50. Which theory did Dadabhai Naoroji develop in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India?
[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (19 March 2026, Shift 3)]
(A) Drain of Wealth Theory
(B) Subsidiary Alliance Theory
(C) Doctrine of Lapse Theory
(D) Two-Nation Theory
Answer: (A) Drain of Wealth Theory
Explanation: Naoroji’s book linked colonial poverty to the continuous outward transfer of wealth. Salaries, pensions, Home Charges and private profits paid abroad were among the channels he criticised. His argument made economic self-government a central issue for early nationalists.
49. Which labour code contains provisions permitting women to work in establishments, including night shifts, subject to applicable safeguards?
[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (17 March 2026, Shift 3)]
(A) Code on Social Security, 2020
(B) Industrial Relations Code, 2020
(C) Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020
(D) Code on Wages, 2019
Answer: (C) Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020
Explanation: The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code consolidates workplace safety and working-condition provisions associated with earlier laws, including the Factories Act, 1948. Its provisions address women’s employment and safeguards. This question concerns the later regulatory framework, not British-era legislation.
48. According to Naoroji’s Drain of Wealth Theory, which economic problem was central to British exploitation of India?
[RRB Junior Engineer CBT-I (20 February 2026, Shift 1)]
(A) Unequal economic exchange between India and Britain
(B) Limited administrative participation for Indians
(C) Excessive land revenue imposed on peasants
(D) Religious discrimination by colonial authorities
Answer: (A) Unequal economic exchange between India and Britain
Explanation: Naoroji challenged the one-sided financial relationship between colony and imperial centre. India’s resources supported pensions, administration and private remittances overseas without matching benefits. Ending the imbalance was, in his view, important for reducing poverty and strengthening Indian development.
47. In which year did the British introduce the Mahalwari system of land revenue?
[SSC MTS (5 February 2026, Shift 2; 2025 recruitment)]
(A) 1765
(B) 1793
(C) 1801
(D) 1822
Answer: (D) 1822
Explanation: Holt Mackenzie developed the Mahalwari system in 1822 for north-western territories. A village or group of villages formed a revenue estate called a mahal. Unlike the Permanent Settlement, its assessment could be revised periodically by the administration.
46. Who introduced the Permanent Settlement of Bengal in 1793?
[Delhi Police Head Constable (9 January 2026, Shift 3; 2025 recruitment)]
(A) Lord Hastings
(B) Lord Wellesley
(C) Lord Cornwallis
(D) Lord Curzon
Answer: (C) Lord Cornwallis
Explanation: Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement to regularise Company land receipts and strengthen a class of hereditary zamindars. The amount due to the colonial government was fixed permanently, though peasants’ actual rents were not protected by an equivalent permanent ceiling.
45. The Ryotwari land-revenue system introduced in South India was chiefly associated with whom?
[Delhi Police Constable (5 January 2026, Shift 1)]
(A) Lord Cornwallis
(B) Warren Hastings
(C) Thomas Munro
(D) Lord Dalhousie
Answer: (C) Thomas Munro
Explanation: Thomas Munro expanded the Ryotwari settlement in Madras after early trials by Alexander Read. The government assessed revenue on individual cultivators rather than zamindars. Assessment was subject to revision, and non-payment could threaten the cultivator’s hold on land.
44. In what year did the East India Company introduce the Permanent Settlement?
[SSC CHSL Tier-I (15 November 2025, Shift 3)]
(A) 1765
(B) 1775
(C) 1793
(D) 1801
Answer: (C) 1793
Explanation: In 1793 Cornwallis formalised the Permanent Settlement, especially in Bengal and Bihar. Revenue payable by zamindars to the Company became fixed, encouraging the creation of powerful landlords. The system had long-lasting consequences for rural class relations and peasant security.
43. Which settlement system was applied to zamindars in Odisha under British rule?
[OSSSC CRE Preliminary Examination (3 November 2025, Shift 1)]
(A) Village Settlement
(B) Mahalwari
(C) Ryotwari
(D) Permanent Settlement
Answer: (D) Permanent Settlement
Explanation: The Permanent Settlement, initially associated with Bengal, was extended to Odisha after British expansion. It recognised zamindars as revenue-paying landlords and maintained a fixed government assessment. Cultivators often faced intermediaries who sought rents while remaining accountable for state dues.
42. Which British land-revenue system was followed mainly in the Madras and Bombay Presidencies?
[RRB NTPC Undergraduate CBT-I (2 September 2025, Shift 1)]
(A) Ryotwari
(B) Mahalwari
(C) Jagirdari
(D) Zamindari
Answer: (A) Ryotwari
Explanation: Ryotwari settlements dealt directly with cultivators, or ryots, particularly in Madras and Bombay. They differed from Bengal’s Permanent Settlement, where zamindars paid the colonial state, and from Mahalwari assessment based on villages or estates collectively.
41. Who introduced the Permanent Settlement in British India?
[RRB NTPC Undergraduate CBT-I (1 September 2025, Shift 1)]
(A) Lord Dalhousie
(B) Lord Wellesley
(C) Thomas Munro
(D) Lord Cornwallis
Answer: (D) Lord Cornwallis
Explanation: Lord Cornwallis enacted the Permanent Settlement in 1793. The colonial government fixed its demand on zamindars, who then collected rents from peasants. The arrangement secured expected receipts but often strengthened landlord control without guaranteeing cultivators’ economic welfare.
