft industries of the country were pushed towards destruction.
(c) The British obtained complete control over the Indian market. As a result, a discriminatory policy was introduced in commercialization.
(d) Out of the total profits of consumer-goods industries established in India, about 50 percent was appropriated by the British as bonus.
2. What is meant by the “Mercantile Capital Period”?
Ans: The period from the time of the Battle of Plassey in 1757 to the end of the eighteenth century is called the “Mercantile Capital Period.” From this time the British began to establish their political control in India. At the same time, they deliberately started obstructing the progress of the Indian economy. As a result, they opened up ways to earn considerable commercial profits. By imposing high land revenue, they exploited the peasants and also disrupted the Indian economy.
3. What is meant by colonial rule?
Ans: When a foreign ruler captures the political power of a country and determines and manages the economic policies of that country for the benefit of the ruling nation, such a system of rule is called colonial rule. The explicit policy of colonial rule is the exploitation of all the resources and development sectors of the ruled country, that is, purchasing raw materials at low prices and using the ruled country as a market for the industrial goods produced in the ruling country. In India, colonial rule of the British continued from 1757 to 1947.
4. Mention the causes of the decline of handicrafts in India during the British rule.
Ans: The causes of the decline of handicrafts in India during the British rule were:
(a) During British rule, due to the absence of the dominance of native kings and rulers, handicrafts and cottage industries were deprived of government patronage.
(b) As industrial goods produced in England were imported into India, Indian handicraft goods could not survive the competition and gradually declined.
(c) Under British influence, a new class of people emerged in India wholooked down upon goods produced in India, which contributed to the decline of Indian handicrafts.
(d) Compared with goods produced on a large scale with advanced methods by the British, the price of Indian handicraft goods was higher, which reduced their demand.
5. Explain any three causes for the development of private enterprises in India during the British rule.
Ans: The causes for the development of private enterprises in India during the British rule were:
(a) The British government followed a policy of free trade during that
time.
(b) Competition began among Indian industries.
(c) During British rule, the brokerage system developed in trade and commerce. The brokers increased investment in the private sector, which helped in the growth of private enterprises.
6. Write a short note on the development of capitalist industries in India during the British rule.
Ans: During British rule, capitalist industries developed in India. The British established industries in India based on capitalist principles. They did not encourage investment for industrial establishment by people other than capitalists. During the time of the World War I, imports of goods from foreign countries declined, which increased the demand for domestically produced goods. Moreover, the British paid attention to the development of transportation, and railway networks expanded. The Indian business class also established industries to earn profits. As a result, capitalist industries developed in India.
7. Mention four defects of the industrial policy introduced in Indiaduring the British rule.
Ans: The defects of the industrial policy introduced by the British in India were:
(a) Decline of indigenous handicrafts.
(b) Lack of capital-goods industries.
(c) The British showed little interest in establishing modern industries in India.
(d) Commercial agriculture did not improve the condition of farmers but rather opened the way for exploitation by the zamindars.
8. What objectives did the British try to achieve through the policy of infrastructural development in India?
Ans: Through the policy of infrastructural development in India, the British tried to achieve the following objectives:
(a) They wanted to transform India into a country producing raw materials for industries.
(b) Through infrastructural development, they wanted to make India a market for goods produced in England.
(c) They wanted to exploit India economically in every possible way.
9. Mention four characteristics of the Indian economy as an underdeveloped economy.
Ans: Four characteristics of the Indian economy as an underdeveloped economy are:
(a) Weak economic infrastructure.
(b) Low per capita income.
(c) Scarcity of capital.
(d) Agriculture-based economy.
10. Why was the public sector given a leading role in industrial development during the planning period?
Ans: The public sector was given a leading role in industrial development during the planning period because economists believed that industries increase employment opportunities and expand production in the country. They create a competitive environment in the market for different industrial goods. As a result, people can purchase goods at lower prices and improve their standard of living. Moreover, industries increase the utilization of agricultural, forest, and mineral raw materials of the country. The surplus industrial goods can also be exported to earn foreign exchange. Therefore, the public sector was given a leading role in industrial development during the planning period.
11. Mention the necessity of the land reform measures introduced in the agricultural sector.
Ans: The necessity of land reform measures introduced in the agricultural sector are:
(a) To increase the productivity of land.
(b) To remove obstacles in the path of agricultural development.
(c) To give actual cultivators the right over land.
(d) To remove social inequality.
(e) To encourage farmers to practice cooperative farming.
12. Suggest some measures for implementing land reforms in India.
Ans: The following suggestions may be given for implementing land reforms in India:
(a) Uniformity should be maintained among different state governments in implementing ceiling laws.
(b) In those states where suitable laws have not been enacted to grant landownership rights to tenants, appropriate laws should be enacted and implemented quickly.
(c) Land consolidation should be implemented as soon as possible to increase agricultural production.
(d) All land-related records should be maintained systematically.
D. Essay Type Question–Answers: (Marks for each – 6)
1. Discuss the causes of stagnation of the agricultural economy in India during the colonial rule.
Ans: During the British colonial rule, the agricultural sector of India suffered from stagnation. The main causes were as follows:
(a) The British showed little interest in modernizing the agricultural system in India. Farmers continued to practice traditional methods of cultivation, which hindered agricultural development.
(b) During the colonial period, the British introduced the Zamindari system in the Bengal Presidency, as a result of which agricultural land came under the control of zamindars instead of the farmers.
(c) The zamindars did not take any initiative for the improvement of agriculture.
(d) Without considering the condition of the farmers, rent was forcibly collected from them.
(e) The British emphasized the production of commercial crops rather than food crops. Due to these reasons, the agricultural economy of India remained stagnant during the colonial period.
2. Discuss the condition of the industrial sector in India during the colonial rule.
Ans: During the colonial rule, the development of the industrial sector in India was extremely slow. The British adopted discriminatory policies in the industrial sector.
(a) India mainly developed as an agriculture-dominated country, although there was some expansion of commercial crops.
(b) Cottage and handicraft industries of the country moved towards decline.
(c) The British gained complete control over the Indian market, which led to discriminatory commercialization policies.
(d) Out of the total profits of consumer-goods industries established in India, about 50 percent was appropriated by the British as bonus. However, in the second half of the nineteenth century some modern industries began to be established in India, but their development was very slow. Their growth was limited mainly to small industries such as cotton textile mills and jute mills. After the World War II, some paper industries were established, but no capital-goods industries developed.
3. Discuss the economic changes in India during the colonial rule.
Ans: The economic changes in India during the colonial period can be explained as follows:
(a) Establishment of the Public Works Department and railways: During the rule of Lord Dalhousie, the Public Works Department was established in India. This department began the construction of roads. Around 1850, railway construction also started. As a result, different regions of the country became connected and the scope of markets for buying and selling goods expanded.
(b) Introduction of Western ideas: During British rule, Western ideas, laws, education, and liberal thinking were introduced in India. This brought considerable changes in traditional values and attitudes towards life. These changing ideas directly and indirectly influenced the traditional economic system of India.
(c) Investment of foreign industries and capital: In the later phase of British rule, a considerable amount of foreign capital was invested in India. Coffee plantations, jute industries, coal production, and indigo cultivation were introduced, and foreign capital began to be invested in these sectors. As a result, the stagnation in the development of the Indian economy was reduced to some extent.
(d) The Industrial Revolution in England: Around 1750, the Industrial Revolution took place in England. As a result, India became a large market for the sale of manufactured goods produced in England. Consequently, the indigenous handicraft industries of India declined. Thus, during the British rule, the process of change in the economic infrastructure of India began.
