[NCERT] Indian Economy on the Eve of Independence Solutions for Class 12 Indian Economic Development
Indian Economy on the Eve of Independence NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Indian Economic Development Book
NCERT (Indian Economic Development) Chapter 1 back Questions with Answers
Q. 1 What was the focus of the economic policies pursued by the
colonial government in India? What were the impacts of these policies?
Answer:-
The main focus of the economic policies pursued by the colonial government in India is only to protect and promote the British economic interest than to develop the economic condition of the India and its people.
Following were the impacts of these policies
The various forms of exploitation by the Britishers on the Indian economy can be broadly analysed with the following points:
(i) India remained an agricultural county throughout the British period and its agricultural sector remained totally backward. There was commercialization of agriculture, to serve the interests of Great Britain.
(ii) British rulers never tried to modernise the prevailing industrial structure of India. There was large-scale destruction of world-famous handicrafts and cottage industries of the country.
(iv) British rulers gradually transformed the Indian economy into a primary producing country, exporting only agricultural products and raw materials necessary for industries in Britain and importing finished goods from Britain.
(v) To promote foreign trade and to exploit natural resources of India to their advantage, the British ruler built up economic infrastructure, which includes roads and railway networks, ports and shipping, irrigation and electricity, etc. But, all such infrastructure was meant for protecting British interests, and the general public of India did not benefit.
(vi) The British rulers thoroughly exploited the Indian economy through economic drain.
The aforesaid nature of exploitative policies of the British rulers resulted in large-scale poverty, stagnation and backwardness of the Indian economy, along with a huge drain of economic resources of the country to Great Britain.
Q. 2 Name some notable economists who estimated India’s per capita income during the colonial period.
Answer:-
Following were some notable economists:
i) Dadabhai Naoroji
ii) V.K.R.V Rao
iii) Wilam Digby
iv) Findlay Shirras
v) R. C. Desai
Q. 3 What were the main causes of India’s agricultural stagnation during the colonial period?
Answer:-
Following were the main causes of India’s agricultural stagnation during the colonial period.
1. Land Settlement System (Zamindari System):-
The most important cause for stagnation in agricultural sector was the introduction of Zamindari system by the colonial government.
Under this system, Zamindars were recognized as owners of the land and were given the rights to collect the rent (Lagaan) from the farmers on behalf of British Government.
Zamindars were allowed to extract as much lagaan (Rent) as they wished. The rates of lagaan (Rent) were so high that farmers were not left with enough foodgrains to feed themselves.
This made the farmers economically and physically weak and stopped taking interest in improving productivity.
Zamindars were only interested in pleasing the British Government and did nothing to improve the condition of agriculture.
2. Commercialization of Agriculture:-
During the British rule, the agriculture was commercialized to cater the needs of the British industries for necessary raw materials.
The British industries were in need of raw materials such as cotton, jute, groundnut, sugarcane etc to keep their factories running.
By offering high prices, the Indian peasants were attracted to produce commercial crops instead of food crops.
But it did not improve the economic condition of the farmers as they had to purchase their food requirements from shops in towns.
This fall in production of food crops results in frequent famines in India during British days.
3. Low Level of Productivity:-
Low levels of technology, lack of irrigation facilities and negligible use of fertilisers resulted in low level of productivity.
The British government did not spent to improve agriculture by introducing modern technology and mass education.
All this caused a perpetually low level of productivity.
4. Scarcity of Investment:-
The farmers did not have enough money neither to invest in modern technology nor to invest in agriculture.
Q. 4 Name some modern industries which were in operation in our country at the time of independence.
The modern industries which were in operation in our country at the time of independence were as follows:
- Cotton Textile Industries
- Jute Textile Industries
- Iron and Steel Industries
- Sugar Industries
- Cement Industries
- Paper Industries, etc.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, modern industry began to take root in India but its progress remained very slow.
Initially, this development was confined to the setting up of cotton and Jute textile mills. The cotton textile mills, mainly dominated by Indian, were located in the western parts of the county, namely, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
While Jute mills dominated by foreigners were mainly concentrated in Bengal.
Subsequently, the iron and steel industries began coming up in the beginning of the twentieth century. The Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) was Incorporated in 1907.
A few other industries in the fields of sugar, cement, paper etc. came up after the Second World War.
Q. 5. What was the two-fold motive behind the systematic deindustrialization effected by the British in pre-independent India?
Ans.
(i) To get raw materials from India at cheap rates to be used by upcoming modern industries in Britain;
(ii) To sell finished products of British industries in the Indian market at higher prices.
Q. 6. The traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British rule. Do you agree with this view? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Ans. Yes, I agree with this view. British Government systematically destroyed Indian Handicraft industries in order to serve their following two-fold motive:
(i) To get raw materials from India at cheap rates to be used by upcoming modern industries in Britain;
(ii) To sell finished products of British industries in the Indian market at higher prices.
The colonial government enforced a discriminatory tariff policy, which allowed the free export of raw materials from India and the free import of final goods of British industry to India.
But, heavy-duty was imposed on the export of Indian handicrafts. As a result, Indian markets were full of finished goods from Britain, which led to the decline of Indian handicrafts, both in the domestic market as well as the export market.
Q. 7. What objectives did the British intend to achieve through their policies of infrastructure development in India?
Ans. It is true that under the colonical regime, basic infrastructure such as railways, ports, water transport, posts and telegraphs did develop.
However, the real motive behind this developent was not pto provided basic amenitites to the people but to serve the various colonial interests.
The roads that were built primarily served the purposes of mobilising the army within India and drawing out raw materials from the countryside to the nearest railway station or the port to sent these to far away to England or other lucrative foreign destinations.
Similarly, railways were introduced and developed for the transportation of finished goods of British industries throughout the India Market.
Post and telegraphs were developed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the British administration.
Thus, the main motive of infrastructural development was not the growth and development of the Indian economy but to serve their own colonial interest.
Q. 8. Critically appraise some of the shorfalls of the industrial policy pursured by the British colonical administration.
Ans:-
(i) De-industrialisation:- Decline of Handicraft Industry: British Government systematically destroyed Indian handicraft industries and nomodern industrial base was allowed to come up. The primary motive of British rule behind the de-industrialisation was to-fold:
(a) To get raw materials from India at cheap rates to be used by upcoming modern industries in Britain;
(b) To sell finished products of British industries in Indian market at higher prices.
(ii) Adverse effects of decline of Handicraft Industry: Decline of handicraft industries adversely affected the Indian economy in the following ways:
(a) It resulted in unemployment on a mass scale;
(b) It encouraged import of manufactured goods from Britain as Indian made goods could not withstand foreign competition of machine made cheap goods.
(iii) Lack of Capital Goods Industries:- During the British rule, there was hardly any capital goods industry to promote further industrialisation in India.
(iv) Limited role of Public Sector:- The limited area of operation of the public sector was also a significant reason for drawback of the industrial sector. The Public sector remained confined only to the railways, power generation, communications, ports and some other departmental undertakings.
Q. 9. What do you understand by the drain of Indian wealth during the colonial period?
Ans:- The ‘Drain of wealth’ refers to the systematic economic exploitation of India by the British, where resources, revenue, and profits were transferred to Britain,leaning India remain economically poor.
This process involved the export of raw materials, high taxation, military expenses, and remittances, all of which drained India’s wealth without benefiting its economy.
Economics Exploitation:- Colonial government ensured that India remain exporter of raw materials cheaply while importer of finished goods of Britain destroying locan handicraft industry resulting in a trade imbalance.
Transfer of Revenue:- A significant portion of India’s revenue was used to fund British administration, military expenses. This revenue was collected from Indian taxpayers but was often spent on activities that did not benefit India.
Taxation:- The British collected significant part of revenue from Indian peasants and landowners, much of which was returned to Britain.
Investment Returns:- Profits earned by British investors in Indian infrastructure, such as railways and plantations, were return back to Britain rater than reinvested in India.
Remittances:- British officials sent large sums of money to Britain in the form of salaries, pensions, and profits from British enterprises in India.
Military Expenditure:- India bore the cost of maintaining a large British military presence, which puts additional strain on the Indian economy.
Loan Repayments:- India was forced to pay interest on loans taken for railways, wars and other pulic works, which added to the country’s economic burden.
Q. 10. Which is regarded as the defining year to mark the demographic transition from its first to the second decisive stage?
Ans:-
The year 1921 is regarded as the defining year or the ‘Year of Great Divide’.
Because, prior to 1921, India’s population growth was Inconsistent. India was in the first phase of demographic transition till 1921 that was characteriased by high birthrate and high death rate. The period before 1921 was with low survival rates that were nearly 8 per thousand annually. Therefore, the rate of population growth was stagnant. After 1921, population of Indian growth never declined and showed a consistent increased.
Q. 11. Give a quantitative appraisal of India’s demographic profile during the colonial period.
Ans:-
Various details about the population of British India were first collected througha census in 1881.
Education:- The overall literacy level was less than 16 percent. Out of this, the female literacy level was at a negligible low of about 7 percent.
Health:- Public health facilities were either unavailable and if available were highly unadequate. Consequently, water and air-borne diseases were rampant and took a huge toll on life.
No wondor, the overall mortality rate was very high. the infant mortality rate was quite alarming – about 218 per thousand in contrast to the present infant mortality rate of 33 per thousand.
Life expectancy was also very low – 32 years in contrast to the present 69 years.
Durin the colonial period, extensive poverty prevailed in India that contributed to the worsening profile of India’s population of the time.
Q. 12. Highlight the salient features of India’s pre-independence occupational structure.
Ans:-
During the colonial period, the occupational structure of India, i.e., distribution of working persons across different industries and sectors, showed little sign of change.
Agriculture Sector:- The agricultural sector accounted for the largest shares of workforce, which usually remained at a high of 70-75 percent
Other Sector:- while the manufacturing and the services sectors accounted for only 10 and 15-20 percent respectively.
Imbalance Growth:- Another striking aspect was the growing regional variation. parts of the then Madras Presidency (comprising areas of the present-day states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka), Bombay and Bengal witnessed a decline in the dependence of the workforce on the agricultural sector with a commensurate increase in the manufacturing and the services sectors.
However, there had been an increase in the share of workforce in agriculture during the same time in states such as Orissa, Rajasthan and Punjab.
Q. 13. Underscore some of India’s most crucial economic challenges at the time of independence.
Ans:-
Some of India’s most crucial economic challenges at the time of Independence were:
(i) Increasing dependence of population on agriculture.
(ii) Traditional methods of cultivation.
(iii) Inadequate industrialisation.
(iv) Destruction of Indian Handicrafts.
(v) High level of Unemployment and underemployment.
(vi) High infant mortality rate, low life expectancy and literacy rate;
(vii) Widespread Mass Poverty.
Q. 14. When was India’s first official census operation undertaken?
Ans:-
India’s first official census was conducted in 1881. Though suffering from certain limitations, It revealed the unevenness in India’s population growth. Subsequently, every ten years such census operations were carried out.
Q. 15. Indicate the volume and direction of trade at the time of independence.
Ans:-
The volume and direction of trade at the time of independence is discussed as under:
(i) Exporter of Primary Products and Importer of Finished Goods:- India became an exporter of primary products (raw silk, cotton, wool, etc.) and an importer of finished consumer goods (cotton, silk and woollen clothes) and capital goods like light machinery, produced in the British Industries.
(ii) Monopoly Control Of British Rule:- British Govenment maintained a monopoly control over India’s exports and imports. More than 1/2 of India’s foreign trade was restricted to Britain while the rest was allowed with few other countries like China, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Persia (Iran).
Q. 16. Were there any positive contributions made by the British in india? Discuss.
Ans:-
Yes, there were various positive contributions that were made by the British in India. The contributions were not intentional but purely the effects of colonial exploitation of the British. The following are the positive contributions made by the British:
Self-sufficiency in food grain production:- Commercialization of agriculture initiated by British Govenment resulted in self-sufficency in food grain production.
Better means of transportation:- Development of roads and railways provided cheap and rapid transport system and opened up new opportunities of economic and social growth.
Check on Famines:- Roads and railways worked as a great check on the occurence and impact of famines as food supplies could be transported to the affected areas in case of droughts.
Shift to Monetary Economy:– British rule helped Indian economy to shift from barter system of exchange (exchange of goods and services) to monetary system of exchange.
Effective administrative setup:- The British Government had an efficient administration system, which served as a ready reckoner for Indian politicians.
