Q60. How was the pre-colonial Indian economy described in this examination question?
[SSC CHSL Tier I 2024]
(A) Dependent economy
(B) Independent economy
(C) Self-sufficient economy
(D) Prosperous economy
Answer: (B) Independent economy
Explanation: Before colonial political control, economic production and trade were shaped by indigenous institutions and commercial networks. The paper uses independent economy to distinguish that context from subsequent colonial dependence and externally directed economic policy.
Q59. Which Five-Year Plan of India was founded on the Harrod–Domar model?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2023]
(A) First Five-Year Plan
(B) Second Five-Year Plan
(C) Third Five-Year Plan
(D) Fifth Five-Year Plan
Answer: (A) First Five-Year Plan
Explanation: The First Five-Year Plan was associated with the Harrod–Domar growth framework, which links capital accumulation to output growth. It stressed agricultural recovery and irrigation, while the later Second Plan adopted the Mahalanobis industrial approach.
Q58. Which was the foremost focus of India’s first Five-Year Plan?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2023]
(A) Growth of heavy industries
(B) Agriculture and irrigation
(C) Rapid privatisation
(D) Expansion of global financial markets
Answer: (B) Agriculture and irrigation
Explanation: Food shortages and the needs of the overwhelmingly rural population shaped the First Plan. Investment in agriculture, irrigation and power was intended to strengthen output and stability before a larger industrial-development programme followed.
Q57. In which Five-Year Plan were the 1991 economic reforms incorporated into the regular planning framework?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2023]
(A) Tenth
(B) Fifth
(C) Eighth
(D) Sixth
Answer: (C) Eighth
Explanation: Liberalisation began in 1991, between regular five-year plans. The Eighth Plan operated from 1992 to 1997 and reflected the new policy environment, with greater private participation and economic openness.
Q56. The first generation of India’s economic reforms involved which combination?
[WBCS Mains (Polity & Economy) 2023]
(A) Privatisation only
(B) Liberalisation only
(C) Globalisation only
(D) All three of these
Answer: (D) All three of these
Explanation: The reforms introduced from 1991 combined deregulation and lower entry barriers, expanding private involvement and increasing integration with international trade and capital. These complementary elements are commonly grouped as liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation.
Q55. How was the impact of first-generation reforms on employment and poverty reduction evaluated in the paper?
[WBCS Mains (Polity & Economy) 2023]
(A) Satisfactory
(B) Good
(C) Spectacular
(D) Not satisfactory
Answer: (D) Not satisfactory
Explanation: Early market reforms focused on stabilization, deregulation and restructuring rather than directly guaranteeing jobs. Employment gains did not always keep pace with economic output, while poverty reduction was uneven. The cited evaluation consequently judged the immediate social results inadequate.
Q54. What was a principal argument advanced in support of globalisation in 1991?
[WBCS Mains (Polity & Economy) 2023]
(A) Encouraging foreign direct investment
(B) Guaranteeing immediate agricultural growth
(C) Instantly eliminating poverty
(D) Promoting only indigenous technology
Answer: (A) Encouraging foreign direct investment
Explanation: Globalisation was expected to attract overseas capital, technical expertise and links to wider markets. Such investment could support modernisation and competition, although productivity and poverty outcomes still depended on domestic institutions and complementary policy decisions.
Q53. Why were two versions of India’s Sixth Five-Year Plan prepared?
[WBCS Mains (Polity & Economy) 2023]
(A) War with China
(B) Deficient monsoon
(C) A balance-of-payments emergency
(D) Change of government at the Centre
Answer: (D) Change of government at the Centre
Explanation: The Janata government advanced a 1978–83 Sixth Plan, but the subsequent change of government led to a replacement covering 1980–85. The competing plan periods reflected political changes rather than a change in the formal five-year planning cycle.
Q52. Why was the Eighth Five-Year Plan delayed by two years?
[WBCS Mains (Polity & Economy) 2023]
(A) Political changes in the central government
(B) Delay in parliamentary approval
(C) Foreign-exchange crisis as the sole cause
(D) State-level unrest
Answer: (A) Political changes in the central government
Explanation: Political instability around 1990–91 interrupted normal planning. India used annual plans for 1990–91 and 1991–92 before starting the Eighth Plan in 1992. The new plan then developed against the backdrop of economic reforms.
Q51. Which pair of years marked major devaluations of the Indian rupee?
[WBCS Mains (Polity & Economy) 2023]
(A) 1965 and 1996
(B) 1966 and 1991
(C) 1968 and 1991
(D) 1966 and 1993
Answer: (B) 1966 and 1991
Explanation: India devalued the rupee in 1966 and again in two steps during July 1991. Devaluation changes the official exchange value under a managed regime and can improve export competitiveness while increasing the domestic cost of imports.
