1.  What was the focus of the economic policies pursued by the colonial government in India? What were the impacts of these policies?

 The focus of the economic policies pursued by the colonial government in India was to protect and promote the economic interests of their home country and not the development of Indian economy.

Such policies transformed India into a supplier of raw materials and consumer of finished industrial products from Britain.

2.  Name some notable economists who estimated india’s percapita income during the colonial period.

 Dadabhai Naoroji, William Digby, Findlay shirras, V.K.R.V. Rao and R.C Desai were the notable estimators.

3.  What were the main causes for agricultural stagnation during the colonial period?

The main causes for agricultural stagnation during the colonial period   were:

a)  The various systems of land tenure. The Zamindars just collected the rent and did nothing to improve the conditions of the farmers.

b)  Low levels of technology.

c)  Lack of irrigation facilities

d)  Very little use of fertilizers.

4.  Name some modern industries which were in operation at the time of independence.

Cotton textile industries, Jute textile mills, Tata iron and steel company, sugar industries, cement industries, paper industries.

5.  What was the two fold motive behind the systematic deindustrialization effected by the British in pre-independence India?

a)  To make India an exporter of raw materials for Industries in Britain &

b)  To turn India into a huge market for British made goods.

6.  The traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British rule. Do you agree with this view? Give reasons in support of your answer.

The traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British rule due to the following reasons:

a)  No modern industrial base was allowed to come up in place of handicrafts industries.

b)  The cheap manufactured goods from Britain ruined our handicrafts

c)   Severe unemployment resulted due to the decline of handicrafts industries.

7.  What objectives did the British intend to achieve through their policies of infrastructure development in India?

Through the policies of infrastructure development in India the British just wanted to sub serve various colonial interests.

Roads were built for mobilizing the army within India and to move raw materials from the countryside to the nearest railway station or the port to send these to England or other lucerative foreign destinations.

Railways helped commercialization   of Indian agriculture but it affected the self sufficiency of the village economies in India.

8.  Critically apprise some of the shortfalls of the industrial policy pursued by the British colonial administration.

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

b)  Though the handicrafts industries declined, no modern industries were allowed to replace them.

c)  India was a mere exporter of raw materials to the industries in Britain and a market for the British made finished goods.

d)   The decline of handicrafts resulted in massive unemployment.

e)  Apart from few cotton and jute textile mills, TISCO, and few other industries, such as sugar, cement, paper etc, there were hardly any capital goods industries

f)      Public sector remained confined only to railways, power generation, communication, ports and some other departmental undertakings.

9.  What do you understand by the drain of Indian wealth during the colonial period?

During the colonial period large export surplus was generated in several essential commodities- food grains, clothes, kerosene etc although they were scarce in the domestic market. 

This export surplus did not result in any flow of gold or silver into India.  This was used to make payment for the expenses incurred to set up office in Britain and expenses on war fought by the British which led to the drain of Indian wealth.

10. Which is regarded as the defining year to mark the demographic transition from its first to the second decisive stage?

 1921

11. Give the quantitative appraisal of India’s demographic profile during the colonial period.

a) The overall literacy was less than 16%.

b) Out of this female literacy was just 7%

c) Public health facilities were unavailable to majority of the population.

d) The available health facilities were highly inadequate.

e) The overall mortality including infant mortality (218 per thousand) was very high due to water and air-borne diseases.

f) Life expectancy was just 44 years.

12. Highlight the salient features of India’s pre-independence occupational structure.

Agriculture sector accounted for the 70-75%

Manufacturing and services sectors accounted for 10 and 15-20% respectively

Parts of the Madras presidency, Bombay and Bengal witnessed a decline in agriculture and an increase in Manufacturing and services sector.

During the same period there had been an increase in the share of agriculture in the states such as Orissa, Rajasthan and Punjab.

13. Underscore some of India’s most crucial economic challenges at the time of independence.

The economic challenges at the time of independence were enormous.

a)  Agriculture sector had surplus labour and extremely low productivity.

b)  The industrial sector badly needed modernization, diversification, capacity building and increased public investment.

c)  Foreign trade aimed to help the industrial revolution in Britain.

d)  Infrastructure facilities, including the railways needed up gradation, expansion and public orientation.

e)  Prevalence of widespread poverty and unemployment required welfare oriented economic policy.

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

1881

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

India became an exporter of primary products such as raw silk, cotton, wool, sugar, jute etc and an importer of finished of consumer goods like cotton, silk and woolen clothes and capital goods

More than half of India’s foreign trade was restricted to Britain while the rest was allowed with a few other countries like china, Ceylon and Persia.

16. Were there any positive contributions made by the British in India? Discuss.

There are several positive contributions made by the British in India.

a)  They reformed the education system and the English language is actually a boon to the Indians to compete with the world.

b)  They built several roads and introduced the railways.

c)  They introduced the postal system in the country.

d)  They abolished the sati system and child marriage.

e)  They abolished the Thug gee system.

f)  They introduced the modern banking system.

g)  They constructed hospitals.

h)  They unified 56 provinces and brought them under single administration and divided the country into three presidencies-Madras Presidency, Bombay Presidency and Bengal Presidency for efficient administration.