indian economy on the eve of independence

Question 1

before the advent of british rule indias economy was characterized as?

Answer 1

1. prosperous economy
   2.agriculture economy( 2 thirds engaged)
2. well known handicraft industries

Question 2

where did muslin originate from

Answer 2

bengal especially around dhaka

Question 3

muslin was exported to?

Answer 3

europe middle east and other countires

Question 4

finest variety of muslin was called______ foreigners called it _______ or __________. it was fit to be worn by ________.

Answer 4

malmal. malmalshahi or malmal khas. royalty

Question 5

during the british rule how was indian economy

Answer 5

1.the britishers were concerned with protection and promotion of their own economic interest

2.their policies bought a fundamental change

3.their two fold strategy transformed india into a supplier of raw materials and consumer of final goods made in britain.

Question 6

who all tried to estimate nantional income and per capita income

Answer 6

dadhanai naoroji, william digby, findlay shirras, v.k.r.v. rao, r.c desai

Question 7

low level of national income and percapita income

Answer 7

1. a counrty can be judged with data of naltional and per capita income.
2. no sincere attemot by british
3. individual attempts.(inconsistent and contradicting)
4. revealed that country total growth of total production during the first half 20th century was less than 2% and 0.5% in per capita output every year.

Question 8

agricultural sector during british period

Answer 8

1. largely rural and agricultural
2. 85% lived in rural areas and engaged in agriculture directly or indirectly.
   3.but still was not self sufficient in food and raw material.

Question 9

reasons for stagnation in agriculture sector during british rule

Answer 9

1. land settlement system- main reason for stagnation - zamindari system.
   - profit made from the agricultural sector were collected by zamindars in the form of lagaan(rent).
   - main duty of zamindars were to collect lagaan irrrespective of the cultivators economic condition.
   -the dates at which the lagaan were to be deposited was specified by the colonial govt. if the zamindars failed to do so they would loose their rights.
2. commercialization of agriculture
   - the farmers offered higher price for cash crops. but did not improve economic condition as the cash crops were ultimately used by british industries.
3. low level of productivity
   -cultivators did not have means nor incentive to invest
   -britishers spent little on agricultural,technical or mass eductaion

4.scarcity of investment
- scarcity of investment in terracing, flood control, drainage
-tenants small farmer and sharecroppers did not have means nor incentive to invest

Question 10

zamindari system was based on

Answer 10

exploitation of farmers

Question 11

reason for poor state of industrial sector in india during british rule

Answer 11

1.de-industrialisation–decline of handicraft industries.
2.adverse effects of decline in handicraft industries
3.lack of capital good industry
4.low contribution to gdp
5.limited role of public sector

Question 12

1 de-industrialisation– decline in handicraft industries

Answer 12

british govt systematically destroyed handicraft industry
-their primary motive was two fold
1. to get raw materials at cheap rates from india to use in british industries.
2. to sell final consumer goods made from british industries in india at higher price.

two fold policy was enforced to ensure max advantage for britain

Question 13

discriminatory tariff policy

Answer 13

there was duty free export of raw material to britain
duty free import of finshed good from britain
heavy duty on export of handicraft goods.
(indian market full of finished goods from britain which were low priced, led to decline of indian handicrafts)

Question 14

Lack of capital goods industries

Answer 14

During the British rule there was hardly any capital good industry to promote further industrialization
.
British rulers not pay any attention for their promotion as they always wanted Indians to be dependent on Britain for the supply of capital goods and heavy equipment

Question 15

Limited role of public sector

Answer 15

Republic sector remain confined only to the railways power generation communication force and some other department undertakings

Question 16

Industries established during the half of 19th century was mainly confined to

Answer 16

Cotton textile and jute mills

Question 18

The cotton textile mills were mainly dominates by

Answer 18

Indians located in Maharashtra and Gujarat

Question 19

Jute mills dominated by the foreigners were mainelly concentrated in

Answer 19

Bengal

Question 21

What was the state of India’s foreign trade during the British rule

Answer 21

1. exporter of primary products and importer of finished goods
2. Monopoly control of British rule 3. drain of Indian wealth during British rule.

Question 22

Exporter of primary production importer of finished goods

Answer 22

India became an exporter of primary products such as raw silk cotton jute extra and the importance of finished consumer goods like wooden clothes capital goods like light missionary etc

Question 23

Monopoly control of British rule

Answer 23

More than half of India’s foreign trade was restricted to Britain while the rest was allowed to other countries like China style on Persian
- the opening of Suez canal served as a direct route for the ships operating between India and Britain

Question 24

Very important. Drain of Indian wealth during British rule

Answer 24

During the British rule there was huge export surplus due to access exports. the export surplus was used in the following ways
-to meet the cost of running and office setup by the colonial government in Britain.
- to meet expenses on war fought by the British government.
-to input invisible items that is service

Question 26

What was the demographic condition during the British rule

Answer 26

It was stagnant and backward economy

Question 27

First official census.1921(demographic condition)

Answer 27

First official centres--the first official census what was conducted in the year 1881 it revealed unevenness in India's population growth from 1881 onwardsences operations were carried out every 10 years. 1921--1921 was known as the year of the great divide. Before 1921 India was in the first stage of demographic transition the second stage started after 1921 there for 1921 is described as the year of great divide.

Question 28

Why is 1921 known as the year of great

Answer 28

Before 1921 India had very high birth and high death rates. And as a consequence the size of population remained almost stationery. From the year 1921 onwards India saw a decline in death rates. With this the population in India never declined and recorded a consistent rice due to this reason 1921 is called year of great divide

Question 29

Describe the demographic condition during the colonial rule

Answer 29

High birth rate and death rate, extremely low literacy rate, poor health facilities, high infant mortality rate, low life expectancy, wide spread property

Question 30

High birth date and death rate (demographic condition during the colonial rule)

Answer 30

The birth rate and death rate were very high AC nearly 48 and 40 per thousand respectively birth rate refers to number of children Bond per thousand in a year and death rate refers number of people dying per thousand person in a year.

Question 32

Extremely low literacy rate (demographic condition during the colonial rule )

Answer 32

The overall literacy level was less than 16% and the female literacy level was at low of about 7%

Question 33

For health facility low life expectancy (demographic condition during the colonial rule )

Answer 33

Public health facilities but either unavailable or was highly inadequate. This lead to spread of water and airborne diseases.

Question 34

High infant mortality rate wide spread poverty (Demographic condition during the colonial rule)

Answer 34

High infant mortality rate infant mortality rate refers to the number of inverse dying before reaching one year of age per 1000 live births in a year the infant mortality rate was about 218 per thousand. Widw spread poverty- there was no reliable data about the extent of poverty but it is clear that extensive poverty prevailed in India during the colonial period the standard of living was very low among common people.

Question 35

Occupational structure

Answer 35

Occupation structure refers to the distribution of working persons across primary secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. The dominance of primary occupation the agriculture sector accounted for the largest share of work force with approximately 72% the manufacturing accountant for 10% and service sector account for 18%. Regional variation The states of Tamilnadu Andhra Pradesh Kerala Karnataka Maharashtra and West Bengal witness the decline in dependence of workforce on the agriculture sector with an increase in manufacturing and service sector However during the same time there was an increase in the share of work force and agriculture culture in states like Orissa Rajasthan and Punjab.