Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question. What kind of industries and services can be promoted and located in semi-rural areas where a large number of people may be employed ?
Answer : A dal mill, cold storage, honey collection centres and industries that process vegetables and agricultural produce like potato, sweet potato, wheat, rice, tomato, fruits, which can be sold in outside markets etc. can be set up in semi-rural areas to promote employment.

Question. Which aspects of human development does the government need to pay attention ?
Answer : Government needs to pay attention to facilities like availability of food and nutrition, safe drinking water and housing facilities for the poor.

Question. Which sector is characterised by small and scattered units which are largely outside the control of the government.
Answer : The unorganised sector.

Question. What is primary sector ?
Answer : When we produce a good by exploiting natural resources, it is an activity of the primary sector.

Question. Complete the following : 
The activities of the primary sector are called primary because _______.
Answer :
They form the base for all other products that we subsequently make.

Question. Which laws do the organised sector enterprises need to follow ?
Answer : The organised sector enterprises need to follow various laws such as the Factories Act, Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Gratuity Act, Shops and Establishments Act etc.

Question. What is GDP ? OR What do you understand by GDP of a country ?
Answer : It is the value of all final goods and services produced within a country during a particular year.

Question. In the public sector, who owns most of the assets and provides all the services?
Answer : The government.

Question. In how many districts was the law called Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA 2005) initially implemented?
Answer : About 625 districts of India.

Question. Which are the basic services ?
Answer : Services such as hospitals, educational institutions, police stations, defence, post and telegraph services, banks, insurance companies, courts, municipal corporations, transport, etc. are considered as basic services.

Question. Give any two examples of informal sector of credit.
Answer : Credit from ‘Moneylenders’ Credit from ‘Family member’

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. What are the non-economic activities ?
Answer : All the activities whose main objectives are not to earn money rather they are carried on with some other objective like affection, power, affiliations, mercy etc. are called non-economic activities. For example, a mother taking care of her child, a doctor curing his father, a labourer repairing his own house etc. are examples of non-economic activities.

Question. Write in brief on MGNREGA. OR Describe the role played by Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in improving the employment situation in India.
Answer : MGNREGA stands for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005. It is a rural employment programme. Under this programme, all those who are in need of work in rural areas are guaranteed 100 days of employment in a year by the government. If the government fails to provide employment within a stipulated time, it provides unemployment allowances to the people. One third of the jobs are reserved for women. Thus, MGNREGA has been providing employment to all the unemployed people in rural India. Thus it is reducing unemployment in India.

Question. Explain the objective of implementing the MGNREGA 2005.
Answer : (i) Providing unskilled work for rural people in the rural areas.
(ii) Providing earning security to unskilled labour of rural areas.
(iii) To improve the standard of living of rural masses.
(iv) To empower the rural masses by increasing their decision making power.

Question. What does this mean that the primary sector provided employment to more than half of the working population while its share in GDP was less than 25 percent ?
Answer : This indicates that there is a widespread underemployment in primary sector. If many of the people are moved from primary sector to other works, the overall production in this sector will not be influenced and if these people who have been moved are provided full employment somewhere else, overall GDP will increase and the family incomes of such people will also increase leading to the upliftment of their living standard.

Question. Workers are exploited in the unorganised sector. Do you agree with this view ? Give reasons in support of your answer :
OR ‘‘Workers are exploited in unorganised sector in India.’’ Support the statement with suitable examples.
Answer : I do agree with the statement. The unorganised sector is characterised by small and scattered units which are not under the effective control of the government. Though government has framed rules and regulations for the units in this sector but they are not followed. In this sector jobs are low-paid and often irregular. There is no provision for overtime, paid leave, holidays, leave due to sickness etc. Employment is also not secure and it depends on the whims of the employer. When there is less work or employer wants, people can be asked to leave without any reason. These uncertainties became causes of exploitation of labour in unorganised sector.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. What kind of support do you think the government must extend to vulnerable sections of society ?
Answer : The vulnerable sections can be divided into two sections :
(i) Rural vulnerable section : Small and marginal farmers, landless agricultural labourers, small artisans such as weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters and goldsmiths etc. are included in rural vulnerable sections. Most of the people in this section suffer from various social and economic disabilities like low incomes, poor standard of living, poor health, indebtedness and bleak future. They are the most disadvantageous section of rural India. Without their progress, India cannot progress. It is the responsibility of the government to create an environment so that their progress can be ensured.

Following steps can be taken to support vulnerable sections of rural areas:

(a) Soft term loans for pre-harvest and post-harvest periods.
(b) Land revenue concessions.
(c) Subsidised agricultural inputs.
(d) Recovery of loans in the periods of good harvest.
(e) Soft term loans to rural traders and artisans.
(f) Social security measures like free or very cheap insurance, food articles, health, education, house etc.
(g) Vocational training for rural youth.
(h) Promotion of agro-based industries and contract farming.

(ii) Urban vulnerable section : Unorganised sector workers in small-scale industry, casual workers in construction, trade and transport etc., street vendors, garment makers, head load workers, rag pickers etc. constitute the urban vulnerable section. Following steps can be taken to support vulnerable sections of rural areas :
(a) Soft term loans for starting small business.
(b) Subsidised inputs for production.
(c) Recovery of loans in relatively long time periods.
(d) Social security measures like free or very cheap insurance, food articles, health, education, house etc.
(e) Vocational training for youth.

Question. Highlight any five reasons for the importance of tertiary sector in India.
Answer : Important of the territory sector is India can be reason as follows.
(I) the territory sector contribute significant to the the country’s GDP.
(ii) it provide employment to a large number of people with one third of the women employed.
(iii) it brings much of the needed tarlign exchange in the country.
(iv) the government provide basic services like education health care transport a sector which falls under the teritary sector.
(vi) provide at to the development of the primary and tertiary sector by creating new services like a transport and storage.
(vii) sari sector also included other facilities and services like a doctor teacher to play a match the society.

Question. What do you mean by the term Gross Domestic product? What precautions should we take in calculating GDP?
Answer : Gross Domestic Product (GDP): It is the value of all final goods and services produced within a country during a particular year. The precaution which is to be taken is that while calculating the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the value of only final goods and services are to be counted because the value of final goods and services already includes the value of all the intermediate goods that are used in making the final good. For example, the value of bread already includes the value of floor and labour used in the making of bread. If all these values are separately calculated and added, they will amount to double counting and present false picture of GDP.

Question. Rohan works in a bank as a clerk while Sumit works on a construction site as a labourer. Find out the difference in their conditions of work and judge the benefits and drawbacks of working in the respective sectors. 
Answer : Rohan works in an organised sector; he will enjoy security of employment. He will be expected to work only for a fixed number of hours. If he works more, he will have to be paid overtime by the employer. He will also get several other benefits from the employers like getting paid leave, payment during holidays, provident fund, gratuity etc. He is supposed to get medical benefits and, under the laws, the bank manager has to ensure facilities like drinking water and a safe working environment. When he will retire, he will get pension as well. In contrast, Sumit works in the unorganised sector which is characterised by small and scattered units which are largely outside the control of the government. There are rules and regulations but these are not followed. So, his job will be low-paid and often not regular. There will be no provision for overtime, paid leave, holidays, leave due to sickness etc. Employment is not secure. He can be asked to leave without any reason when there is less work, such as, during some seasons. A lot also depends on the whims of his employer.

Question. Reema works as a Head Technician in Mehta Textiles Private Ltd. whereas Shirin works as a Sales Executive in Kashvi Fashion Showroom. Identify the sectors of economy in which Reema and Shirin are working. Evaluate the role of each of these sectors in the Indian economy.
Answer : Reema works in secondary or manufacturing sector where as Shirin works in the tertiary or service sector Role of secondary/manufacturing sector – This sector covers activities in which natural products are changed into other forms through ways of manufacturing that we associate with industrial activity, hence it is also called as industrial sector. The product in this sector has to be made and therefore some process of manufacturing is essential, may be in a factory, a workshop or at home. For example, using cotton fibre from the plant, spinning yarn and weaving cloth etc. This sector provides large scale employment and helps in earning huge revenue. It helps in the development of a nation. Role of Tertiary/Service Sector – These are activities that help in the development of the primary and secondary sectors. These activities, by themselves, do not produce a good but they are an aid or a support for the production process. For example, goods need to be transported by trucks or trains and then sold in wholesale and retail shops; they have to be stored in godowns. So, transport, storage, communication, banking, trade are some examples of tertiary activities. Since these activities generate services, the tertiary sector is also called the service sector. It also includes services of teachers, doctors, and those who provide personal services such as washermen, barbers, cobblers, lawyers, and people to do administrative and accounting works. In recent times, certain new services based on information technology such as internet cafe, ATM booths, call centres, software companies etc. have become important. Service sector contributes the most to the national economy these days and is further growing.