Economic Presence of the Government

A. Choose the correct answer and fill in the blanks. 

1. d; 2. b; 3. a; 4. c; 5. b

B. Fill in the blanks.

1. NITI Aayog

2. Goods and Services Tax (GST)

3. 1 April 2009 

4. Swachh Bharat Mission

5. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005

C. State whether true or false. If false, correct the statement.

1. T

2. F (Correct: Liberation of the economy was believed to help make the Indian

industry truly global and transform the country into a leading economic power)

3. F

(Correct: India followed the example of Soviet Union in applying planned economic

development.)

4. F ( Correct: The NITI Aayog came up in the year 2015.)

5. F (Correct:

Skill India intends to train and develop industrial and entrepreneurial skills among the

youth of India.)

D. Answer the following questions in 10-20 words.

1. The new methods of farming, high-yielding seeds, crop rotation, multiple

cropping, use of fertilisers and machines, pesticides and irrigation facilities resulted

in a dramatic increase in the production of rice and wheat in the 1970s. This process

was termed as the Green Revolution.

2. The private sector mostly includes industries producing consumer goods. Here, the

motive is profit-making and the competition is intense.

3. Small-scale industries require a limited capital and a small number of workers.

These industries are encouraged as they provide employment and help in the

development of backward regions.

4. Two public sector industries are Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Oil

and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

5. In a bid to end corruption and widespread use of black money in India, Narendra

Modi on 8 November 2016 announced that Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency note

would cease to be legal tender. New currency notes of Rs. 500 and 2000 replaced

the old notes. This is known as demonetisation.

6. Twelve Five Year Plans have been completed so far.

E. Answer the following questions in 50-70 words.

1. The NITI Aayog aims to help India face complex challenges and has adopted

measures to:

• eliminate poverty and provide a better chance to the citizens to live a life of

dignity and respect.

• remove caste and gender-based inequalities as well as economic disparities.

• integrate villages with the overall development process of the country.

• generate employment by way of providing policy support to businesses.

• safeguard national environmental and ecological heritage.

2. Poverty is a major social as well as economic problem. Poverty affects the health

and wellbeing of the people and reduces their efficiency. This, in turn, affects the total production of the country leading to a slower growth rate. The government

today is spending huge sums of money in schemes meant for the removal of

poverty in rural areas such as these.

• Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)

• National Rural Employment Programme (NREP)

• Jawahar Rozgar Yojna (JRY)

• Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY)

• Training of Rural Youth for Self-employment (TRYSEM)

3. Public sector: At the time of independence there were only a few big industries

but these were necessary for industrial development and needed big investments.

Hence, the government decided to keep these industries under its own control.

They perform poorer than private sector industries.

Private sector: The private sector mostly includes industries producing consumer

goods. Here, the motive is profit-making and the competition is intense. Private

companies know that they can survive only if the quality of their goods is

competitive. They perform better than public sector industries.

4. Unemployment is another serious social problem for India. The number of

unemployed people is on the rise. Unemployment means that people are willing to

work but they are unable to secure jobs. This leads to impoverishment and lack of

basic resources for a large number of people. Measures taken by the government to

tackle the problem of employment are:

• Loans are provided to people to set up their own business and workshops are

held to help them explore career options.

• The government has helped set up cooperatives where people can join hands

and start a business.

• Training facilities are provided to help people become professionally qualified to

join service or start their own enterprise.

• Employment exchanges have been opened for people seeking employment.

• It informs them about the availability of job vacancies that suit their

requirements.

• The government also provides an unemployment allowance to those who are

registered and are unable to find work.

• Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005,

the government provides at least 100 days of employment to the adult members

of rural households.

5. A large amount of money has been spent on the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan or

Education for all mission. It was directed at making elementary education free

for all children in the age group of 6–14 years. A two-pronged approach has

been adopted for its success. On the one hand, educational infrastructure such

as classrooms and drinking water facilities toilets are being improved and on the

other hand teacher-training programmes are being conducted to improve the

quality of teaching in classrooms.

F. Answer the following questions in 80-100 words.

1. The economic development of a country depends on its human resources.

Therefore, the health and education of its citizens gain importance for any

government. The Indian government has also been working towards the social

welfare of its citizens. It is fulfilling its role in providing public facilities such as

sanitation, education, healthcare, transport, electricity and water to its people.

2. India is basically an agriculture-based country with nearly 70% of its population

dependent on agriculture. Not only does it provide livelihood to millions of people

in India but agricultural products also serve as a source of foreign exchange.

India holds an important position as a producer of sugarcane, jute, peanuts,

tea and cereals like rice, jowar and wheat. Given the importance of agriculture

and its pitiable state at the time of independence, the Planning Commission

put agriculture on its priority list and in all five-year plans it has received great

attention.