Chapter-Indian Economy On The Eve Of Independence

Important MCQ questions for Class 11 Economics Chapter-Indian Economy On The Eve Of Independence

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MCQ Questions set-1 for chapter-Indian Economy on The Eve of Independence-class 11 Economics 

Economics - MCQ on Indian Economy On The Eve Of Independence

Q.1. Which were goods exported by Indian merchants before the advent of British rule?

i) Cotton textiles only

ii) Cotton and silk textiles, metal and precious stone works

iii) Fruits and vegetables

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(i)

Cotton and silk textiles, metal and precious stone works.

Expln. India was particularly well known for its handicraft industries in the fields of cotton and silk textiles, metal and precious stone works etc, before the advent of British rule.

Q.2. What did the estimates of India’s national income and per capita income reveal about the state of the economy?

i) India’s growth output was less than 2% with half percent growth in per capita output

ii) India’s growth output was less than 2%

iii) India’s growth output was less than 1%

iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(i)

India’s growth output was less than 2% with half percent growth in per capita output.

Expln. It was found that India’s growth output during the first half of the twentieth century was less than 2% coupled with a half percent growth in per capita output.

Q.3. What percentage of India’s population depended on agriculture under the British rule?

i) 85%

ii) 65%

iii) 25%

iv) 95%.

Answer:

(i)

85%

Expln. About85% of India’s population depended on agriculture.

Q.4. What was the main reason for stagnation in agricultural sector under the British rule?

i) Various systems of land settlements introduced by the colonial government

ii) Indians own negligence towards work

iii) Bad weather conditions throughout

iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(i)

Various systems of land settlements introduced by the colonial government.

Expln. The main reason for stagnation under the British rule was the various systems of land settlements introduced by the colonial government.

Q.5. What do you mean by commercialisation of agriculture?

i) Production of crops for family consumption

ii) Production of crops for the market rather than for self consumption

iii) Both of the above

iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(ii)

Production of crops for the market rather than for self consumption.

Expln. Commercialisation of agriculture implies production of crops for the market rather than for self consumption. It involves growing crops mainly for sale in the market.

Q.6. Which Indian industry was most affected due to the partition? Why?

i) Cement industry

ii) Tobacco industry

iii) Jute industry

iv) All of the above.

Answer:

(iii)

Jute industry

Expln. Jute industry was most severely affected due to partition since most of the jute producing areas now became part of Pakistan.

Q.7. Who were the notable economists who estimated India’s per capita income during the colonial period?

i) Mahatma Gandhi

ii) B.R. Ambedkar

iii) Dadabhai Naoroji, William Digby, Findlay Shirras, V.K.R.V. Rao and R.C. Desai

iv) All of the above.

Answer:

(iii)

Dadabhai Naoroji, William Digby, Findlay Shirras, V.K.R.V. Rao and R.C. Desai.

Expln. These thinkers made an individual attempt to estimate India’s national income and per capita income.

8. Name some modern industries which were in operation in our country at the time of independence.

i) Tobacco industry

ii) Cotton and jute textiles, iron, steel, sugar, cement, paper industry etc.

iii) Both of them

iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(ii)

Cotton and jute textiles, iron, steel, sugar, cement, paper industry etc.

Expln. Initially cotton and jute textiles were developed, later industries of iron, steel, sugar, cement, paper etc. began coming up.

Q.9. Why did partition of the country cause an adverse affect on India’s agriculture?

i) Highly fertile and irrigated land went to Pakistan

ii) Major workforce went to Pakistan

iii) Both of the above

iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(i)

Highly fertile and irrigated land went to Pakistan

Expln. India’s agriculture was adversely affected due to partition of the country since a sizable portion of the undivided country’s highly fertile and irrigated land went to Pakistan.

Q.10. What was the primary motive of the colonial government behind its industrial policy in India?

i) To export raw materials from India to its modern industries in Britain

ii) To find a market for its finished products

iii) Both of the above iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(iii)

Both i) and ii)

Expln.The sole purpose of the British rule in India was to reduce the country to being a feeder economy for Britain’s own expanding modern industrial base.

Q.11. What was the affect of the decline of handicraft industry in India?

i) It created massive unemployment

ii) It created new demand in the consumer market for Britain’s manufactured goods

iii) Both i) and ii)

iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(iii)

Both i) and ii)

Expln. Decline of handicraft industry in India created massive unemployment and a new demand in the consumer market for Britain’s manufactured goods.

Q.12. Which important present day industry was set up in 1907?

i) Reliance Petroleum

ii) Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO)

iii) Both i) and ii)

iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(ii)

Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO).

Expln. Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) at Jamshedpur.

Q.13. What are capital goods industries?

i) Industries which produce machine tools for producing other manufactured goods

ii) Industries which produce goods required by capitalists

iii) Both of the above

iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(i)

Industries which produce machine tools for producing other manufactured goods.

Expln. Capital goods industries are those which produce machine tools for producing other manufactured goods.

Q.14. Growth of which areas was under public sector during the British rule?

i) Railway only

ii) Railways, power generation, communication, ports and some departmental undertakings

iii) Both i) and ii)

iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(iii)

Both i) and ii)

Expln. Railways, power generation, communication, ports and some departmental undertakings fell under the government purview during the British rule.

Q.15. Who were the trading partners of India during the British rule?

i) Britain only

ii) Britain, China, Sri Lanka and Iran (Persia)

iii) Sri Lanka only

iv) none of the above.

Answer:

(ii)

Britain, China, Sri Lanka and Iran (Persia).

Expln. Most of India’s exports and imports were restricted to Britain. British allowed trade with few other countries, namely China, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Persia (Iran).

Q.16. The export surplus did not bring any benefits to the Indian economy during the British rule. Why?

i) The profit was used to cover the expenses incurred by British government in war

ii) The profit was distributed among the farmers

iii) The profit was kept as reserve by the Indians

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(i)

The profit was used to cover the expenses incurred by British government in war.

Expln. The money from export surplus was used to make payments for the expenses incurred by an office set up by the colonial government in Britain on war, and import of invisible items.

Q.17. When was India’s first official census operation undertaken?

i) 1981

ii) 1951

iii) 2001

iv) 1991

Answer:

(i)

1981

Expln. India’s first official census operation was undertaken in 1981.

Q.18. Which year is considered the great divide year?

i) 1947

ii) 1921

iii) 1991

iv) 2001

Answer:

(ii)

1921

Expln. 1921 is considered as the great divide year.

Q.19. What was the overall literacy rate of India during the period under colonial government?

i) 25%

ii) 100%

iii) 16%

iv) 60%.

Answer:

(iii)

16%

Expln. British Government made no efforts for the education of Indians. All money earned was used for the welfare of Britain.

Q.20. What do you mean by infant mortality rate?

i) Number of deaths of infants in a particular year, per 1000 live births during that year

ii) Number of infants born in an year

iii) Number of infants registered in an year

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(i)

Number of deaths of infants in a particular year, per 1000 live births during that year.

Expln. Infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of infants in a particular year, per 1000 live births during that year.

Q.21. What was infant mortality rate during the time of British rule?

i) 500 per 1000 births

ii) 100 per 1000 births

iii) 218 per 1000 births

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(iii)

218 per 1000 births.

Expln. Infant mortality rate was 218 per 1000 births.

Q.22. Why was inland waterway on the coast of Orissa abandoned?

i) It could not compete with cheaper railways

ii) People feared traveling through waterways

iii) There were floods in Orissa

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(i)

It could not compete with cheaper railways.

Expln. It was built at a huge cost but proved to be uneconomical since it could not compete with the cheaper railways.

Q.23. Who is the writer of the book ‘Poverty and Famines’?

i) Rabindranath Tagore

ii) Amartya Sen

iii) Arundhati Roy

iv) Anita Desai.

Answer:

(ii)

Amartya Sen.

Expln. The author of the book ‘Poverty and Famines’ is Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

Q.24. When were the railways introduced in India?

i) 1850

ii) 1950

iii) 1750

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(i)

1850

Expln. Railways were introduced in India in the year 1850.

Q.25.Why did the British Government develop infrastructure in India?

i) For the welfare of Indians

ii) To serve their own colonial interests

iii) For India’s technological advancement

iv) All of the above.

Answer:

(ii)

To serve their own colonial interests.

Expln. The British government developed infrastructure in India to facilitate their trade and expansion in the country.

MCQ Questions set-2 for chapter-Indian Economy on The Eve of Independence-class 11 Economics 

Q.26.What was the percentage of workforce in services sector during the British rule?

i) 15-20%

ii) 60%

iii) 80%

iv) 100%.

Answer:

(i)

15-20%

Expln. The percentage of workforce in services sector during British rule was 15 to 20% only.

27.What was the female literacy rate during the colonial period?

i) 50%

ii) 25%

iii) 7%

iv) 100%.

Answer:

(iii)

7%

Expln. Out of the overall literacy rate of 16%, female literacy rate was 7%.

Q.28.India’s economy under the British colonial rule remained _________.

i) Agrarian

ii) Cosmopolitan

iii) Industrial

iv) All of the above.

Answer:

(i)

Agrarian.

Expln. India’s economy under the British colonial rule remained fundamentally agrarian.

Q.29. What was the percentage of village population during the British rule?

i) 10%

ii) 85%

iii) 95%

iv) 100%.

Answer:

(ii)

85%

Expn. About 85% of the country’s population lived mostly in villages and derived livelihood directly or indirectly from agriculture.

Q.30. Stagnation in agriculture during the colonial period, was caused mainly because of various systems of __________.

i) Land settlement

ii) Profit settlement

iii) Housing settlement

iv) All of the above.

Answer:

(i)

Land settlement.

Q.31. What did the decline of the indigenous handicraft industries cause?

i) Unemployment in India

ii) Demand for imported goods in the Indian market

iii) Both i) and ii)

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(iii)

Both i) and ii)

Q.32. The Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) was incorporated in which year?

i) 1907

ii) 1807

iii) 1947

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(i)

1907.

Q.33. What were the reasons that adversely affected the composition, structure and volume of India’s foreign trade?

i) Restrictive policies of commodity production

ii) Trade and tariff pursued by the British Government

iii) Both i) and ii)

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(iii)

Both i) and ii)

Q.34. The opening of ________ further intensified British control over India’s foreign trade.

i) Suez Canal

ii) Bay of Bengal

iii) Bombay port

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(i)

Suez Canal.

Q.35. What was the life expentancy ratio during the British rule?

i) 18 years

ii) 32 years

iii) 55 years

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(i)

18 years.

Q.36. What was the percentage of workforce in agriculture sector during the British rule?

i) 15-20%

ii) 60%

iii) 100%

iv) 70-75%.

Answer:

(iv)

70-75%.

Q.37. British government built roads in India with which objective in mind?

i) To mobilise the army within India

ii) To draw out raw materials from villages to nearest railway station or port

iii) Both i) and ii)

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(iii)

Both i) and ii).

Q.38. The railways fostered _________ of Indian agriculture.

i) Commercialisation

ii) Globalisation

iii) ) Both i) and ii)

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(i)

Commercialisation.

Q.39. For what pupose was electric telegraph introduced in India by the British government?

i) To increase Indian expenditure

ii) To maintain law and order

iii) To substitute postal system

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(ii)

To maintain law and order.

Q.40. By the time India won its independence, the social and economic challenges before the country were __________.

i) Enormous

ii) Less

iii) Very less

iv) None of the above.

Answer:

(i)

Enormous.