B U ACADEMY

INDIAN ECONOMY AT THE EVE OF INDEPENDENCE

Class 12 - Economics
Time Allowed: 15 minutes Maximum Marks: 20

General Instructions:

Attempt all the questions carefully.

1. What was the purpose of British rule in India? [1]

a) To develop agriculture in India. b) To reduce the country to be a feeder

economy to promote British interests.

c) To develop basic industries in India. d) To develop infrastructure in India.

2. Poor variety of seeds and low productive seeds were mainly the reason for: [1]

a) The slow growth of all of these three sectors b) Slow growth of Tertiary sector

c) Slow growth of Industrial sector d) Slow growth of Agriculture sector

3. The main reason for stagnation of agriculture during the British rule was: [1]

a) Low literacy rate b) Land tenure system

c) Discriminatory tariff policy d) De-industrialization

4. What was the growth rate of per capita income during British rule? [1]

a) 4 percent b) 2 percent

c) 0.5 percent d) 3 percent

5. Indian economy on the eve of Independence was ________. [1]

a) underdeveloped b) developed

c) underdeveloped and stagnant d) developing

6. State true or false: [1]
Per capita income refers to the income per head of the total workforce of the country.
7. State true or false: [1]
The number of deaths of children below the age of one year per thousand live birth is called the infant
mortality rate.
8. Fill in the blanks: [1]
The year ________ is regarded as the Year of Great Divide in the history of the demographic transition of
India. (1921/1931)
9. Fill in the blanks: [1]
The economic policies of the British-India government were concerned more with the protection and
promotion of ________ economic interests. (British, Indian)
10. Assertion (A): Colonial government levied 0% import duty on British goods imported in India. [1]

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 Reason (R): Colonial government systematically destroyed Indian handicraft industry

a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct b) Both A and R are true but R is not the
explanation of A. correct explanation of A.

c) A is true but R is false. d) A is false but R is true.

11. Assertion (A): Railways contributed to the colonial exploitation of the Indian economy. [1]
Reason (R): Primary goods (raw material) could then be easily transported from the fields and farms to the ports
for the purpose of exports to the British economy.

a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct b) Both A and R are true but R is not the
explanation of A. correct explanation of A.

c) A is true but R is false. d) A is false but R is true.

12. Assertion (A): The major policy initiatives that island reforms and green revolution helped India to become [1]
self-sufficient in food grains production.
Reason (R): The proportion of people depending on agriculture did not decline as expected.

a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct b) Both A and R are true but R is not the
explanation of A. correct explanation of A.

c) A is true but R is false. d) A is false but R is true.

13. Assertion (A): The development of agriculture and industry leads to the development of the service sector. [1]
Reason (R): As the primary and secondary sector develops, the demand for transport, insurance, banking, etc.
services increases.

a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct b) Both A and R are true but R is not the
explanation of A. correct explanation of A.

c) A is true but R is false. d) A is false but R is true.

14. Assertion (A): Famines were uncontrolled in the Indian economy during British rule. [1]
Reason (R): Rapid means of transport facilitated the rapid movement of food grain to the famine-affected areas.

a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct b) Both A and R are true but R is not the
explanation of A. correct explanation of A.

c) A is true but R is false. d) A is false but R is true.

Question No. 15 to 20 are based on the given text. Read the text carefully and answer the questions:
Under the British Raj, the modern industry saw only bleak growth. It was only in the second half of the 19th century that
the modern industry showed its emergence. Some industries were established by private entrepreneurs. These included:
iron and steel (Tata Iron & Steel Company was founded in 1907), sugar, cement, and paper industries. These were
established in the wake of the worldwide scarcity of industrial goods because of World Wars I and II. The state's
participation in the process of modern industrialization was limited. It was confined to such strategic areas (like railways
and means of communication) which helped the expansion of the Indian market for British products. There was no capital
goods industry worth the name. The capital goods industry produces goods like machines and industrial plants which are
used for further industrialization. In the absence of this industry, industrialization in India remained lopsided. Briefly, the
industrial sector on the eve of independence revealed four core characteristics, pointing to its backwardness and limited
growth: the Handicraft industry was systematically destroyed by the British government. It was largely owing to the
discriminatory tariff policy of the British government. The modern industry showed a bleak expansion. It was by and large

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restricted to the expansion of railways. It helped the expansion of the Indian market for British products. The capital goods
industry (which is the core element of industrial growth) was almost non-existent. While the traditional Indian industry
(handicrafts) was decaying, the modern industry remained in an infant stage. This again pointed to the backwardness of the
Indian economy with little or no evidence of dynamic change.

15. The two-fold motive behind the Systematic De-industrialisation during the British Rule in India are- [1]
i. To exploit India's wealth of raw material and primary products
ii. To exploit India as a potential market for the industrial products of Britain.
iii. A significant reduction in transport cost promoted monopoly control of India's foreign trade by the British
government and To exploit India's wealth of raw material and primary products

a) Only i b) Only iii

c) Both i and ii d) Only ii

16. ________ of agriculture refers to a shift from cultivation for self-consumption to cultivation for sale in the [1]
market.

a) Industrialisation b) commercialisation

c) civilisation d) institutionalisation
17. Which of the following factors does not lead to decay of handicrafts:- [1]

a) introduction of railways to India b) new patterns of demand

c) competition of handmade goods d) the disappearance of princely courts

18. Systematic de-industrialization implies the following things: [1]
i. bleak growth of the modern industry
ii. decay of world-famous traditional handicraft industry
iii. transportation and communication

a) only ii b) only i

c) only i and ii d) only iii

19. Statement 1: The colonial government never made any sincere attempt to estimate India’s national and per [1]
capita income.
Statement 2: R.C. Desai's estimates during the colonial period were considered very significant.

a) Statement 2 is true and Statement 1 is false. b) Both the statements are false.

c) Statement 1 is true and Statement 2 is false. d) Both the statements are true.
20. Assertion (A): The colonial economic policies brought about positive changes in the Indian economy. [1]
Reason (R): Studies found that India's growth of aggregate real output during the first half of the twentieth
century was less than two percent.

a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct b) Both A and R are true but R is not the
explanation of A. correct explanation of A.

c) A is true but R is false. d) A is false but R is true.

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