NCERT TEXTUAL QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

Question.1.Mention some examples of regional and economic groupings.

OR
Question.2. What are the various means by which countries are trying to strengthen their own domestic economies?

Answer. Every country aims to strengthen its own domestic territory,increase economic cooperation among nations, understand the
development strategies of member countries to know the strengths and weaknesses of neighbouring countries .The nations are
forming regional and global economic groupings such as:

1. SAARC. It has 8 countries of South Asia.

2.  EU has 25 independent states based on European Communities.
3.  ASEAN. It has 5 countries of South East Asia.
4.  G-8 (Group of Eight). It has 8 countries.
5.  G-20 (Group of Twenty). It consists of 19 world’s largest economies.  

Question 3. What similar development strategies have India and Pakistan followed for their respective developmental paths?
Answer. Similar developmental strategies of India and Pakistan are:

1.  India has the largest democracy of the world. Pakistan has authoritarian militarist political power structure.
2. India and Pakistan followed a mixed economy approach to have the participation of the public and private sectors.
3. Both economies have given importance the public sector in the process of growth.
4. Both economies initiated reforms  to promote efficiency of the nation. Pakistan initiated reforms in 1988 and India in 1991.
5. The First Five Year Plan was announced by India in 1951-56 and Pakistan in 1956.  
6. The developmental strategy was initiated in India and Pakistan after independence in 1947.

Question 4. Explain the Great Leap Forward campaign of China as initiated in 1958.
Answer: The Great Leap Forward (GLF) campaign of China was initiated in 1958. Main objectives of this campaign:  

i. industrialise the country on a large scale and in as short a time as possible.

ii. Encourage people to set up household industrial units in their backyard.
iii. Introduce many commune systems in the rural areas to encourage collective cultivation of land.. Nearly 26,000 communes
covered the farm population in 1958.  
 

Despite this, the challenges faced by China during the Great Leap Forward campaign:

i. In China, severe drought created chaos and 30 million people lost their lives. 
ii. Russian people involved in the industrial process of China were withdrawn from professional services. 
Question 5. China’s rapid industrial growth can be traced back to its reforms in 1978. Do you agree? Elucidate.
OR
Question 12. Evaluate the various factors that led to the rapid growth in economic development in China.

Answer: Yes, China's rapid industrial growth can be traced back to its reforms in 1978. China introduced reforms in two different phases, i.e.
in the late 1970s and the early 1980s.
 
Late 1970s: 
First, agriculture, foreign trade and investment sectors were taken up. Commune lands were divided into small plots. These were
allotted to individual households for cultivation.

Early 1980s: 
The reforms were expanded to industrial sector. Private firms, local collectives or cooperatives were allowed to set up manufacturing
units and could produce goods. State-owned enterprises competed with private firms in the market and thus increased their
efficiency and strength.

The reform in China brought in dual pricing. This meant the farmers and industrial units were restricted to buy and sell fixed
quantities of raw material and products on the basis of prices fixed by the government. As production increased, the material
transacted through the open market also rose in quantity. On the other hand, the rest of the goods were bought and sold based on
market mechanism.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were set up in China to attract foreign investors. They also allow duty-free import of capital goods
and raw materials, simplified customs and banking procedures.  
  

Question 6. Describe the path of developmental initiatives taken by Pakistan for its economic development.
Answer. Developmental initiatives taken by Pakistan for its economic development:

i. A mixed-economy model of growth was adopted to encourage the participation of the public and private sectors.
ii. In the 1950s and 1960s, they introduced many regulated policy frameworks for import substitution and industrialisation.
iii. Tariff barriers were imposed to protect the domestically produced consumer goods and to control competing imports.
iv. The Green Revolution has resulted in agricultural mechanisation and increased the investment for infrastructural facilities in rural
areas. This raised the food grain productivity.
v. Great emphasis was given to the public sector in the process of growth. Nationalisation of capital goods industries was initiated in
the 1970s.
vi. In the 1970s and 1980s, denationalisation was encouraged to allow the entry of private sector companies in productive activities.
They received financial aid from western nations and received incentives from the government.
vii. This led to the initiation of economic reforms in 1988 to promote the efficiency of the nation. 

Question 7. What is the important implication of ‘one child norm’ in China?

Answer.  Important implication of the one child norm in China:

i. The one child norm was introduced in China in the late 1970s to control population growth.
ii. This measure led to a decline in the sex ratio, i.e. the proportion of females per thousand males.
iii. There will be an increase in the number of elderly population compared to young population in the future years.
iv. This will enable the country to give social security measures with fewer workers. 
Question 8. Mention the salient demographic indicators of China, Pakistan and India.
Answer. We shall compare some demographic indicators of India, China and Pakistan.

1. The population of Pakistan is very small and accounts for roughly about one-tenth of China or India.
2.  Though China is the largest nation geographically among the three, its density is the lowest.
3. According to 2015 data, population growth was the highest in Pakistan (2.1%), followed by India (1.2%) and China (0.5%).
4. The reason for the low growth of the population is the one-child policy that was introduced in China in the late 1970s.
5. The fertility rate is low in China (1.6%) due to the one-child policy. It is 2.4% in India and is very high in Pakistan at 3.6%.
6. The sex ratio is low and biased against females in all three countries. This is due to the preference of the male child in all three
countries.
7. The sex ratio is the lowest in India with 929 females per 1,000 males. In China and Pakistan, the corresponding figures are 941
and 947.
8. China has the highest degree of urbanisation followed by Pakistan and India. 

The following table presents the salient demographic indicators of China, Pakistan, and India in 2015
 

Count Estimat Ann Den Se F Urba

ries ed ual sity x er nisati
populat Pop of Ra tili on
ion ulati pop tio  ty

(in
on ulati ra
gro on te 
wth (per  
mil   sq
km)
lio
n)
In 13 1. 4 9 2 3
di 11 2 4 2 . 3
a 1 9 4
C 13 0. 1 9 1 5
hi 71 5 4 4 . 6
 na 6 1 6
18 2. 2 9 3 3
Pakis

tan  
8 1 4 4 . 9
5 7 6
 
 
Question 9. Compare and contrast India and China’s sectoral contribution towards GDP. What does it indicate?
Answer. Sectoral Distribution of Output and Employment:
 The sectoral contribution different sectors in India and China to the GDP/GVA in 2014-15 is as follows:
The contribution of agriculture in India was 17% while in China it was 9%. On the other hand, the contribution of the
industrial sector is the highest at 43% and in India it was 30%. The contribution of the service sector is higher in India 53%
and in China 48%.Thus, in both countries, the contribution of the agricultural sector has declined. China’s growth is mainly
contributed by the industrial sector and in India by the service sector.

Question 10. Mention the various indicators of human development.

Answer. Parameters of human development are:

i. Life expectancy rate at birth (years) is the maximum age up to which an adult lives [high level].  
ii. Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and above) is the percentage of literate people [high level].
iii. Infant mortality rate is the number of children who die before completing one year out of 1000 births [low level].
iv. Percentage of the population below the poverty line is based on the percentage of people living on less than the international
standard [low level].
v. GDP per capita is the share of national income generated or goods and services produced by an individual and it is the national
income per person [high level].  
vi. Maternal mortality rate is the number of registered maternal deaths because of birth or pregnancy-related complications per lakh
live births [low level].
vii. Population with sustainable access to improved sanitation (%) [high level] 
viii. Population with sustainable access to improved water sources (%) [high level] 
ix. Population undernourished (% of total) [low level] 

Question 11. Define the liberty indicator. Give some examples of liberty indicators.
Answer. Liberty indicator has actually been added as a measure of ‘the extent of democratic participation
in social and political decision-making’ but it has not been given any extra weight. Some of the
examples of liberty indicators are : literacy rate, women participation in politics, etc.

Question 13. Group the following features pertaining to the economies of India, China and Pakistan under three heads.

1. One-child norm
2. Low fertility rate
3. High degree of urbanisation
4. Mixed economy
5. Very high fertility rate
6. Large population
7. High density of population
8. Growth due to inanufacturing sector
9. Growth due to service sector

Answer.

1. China
2. China
3.  Pakistan and China
4.  India and Pakistan
5. Pakistan
6.  India and China
7.  India
8.  China
 9.  India.

Question 14. Give reasons for the slow growth and re-emergence of poverty in Pakistan.
Answer.  Reasons for the slow growth and re-emergence of poverty in Pakistan:

i. Traditional method in the agricultural sector: The agricultural production method was traditional. Good harvest depends mainly on
a good monsoon. If the conditions were not good, then the economic growth showed a negative trend.
ii. High dependence on public sector enterprises: More importance was given to the public sector in the growth process. Public
sector enterprises lack operational efficiency and poor management which led to slow progress in productivity.
iii. High dependence on foreign loans: The balance of payment crisis was managed by borrowing funds from external sources like
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. In Pakistan, major foreign exchange was earned from the remittances of
Pakistani workers in the Middle East and export of highly unstable agricultural products.
iv. Lack of political stability: Huge public expenditure were made on law and order to stabilise the unfavourable political situation. This
unproductive expenditure caused a drain on economic resources.
v. Inadequate infrastructure: Pakistan was not able to attract foreign investment and trade activities because they lack infrastructural
facility for business development.
 

Question 15. Compare and contrast the development of India, China and Pakistan with respect to some
salient human development indicators.
Answer.  As per Human Development Report 2015, the human development index (HDI) value was 0.727, 0.609 and 0.538 for
China, India and Pakistan, respectively. This indicates higher growth and development of a nation.

i. Infant mortality rate: The infant mortality rate was as low as 9 per thousand in China compared to 38 per thousand in India and 66
per thousand in Pakistan.
ii. Percentage of population below the poverty line: China was ahead of India in reducing the percentage of population below the
poverty line to 32% (based on the number of people living on less than US $ 3.20 per day,2011). The percentage of population
below the poverty line was 44% in Pakistan as compared to 58% in India. This implies that the economic growth in India was
lesser than that in China and Pakistan.
iii. Maternal mortality rate: The maternal mortality was only 27 per lakh in China compared to 174 in India and 178 in Pakistan. 

Thus, the comparative study of the indicators of HDI in 2015 observed that China was ahead of India and Pakistan. Higher HDI of
China implies better performance of the nation such as high GDP per capita, population below the poverty line, access to improved
sanitation, improved health facilities and good nourishment of the people. Pakistan was ahead in terms of decreasing the people
living below the poverty line and in providing better access to sanitation and water.

Question 16. Comment on the growth rate trends witnessed in China and India in the last two decades.
Answer. Growth of Gross Domestic Product (%), 1980-2009 In 1980s, China had remarkable growth rate of 10.3% when India was
finding it difficult to maintain a growth rate of even 5%. After two decades, there was a marginal improvement in India’s and China’s
growth rate. Growth rate of population continued to remain high in India and required more investment to improve the standard of living of
the people. The global interaction of the economy was wider in China than in India. India attempted to privatise the public sector enterprises.
Despite an unfavourable political system, China used the market mechanism without losing political commitment. This market mechanism
approach enhanced the social and economic opportunities for the nation. Thus, the social infrastructure facilities provided through the public
intervention before the initiation of economic reforms resulted in better performance of the HDI in China.
Question 17. Fill in the blanks:

1.  First Five Year Plan of commenced in the year 1956. (Pakistan/China)

2.  Maternal mortality rate is high iri (China/Pakistan)
3. Proportion of people below poverty line is more in (India/Pakistan)
4.  Reforms in were introduced in 1978. (China/Pakistan).

Answer. (1) Pakistan, (2) Pakistan, (3) India, (4) China.