CBSE Class 11 Economics Indian Economy On The Eve Of Independence Worksheet

INDIAN ECONOMY ON THE EVE OF INDEPENDENCE

Key points

INTRODUCTION
➢ An understanding of the economy before independence is necessary to know and appreciate the level of development achieved during the post-independence period
➢ India had an independent economy before the advent of the British rule.
➢ Agriculture was the main source of livelihood)
➢ Well-known for its handicraft industries.
➢ Economic policies of the colonial government brought about a fundamental change in the structure of the Indian economy.
➢ Transformed the country into supplier of raw materials and consumer of finished industrial products from Britain.
➢ Dadabhai Naoroji was the first to discuss the concept of poverty line in pre-independent India)
➢ V.K.R.V. Rao’s estimates during the colonial period was considered very significant.
➢ Aggregate real output during the first half of the twentieth century was less than two per cent.
➢ Growth in per capita output per year is half per cent.

AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
➢ India’s economy under the British colonial rule remained fundamentally agrarian.
➢ 85 per cent of the country’s population depended on agriculture.
➢ Agricultural sector experience stagnation and deterioration.
➢ Agricultural productivity became low mainly because of the various systems of land settlement.
➢ Low levels of technology, lack of irrigation facilities and negligible use of fertilizers contributed to the dismal level of agricultural productivity.
➢ Investment made in agricultural sector was very low.

INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
➢ India could not develop a sound industrial base under the colonial rule.
➢ De-industrialization or decline of handicraft industries.
➢ Lack of capital goods industry
➢ Limited operation by public sector.
➢ The establishment of a few manufacturing units was no substitute to displacement of the country’s traditional handicraft industries.
➢ The growth rate of the new industrial sector and its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remained very small.

FOREIGN TRADE
➢ India has been an important trading nation since ancient times.
➢ Restrictive policies of commodity production, trade and tariff pursued by the colonial government adversely affected the structure, composition and volume of India’s foreign trade.
➢ India became an exporter of primary products an importer of finished consumer goods.
➢ Britain maintained a monopoly control over India’s exports and imports.
➢ The opening of the Suez Canal further intensified British control over India’s foreign trade.
➢ India’s foreign trade generated a large export surplus, which was used to make payments for the expenses incurred by an office set up by the colonial government in Britain, expenses on war, and the import of invisible items.

DEMOGRAPHIC CONDITION
➢ In India, the first official census was conducted in 1881.
➢ The second stage of demographic transition began after 1921.
➢ The overall literacy level was less than 16 per cent.
➢ Female literacy level was at a negligible low of about 7 percent.
➢ The overall mortality rate was very high (about 218/1000) and in that the infant mortality rate was quite alarming about (40/1000)
➢ Life expectancy was also very low—44 years in contrast to the present 68 years.

OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE
➢ The agricultural sector accounted for the largest share of workforce (70-75 percent, followed by service sector (15-20 percent) and manufacturing sector (10 percent).
➢ Another striking aspect was the growing regional variation.
➢ Present-day states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka), Bombay and Bengal witnessed a decline in the dependence of the workforce on the agricultural sector.
➢ States such as Orissa, Rajasthan and Punjab showed increase in the share of workforce in agriculture.

INFRASTRUCTURE
➢ Basic infrastructure such as railways, ports, water transport, posts and telegraphs developed during British regime to sub serve various colonial interests.
➢ The British introduced the railways in India in 1850.
➢ The introduction of the expensive system of electric telegraph in India, similarly, served the purpose of maintaining law and order.

CONCLUSION
The impact of the two-century long British colonial rule can be summarized as follows.
➢ The agricultural sector was already saddled with surplus labour and extremely low productivity.
➢ The industrial sector lacked modernization, diversification, capacity building and needed levels of public investment.
➢ Foreign trade was oriented to feed the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
➢ Infrastructure facilities needed upgradation, expansion and public orientation.
➢ Prevalence of rampant poverty and unemployment.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Question. The first census in India was conducted in
a) 1881
b) 1882
c) 1883
d) 1884
Answer. A

Question. ____________ was the first to discuss the concept of poverty line in pre-independent India
a) Dadabhai Naoroji
b) VKRV Rao
c) R C Desai
d) All of them
Answer. A

Question. During the British period, Indian Economy was:
a) semi-feudal Economy
b) Disintegrated Economy
c) Colonial Economy
d) All the above
Answer. D

Question. Find out the correctly matched pair from the following.
COLUMN I                                                COLUMN II
a) Introduction of Railways                           i) 1837
b) Introduction of Post & Telegraph               ii) 1921
c) Setting up of TISCO                                 iii) 1907
d) Second stage of Demographic transition    iv) 1853
a) a-1
b) b-ii
c) c-iii
d) d-iv
Answer. C

Question. During colonial period, India had a ________ balance of trade
a) Surplus
b) Deficit
c) Balanced
d) Zero
Answer. A

Question. Which of the following is not a reason for India's agricultural stagnation during the colonial period?
a) Introduction of Land Revenue system
b) Lack of Investment
c) Lack of manpower resources
d) No technological upgradation
Answer. C

Question. Find out the incorrect statement from the following
a) During the second half of the nineteenth century, modern industry began to take root in India
b) Under the colonial regime, there was no development in basic infrastructure.
c) that Indian economy grew at even less than two percent during 1900-50
d) The commercialisation of Indian agriculture led to shortage of food grains in India)
Answer. B

Question. There had been an increase in the share of workforce in agriculture in _______ whereas it showed a decline in __________
a) Punjab & Rajasthan
b) Kerala and Karnataka
c) Orissa & Tamil Nādu
d) None of the above
Answer. C

Question. What was the motive behind the de-industrialization by the colonial Govt. in India?
a) To get raw material from India at cheap rate
b) To sell British manufactured goods in Indian market at high-rate prices
c) Both of above
d) None of above
Answer. C

Question. Which of the following industries is capable of further promoting industrialization in an economy?
a) Consumer goods industry b) Chemical industry
a) a-1
b) b-ii
c) c-iii
d) d-iv
Answer. D 

Question. During colonial period India's demographic profile showed:
a) High birth rate
b) Low infant mortality rate
c) Low death rate
d) High literacy rate
Answer. A

Question. The economic policies pursued by the colonial government in India were concerned with
a) Protection and promotion of india
b) Protection of india and promotion of Britain
c) Protection and promotion of Britain
d) Both A and C
Answer : C

Question. Capital goods industries are those industries which
a) Helps in Production of consumers good directly
b) Helps in production of machines and tools which produce consumer goods
c) Helps in agriculture production only
d) Needs more capital
Answer : B

Question. The first census in British India was held in the year:
a) 1880
b) 1881
c) 1882
d) 1883
Answer : B

Question. This service becomes quite expensive and the British finally abandoned was
a) Airways sector
b) Defense sector
c) Inland waterways
d) Postal services
Answer : C

Question. ____________refers to the fundamental facilities and system serving a country. City, or area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function.
a) Sanitation
b) Transport
c) Railways
d) Infrastructure
Answer : D

Question. During the British rule, high mortality rate was due to
a) Inadequate public health facilities
b) Occurrence of frequent natural calamities
c) Both (a) and (b)
d) Neither (a) nor (b)
Answer : C

Question. Parts of the then Madras Presidency comprised areas of the present-day states of :
a) Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh
b) Kerala and Karnataka
c) Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and Orissa
d) Both A and B
Answer : D

Question. The most important infrastructure developed during British rule was:
a) Airways
b) Railways
c) Waterways
d) None of the these
Answer : B

Question. The opening of Suez Canal served as a direct route for ships operating between:
a) India and America
b) India and Britain
c) India and Srilanka
d) India and Pakistan
Answer : B

Question. Which of the following statement is true regarding demographic profile of India during the colonial rule?
a) Life expectancy was 63 years
b) Infant mortality rate was around 70 per thousand live births
c) Overall literacy level was less than 16 percent
d) Both birth rate and death rate were quite low.
Answer : C

Question. Which service remained throughout inadequate under the colonial regime?
a) Law and order
b) Postal services
c) Railways
d) Ports
Answer : B

Question. The Tata Airlines was incorporated in the year:
a) 1907
b) 1918
c) 1932
d) 1922
Answer : C

Question. High Birth Rate ad Low Death Rate represents ___________ stage of demographic transition.
a) Third
b) First
c) Second
d) First and second
Answer : C

Question. On the eve of independence, India was net exporter of:
a) Primary products
b) Industrial products
c) Capital goods
d) Agricultural goods
Answer : A

Question. The road which was built by British in India was to
a) Mobilizing the army within India
b) Drawing out of raw materials from the countryside
c) To overcome the problem of frequent famines in India
d) Only A and B
Answer : D

Question. The agriculture sector with _____ percent accounted for the largest share of workforce, during the eve of Independence.
a) 70-75%
b) 80-85%
c) 75-80%
d) 60-65%
Answer : A

Question. On the eve of independence, the growth rate of per capita income was less than ______ and that of real output was less than ______.
a) 2% & 0.5%
b) 0.5% & 1%
c) 0.5% & 2%
d) 1% & 0.5%
Answer. C

Question. The higher yield of cash crops in certain areas of the country during the British Rule was due to _____________________
a) Commercialisation of agriculture
b) Use of modern technology in production
c) Fertile soil and favourable climatic condition
d) All the above
Answer. A

Question. _____________________ began to take root in India during the second half of the nineteenth century, but its progress remained very slow.
a) Colonial rule
b) Deindustrialization
c) Modern industry
d) Green Revolution
Answer. C

Question. A significant drawback of the new industrial sector in British India was the negligible presence of_________.
a) Modernisation
b) Consumer goods industry
c) Public sector
d) Private sector
Answer. C

Question. In British India ________ was confined to railways, ports, power generation and communications.
a) Production
b) Industrialisation
c) Public sector
d) Tariffs
Answer. C

Question.  __________ pursued by colonial Government adversely affected the structure, composition and volume of India’s foreign trade.
a) Restrictive trade policy
b) De-industrialization
c) Policy of tariffs
d) Both a & c
Answer. D

Question. Identify the incorrect statement from the following
a) Indian economy under the British colonial rule remained fundamentally agrarian.
b) A small section of the farmers in India during the British Rule changed their crop pattern from food crops to commercial crops.
c) Opening of the Suez Canal reduced the British control over India’s foreign trade.
d) The export surplus generated by Colonial India did not result in any flow of gold or silver into India.
Answer. C

Question. According to the 1881 census, the overall literacy level was ______ percent and female illiteracy was _______ percent.
a) 16 & 7
b) 10 & 2
c) 15 & 3
d) None of the above
Answer. A

Question. India became a/an ________ economy to the British.
a) agrarian
b) Independent
c) Feeder
d) Market
Answer. C

Question. Which of the following was not a feature of foreign trade in India under the colonial rule.
a) India’s foreign trade generated a large export surplus.
b) India became a major exporter of primary products like raw silk, cotton, wool and indigo.
c) The export surplus resulted in the flow of gold and silver into India.
d) More than half of India’s foreign trade was restricted to Britain.
Answer. C

Question. Which of the following is incorrect with respect to industrial sector in India under the colonial rule.
a) India could not develop a sound industrial base under the colonial rule.
b) During the second half of the nineteenth century, modern industry began to take root in India.
c) There was hardly any capital goods industry to help promote further industrialisation.
d) New industrial sector and its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed a significant increase during colonial rule.
Answer. D

Question. Which of the following was not a feature of agriculture sector in India under the colonial rule.
a) There was a relatively higher yield of cash crops in certain areas of the country due to commercialisation of agriculture.
b) India’s economy under the British colonial rule remained fundamentally agrarian.
c) British government provided incentives in the form of higher prices for cash crops to undertake commercialisation of agriculture.
d) Neither the Zamindars nor the colonial government did anything to improve the condition of agriculture.
Answer. C

Question. Which of the following is incorrect with respect to foreign trade in India under the colonial rule.
a) Britain maintained a monopoly control over India’s exports and imports.
b) Britain was the only trading partner of India.
c) India imported capital good like light machinery produced in the factories of Britain.
d) India became an exporter of primary products.
Answer. B

Question.Prior to the establishment of British rule in India which of the following was/were true for the Indian economy
a) India had an independent economy and flourishing markets
b) the livelihood of Indian people was mainly based on agriculture
c) Indian handicrafts textile industries and metallic work enjoyed a worldwide market
d) all of the above.
Answer. D

Question. The year 1853 was an important year in the history of India. This was due to which of the following reasons?
a) The introduction of Road transport
b) The introduction of Railways
c) The introduction of Inland water transport
d) The introduction of Post & Telegraph
Answer. B

Question. Which of the following books was written by Dadabhai Naoroji?
a) Poverty and British rule in India
b) Poverty and the Un-British rule in India
c) Drain of wealth and poverty in India
d) None of the above
Answer. B

Question. Identify the industry which was under the public sector during British rule
a) Cotton textiles
b) Jute
c) Power generation
d) Iron & Steel
Answer. C

Question. Which of the following statement(s) is/are true regarding infrastructural development during British rule in India
a) The British government constructed all-weather roads to reach out the rural areas.
b) The roads that were built primarily served the purposes of mobilising the army.
c) The introduction of the railways in India by the British is considered as one of the most important contributions.
d) Both b & c are correct
Answer. D

Question. Find out the correctly matched pair from the following
COLUMN I        COLUMN II
a) Cotton         i) Telangana
b) Muslin         ii) Bengal
c) Jute           iii) Jamshedpur
d) TISCO        iv) Gujarat
a) a – i
b) b- ii
c) c- iii
d) d-iv
Answer. B

Question. Occupational structure refers to___________
a) size of labour force in a country
b) number of people living in a country
c) distribution of workforce among different sectors of an economy
d) nature of different occupations
Answer. C

Question. Who among the following made significant contribution in estimating National Income during the colonial period?
a) Dadabhai Naoroji
b) William Digby
c) V. K. R. V. Rao
d) R. C. Desai
Answer. C

Question. The economic policies followed by the colonial government in India transformed India as a supplier of __________
a) Finished goods
b) Raw materials
c) Capital good
d) Both a & c
Answer. B

Question. Suez Canal was opened for transport in the year___
a) 1805
b) 1853
c) 1850
d) 1869
Answer. D

Question. What was the life expectancy at birth in India on the eve of Independence?
a) 44 years
b) 50 years
c) 60 years
d) None of these
Answer. A

Question. What was the focus of the economic policies pursued by the colonial government in India? What were the impacts of these policies?
Answer. The colonial rulers were more interested in pursuing their own economic goals rather than that of India. They focused on making India a net supplier of raw materials, so that the British industry could get plenty of raw materials. Moreover, they deliberately worked on destroying the local industry so that a huge market for British manufactured goods could be created in India. Some of the impacts of such policies are as follows:
- The handicraft sector came to be in a terminal decline. This resulted in large scale unemployment.
- British manufactured goods flooded the Indian market and people lapped them up because they were cheaper.
- The GDP of India reduced drastically during the colonial rule.
- No domestic modern industry could grow during the colonial period.

Question. What were the main causes of India’s agricultural stagnation during the colonial period?
Answer. Following are the main causes of India‘s agricultural stagnation during the colonial period:
- Various land settlement systems which were introduced by the British from time to time were faulty. The system ensured that zamindars only focused on collecting the revenue but paid no attention to land development.
- The British rulers paid no attention to develop irrigation system and hence agriculture was highly dependent on monsoon.
- No upgradation in technology could take place during this period and as a result, farming remained at the level of subsistence farming.
- No Land development methods followed.

Question. Name some modern industries which were in operation in our country at the time of independence.
Answer. Following are some of the modern industries which were in operation on our country at the time of independence:
- Textiles Industry
- Iron and Steel Industry
- Sugar Industry
- Cement Industry

Question. What was the two-fold motive behind the systematic deindustrialization effected by the British in pre-independent India?
Answer. The two-fold motive behind the systematic deindustrialization effected by the British in pre-independence India is as follows:
- To make India are the net supplier of raw materials
- To make a huge market for British manufactured goods in India

Question. The traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British rule. Do you agree with this view? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Answer. This is a correct statement that the traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British rule. This is due to thefollowing reasons:
i) Policy of discriminating protection: After gaining strategical dominance over Indian political administration, Britishers imposed various trade barriers in their own interest in such a way that India became cheap exporter of raw material to Britain & a big market of manufactured goods. Britishers used this as a tool to remove their European competitors from international trade.
ii) Non-Availability of raw material: cheap export of raw material for British industries has reduced availability of raw material in India. Consequently, handicraft industries declined leaving artisans and most of the workers in handloom and handicraft industries unemployed.
iii) Western Influence on consumption pattern:This was also evident from the fact that more and more people were preferring machine made refined clothes from Manchester over the clothes made by the local weavers. Similarly, most of the goods consumed by people were made in Britain as Indian made goods could not compete with them.
iv) Decline of Princely States: Indian rulers were encouraging the artisans by providing good reward of their work. So,in the absence of motivating emperors, handicraft industry declined.
v) Contract System: Britishers overtook the handicraft industry in their hands and gave contract to the artisans. This policy deprived the workers of the freedom of work and getting profits.

Question. What objectives did the British intend to achieve through their policies of infrastructure development in India?
Answer. It is beyond doubt that the British developed a lot of infrastructure in India: ROADWAYS: - Roads constructed in India prior to the advent of the British rule were not fit for modern transport. The roads that were built primarily served the purposes of mobilising the army within India and drawing out raw materials from the countryside to the nearest railway station or the port. There always remained an acute shortage of all weather roads to reach out to the rural areas during the rainy season. Naturally, therefore, people mostly living in these areas suffered grievously during natural calamities and famines. RAILWAYS:- The most important contribution is introduction of railways in India in 1850. Impact:
- i) It enabled people to undertake long distance travel and thereby break geographical and cultural barriers.
- ii) It fostered commercialisation of Indian agriculture which adversely affected the self-sufficiency of the village
- iii) The volume of India‘s exports expanded but its benefits rarely accrued to the Indian people.
INLAND WATERWAYS:- The inland trade and sea lanes were developed, but these measures were not satisfactory.
- The inland waterways, at times, also proved uneconomical as in the case of the Coast Canal on the Orissa coast. Though the canal was built at a huge cost to the government exchequer, yet, it failed to compete with the railways, which soon traversed the region running parallel to the canal, and had to be ultimately abandoned.
TELEGRAPH:- The introduction of the expensive system of electric telegraph in India, similarly, served the purpose of maintaining law and order. POSTAL SERVICES:- postal services despite serving a useful public purpose, remained all through inadequate . But while doing so, their goal was never to serve the people of India. They built infrastructure to serve their own interests. Roads were developed so that the armed forces could be mobilized and raw materials could be transported to the nearest railway station. The rail network was developed so that raw materials and finished goods could be easily transported across the country. Telegraph services were developed for security purposes.

Question. Critically appraise some of the shortfalls of the industrial policy pursued by the British colonial administration.
Answer. The industrial policy pursued by the British colonial administration was having many shortfalls.
- No promotion policy of Indian Industry: Their policy never promoted the development of indigenous industry. This led to continuous decline of the Indian industry.
- Indian entrepreneur’s initiatives: Some new industries; like cotton textiles and iron and steel began to come up at the beginning of the 20th century, but it was not because of any friendly British policy. Most of the industries came up through private capital which was invested the Indian entrepreneurs.
- Fulfilling war time requirements from Indian industries: However, the jute textiles industry was mainly dominated by the British entrepreneurs. The Second World War created a good demand for Indian manufactured goods in Britain and this led to some development of industries in India.
- Modernisation of Indian industries required: The industrial sector was crying for modernisation, diversification, capacity building and increased public investment.
- No promotion to the Public Sector Units: But the British rulers never tried to develop any public sector enterprise; except the railways. Nevertheless, railways helped a lot in developing various industries in India.

Question. What do you understand by the drain of Indian wealth during the colonial period?
Answer. Drain of resources from India to Britain was called as economic drain. Throughout the colonial rule, India became a net exporter of raw materials and a net importer of finished goods.
1.Britain maintained a monopoly control over India‘s exports and imports. Foreign trade from India was mainly restricted to Britain and to some other countries; like China, Ceylon and Iran.
2.Export surplus did not increase inflow of wealth in India. During the colonial period, India was an export surplus country, but this did not mean any foreign exchange earnings or inflow of gold or silver to India.
3. Maintaining Office in Britain : Whatever wealth came to India; in the form of bullion was utilized by the British rulers to maintain their offices in India. Thus, in spite of surplus exports, Indian did not get any benefit from the inflow of bullion or foreign exchange.
4. Expenditure on war: The export surplus was used to incur expenses on war fought by the British government against various countries. This resulted in a huge drain of Indian wealth during the colonial period.

Question. Which is regarded as the defining year to mark the demographic transition from its first to the second decisive stage?
Answer. The year 1921 is regarded as the defining year to mark the demographic transition from its first to the second decisive stage.

Question. Give a quantitative appraisal of India’s demographic profile during the colonial period.
Answer. Following is the quantitative appraisal of India‘s demographic profile during the colonial period:
- Demographic Transition: Before 1921, India was in the first stage of demographic transition. The second stage of transition began after 1921. However, neither the total population of India nor the rate of population growth at this stage was very high.
- Rural Population: Around 85% of the country‘s population lived mostly in villages and derived livelihood directly or indirectly from agriculture.
- Overall literacy level was less than 16%
- Female literacy was less than 7%.
- Infant mortality was very high at 218 per 1000 live births.
- Life expectancy was 44 years.

Question. Highlight the salient features of India’s pre-independence occupational structure.
Answer. occupational Structure means distribution of working population across various industries and sectors. It showed little sign of change which was as follows:
i) Agricultural sector: employed the largest portion of the workforce; at the level of 70 to 75%.
ii) Manufacturing sector employed about 10% of the workforce.
iii) Services sector employed about 15 to 20% of the workforce.
But the occupational structure was full of regional variations.
- Decline in dependence on agriculture: For example; in Madras Presidency, Bombay and Bengal; dependence on agriculture had significantly reduced. Development of various industries in these regions can be attributed to such variations. In these regions, more and more people were joining the manufacturing and services sector as they were port areas and a lot of trade occurred there.
- Increase in the share of agriculture: However, there had been an increase in the share of workforce in agriculture during the same time in states such as Orissa, Rajasthan and Punjab.

Question. Underscore some of India’s most crucial economic challenges at the time of independence.
Answer. Some of the most crucial economic challenges at the time of independence were as follows:
- Growth of the country with equity- to reduce poverty
- Development and public orientation of railways and roadways.
- Development of basic industries; like iron and steel.
- Improvement of private capital.
- Increasing employment opportunities.
- Increasing various aspects of human development index; like literacy, child mortality, life expectancy, etc.
- Technology upgradation in agriculture and land reforms.

Question. When was India’s first official census operation undertaken?
Answer. India‘s first official census operation was undertaken in 1881.

Question. Indicate the volume and direction of trade at the time of independence.
Answer. India has been an important trading nation since ancient times. But the restrictive policies of production, trade and tariff pursued by the colonial government adversely affected the structure , composition and volume of India‘s foreign trade. Following are the main points: Structure and composition: Exporter of primary products: At the time of independence, India was an exporter of primary products; like raw silk, cotton, wool, sugar, indigo, jute etc. Importer of finished products: India was a net importer of finished goods like Cotton cloths, silk clothes, woollen clothes, and light machinery, capital goods etc. from Britain. Direction and volume of trade: Monopoly control of Britain in India’s Foreign Trade: Britain maintained monopoly control over India‘s foreign trade. Britain was the main trading partner of India. Trade was mainly restricted to Britain .However, trade also continued with China, Sri Lanka and Iran.

Question. Were there any positive contributions made by the British in India? Discuss.
Answer. While we discuss all the negatives associated with the British rule in India, we often tend to forget many positives which came to India due to colonial rule. The biggest contribution by the British was the construction of the railways. Railways connected almost the whole country which facilitated inland trade and cross-cultural exchange. The British also introduced postal and telegraph services which helped in communication and thus supported business activities. The British also made fundamental changes in the laws of the land which further helped in enhancing the business environment in India. Extra

Question. What was the condition of agriculture sector at the time of Independence?
Answer. 1) Low level of agricultural productivity :- Agricultural productivity became very low and this stagnation in agriculture sector was mainly due to systems of land settlement that were introduced by the British Government. The Zamindari system, the profit accruing out of the agriculture sector went to Zamindaris instead of the cultivators. This lead to discouragement amongst the cultivators to produce less.
2. High dependence on Monsoon :- Agriculture sector was mainly dependent on monsoon. No effort was ever made under the British rule to develop permanent means of irrigation.
3. Lack of Proper Input:- Low level of technology, lack of irrigation facility and negligible use of fertilizers, added to aggravate the plight of the farmers and contributed to the dismal level of agricultural productivity.

Question. What was the condition of Industrial sector at the time of Independence?
Answer. - 1) Discriminatory Tariff Policy:-
 The British Government allowed tariff free export of raw materials from India and tariff free import of British industrial products into India. But a heavy duty on the export of Indian handicrafts products. It leads to decay of handicrafts industry in India.
(ii) Competition from machine made goods:- Industrial revolution in Britain gave a stiff competition to the handicraft industries in India. Due to low cost and better quality product produced by machine forced the Indian craftsmen to shut down the handicraft Industry in India.
(iii) New Patterns of Demand:- Owing to British rule in India, a new class of people emerged in India. This changed the pattern of demand in India against the Indian products and in favour of British products. As a result, the Indian Industry tended to Perish
(iv) More market for British Goods:- An introduction of railways facilitated the transportation of the British products to different parts of the country. As a result, the size of the market for the low cost British product expanded while it started shrinking for the high cost Indian products. This lead to decay of Industry in India.

Question. What was the condition of foreign trade under the British rule?
Answer. 1) Due to discriminative tariff policy adopted by the British Government, India became net exporter of raw materials and primary products. On the other hand, it became net importer of finished goods reproduced by the British Industry.
(ii) Composition of exports and imports showed the backwardness of Indian economy. Exports and imports were largely restricted to Britain only due to monopoly control of India‟s foreign trade.
(iii) Surplus profit made and account of foreign trade during the British rule was distributed on administrative and as well as on war expenses. It was only used to increase the pursuits of the British Government.

Question. Mention the demographic profile during the British rule.
Answer. 1) High birth and High death rate implied low survival rate, which was nearly 8 per thousand per annum.
2) Life expectancy was as low as 32 years which shows the lack of health care facilities, lack of awareness as well as lack of means for health care.
3) Literacy rate was as low as 16 percent, which reflects the social and economic backwardness of the country.

Question. Mention the condition of occupation structure at the time Independence.
Answer. (i) Agriculture was the principal source of occupation and about 72.7 percent of working population was engaged in agriculture.
(ii) Only 10.1% of the working population was engaged in the manufacturing sector, which showed the backwardness of Indian Industry at the time of Independence.
(iii) Only 17.2 percent of the working population were engaged in the service sector, which also proved the slow growth of tertiary sector at the time of Independence.
 (iv) There was an unbalanced growth of Indian economy at the time of Independence

Question. What was the condition of Infrastructure at the time of Independence.
Answer. 1) There was some infrastructural development during the British in the area of transport and communication.
2) Introduction of railways was a major breakthrough followed by the development of some ports and the construction of some roads.
3) But the main motive of the British government was to foster the interest of the British Government rather than to accelerate the growth of Indian economy.
4) There was transition from barter system of exchange to monetary system of exchange, which facilitated division of labour&large scale production.

Question. Evaluate Indian economy on the eve of independence. OR Which sort of Indian economy Britishers left at the time of Independence?
Answer. 1.Colonial Economy: Colonial character of trade is shown in two things
i) India became cheap exporter of raw material and importer of manufactured material
ii) British capital gained control over large part of Indian economy.
2. Backward economy: Backwardness of the economy was reflected in low agricultural growth, poverty, illiteracy, famine, hunger, high mortality rate, low life expectancy etc. Decline of handicraft industry led the workers unemployed and slow growth of modern industry prevented the progress in the economy.In the middle 18thcentaury India which was known as a golden bird and self reliant economy, transformed into a poor & backward economy.
3. Stagnant Economy: GDP and National income estimates during British period were done by some economists & considered very significant. Most studies did find that the country‘s growth of aggregate real output during the first half of the twentieth century was less than two per cent coupled with a meagre half per cent growth in per capita output per year. This shows stagnant growth in India.
4. Partitioned Economy: Partition of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh was a great loss to the Indian economy. Most of the raw material centres were left with these countries due to which our industries faced the problem of lack of raw material.
5. Depleted Economy:Our country‘sresourceswere draining to Britain. Export surplus was there but it did not result in any flow of gold or silver into India. Rather, this was used to make payments for the expenses incurred by an office set up by the colonial government in Britain, expenses on war, again fought by the British government, and the import of invisibleitems, all of which led to the drain of Indian wealth.
 6. Semi Feudal Economy: Zamindari system was dominating in India where zamindars were acting as feudal lords and cultivators were exploited. Their situation was little bit better than serfs in feudal system, so it was called as semi feudal economy.

Short Answer Questions

Q1. What was the purpose of British colonial rule in india?
Q2. Name some notable economists who estimated India’s per capitaincome during the colonial period.
Q3. Which is regarded as the defining year to make the demographic transition from its first to the second stage?
Q4. When was India’s first official census operation undertaken?
Q5. When was TATA IRON AND STEEL COMPANY9TISCO incorporated?
Q6. What was the motive behind the infrastructure development during the British rule?
Q7. What was the objective of the Britishers to develop roads in India?
Q8. When were railways introduced in India?
Q9. During the British rule what percentage of India’s population lived mostly in villages and derived livelihood from agriculture?
Q10. Did ’commercialization of agriculture’ contribute positively during British rule?
Q11. Name the main items of India’s exports and imports during British rule.
Q12. During colonial rule with which country did India have more than half of its foreign trade?