Indian Economy on the eve of independence

Question 1

whose estimate of per capita income during colonial period was considered very significant

Answer 1

VKRV rao

Question 2

Railway transport introduced in India in the year

Answer 2

1850

Question 3

During British rule more than half of India’s foreign trade was restricted to

Answer 3

Britain

Question 4

In India Census is carried out once in

Answer 4

10 years

Question 5

Before Independence the India’s jute industries concentrated in ________ part of the country

Answer 5

western

Question 6

Under the colonial rule the cotton textile industries was dominated by ___________

Answer 6

Indians_

Question 7

______ is the year of second stage of demographic transition in India

Answer 7

1921

Question 8

____________ transport is considered as the most important contribution of British Rule

Answer 8

Railway

Question 9

What was the objective of the economic policies pursued by the colonial govt in India

Answer 9

The economic policies pursued by the colonial government in india were concerned more the protection and promotion of economic interests of their home country than with development of the indian economy

Question 10

List out the important Export goods of India before independence

Answer 10

Raw silk, cotton, wool, sugar ,indigo ,jute

Question 11

Name the modern industries which were in operation in out country at the time of the independence

Answer 11

1. Cotton textile mills
2. Jute mills
3. Iron and steel industry
4. Tata iron and steel company
5. Sugar industry, paper industry, Cement industryW

Question 12

What are the infrastructure facilities developed during the colonial rule.

Answer 12

Railways, ports, Water Transport, Posts and Telegraph

Question 13

The traditional handicraft industries were ruined under British rule’ justify this statement.

Answer 13

YES
1. india could not devolop sound industrial base under the colonial rule
2. India’s handicraft declined

TWO FOLD
!. Reduce india to a status of mere exporter:
of important raw materials for the upcoming modern industries in britain
2. Turn India into a sprawling market
for finished goods of those industries so that their continued expansion could be ensured to the maximum advantage of their home country- Britain

Indian markets were full of manufactured goods from Britain which were low priced.
Indian handicrafts first started losing domestic and then export further declinef.

Question 14

Indicate the volume and direction of trade at the time of independence.

Answer 14

a) India became exporter of primary products such as raw silk, cotton, wool, sugar, jute etc. and an importer of finished consumer goods like cotton, silk and woolen clothes and capital goods like light machinery produced in factories of Britain

b) Britain maintained a monopoly control over India’s export and import. As a result more than half of India’s foreign trade was restricted to Britain

c) The rest of the trade was done in countries like China , Ceylon (Sri Lanka ) and Persia (Iran)

d) The most important characteristic of India’s foreign trade was the generation of large export surplus. But this surplus came at

Question 15

Explain the status of India’s agriculture during British rule

Answer 15

The status of India’s agriculture during British rule were:
1. India’s economy under the British colonial rule remained fundamentally agrarian. Above 85% of the country’s population lived mostly in villages and derived livelihood directly or indirectly from agriculture
2. Despite being the occupation of such a large population, the agricultural sector continued to experience stagnation
3. The stagnation was because of various land settlements, particularly the zamindari system was implemented. Low levels of technology, lack of irrigation facilities and negligence of fertilizers led to low levels of agricultural productivity.
4. of course some evidence of a relatively higher yield of cash crops in certain areas of the country due to commercialization of agriculture, but this could hardly help farmers improve their economic conditions.
5. Agricultural productivity became low, in absolute terms, the sector experienced growth due to expansion of the aggregate area under cultivation.
6. The main interest of zamindars was only to collect rent regardless of economic condition of the cultivators, this caused immense misery and social tension among the latter

Question 16

India could not develop a sound industrial base under colonial rule. Justify this statement

Answer 16

India could not develop a sound industrial base under the colonial rule because

• Even as the country ‘s world famous handicraft industries declined, no corresponding modern industrial base was allowed to come up and take pride
Of place so long enjoyed by the former.
• The primary motive of the colonial government behind this policy of systematically de-industrialising India was two fold. One was to reduce India to a mere exporter of important raw materials for the upcoming modern industries in Britain and the second was to turn India into a sprawling market of finished products of those industries so that their continued expansion could be ensured to maximum advantage of their home country.
• In the unfolding economic scenario, the decline of traditional handicraft industries did not just create massive unemployment but also deprived the Indian consumer from locally made goods. This demand was profitably met by the increasing goods from Britain.
• During the second half of the nineteenth century,modern industries began to take root in India. But it’s progress remained very slow. Initially the development was confined to the setting up of cotton and jute textile mills, mainly dominated by Indians were located in the western parts of the country namely gujrat and Maharashtra. While the jute Mills dominated by foreigners were concentrated in Bengal. Subsequently iron and steel industries came up. TISCO came up in 1907. A few other industries such as sugar, cement, paper etc came up as well.
However there were hardly any capital goods industries to help promote further industrialisation in india. Capital goods industry means industries which can produce machine tools which are, in turn, used for producing articles for current consumption. The establishment of a few manufacturing industries here and there was no substitute to the near wholesale displacement of the country’s traditional handicraft industries.
Furthermore the growth rate of this sector or contribution to GDP was significantly low. Another drawback of the new industrial sector was very limited area of operation of the public sector. This sector remained confined to the railways, power generation, communication ports and some other deployment undertakings.