Q.1 What factors gave birth to the consumer movement in India? Trace its evolution.

Answer:

The factors that gave birth to the consumer movement in India are as follows:

• Lack of legal system to protect the consumers from exploitation in the marketplace
• Extreme food shortages
• Black marketing
• Adulteration of food and edible oil

Till the 1970s, consumer organisations were mostly busy writing articles and holding exhibitions. There has been an upsurge in the number of consumer groups who have shown concern towards the value of goods and services since the 1980s. In 1986, the Indian government enacted the Consumer Protection Act, also known as COPRA. This was a major step in the consumer movement in India. There are today more than 700 consumer groups in the country who are working in the field of protecting the consumers’ interest.

Q 2. Explain the need for consumer consciousness by giving two examples.

Answer:

Consumer consciousness is being aware of your right as a consumer while buying trading anything in the market so that they are not being cheated or exploited in the market place. Consumer consciousness is very important to improve the market conditions which provide consumers with more choices at lower prices and reduce the incidences of their exploitation by the sellers.

For example :

A buyer must check the expiry and manufacturing date of the product before buying from the shop. In case, any expired product is found in the shop, a complaint must be raised against the seller. 

Sometimes shopkeepers indulge in unfair practices such as selling the underweight or adulterated/ defective items. So, to reduce such instances, it’s very important for the consumers to be aware and act smartly.

Q3. Mention a few factors which cause exploitation of consumers.

Answer:

Factors which cause exploitation of consumers are :

• Lack of awareness of consumer rights
• Lack in proper monitoring of rules and regulations
• Consumers ignore small losses as the individual purchase quantity is quite small
• Lack of consumer consciousness

Q.4 What is the rationale behind the enactment of Consumer Protection Act 1986?

Answer:

The rationale behind the enactment of Consumer Protection Act (COPRA) 1986 was to set up separate departments of Consumer Affairs in central and state governments to safeguard the interests of the consumers and to grant them the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices and exploitation.

Q.5 Why are rules and regulations required in the marketplace? Illustrate with a few examples.

Answer:

Rules and regulations are required in the marketplace to protect consumers from exploitation.  seller tries to shift all the responsibility on to the buyer. Whenever, a consumer complaints against the goods or services for the bad quality or quantity, sellers deny of any fraud and try to shift all the responsibility on to the buyers. The sellers tend to hold no responsibility for the goods once sold. For example, a grocery shop owner might sell expired products and then blame the customer for not checking the date of expiry before buying the items. Hence, rules and regulations are needed to safeguard the interest and rights of consumers in the marketplace.

Q.6 Explain the ‘Right to seek redressal’ with an example. (2013 OD)
Or
Explain with an example how you can use the right to seek redressal. (2015 OD)
Answer:
Right to seek redressal:

1. The consumers can seek redressal against trade practices of exploitation and have the right to fair settlement of the genuine grievances.
2. He has a right to get compensation from a manufacturer/trader if he is harmed. The consumer can seek redressal through Consumer Courts functioning at district, state and national levels.
   Example: Mahesh sent a money order to his village for his mother’s medical treatment. The money did not reach his mother at the time when she needed it and reached months later. Mahesh, thus filed a case in the district level consumer court to seek redressal.

Q.7
How do ‘Consumer Protection Councils’ help consumers? Explain three ways. (2012 OD)
Answer:
The consumer movement led to the formation of various organizations locally known as ‘Consumer forums’. These are voluntary organizations.

1. They guide consumers on how to file cases in the consumer courts.
2. They represent consumers in the consumer courts.
3. These voluntary organizations receive financial support from the government for creating awareness among the consumers.

Q.8
How have markets been transformed in recent years? Explain with examples. (2014 OD)
Answer:
The initial aspect of unequal situations in a market and poor enforcement of rules and regulations have now seen a transformation in the market in recent years.

1. The transformation of markets in recent years has come because of legal institutions helping consumers in getting compensated and upholding their rights as consumers.
2. The awareness of being a well-informed consumer which arose out of consumer movement has also shifted the responsibility of ensuring quality of goods and services on the sellers.
3. The producers in the market need to strictly follow the required safety rules and regulations. The manufacturer in the market is now required to display information about the ingredients used, price, batch number, date of manufacture, expiry date and the address of the manufacturer.

For example, pressure cookers have safety valves and manufacturers have to ensure its high quality. While buying medicines the ‘directions for use’ and information relating to side effects and risk associated with its usage are to be mentioned on the packets.

Q.9
Describe the conditions in which markets do not work in a fair manner. (2015 D)
Answer:
Markets do not work in fair manner when:

• producers are few and powerful;
• consumers are numerous and purchase in small amounts and are scattered;
• large companies producing these goods having huge wealth; power and reach manipulate the market in various ways; and
• consumers are misinformed through the media and are unaware of their rights.

Q.10
How did consumer movement originate as a ‘social force’ in India? (2014 OD)
Or
“The consumer movement arose out of dissatisfaction of the consumers”. Justify the statement with arguments. (2016 OD)
Answer:
The consumer movement as a ‘social force’ originated with the necessity of protecting and promoting the interests of consumers against unethical and unfair trade practices of the producers and sellers.

1. Rampant food shortages, hoarding, black marketing and adulteration of food and edible oil gave birth to the consumer movement in an organized form in the 1960s.
2. In the early phase, consumer organizations were mainly engaged in writing articles and holding exhibitions. They formed groups to look into malpractices in ration shops and overcrowding in road passenger transport.
3. Because of all these efforts, the movement succeeded in putting pressure on business firms and the government to change their unfair ways.
   As a result of all this, a major step was taken by the Indian Government in 1986. It enacted the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, which popularly came to be known as COPRA.

Important Link

Quick Revision Notes : Consumer Rights

NCERT Solution : Consumer Rights

MCQs: Consumer Rights

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Q.1 How do Multinational Companies manage to keep the cost of production of their goods low? Explain with examples. (2013 D)
Or
Explain the conditions that determine MNCs setting up production in other countries? (2011 D)
Answer:

1. MNCs set up offices and factories for production in regions where they can get cheap labour and other resources. Example, Countries like China, Bangladesh and India. They also provide with the advantage of cheap manufacturing locations.
2. MNCs also need close-by markets for their manufacturing goods. Mexico and Eastern Europe are useful for their closeness to the markets in the US and Europe.
3. Besides these, MNCs also require skilled engineers and IT personnel and a large number of English speaking people who are able to provide customer care services (India possibly tops in this area).
4. All these factors help MNCs in saving costs of production by 50-60%.

Q.2
How do we participate in the market as producers and consumers? Explain with three examples. (2013 D)
Answer:
We participate in the market both as producers and consumers.

1. As producers of goods and services we could be working in any of the sectors like agriculture, industry or services.
   For example, a farmer who sells wheat to a flour mill. The man at the mill grinds the wheat and sells the flour to a biscuit company. The biscuit company uses flour, sugar and oil to make packets of biscuits. It sells the biscuits in the market to the consumer. Biscuits are the final goods, i.e., the goods that reach the consumer and people as consumers buy.
2. We as producers in the market could be made to sell the produce to the moneylender at a low rate in return for a timely loan.
   For example, in case of small farmers; the failure of crops often makes loan repayment impossible. They have to sell a part of their land to repay the loans.
3. As consumers we participate in the market when we purchase goods and services that we need. As individual consumers we often find ourselves in a weak position. Whenever there is a complaint regarding a good or service that had been bought, the seller tries to shift all the responsibility on to the buyer.
   For example, a long battle had to be fought with court cases to make cigarette manufacturing companies accept that their product could cause cancer.

Q.3
How are local companies benefitted by collaborating with multinational companies? Explain with examples. (2013 OD)
Answer:
When local companies enter into a joint venture with MNCs:

1. First, the MNCs provide money for additional investments for faster production.
2. Second, MNCs bring with them the latest technology for enhancing and improving the production.
3. Some Indian companies have gained from successful collaborations with foreign companies.
   Globalization has enabled some companies to emerge as multinationals.
4. Parakh Foods was a small company which has been bought over by a large American Company — Cargill Foods. Parakh foods had built a large marketing network in various parts of India as a well- reputed brand. Parakh Foods had four oil refineries whose control has now shifted to Cargill. Cargill is now the largest manufacturer of edible oil in India making five million pouches daily.

Q.4
How has foreign trade been integrating markets of different countries in the world? Explain with examples. (2012 OD)
Or
“Foreign trade integrates the markets in different countries.” Support the statement with arguments. (2015 OD)
Answer:

(i) Foreign trade creates opportunities for producers to reach beyond domestic markets. Producers can compete in markets located in other countries of the world. Similarly, for the buyers, import of goods from another country leads to expanding choice of goods beyond what is domestically produced. Buyers can thus choose from a wide range of products to suit their individual tastes.

(ii) With the opening of trade, goods travel from one market to another. Choice of goods in the market rises. Prices of similar goods in two markets tend to become equal, and producers in the two countries now closely compete against each other even though they are separated by thousands of miles. Foreign trade, thus, results in connecting the markets or integration of markets in different countries.

For example., There are endless number of footwear brands available in the Indian market. A consumer who is aware of international trends can choose between a local brand like Bata, Lakhani and international brands like Adidas, Nike, Reebok etc.

Q.5
Define the term liberalization. Explain the reasons why the Indian Government started the policy of liberalization in 1991. (2014 D)
Or
‘Barriers on foreign trade and foreign investment were removed to a large extent in India since 1991’. Justify the statement. (2016 D)
Answer:
Removing barriers or restrictions set by the government on foreign trade and foreign investment is what is known as liberalization. The Indian Government removed these barriers because:

1. Liberalization of trade and investment policies allows Indian producers to compete with producers around the globe leading to an improvement in performance and quality of products.
2. After the barriers on foreign trade and foreign investment were removed to a large extent, goods could be imported and exported easily and also foreign companies could set up factories and offices in India. This has led to an increase in trade with different countries.
3. Businesses are allowed to make decisions freely about what they wish to import or export due to the liberal policies of the government.
4. Doors of investment opened up for MNCs. They have been investing large sums of money in India and have been seeking to earn large profits.

Q.6
How has information and communication technology stimulated globalisation process? Explain with examples. (2014 D)
Answer:
Information and communication technology has helped globalisation in the following ways:

1. Rapid improvement in technology has contributed greatly towards globalisation. Advanced technology in transport systems has helped in the delivery of goods faster across long distances at lower costs.
2. Development in information and communication technology has also helped a great deal. Telecommunication facilities — telegraph, telephone, mobile phones, fax are used to contact one another quickly around the world, access information instantly and communicate from remote areas. This is possible due to satellite communication devices. Teleconferences help in saving frequent long trips across the globe.
3. Information technology has also played an important role in spreading out production of services across countries. Orders are placed through internet, designing is done on computers, even payment of money from one bank to another can be done through e-banking through internet. Internet also allows us to send instant electronic mail (e-mail) and talk (voice-mail) across the world at negligible cost.

Q.7
Why had Indian government put barriers to foreign trade and foreign investment after independence? Explain. (2014 D)
Or
Why had the Indian government put barriers to foreign trade and foreign investments after independence? Analyse the reasons. (2016 OD)
Answer:

1. The Indian government after independence had put barriers to foreign trade and investment. This was done to protect the producers within the country from foreign competition. Industries were just coming up in the 1950s and 1960s and competition from imports at that stage would not have allowed these industries to develop and grow. Imports of only essential items such as machinery, fertilisers, petroleum etc. was allowed.
2. Another reason was to protect the Indian economy from foreign infiltration in industries affecting the economic growth of the country as planned. India wanted to move faster to catch up with the main industries in the world market and therefore had to keep an extra watch on its progress in international trade and give incentives to the more rapidly growing industries through fiscal tariff and other means.

Q.8
How are MNCs able to cope with large demands from all over the ivorld and control prices? (2014 OD)
Answer:

1. Large MNCs in developed countries place orders for production with small producers.
2. The MNCs sell these under their own brand names to the customers.
3. As they control the market with the huge demand, they are able to control prices.

Q.9
“A wide ranging choice of goods are available in the Indian markets.” Support the statement with examples in context of globalisation. (2016 D)
Answer:
Globalisation has led to integration of markets across countries. The Indian markets are now flooded with a wide ranging choice of goods. Import from other countries has led to an expanding choice of goods beyond what is domestically produced —

1. We have a wide variety of goods and services before us in the market.
2. The latest models of digital cameras, mobile phones and televisions made by leading manufacturers of the world like Sony, Samsung etc. are available in the market.
3. Every season, new models of automobiles can be seen on Indian roads. Today Indians are buying cars produced by nearly all the top companies in the world.
4. A similar explosion of brands can be seen for many other goods like footwear. For example, Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Puma and many more.

Q.10 In spite of Globalization, creating good quality products and expanding market, how is it affecting the stability in jobs for the workers? (2014 OD)
Answer:

1. Employment of ‘flexible workers’.
2. Increased competition, objective to lower costs, the axe falls on the ‘labour costs’—temporary jobs given.
3. Longer working hours for labour to get suitable salaries

Important Link

Quick Revision Notes : Globalisation and the Indian Economy

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MCQs: Globalisation and the Indian Economy

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Q.1 What are the modern forms of money? Why is the ‘rupee’ widely accepted as a medium of exchange? Explain two reasons. (2013 D)
Or
Why is modern currency accepted as a medium of exchange without any use of its own? Give reasons?
Answer:
Modem forms of money currency in India include paper notes and coins which are known as Rupees and Paise.

1. It is accepted as a medium of exchange because the currency is authorized by the Government of India.
2. In India, the Reserve bank of India issues currency notes on behalf of the Central Government of India.
3. The law legalizes the use of rupee as a medium of payment that cannot be refused in settling transaction in India.
4. No Individual in India can legally refuse a payment made in rupees.
   Therefore, the rupee is widely accepted as a medium of exchange.

Q 2
What is collateral? Why do lenders ask for collateral while lending? Explain. (2012)
Answer:
Collateral is an asset that the borrower owns (land, building, vehicle, livestock, land documents, deposits with banks etc.) which stands as a security against the money borrowed. In case the borrower fails to repay the loan, the lender has the right to sell the asset or collateral to recover the loan money. Most lenders ask for collateral while lending as a security against their own funds.

Q 3
“Cheap and affordable credit is essential for poor households both in rural and urban areas.” In the light of the above statement explain the social and economic values attached to it. (2013 OD)
Or
“Cheap and affordable credit is crucial for the country’s development.” Assess the statement. (2016 D)
Or
‘Credit has its own unique role for development’. Justify the statement with arguments. (2016 OD)
Answer:
Credit means: It refers to an agreement in which the lender supplies the borrower with money, goods or services in return for the promise of future repayment.

1. Cheap and affordable credit is crucial for the country’s growth and economic development. Credit is in great demand for various kinds of economic activities—big or small investments, to set up business, buying cars, houses, etc.
2. In rural areas credit helps in the development of agriculture by providing funds to farmers to buy seeds, fertilizers, expensive pesticides.
3. Manufacturers need credit for buying raw material or to meet ongoing expenditure of production. Credit helps in the purchase of plant, machinery, equipment, etc.
4. Some people may need to borrow for illness, marriages etc.
   Thus, cheap and affordable credit is crucial for the country’s growth and economic development.

Q.4
How does money solve the problem of double coincidence of wants? Explain with an example. (2014 D)
Answer:
Money acts as a medium of exchange. Money can be exchanged for any kind of commodity or service of one’s choice or need. Before money was introduced, people practised barter system. They exchanged goods with each other.
Example, A farmer could buy a dhoti from a weaver or a pair of shoes from a cobbler in exchange of grains he produced.

The problem with the barter system was that both the parties had to agree to sell and buy each other’s product. This is known as double coincidence of wants.

In barter system, where goods are directly exchanged without the use of money, it is essential that there is a double coincidence. Double coincidence is a situation where two persons need or desire to have each other’s product.

Money solves this problem as with money we can buy whatever we want and whenever we want, without having to exchange something in return.

Q.5
How is money used in everyday life? Explain with examples. (2014 D)
Answer:

1. Money plays a central role in our daily life. It is used as a medium of exchange to carry out transactions.
2. Money buys us food, clothing, shelter and other basic necessities of life.
3. Money provides us social security. It is needed to procure services like transport, education, healthcare, entertainment, recreation, and so on. Money facilitates business and trade and is the basis of the working of an economy.

Q.6
Explain with examples, how people are involved with the banks. (2014 D)
Answer:

1. Banks help people to save their money and keep their money in safe custody of the bank. Banks accept deposits from the public and also help people to earn interest on their deposits.
2. People can withdraw the money deposited with the bank at the time of their need. As the money can be withdrawn on demand, these are called demand deposits.
3. Banks also grant loans to people for a variety of purposes. In times of need individuals, business houses and industries can borrow money from the banks.

Q.7
Why is it necessary for the banks and cooperative societies to increase their lending facilities in rural areas? Explain. (2015 D)
Answer:
Banks and Cooperatives can help people in obtaining cheap and affordable loans. This will help people to grow crops, do business, set up small-scale industries or trade in goods and also help indirectly in the country’s development. They should do so, so that relatively poor people do not have to depend on informal sources of credit (money-lenders).

Q 8
How can money be easily exchanged for goods or services? Give an example to explain. (2016 D)
Answer:
Money as a medium of exchange for goods and services:
A person holding money can easily exchange it for any commodity or service that he or she might want. Everyone prefers to receive payments in money and exchange the money for things they want.

For example: A shoemaker wants to sell shoes in the market and buy wheat. The shoe maker will first exchange shoes for money and then exchange the money for wheat. If the shoemaker had to directly exchange shoes for wheat without the use of money, he would have to look for a wheat growing farmer who not only wants to sell wheat but also wants to buy the shoes in exchange. Both the parties have to agree to sell and buy each other’s commodities. This process is very difficult, time consuming and unhealthy.

Q.9
“The credit activities of the informal sector should be discouraged.” Support the statement with arguments. (2016 D)
Answer:
The credit activities of the informal sector should be discouraged because:

1. 85% of loans taken by the poor households in the urban areas are from informal sources. There is no organisation that supervises the credit activities of lenders in the informal sector.
2. Informal lenders charge very high interest on their loAnswer: They try to charge more and more interest on their loans as there are no boundaries and restrictions.
3. Higher cost of borrowing means a larger part of the earnings of the borrowers is used to repay the loan.
4. In certain cases, the high interest rate for borrowing can mean that the amount to be repaid is greater than the income of borrower. This could lead to increasing debt and debt trap, therefore the credit activities of the informal sector should be discouraged.

Q.10
Why do we need to expand formal sources of credit in India? (NCERT Question)
Answer:

1. There is no organisation that supervises the credit activities of lenders in the informal sector. They lend at whatever interest rate they choose.
2. No one can stop rural money-lenders from using unfair means to get their money back.
3. Informal lenders charge a very high rate of interest on loans and as a result a larger part of the earnings of the borrowers and farmers are used to pay the loans.
4. The amount to be repaid is often greater than income, and farmers and other borrowers in villages fall in a debt trap.
   Thus, it is necessary that banks and co-operatives increase their lending, particularly in rural areas, so that dependence on informal sources of credit ends.

Important Link

Quick Revision Notes : Money and Credit

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MCQs: Money and Credit

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Q.1 Why is NREGA also called the Right to work? Explain the objectives of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005. (2015, 2014, 2013)
Answer:
Every state or region in India has potential for increasing the income and employment in that area.
Recognising this, the Central Government in India has passed an act called the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005,
Main objectives of the NREGA 2005 are:

• to implement the Right to Work in 200 districts of India.
• to guarantee 100 days of employment in a year by the Government. In case the Government fails, it offers unemployment allowance.
• to give preference to the type of work that will help increase the production from land.

Q 2
With the example of sugarcane, explain the interdependence of all the three sectors of the economy. (2012)
Answer:
The primary sector involves production at the most basic level, i.e., through exploitation of natural resources. Cultivation of sugarcane is an agricultural activity which comes under the primary sector. Raw materials from the primary sector are converted into processed goods through manufacturing in the secondary sector. Using sugarcane as raw material, jaggery and sugar is made in the factories. The tertiary or service sector provides support to the process of production. It includes transportation, storage, marketing and sale of products. For instance, transportation of sugarcane from the fields to the sugar mills. Further on, the transportation of jaggery and sugar from factories and sugar mills to the markets.

The farmer (Primary sector) also needs fertilisers and seeds which are processed in some factory (Secondary sector) and which will be delivered to his doorstep by some means of transportation (Tertiary sector). In this way, for every little process there is interdependence of the three sectors of the economy on each other.

Q.3
“The problem of underemployment is not confined only to agriculture”. Support the statement with examples. (2013)
Answer:
The problem of underemployment is not confined only to agriculture. It can also happen in other sectors.

• For example, there are thousands of casual workers in the service sector in urban areas who search for daily employment. They are employed as painters, plumbers, repair persons and other odd jobs. Many of them don’t find work everyday.
• Similarly, we see other people of the service sector on the street pushing a cart or selling something where they may spend the whole day but earn very little. They are doing such work only due to the lack of better employment opportunities.
• The unorganised sector includes small and scattered units outside the government control. Employment is not secure. People can be asked to leave without any reason. When there is less work, such as during some seasons, some people may be asked to leave.

Q.4
What are final goods and intermediate goods? How do they help in calculating (GDP) Gross Domestic Product? (2013)
Answer:
Final goods are goods that are ultimately consumed by the consumer rather than used in the production of another good.
Intermediate goods are goods used as inputs in the production of final goods and services. For example, a car sold to a consumer is a final good; components such as a tyre sold to the car manufacturer is an intermediate good. The value of final goods already includes the value of all intermediate goods that are used in making the final good.

The value of final goods and services produced in each sector during a particular year provides the total production of the sector for that year. And the sum of production in the three sectors gives the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country. It is the value of all final goods and services produced within a country during a particular year.

Q.5
Explain any three ways to solve the problem of underemployment. (2013)
Answer:
There are people who are capable of better work and earning more than what they are getting. The reason for this is that better jobs for which they are qualified are not available. Such people are termed as underemployed, e.g., a graduate teacher driving a taxi. Underemployment is most prevalent in the primary or agricultural sector.

Three ways to solve the problem of underemployment:

1. Provision of loans may help in creating jobs for disguised unemployed and underemployed workers.
   The loan money can be used for the promotion of economic activity of the family adding to the family’s earning or for setting up a cottage industry.
2. Another way is to promote and locate industries and services in semi-rural areas where a large number of people may be employed.
   Example, Setting up a dal mill, opening a cold storage, starting or promoting honey collection.
3. If local banks give credit to farmers at a reasonable rate of interest, they will be able to buy agricultural inputs and increase productivity.
4. Centres for vegetables and fruit processing, health centres, educational institutions, tourism and IT centres will certainly help in creating jobs.

Q.6
Why didn’t shift out of primary sector happen in case of employment although there has been a change in the share of the three sectors in GDP? (2013)
Answer:
A remarkable fact about India is that while there has been a change in the share of the three sectors in GDP, a similar shift has not taken place in employment.

1. A similar shift out of primary sector did not happen in case of employment because not enough jobs were created in the secondary and tertiary sectors.
2. Even though industrial output or the production of goods went up by eight times during the period, employment in the industry went up by only 2.5 times.
3. While production in the service sector rose by 11 times, employment in the service sector rose less than three times.
   As a result, more than half of the workers in the country are working in the primary sector, mainly in agriculture, producing only a quarter of the GDP.

Q.7
Classify the economic sectors on the basis of nature of activities. Mention the main feature of each. (2014)
Answer:
On the basis of nature of activities, economic sectors are classified into:

1. Primary sector
2. Secondary sector
3. Tertiary sector

Primary sector forms the base for all other products that we subsequently make. Since most of the natural products we get, are from agriculture, dairy, fishing, forestry, this sector is also called sector for agriculture and related activities (stone quarrying, animal husbandry, etc.).

Secondary sector covers activities in which natural products are changed into other forms through ways of manufacturing. It can take place in a factory, workshop or at home.
Examples:
(a) Spinning yam from cotton fibre from plants.
(b) Making sugar from sugarcane.
It is also called the Industrial sector.

Tertiary sector. Activities in this sector do not produce any goods. This sector produces services that act as aid and support to the Primary and Secondary sectors. Services like administration, police, army, transport, hospitals, educational institutions, post and telegraph, courts, municipal corporation, insurance companies, storage, trade communication and banking are some of the examples of activities of the Tertiary sector. This sector is also known as Service sector.

Q.8
What is meant by Gross Domestic Product (GDP)? How is GDP measured in India? (2015)
Answer:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country is the value of all the final goods and services produced in each sector within a country during a particular year. This indicates how big the country’s economy is. GDP is measured by the Central Government Ministry. This Ministry, with the help of all the Indian States and Union Territories, collects information relating to total volume of goods and services and their prices and then makes an estimate of the GDP.

Long Answer Questions (LA)

Q.9
Describe the importance of Primary sector in the Indian economy.
Answer:
Importance of Primary sector:

1. Primary Sector provides the basic needs of economy for food and mineral ores.
2. It produces some of the raw materials (like jute, cotton, coal extracted from mines) for the industrial sector.
3. The Primary sector continued to be the largest employer in the economy even in the year 2000, the reason being that Secondary and Tertiary sectors still do not create enough jobs.
4. The agricultural population in the Primary sector provides a very large market of consumers for the Secondary sector (for buying finished products like clothes, goods of daily need, fertilizers, etc.).

Q 10
How can we create more employment in secondary and tertiary sectors in rural India? (2012)
Answer:

1. Investing in basic agricultural infrastructure like construction of dams and canals for irrigation can lead to a lot of employment generation within the agricultural sector itself reducing the problem of under employment.
2. If the government invests some money in the storage and transportation of crops, or makes better rural roads so that mini-trucks reach everywhere, several farmers can continue to grow and sell these crops throughout the year. This activity can provide productive employment to not just farmers but also others such as those in services like transport or trade.
3. Providing credit at a reasonable rate of interest to help farmers buy seeds, fertilisers, agricultural equipments, pumpsets etc. can generate employment in rural banking.
4. The government/banks can provide loans at cheap rates to the small farmers to improve their irrigational facilities like constructing a well so that they can irrigate their land well and get two to three crops a year instead of one. Thus more people can be employed in the same field.
5. Another way is to promote and locate industries and services in semi-rural areas where a large number of people may be employed. For example, setting up a dal mill, opening a cold storage, starting or promoting honey collection, etc.

1. .

Important Link

Quick Revision Notes : Sectors of the Indian Economy

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MCQs: Sectors of the Indian Economy

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Q.1  What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth century India mean to:
(a) Women
(b) The poor
(c) Reformers

Answer

(a) The spread of print culture in 19th century India benefitted Indian women through learning and education. The liberal families supported the education but conservative Hindus believed
that a literate girl would be widowed and Muslims feared that educated women would be corrupted by reading Urdu romances. This led to the counter reaction, as most of the oppressed women began to study and read books and learnt writing in secrecy. Some literate women started to write books and their autobiographies. Rashasundari Devi, a young married girl wrote her autobiography “Amar Jiban” which was published in 1876. Overall, the print culture in 19th century India helped in spread of the feeling of self-reliance among Indian women.

(b) The poor people benefitted from the spread of print culture because of the availability of books at a low price. The readership among them increased due to the publication of low priced books. Public libraries were also set up from the early 19th century, expanding the access to the books where all people could gain knowledge. Encouraged and inspired by the social reformers, the people like factory workers too set up their libraries and some even wrote books. Kashibaba, a Kanpur mill worker wrote and published ‘Chote aur Bade Ka Sawal’.

(c) Indian reforms of 19th century utilized print culture as the most potent means of spreading their reformist ideas and highlight the unethical issues. They began publishing various vernacular and English and Hindi newspapers and books through which they could spread their opinions against widow immolation, child marriage, monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood and idolatry to the common people of the country. In this way the spread of print culture in the 19th century provided them a space for attacking religious orthodoxy and to spread modern social and political ideas to the people of different languages across the country.

Q.2 Why did some people in 18th century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism?

Answer

Many people in the 18th century Europe thought that the print culture has the power in it to bring enlightenment and end despotism. This would help in spreading of literacy and knowledge among all class of people. Social reformers like Louise, Sebastian Mercier, and Martin Luther felt that the print culture is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion and hence, it would definitely bring enlightenment and an end to despotism.

Q.3  Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one example from Europe and one from India.

Answer

Some people especially from upper class and powerful class feared the effect of easily available printed books. Their cause of fear was that due to the spread of literacy among the common people they may loose their position or authorities. Some people feared that this may lead to the spread of rebellions and irreligious thoughts. For example –
→ In Europe, the Roman Catholic Church tried to curb the printed books through the Index of Prohibited Books.
→ In India, the Vernacular Press Act imposed restrictions on Indian press and various local newspapers. Also, some religious leaders and some people from upper castes expressed their fear.

Q 4. What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in nineteenth century India?
Answer

The effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in nineteenth century India were:
→ The poor people benefited from the spread of print culture in India on account of the availability of low-price books and public libraries.
→ Enlightening essays were written against caste discrimination and its inherent injustices. These were read by people across the country.
→  On the encouragement and support of social reformers, over-worked factory workers set up libraries for self-education, and some of them even published their own works, for example, Kashibaba and his “Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal”.

Q 5. Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.

Answer

The print culture immensely helped the growth in the growth of nationalism in India in the following ways –
→ Through vernacular press, oppressive methods of colonial rule were reported.
→ The misrule of government and its initiative on curbing the freedom of press spread the nationalist ideas that demanded freedom of press.
→ Nationalist feelings and revolutionary ideas were secretly spread by the dailies like – The Amrit Bazar Patrika, The Indian Mirror, Kesri, The Hindu, Bombay Samachar etc. Through these newspapers national leaders always tried to mobilize public opinion of Indian masses and unite them for the cause of nationalism.
→ The print culture helped in educating the people who then started to be gradually influenced by the reformist and nationalist ideas of the various Indian leaders like Raja Ram Mohun Roy, Tilak, Subhas Bose and Gandhiji etc.

Q.6 Give reasons for the following:
(a) Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.
(b) Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.
(c) The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an Index of Prohibited books from the mid-sixteenth century.
(d) Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.

Answer

(a)Woodblock print was invented around the sixth century in China. It came to Europe, along with Marco Polo, in 1295. Marco Polo returned to Italy after many years of exploration in China, and he brought the knowledge of woodblock print with him on his return.

(b) Through the publications of his protestant ideas, Martin Luther challenged the orthodox practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote 95 theses criticizing many of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther’s writings were immediately reproduced in vast numbers and read widely. This led to a division within the church and to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. He also translated the New Testament of which 5000 copies were sold within a few days. These were impossible without the printing technology. Deeply grateful to the print, Luther said, “Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one.”
This is the reason why Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.

(c) The Roman Catholic Church had to face many dissents from mid-16th century onwards. People had written many books that interpreted the God and the creation in their own ways or as they liked. Therefore, the church banned such books and kept the record of such banned books. It was called the Index of Prohibited Books.

(d) Gandhi considered that the liberty of speech, liberty of press and freedom of association were three most powerful vehicles of expressing and cultivating public opinion. Therefore, he said the fight for Swaraj was a fight for liberty of speech, press, and freedom for association.

Q. 7 Write short notes to show what you know about:
(a) The Gutenberg Press
(b) Erasmus’s idea of the printed book
(c) The Vernacular Press Act

Answer

(a) The Gutenberg Press: The first printing press was developed by Johan Gutenberg in 1430s. It was a developed form of the olive and wine presses. By 1448 Gutenberg perfected this system. The lead moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of alphabet. The first book he printed was Bible. He produced 180 copies of Bible in 3 years, which was much faster by standards of the time, at the time.

(b) Erasmus’s idea of printed book: Erasmus was the Latin scholar and a Catholic reformer. He criticized the printing of books. He thought that most of the books are stupid, ignorant, scandalous, raving, irreligious and seditious. According to him such books devaluate the valuable books.

(c) The Vernacular Press Act: Modelled on the Irish Press Laws, it was passed in 1878. This law gave the government tyrannical rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. If a seditious report was published and the newspaper did not heed to an initial warning, then the press was seized and the printing machinery confiscated. This was a complete violation of the freedom of expression.

Q.8 What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth century India mean to:
(a) Women
(b) The poor
(c) Reformers

Answer

(a) The spread of print culture in 19th century India benefitted Indian women through learning and education. The liberal families supported the education but conservative Hindus believed
that a literate girl would be widowed and Muslims feared that educated women would be corrupted by reading Urdu romances. This led to the counter reaction, as most of the oppressed women began to study and read books and learnt writing in secrecy. Some literate women started to write books and their autobiographies. Rashasundari Devi, a young married girl wrote her autobiography “Amar Jiban” which was published in 1876. Overall, the print culture in 19th century India helped in spread of the feeling of self-reliance among Indian women.

(b) The poor people benefitted from the spread of print culture because of the availability of books at a low price. The readership among them increased due to the publication of low priced books. Public libraries were also set up from the early 19th century, expanding the access to the books where all people could gain knowledge. Encouraged and inspired by the social reformers, the people like factory workers too set up their libraries and some even wrote books. Kashibaba, a Kanpur mill worker wrote and published ‘Chote aur Bade Ka Sawal’.

(c) Indian reforms of 19th century utilized print culture as the most potent means of spreading their reformist ideas and highlight the unethical issues. They began publishing various vernacular and English and Hindi newspapers and books through which they could spread their opinions against widow immolation, child marriage, monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood and idolatry to the common people of the country. In this way the spread of print culture in the 19th century provided them a space for attacking religious orthodoxy and to spread modern social and political ideas to the people of different languages across the country.

Q.9  Why did some people in 18th century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism?

Answer

Many people in the 18th century Europe thought that the print culture has the power in it to bring enlightenment and end despotism. This would help in spreading of literacy and knowledge among all class of people. Social reformers like Louise, Sebastian Mercier, and Martin Luther felt that the print culture is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion and hence, it would definitely bring enlightenment and an end to despotism.

Q 10 . Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one example from Europe and one from India.

Answer

Some people especially from upper class and powerful class feared the effect of easily available printed books. Their cause of fear was that due to the spread of literacy among the common people they may loose their position or authorities. Some people feared that this may lead to the spread of rebellions and irreligious thoughts. For example –
→ In Europe, the Roman Catholic Church tried to curb the printed books through the Index of Prohibited Books.
→ In India, the Vernacular Press Act imposed restrictions on Indian press and various local newspapers. Also, some religious leaders and some people from upper castes expressed their fear.

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Question 1.
Why did the industrial production increase in India during the First World War? (2014)
Answer:
The War had created a new opportunity for the industrial production in India:

1. The War situation had forced the British mills to produce things that were needed for the army. This had led to the decline of Manchester imports into India. Suddenly, Indian mills had a vast home market to supply to:
2. As the War prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs: jute bags, cloth for army uniforms, tents and leather boots, horse and mule saddles and a host of other items.
3. New factories were set up and old ones ran multiple shifts. Many new workers were employed and everyone was made to work longer hours.
   Over the war years, industrial production boomed, local industries consolidated their position, substituting foreign manufactures and capturing home markets.

Question 2.
How did a series of inventions in the eighteenth century increased the efficiency of each step of the production process in cotton textile industry? Explain. (2013)
Answer:
A series of inventions in the 18th century increased the efficiency in every step of the production process, especially of cotton. The process of producing cotton involved carding, twisting, spinning and milling.

• The inventions enhanced the output per worker, enabling each worker to produce more, and they made possible the production of stronger threads and yam.
• Richard Arkwright then created the cotton mill. Cloth production was spread all over the countryside and was carried out in village households.
• Also now the costly new machines could be purchased, set up and maintained in the mill under one roof and management. This allowed a more careful supervision over the production process, a watch over the quality and the regulation of labour, all of which was difficult to do when production was in the countryside.

Question 3.
What problems were faced by the Indian cotton weavers in the 19th century? Describe. (2012)
Answer:
The Indian cotton weavers faced many problems in the 19th century:

1. Their export collapsed.
2. The local market shrank being flooded by the Manchester imports. Produced by machines at lower costs, the Manchester cotton goods were so cheap that they attracted the buyers and the Indian textiles could not compete with them.
3. By 1860, Indian weavers faced a new problem. They could not get sufficient supply of raw cotton of good quality. This happened because a Civil War had broken out in America and the cotton supplies from the US to Britain were cut off and Britain turned to India. As raw cotton export from India
   increased, the price of raw cotton shot up. Indian weavers were forced to buy raw cotton at a very high price, so weaving did not remain profitable.
4. Factories in India also produced goods at a mass scale which flooded the Indian markets. Thus the Indian weavers faced a tough time and it became difficult to survive.

Question 4.
Why did technological changes occur slowly in Britain in early 19th century? Explain any three reasons. (2012)
Answer:
Technological changes occurred slowly in Britain due to the following reasons:

• New technology was expensive and merchants and industrialists were cautious about using it. For example, at the beginning of the 19th century, there were only 321 steam engines. There were no buyers of steam engines for years.
• The machines often broke down and repair was costly.
• The machines were not as effective as their inventors and manufacturers claimed.
• Machines were oriented to produce uniform, standardised goods for a mass market. But the demand in the market was often for goods with intricate designs and specific shapes which required human skill, not mechanical technology. At that time the upper classes preferred things produced by hand.

Question 5.
Who were gomasthas? Why were they appointed? How did they treat the weavers? (2012)
Answer:
The paid servants appointed by the East India Company to supervise weavers are called gomasthas.

The East India Company appointed them to establish a more direct control over the weavers and to eliminate traders and brokers connected with cloth trade.

The gomasthas acted arrogantly and punished weavers for delays in supply, often beating them. In many weaving villages there were reports of clashes between weavers and gomasthas as they often marched into villages with sepoys and peons.

Question 6.
Who were ‘gomasthas?’ How did they become good partners of the British management system? (2014, 2015)
Answer:
The Gomasthas were paid servants whose job was to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth. The aim of the East India Company behind appointing gomasthas was to work out a system of management and control that would eliminate competition, control costs and ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk.
Soon there were clashes between the weavers and the gomasthas who began ill-treating the weavers.

• It developed a system of management and control that would eliminate competition, control costs and ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk from India. For this reason, gomasthas were appointed to supervise, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth.
• They did not allow the company weavers to sell their produce to other buyers. Once an order was placed, the weavers were given loans to purchase the raw material. Weavers who had accepted loans from the company had to hand over the cloth they produced to the gomasthas only.

Question 7.
Describe the achievements of any three early industrialists in British India. (2013)
Answer:
Having earned enough from trade, some businessmen had visions of developing industrial enterprises in India.
In Bengal, Dwarkanath Tagore made his fortune in the China trade. He turned to industrial investment, setting up six joint stock companies in 1830s and 1840s.

In Bombay, Parsis like Dinshaw Petit and Jamsetjee Nusserwanjee Tata who built huge industrial empires in India accumulated their initial wealth from exports to China and raw cotton shipments to England. Seth Hukumchand, a Marwari businessman, who set up the first Indian jute mill in Calcutta in 1971, also traded with China.

Q.8
Explain any three factors responsible for the decline of the cotton textile industry in India in the mid-nineteenth century. (2013)
Or
Describe any three main reasons for the decline of textile exports from India in the 19th century. (2014)
Answer:

1. As cotton industries developed in England, industrial groups began to pressurize the Government to impose import duties on cotton textiles so that Manchester goods could sell in Britain without facing any competition from outside.
2. At the same time industrialists persuaded the East India Company to sell British manufactures in Indian market as well. Exports of British cotton goods increased dramatically in the early 19th century.
3. The export market for the Indian cotton weavers collapsed and the local market shrank, being glutted with Manchester imports.
4. The imported cotton goods were cheap and our weavers could not compete with them.
5. When the American Civil War broke out the cotton supplies to Britain from the US were cut off. As raw cotton export from India increased, the price of raw cotton shot up. Weavers in India were starved of supplies and forced to buy raw cotton at exorbitant prices.

Question 9
Advertisements played a part in expanding the markets for products and in shaping a new consumer culture. Explain. (2014)
Or, Explain the role played by advertisements in creating new consumers for the British products. (2014)
Or
In which ways did the British and the Indian manufacturers and traders advertise their products? (2013)
Answer:

1. When Manchester industrialists began selling cloth in India, they put labels on the cloth bundles, to make the place of manufacture and the name of the company familiar to the buyer.
2. When buyers saw ‘Made in Manchester’, written in bold on the label, they felt confident to buy the cloth.
3. But labels did not carry words and texts. They carried images and were beautifully illustrated with images of Indian gods and goddesses. The printed image of Krishna or Saraswati was also intended to make the manufacture from a foreign land, appear familiar to Indians.
4. Manufacturers also printed calendars to popularise their products. These calendars were used even by the illiterate. They were hung in tea shops and in the homes of the poor and even in offices and middle class apartments.
5. When Indian manufacturers advertised, the nationalist message was clear and loud. If you care for the nation, then buy only ‘Indian’ products. Advertisements became a vehicle of the nationalist message of Swadeshi.

Question 10. Why was it difficult to get jobs in Indian factories and mills even when so many of them had come up in the 19th century? (2015)
Answer:
Even when the mills multiplied and demand for workers increased, it was difficult to get jobs. The reason was that

1. The number seeking jobs always remained more than the jobs available.
2. During the same time agriculture was also not prosperous. Therefore, there was always a large influx of unemployed youths from villages who came to cities and towns looking for jobs in the newly set up mills and factories.
3. Entry into the mills was also restricted. Industrialists usually employed jobbers to get new recruits. Very often, the jobber was an old and trusted worker. He got people from his own village, ensured them jobs and helped them settle in the city. Gradually, they began to demand money and gifts for this favour and began controlling the lives of workers.

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Q.1 Mention any three effects of the British Government’s decision for the abolition of the Corn Laws. 
Answer 
(i) Food could be imported into Britain at much cheaper rate than it would be produced within the country.(ii) British agriculture was unable to compete with imports. Vast areas of land were left uncultivated and people started migrating to cities or other countries.(iii) As food prices fell, consumption in Britain rose. Faster industrial growth in Britain also led to higher incomes and therefore more food imports.

Q.2 ‘Nineteenth Century indenture has been described as a new system of slavery.’ Explain any three points.
Answer 
(i) Agents did convince migrants by providing false information about final destinations, modes of travel, the nature of the work, and living and working conditions.(ii) Sometimes agents even forcibly abducted less willing migrants. (iii) On arrival at the plantations, labourers found living and working conditions harsh, and there were few legal rights.

Q.3 In what ways did food items offer scope for long distance cultural exchange? Explain. 
Answer(i) Traders and travellers introduced new crops to the lands they travelled. (ii) It is believed that noodles travelled west from China to become spaghetti. (iii) Arabs traders took pasta to fifth-century Sicily, an island now in Italy. (iv) Many of our common foods such as potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize tomatoes, chillies, sweet potatoes and so on were not known to our ancestors and were only introduced in Europe and Asia after Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas.

Q.4 Why were Europeans attracted to Africa in the late 19th century? Give any three reasons.
Answer
(i) Europeans were attracted due to the resources of land and minerals of Africa. (ii) They came to Africa to establish plantations and exploit mines. (iii) African countries were militarily weak and backward. So, it was easy to conquer them.

Q.5 . State three reasons why Europeans fled to America in the 19th century. 
Answer
(i) Poverty and hunger were common in Europe. (ii) Cities were crowded and deadly diseases were widespread.(iii) Religious conflicts were common, and religious dissenters were persecuted.

Q.6 Explain the effects of the Great Depression of 1929 on the United States.
Answer 
(i) With the fall in prices and the prospect of a depression, the US banks also slashed domestic lending and called back loans. (ii) Farmers were unable to sell their harvests. (iii) Faced with falling income, many households in the US could not repay what they had borrowed, and were forced to give up their homes, cars and other consumer durables.(v) Many factories closed down due to lack of work. Between 1929 and 1932, about 1,10,000 companies had collapsed. (vi) Workers were thrown out of employment. As a result, unemployment, hunger and poverty increased. In USA, the number of unemployed rose to 10 million. (vii) Banks were unable to recover investments, collect loans and repay depositors. Thousands of banks became bankrupt. By 1933, nearly 4000 banks were shut down.

Q.7 Explain how did the abolition of Corn Laws in Britain led to the emergence of a global agricultural economy? 
Answer 
(i) After the Corn Laws were scrapped, food could be imported into Britain more cheaply than it could be produced within the country. (ii) As food prices fell, consumption in Britain rose. From the mid-nineteenth century, faster industrial growth in Britain also led to higher incomes, and therefore more food imports. (iii) In Eastern Europe, Russia, America and Australia, lands were cleared and food production expanded to meet the British demand.(iv) To meet the needs of transportation and housing, capital flowed from financial centres such as London.(v) Thus by 1890, a global agricultural economy had taken shape, accompanied by complex changes in labour movement patterns, capital flows, ecologies and technology.(vi) Food no longer came from a nearby village or town, but from thousands of miles away and grown by an agricultural worker.

Q.8 What was Rinderpest? How did it adversely affect the lives and fortunes of the Africans? 
Answer 
Rinderpest was a fast-spreading disease of cattle plague which had a terrifying impact on people’s livelihoods and the local economy of Africa. It affected the Africans in following ways: (i) Rinderpest moved like forest fire. (ii) Along the way, rinderpest killed 90 percent of the cattle. (iii) The loss of cattle destroyed African livelihoods. Thus, they were forced to work for wages.(iv) Control over the scarce resource of cattle enabled European colonisers to conquer and subdue Africa.

Q.9 Silk routes are a good example of vibrant pre-modern trade and cultural links between distant parts of the world.’ Examine the Statement.
Answer
(i) Historians have identified several silk routes, over land and by sea, knitting together vast regions of Asia, and linking Asia with Europe and northern Africa. (ii) Chinese pottery also travelled the same route, as did textiles and spices from India and Southeast Asia. (iii) In return, precious metals such as gold and silver flowed from Europe to Asia.

Q.10 Mention any three effects of the British Government’s decision for the abolition of the Corn Laws. 
Answer 
(i) Food could be imported into Britain at much cheaper rate than it would be produced within the country.(ii) British agriculture was unable to compete with imports. Vast areas of land were left uncultivated and people started migrating to cities or other countries.(iii) As food prices fell, consumption in Britain rose. Faster industrial growth in Britain also led to higher incomes and therefore more food imports.

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Q.1 Explain the idea of Satyagraha according to Gandhiji. (2014 D)
Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in 1915 from South Africa. Gandhiji’s novel method of mass agitation is know as ‘Satyagraha’. Satyagraha emphasised truth. Gandhiji believed that if the cause is true, if the struggle is against injustice, then physical force was not necessary to fight the oppressor. A satyagrahi can win the battle through non-violence. People, including oppressors, had to be persuaded to see the truth. Truth was bound to ultimately triumph. Gandhiji believed that dharma of non-violence could unite all India.

Q.2
Explain the effects of ‘worldwide economic depression’ on India, towards late 1920s. (2013 OD)
Answer:
In 19th century, colonial India had become an exporter of agricultural goods and an importer of manufactures.
The worldwide economic depression immediately affected Indian trade. India’s exports and imports nearly halved between 1928 and 1934. As international prices crashed, prices in India also plunged. Peasants producing for the world market were worst hit. Though agricultural prices fell, the colonial government refused to reduce revenue demands. Peasants indebtedness increased. For example, Jute producers of Bengal.

In these depression years, India became an exporter of precious metals, notably gold.

Q.3
Explain any three facts about the new economic situation created in India by the First World War. (2011 D)
Answer:
The First World War created a dramatically new economic situation in India:
(i) Manchester imports into India declined as the British mills were busy with war production to meet the needs of the army paving the way for the Indian mills to supply for the huge home market.

(ii) As the war prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs. As a result new factories were set up, new workers were employed and everyone was made to work longer hours.

(iii) Cotton production collapsed and exports of cotton cloth from Britain fell dramatically after the war, as it was unable to modernize and compete with US, Germany, Japan. Hence within colonies like India, local industrialists gradually consolidated their position capturing the home market.

Q.4
How did the plantation workers understand the idea of ‘Swaraj’? Explain. (2011 OD)
Answer:
For the plantation workers of Assam, “Swaraj” meant freedom to move freely in and out of the confined space in which they all were enclosed and also to be able to keep the link with their native village intact. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation workers were not allowed to leave their tea gardens without permission, which they were rarely given.

When they heard of the Non-cooperation Movement, thousands of workers defied authorities, left the plantations and headed home.

Q.5
Explain the circumstances under which Gandhiji decided to call off the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1931. (2012 OD)
Answer:
Gandhiji decided to call off the Civil Disobedience movement in 1931 because:

1. Political leaders like Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan were arrested. More than one lakh people were arrested.
2. Government responded with brutal repression and peaceful satyagrahis were arrested. Women and children were beaten up.
3. It resulted in an uprising in Peshawar in 1930.
4. Industrial workers in Sholapur attacked police post. In Chittagong, the revolutionaries captured the armoury and a pitched battle was fought between the government troops and the revolutionaries. (any three)

In such a situation, Gandhiji called off the movement and the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed.

Q.6
Explain the reaction of Indian people against the Rowlatt Act passed through the Imperial Legislative Council in 1919. (2012 OD)
Answer:
Reaction of Indian people against the Rowlatt Act of 1919:

1. Rallies were organized against this Act.
2. Railways, workshops and shops closed down.
3. The procession in Amritsar provoked widespread attacks on buses, post offices, railway stations, telegraphic lines, etc.
4. On 6th April Gandhiji held Hartal against this unjust law (Rowlatt Act).
5. The peaceful demonstration in Jallianwala Bagh led to a violent movement all across the country.

Q.7
How had the First World War created a new economic situation in India? Explain with three examples. (2013 D)
Answer:
The First World War created a dramatically new economic situation in India:
(i) Manchester imports into India declined as the British mills were busy with war production to meet the needs of the army paving the way for the Indian mills to supply for the huge home market.

(ii) As the war prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs. As a result new factories were set up, new workers were employed and everyone was made to work longer hours.

Q.8 Explain any three effects of the Non-cooperation Movement on the economy of India. (2011 OD)
Answer:
The economic sphere was affected by the Non-cooperation Movement:

1. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops were picketed and foreign cloth was burnt. The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921-1922. Its value dropped from ₹ 102 crore to ₹ 57 crore.
2. Many merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade.
3. People began discarding imported clothes and wearing Indian ones.
4. The production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up. Use of khadi was popularized.

Q.9
How did the rich peasants and women take part in Civil Disobedience Movement? (2011 OD)
Answer:
Role of rich peasants:

1. Being producers of commercial crops, they were hard hit by trade-depression and falling prices.
2. As their cash income reduced, they found it impossible to pay the government’s revenue demand.
3. These rich peasants became ardent supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
4. For them fight for Swaraj was a struggle against high revenues.

Role of women:

1. Women participated in protest marches, manufactured salt and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops. Many women went to jail.
2. Women who participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement, came from high-caste families in urban areas and rich peasant households in rural areas.

Q.10
Why did Non-cooperation Movement gradually slow down in cities? Explain any three reasons. (2012 D, 2013 OD)
Answer:
The Non-cooperation Movement gradually slowed down in cities for a variety of reasons:

1. Khadi cloth was more expensive than mill cloth and poor people could not afford to buy it. As a result they could not boycott mill cloth for too long.
2. Alternative Indian institutions were not there which could be used in place of the British ones. These were slow to come up.
3. So students and teachers began trickling back to government schools and lawyers joined back work in government courts.

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Q.1 Explain any three beliefs of the conservatism that emerged after 1815. (2011 D)
Answer:
Three beliefs of conservatism that emerged after 1815 were:

1. Established and traditional institutions of state and society like monarchy, the Church, property and family should be preserved.
2. They believed in the modernization of the traditional institution to strengthen them, rather than returning to the society of pre-revolutionary days.
3. Also they believed that abolition of feudalism and serfdom and replacing it with a modern army, an efficient bureaucracy and a dynamic economy could strengthen autocratic monarchies of Europe.

Q.2
Explain the contribution of Otto von Bismarck in German unification. (2011 D)
Answer:
Contribution of Otto von Bismarck in German unification. Nationalist feelings started spreading amongst the middle class Germans, who in 1848, tried to unite different parts of German confederation into a nation state to have an elected parliamentarian government. However, this liberal movement was repressed by the combined forces of monarchy and military supported by Prussian landowners.

Prussian Chief Minister, Otto von Bismarck, took the responsibility of national unification with the help of Prussian army and bureaucracy. Under his leadership he fought three wars over seven years with Austria, Denmark and France. Prussia was victorious in all these wars and the process of unification of Germany was completed as a result of Prussia’s victory over France.

Q.3
Explain any three ways in which nationalist feelings were kept alive in Poland in the 18th and 19th centuries. (2011 OD)
Answer:
The three ways in which nationalist feelings were kept alive in 18th and 19th centuries in Poland:
(i) Emphasis on vernacular language. Language played an important role in developing nationalist sentiments. The use of the Polish language came to be seen as a symbol of struggle against Russian dominance. For example, In Poland, following armed rebellion against Russian rule, Polish was used for church gatherings and religious instruction. As a result, a number of priests and bishops were put in jails or sent to Siberia as punishment for their refusal to preach in Russian.

(ii) Emphasis on collection of local folklore. It was not just to recover an ancient national spirit, but also to carry the modern nationalist message to the large audience who were mostly illiterate.

(iii) Use of music to keep the nationalist feeling alive. For example, Karol Kurpinski, celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the polonaise and mazurka into nationalist symbols.

Q.4
Explain the contribution of Giuseppe Mazzini in spreading revolutionary ideas in Europe. (2011 OD)
Answer:
The year following 1815, was the period of revolutionaries. Most of the revolutionaries were committed to oppose monarchical forms and to fight for liberty and freedom

One such prominent revolutionary was “Giuseppe Mazzini”, an Italian revolutionary. Mazzini also saw the creation of nation-states as a necessary part in the struggle for freedom. Ele strongly believed in the unification of Italy as a single unified republic which could be the basis of Italian liberty.

Mazzini’s relentless opposition to monarchy and his vision of a democratic republic frightened the Conservatives. His ideas also influenced the revolutionaries of Germany, France, Switzerland and Poland. Question 14. Describe any three reforms introduced by Napoleon in the territories he conquered. (2011 D)
Answer:
Three reforms introduced by Napoleon in the territories he conquered were:

1. The Napoleonic Code —It finished all the privileges based on birth and established equality before law and secured the right to property.
2. He simplified administrative divisions, abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues.
3. He introduced uniform laws, standardized weights and measures and common national currency to facilitate the movement and exchange of goods and capital from one place to another.

Q.5.
Explain any three causes of conflict in the ‘Balkan area’ after 1871. (2011 OD)
Answer:
The nationalist tensions emerged in the Balkans due to the following reasons:
(i) Balkans was a region of geographical and ethnic variation comprising modern-day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro whose inhabitants were known as the Slavs. A large part of Balkans was under the control of the Ottoman empire.

(ii) After the decline of the Ottoman empire and the growth of romantic nationalism in the Balkans, the region became very explosive. Its European subject nationalities broke away from its control and declared independence.

(iii) As the different nationalities struggled to define their identity and independence, the Balkan area became an area of intense conflict. The Balkan states were fiercely jealous of each other and each hoped to gain more territory at the expense of others.

(iv) Balkan also became the scene of big power rivalry. Russia, Germany, England, Austria, Hungry — all big powers were keen in countering the hold of other powers. This ultimately turned Balkan into a war region which eventually provided a minor cause for the First World War.

Q.6 How did the local people in the areas conquered by Napoleon react to French rule? Explain. (2014 D)
Answer:
The reactions of the local population to the French rule were mixed.

Initially, in many places such as Holland and Switzerland, as well as in cities like Brussels, Mainz, Milan and Warsaw, the French armies were welcomed as harbingers of liberty. As new administrative arrangements did not go hand in hand with political freedom, enthusiasm turned into hostility. Increased taxation, censorship, forced conscription into the French armies to conquer the rest of Europe, outweighed the advantages of the administrative changes.

Q 7.
Explain the conditions that were viewed as obstacles to the economic exchange and growth by the new commercial classes during the nineteenth century in Europe. (2014 OD)
Answer:
In the economic sphere, liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of state-imposed restrictions on movement of goods and capital.

1. But in the 19th century Napoleon’s administrative measures had created out of countless small principalities a confederation of 39 states. Each possessed its own currency, and weights and measures.
2. A merchant travelling from Hamburg to Nuremberg had to pass through 11 custom barriers and pay 5% duty at each one of them.
3. As each region had its own system of weights and measures this involved time-consuming calculations.

Q.8 Describe the events of French Revolution which had influenced the people belonging to other parts of Europe. (2015 D)
Answer:

• The first clear-cut expression of nationalism came with the French Revolution in 1789. In 1789, France was under the rule of an absolute monarch.
• When the revolutionaries came to power in France, they were determined to create a new sense of unity and nationhood. For this, they emphasized the concept of France being the father land (La Patrie) for all French people, who were from now on addressed as citizens (citoyen). They were given the tri-colour flag, the three colours representing liberty, equality and fraternity.

French revolutionaries introduced various other measures such as:

1. The Estate General was elected by the body of active citizens and renamed the National Assembly.
2. New hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated all in the name of the nation.
3. A centralised administrative system was put in place and it formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory.
4. Internal customs, duties and dues were abolished and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.
5. Regional dialects were discouraged and French, as it was spoken and written in Paris, became the common language of the nation.

Q 9
How had the female figures become an allegory of the nation during nineteenth century in Europe? Analyse. (2016 D)
Answer:
Artists in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries portrayed nations as female figures. The female form, that was chosen to personify the nation, did not stand for any particular woman in real life. Rather it sought to give the abstract idea of the nation in concrete form. That is, the female figure became the allegory of the nation.

In France, she was named Marianne —a popular Christian name and in Germany, Germania. Germania wears a crown of oak leaves as the German oak stands for heroism. The characteristics of Marianne were drawn from those of Liberty and Republic —the red cap, the tricolour and cockade.

Q.10 What did Liberal Nationalism stand for? Explain any four ideas of Liberal Nationalists in the economic sphere. (2011 OD)
Answer:
Liberalism or Liberal Nationalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law. Lour ideas of Liberal Nationalists in the economic sphere are:

1. Liberalism stood for freedom of markets and abolition of state imposed restriction. For example, Napoleon’s administration was a confederation of 29 states, each of these possessed its own currencies, weight and measures. Such conditions were viewed as obstacles to economic exchange.
2. Liberal Nationalists argued for the creation of a unified economic territory allowing the unhindered movement of goods, people and capital.
3. In 1834, a customs union or ” zollverein” was formed. The union abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from 30 to 2.
4. The creation of a network of railways further stimulated mobility, harnessing economic interest to national unification.

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Q.1 Today the world has become a “global village”. Justify this statement.
Answer:
Today the world has become a “large village” because of:

1. efficient and fast means of transport and
2. development of telecommunication and satellite communication systems.

These two functions, i.e. various means of transport and communication have reduced time and distance, have brought the world closer and the physical distances have become meaningless. For example, now trading from local levels has been extended to the international level and even financial transactions can take place round the world in no time. All this has been made possible because of efficient and quick means of transport and communication.

Q.2 Modern means of transport and communication serve as lifelines of our nation.” Justify this statement by giving supportive arguments.
Or
“Efficient means of transport are prerequisites for the fast development of the country.” Express your views in favour of this statement. (2016 D, 2014 OD)
Answer:
India is well linked with the rest of the world despite its vast size and diversities because of efficient means of transport and communication. They are rightly called the lifelines or arteries of a nation because:

1. Economic development of a country depends on the well developed and efficient means of transport and communication.
2. They are indispensable for movement of people, goods and services from one place to another.
3. They have contributed to socio-economic progress in many ways by connecting far flung areas of the country.
4. They have enriched all aspects of our lives — social, cultural, individual and economic.
5. They promote trade, tourism and business thus adding value to the economy.
6. Transport and communication have made possible international trade which is essential for every economy as no country is self-sufficient in all resources.
7. They link areas of production with consumption, i.e. agricultural farms are linked to the markets and industries.

Q.3 Why do the movement of goods and services form one place to another require fast and efficient means of transport? Explain with examples.
Answer:
Transport plays an important role in the economy. Because of transport raw materials reach the factory and finished products reach to the consumer. The pace of development of a country depends upon the production of goods and services as well as their movement over space. Today the world has converted into a large village with the help of efficient and fast moving transport:

1. Good transport helps in quick carrying of raw materials from remote areas to the production centre and allows distribution of goods efficiently.
2. Transport helps in the development of communication. Various means of communication help us in interacting with other people in all the parts of the world. It has brought the world closer.
3. Transport like railways helps us in conducting various activities like business, sight seeing, pilgrimages, etc.

Q.4 How are means of transport and communication complementary to each other? Explain with three examples. (2013 OD)
Answer:

1. Transport and communication establish links between producing centres and consuming centres. Trade or the exchange of such commodities relies on transportation and communication. Transport provides the network of links and carriers through which trade takes place.
2. Dense network of roads, railways and airways connect the remote areas of the country hence help in production and distribution of goods and services.
3. Advancement in communication system has accelerated trade by carrying information all over the world quickly.

Q.5 Why is road transport more useful than rail transport in India. Give reasons. (2016 OD, 2013 D)
Or, “Roadways still have an edge over railways in India”. Give reasons.
Answer:
Roadways score over railways:

1. Construction of roads is easier and cheaper as compared to railways.
2. Roads provide door to door service, thus the cost of loading and unloading is much lower as compared to railways which generally leave the people and goods at the destined railway stations.
3. Roads can negotiate higher gradients of slope and, as such, can traverse through mountainous terrain. But railways cannot negotiate steep gradients.
4. Road transport is economical in transportation of few persons and relatively smaller amount of goods over short distances.
5. Road transport is also used as a feeder to other modes of transport. They provide links between railway stations, airports and sea ports.
6. They link agricultural farms with markets and industries, thus linking rural and urban areas.

Q.6 Analyse the physiographic and economic factors that have influenced the distribution pattern of the railway network in our country. (2015 D)
Or, ‘The distribution pattern of Indian Railway network is influenced by the physiographic factors. Examine the statement. (2013 OD)
Answer:
Factors that affect the distribution pattern of railway network in India:
(i) Physiographic factors. The Northern plains with vast level land, high population density and rich agricultural resources provide most favourable conditions for railway network. The nature of terrain and the number of rivers running through the region determine the density of railway network in that region. Mountains, marshy, sandy and forested areas have sparse network whereas plain areas have dense network of the railways. It was difficult to lay railway lines on the sandy plains of Western Rajasthan, swamps of Gujarat and forested tracks of Madhya Pradesh.

(ii) Economic factors. Regions which have rich resources and are economically more developed have denser network of railways in comparison to the regions with low economic development.

(iii) Administrative factors. The administrative and political decisions also affect the distribution of railway network in a region.

Q.7 List four factors which favoured the development of dense network of railways in the northern plains. (2012 OD)
Answer:
Four reasons for dense network of railways in northern plains are:

1. The vast level land provided the most favourable conditions for their growth. It is cheaper and easier to construct railway tracks here.
2. The agricultural and industrial development in this region necessitated the development of railway lines.
3. High population density in this region further required the development of railway lines.
4. Resources such as iron and steel, fuels, etc., required for the development of railways are available in abundance in the northern plains.

Q.8 Write four merits of air travel. Also mention any two demerits of air transport. (2012 OD, 2011 D)
Answer:
Merits of air travel.

1. Air travel is the fastest, most comfortable and prestigious mode of transport.
2. India is a vast country with wide variation in relief. Air transport can cover difficult terrains like high mountains of the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, dreary deserts of Rajasthan, dense forests and long coastlines with great ease.
3. Air travel has made access easier in the north-eastern part of the country, which is marked with the presence of big rivers like Brahmaputra, dissected relief, dense forests, frequent floods and international frontiers.
4. At the time of natural calamities, relief measure and relief operations can be carried out quickly with the help of air transport.
5. High value perishable goods can easily be exported or imported by airways.

Demerits of air transport.

• Air travel is very expensive and not within the reach of the common people. Air travel is very luxurious.
• It is adversely affected by bad weather conditions.

Q.9 Why is ‘tourism’ considered as a trade and industry in India? Give reasons in support of your answer. (2015 OD, 2014 D)
Answer:

1. With increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting India, we earned foreign exchange worth Rs. 21,828 crore in 2004 which is further increasing year by year making tourism an important trade.
2. Over 2.6 million foreign tourists visit India every year for appreciating our heritage, our culture for medical purposes or for business purposes, etc.
3. Over 15 million people are directly engaged in the tourism industry.
4. Tourism promotes national integration, provides support to local handicrafts and cultural pursuits.
5. Tourism also helps in the development of international understanding about our culture and heritage.
6. Rajasthan, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir and temple towns of south India are the most popular tourist destinations. These states earn huge sums of money from tourism trade.

Q.10 Give reasons for which foreign tourists visit India. (2014 D)
Answer:
Foreigners visit India for various purposes. These are:

1. Heritage tourism
2. Eco-tourism
3. Adventure tourism
4. Cultural tourism
5. Medical tourism
6. Business tourism
   • Broadened cultural awareness of each others tradition.
   • It is economically viable. India is a great value destination as tourists can travel cheaply and lavishly.
   • Indian hospitality is famous worldwide — ‘Atithi devo bhava’.
   • India is an avenue to explore spirituality through yoga, meditation.
   • Indian cuisine predominantly, North Indian is world famous.
   • India has several historical and architectural attractions. Regional handicrafts and ethnic designs of traditional products attract tourists.

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