Q119. Which set correctly lists the three sub-indices of RBI’s Financial Inclusion Index?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2026]
(A) Credit access, insurance depth and pension coverage
(B) Bank access, GDP share and financial literacy
(C) Access, usage and quality
(D) Access, affordability and transparency
Answer: (C) Access, usage and quality
Explanation: The RBI index groups financial inclusion into access, usage and quality. These dimensions distinguish having the possibility of using formal finance from actual participation and service standards. Aggregate scores therefore represent more than account ownership alone.
Q118. What is the key objective of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2026]
(A) To place every digital-commerce transaction under direct state control
(B) To replace all private online retailers
(C) To enable interoperability and reduce dependence on dominant closed platforms
(D) To make UPI compulsory for all internet purchases
Answer: (C) To enable interoperability and reduce dependence on dominant closed platforms
Explanation: ONDC makes it possible for participants using different compatible applications to discover and trade with one another. This open-network approach can reduce dependence on a few dominant platforms and improve access for smaller merchants.
Q117. A merchant controls prices but holds no inventory and forwards orders for shipment by a supplier. Which revenue model is this?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2026]
(A) Dropshipping
(B) Affiliate revenue
(C) Transaction-fee revenue
(D) Agency revenue
Answer: (A) Dropshipping
Explanation: Under dropshipping the merchant accepts orders and sets the retail price without stocking products. A separate supplier fulfils orders directly. It differs from affiliate marketing, where the promoter typically earns a referral commission rather than making the sale.
Q116. What best describes crowding out in fiscal policy?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2026]
(A) Private investment rises when government spending grows
(B) Government borrowing raises interest rates and discourages private investment
(C) Higher taxes stimulate private investment
(D) Government spending has no effect on aggregate demand
Answer: (B) Government borrowing raises interest rates and discourages private investment
Explanation: Government borrowing can compete with private borrowers for funds, raising financing costs and discouraging some planned private investment. Crowding out varies with the state of the economy, monetary accommodation and availability of savings.
Q115. A bond funding eligible projects that combine environmental and social purposes is called what?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2026]
(A) Green bond
(B) Social bond
(C) Sustainability bond
(D) Sovereign bond
Answer: (C) Sustainability bond
Explanation: A sustainability bond directs proceeds to both environmental and social projects. A green bond instead targets eligible environmental activity, and a social bond targets social objectives. The purpose of financing determines its classification.
Q114. For M1xchange, examine:
1. It makes collateral-based MSME loans;
2. It facilitates discounting of MSME invoices and bills of exchange;
3. It serves as an MSME rating agency.
Which are correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2026]
(A) 1, 2 and 3
(B) 2 only
(C) 2 and 3 only
(D) 1 only
Answer: (B) 2 only
Explanation: M1xchange is a receivables-discounting platform, not a collateral-loan provider or ratings company. It connects approved invoices with financiers so MSMEs can receive payment earlier, helping to improve working-capital management.
Q113. For real-world asset tokenisation, consider:
1. It creates blockchain-based digital tokens;
2. It can enable round-the-clock access;
3. It can widen access to investments.
Which are correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2026]
(A) 1, 2 and 3
(B) 2 and 3 only
(C) 1 and 2 only
(D) 1 and 3 only
Answer: (A) 1, 2 and 3
Explanation: Tokenisation digitally represents interests in tangible or financial assets and may offer fractional participation and continuous platform access. Benefits depend on custody, enforceable rights, regulation and market liquidity; tokenisation alone does not guarantee returns.
Q112. Regarding Vizhinjam port, consider:
1 it is exclusively a domestic cargo hub;
2 it mainly promotes heritage passenger cruises;
3 its deep draft and location can reduce dependence on overseas trans-shipment hubs.
Which are correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2026]
(A) 1 only
(B) 1 and 2 only
(C) 2 and 3 only
(D) 3 only
Answer: (D) 3 only
Explanation: Vizhinjam’s deep-water location close to international shipping routes can handle major container traffic and attract trans-shipment activity. Its strategic significance is not primarily exclusive domestic cargo handling or tourism, but more efficient maritime logistics.
Q111. For Sagarmala, evaluate the relations:
1 rising coastal cargo and port rankings support its port-led strategy;
2 Sagarmala 2.0 extends that strategy toward maritime innovation;
3 port-led development contradicts maritime innovation.
Which are correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2026]
(A) 1 only
(B) 1 and 2 only
(C) 2 and 3 only
(D) 3 only
Answer: (B) 1 and 2 only
Explanation: Sagarmala aims to strengthen port infrastructure and coastal logistics. Higher maritime activity supports that direction, and the later programme expands it toward modernisation and innovation. Infrastructure development and innovation are complementary, not inherently contradictory.
Q110. After Independence, which type of economic system did India adopt?
[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I 2026]
(A) A command economy
(B) A purely socialist economy
(C) A mixed economy
(D) An entirely capitalist economy
Answer: (C) A mixed economy
Explanation: India adopted a mixed economic framework in which public enterprises and private businesses operated together. The state led infrastructure and strategic sectors, while privately owned enterprises carried out much of agriculture, trade and other production activities.
Q109. According to the Economic Survey 2025–26, which sector was the largest contributor to India’s gross value added?
[RRB Group D (2025 cycle; held August 2026) 2026]
(A) Services
(B) Mining and quarrying
(C) Manufacturing
(D) Agriculture and allied activities
Answer: (A) Services
Explanation: Services contributed the largest share of India’s gross value added in the period assessed. Trade, finance, information services, transport and professional services are major components. Gross value added measures output after subtracting the intermediate inputs used.
Q108. Under Industrial Policy Resolution 1956:
(1) industries were split into three categories;
(2) Schedule A industries were exclusively reserved for private enterprises.
Which statement is correct?
[SSC MTS (2025 cycle; held February 2026) 2026]
(A) Statement 1 only
(B) Statement 2 only
(C) Both statements
(D) Neither statement
Answer: (A) Statement 1 only
Explanation: The 1956 resolution classified industries into three schedules according to the roles of government and private businesses. Its first schedule gave the state a commanding role, rather than reserving those industries for private enterprises.
Q107. Did the 1991 Industrial Policy aim both to introduce liberalisation and to ease restrictions on foreign direct investment?
[SSC MTS (2025 cycle; held February 2026) 2026]
(A) First objective only
(B) Second objective only
(C) Both objectives
(D) Neither objective
Answer: (C) Both objectives
Explanation: The new industrial policy sought to diminish licensing and entry barriers while welcoming greater overseas investment in many sectors. These changes supported competition, improved access to capital and technology, and reoriented industrial development toward market signals.
Q106. In the privatisation terminology used in the paper, what does total decentralisation signify?
[SSC MTS (2025 cycle; held February 2026) 2026]
(A) Complete transfer of a public enterprise to private ownership
(B) 51% transfer of a private firm to government
(C) 51% transfer of a public firm to private ownership
(D) Complete transfer of a private firm to government
Answer: (A) Complete transfer of a public enterprise to private ownership
Explanation: A complete ownership transfer hands the entire public enterprise to the private sector. It differs from a partial share sale in which government retains an interest, and from reforms confined to managerial or operating autonomy.
Q105. With reference to the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948, which listed activities were reserved for the public sector: (1) shipbuilding and (2) telephone services?
[SSC MTS (2025 cycle; held February 2026) 2026]
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2
(D) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2
Explanation: The 1948 industrial policy distinguished fields retained within state responsibility from areas permitting private initiative subject to regulation. The listed transport and communications activities were included among those reserved to the state in the exam’s classification.
Q104. Which action most directly expresses the aim of economic liberalisation?
[DSSSB Court Attendant 2026]
(A) Reinforcing import substitution barriers
(B) Reducing state controls and barriers to market entry
(C) Increasing government control over industry
(D) Centralising all production decisions
Answer: (B) Reducing state controls and barriers to market entry
Explanation: Liberalisation lowers regulatory restraints that unnecessarily limit production, investment, trade or firm entry. It gives enterprises greater decision-making freedom without eliminating all public oversight. Regulatory standards can coexist with competitive markets and consumer protection.
Q103. During 1980–85, what was the chief priority of India’s Sixth Five-Year Plan?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Only heavy-industry expansion
(B) Agriculture alone
(C) Poverty reduction alongside technological modernisation
(D) Immediate unrestricted globalisation
Answer: (C) Poverty reduction alongside technological modernisation
Explanation: The Sixth Plan emphasised reducing poverty while improving productive capacity and technology. Rural employment and integrated development programmes were important instruments. It differed from the Second Plan’s dominant heavy-industry focus and preceded the 1991 liberalisation package.
Q102. Foreign direct investment is most closely associated with which aspect of the LPG reforms?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Nationalisation
(B) Globalisation
(C) Price administration
(D) Import prohibition
Answer: (B) Globalisation
Explanation: Globalisation connects the domestic economy more closely with foreign capital, firms, technology and markets. FDI is a form of cross-border investment with a lasting interest in an enterprise, so it directly reflects that international integration.
Q101. The new economic reforms in India commenced in which year?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) 1991
(B) 1984
(C) 2001
(D) 1977
Answer: (A) 1991
Explanation: The New Economic Policy was introduced in 1991 amid severe balance-of-payments pressures. It involved stabilisation measures and longer-term liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, including reductions in industrial licensing and changes to trade and foreign-investment rules.
Q100. What was an important equity-oriented objective of post-independence land reforms?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Expanding imports of farm inputs
(B) Abolishing intermediaries and setting landholding ceilings
(C) Promoting landlord privileges
(D) Directing all rural credit to factories
Answer: (B) Abolishing intermediaries and setting landholding ceilings
Explanation: Land reforms sought to alter unequal agrarian relations through abolition of intermediary tenure, tenancy reforms and ceilings on landholdings. Although implementation varied across states, improving cultivators’ security and reducing concentrated land ownership were central intentions.
Q99. Which part of the Indian economy faced increased costs following cuts in fertiliser subsidies after 1991?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Banking
(B) Telecommunications
(C) Agriculture
(D) Air transport
Answer: (C) Agriculture
Explanation: A fertiliser subsidy reduces the price farmers pay for an important agricultural input. A reduction can raise cultivation costs, particularly for small farmers, even if it helps moderate public expenditure and fiscal pressures.
Q98. In the abbreviation LPG used for India’s economic reforms, what does P denote?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Planning
(B) Privatisation
(C) Production
(D) Poverty
Answer: (B) Privatisation
Explanation: The three letters refer to liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. Privatisation concerns expanding private participation or ownership in economic activity, including divestment of government equity in public enterprises, whereas liberalisation reduces controls and globalisation increases international integration.
Q97. Who is often described as the architect of India’s Five-Year Plan strategy?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(B) Jawaharlal Nehru
(C) B. R. Ambedkar
(D) P. C. Mahalanobis
Answer: (D) P. C. Mahalanobis
Explanation: Statistician P. C. Mahalanobis shaped the Second Five-Year Plan through a model emphasising investment in capital-goods and heavy industries. Nehru led the Planning Commission, but Mahalanobis is particularly linked to the technical planning strategy.
Q96. According to the Mahalanobis model, long-term growth should principally be driven by investment in which sector?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Consumer durables only
(B) Capital goods
(C) Imports of services
(D) Retail trade
Answer: (B) Capital goods
Explanation: The Mahalanobis strategy prioritised domestic production of machinery and other capital goods. Expanding this sector was expected to increase future productive capacity, even if the initial allocation left relatively fewer resources for current consumption.
Q95. By what name are India’s policy reforms of 1991 commonly known?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Five-Year Adjustment Plan
(B) New Fiscal Policy
(C) New Economic Policy
(D) Economic Reconstruction Programme
Answer: (C) New Economic Policy
Explanation: The New Economic Policy emerged in response to the 1991 external-payments crisis. Its long-term measures sought a more competitive and outward-looking economy through delicensing, foreign-investment changes, trade reform and selected public-sector restructuring.
Q94. Which sector received primary attention in the First Five-Year Plan?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Heavy engineering
(B) Agriculture
(C) Information technology
(D) Urban real estate
Answer: (B) Agriculture
Explanation: The First Plan of 1951–56 emphasised agriculture, irrigation and power to address food shortages and developmental needs after independence and Partition. Large dams and farm-productivity improvements featured prominently, unlike the heavy-industry strategy of the Second Plan.
Q93. Which type of government receipt generally creates a liability or diminishes an asset?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Revenue receipt
(B) Tax receipt
(C) Capital receipt
(D) Administrative fee
Answer: (C) Capital receipt
Explanation: Capital receipts include borrowings, which create repayment obligations, and proceeds from asset sales or loan recoveries, which reduce existing government assets. Ordinary tax collections are revenue receipts because they normally do not create debt or dispose of assets.
Q92. Which Five-Year Plan established the foundation of India’s socialist pattern of society?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) First
(B) Second
(C) Third
(D) Fourth
Answer: (B) Second
Explanation: The Second Plan of 1956–61 embedded a strong public-sector role in heavy and basic industries. This aligned planning policy with the declared socialist pattern of society and reflected the expectation that the state would build major industrial capacity.
Q91. After the 1991 industrial reforms, which group of products largely continued to face licensing requirements?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Textiles and ordinary garments
(B) Alcohol, cigarettes and explosives
(C) Education and agriculture
(D) All manufactured consumer products
Answer: (B) Alcohol, cigarettes and explosives
Explanation: Industrial delicensing after 1991 was broad but not unconditional. Certain socially sensitive, strategic and hazardous products retained restrictions, including alcoholic drinks, tobacco products and explosives, while most ordinary manufacturing activities gained greater freedom.
Q90. In which year did India establish the Planning Commission?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) 1947
(B) 1949
(C) 1950
(D) 1952
Answer: (C) 1950
Explanation: The Planning Commission was created by a Government of India resolution on 15 March 1950, with the Prime Minister as chairperson. It coordinated national development plans until NITI Aayog replaced it in January 2015.
Q89. Which prime minister’s administration introduced the Rolling Plan approach in 1978?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Jawaharlal Nehru
(B) Indira Gandhi
(C) Morarji Desai
(D) Rajiv Gandhi
Answer: (C) Morarji Desai
Explanation: The Janata government led by Morarji Desai discontinued the Fifth Plan early and adopted a rolling-plan arrangement. With the return of the Congress government in 1980, a new Sixth Plan replaced that approach.
Q88. What central principle underlay the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Comprehensive privatisation
(B) Import dependence
(C) Public control over the commanding heights
(D) Only small consumer-goods factories
Answer: (C) Public control over the commanding heights
Explanation: The 1956 resolution placed key and strategic industries under strong public-sector leadership. Its schedules differentiated exclusive state activity, progressively state-led development and remaining private-sector fields, reflecting India’s planned mixed-economy approach.
Q87. What was the chief short-run purpose of India’s 1991 stabilisation measures?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Expand farm acreage
(B) Increase social spending immediately
(C) Control inflation and repair the balance of payments
(D) Privatise every government enterprise
Answer: (C) Control inflation and repair the balance of payments
Explanation: Stabilisation was designed to address urgent macroeconomic imbalances, especially high inflation and inadequate foreign exchange. Structural reforms worked on the longer-term organisation and competitiveness of the economy; the two components were related but distinct.
Q86. Assertion: Liberalisation sought to remove entry restrictions on firms.
Reason: Industrial licensing had limited competition and enterprise.
Which statement is correct?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Both are true and the reason explains the assertion
(B) Both are true but unrelated
(C) Assertion true and reason false
(D) Assertion false and reason true
Answer: (A) Both are true and the reason explains the assertion
Explanation: Under licensing controls, private enterprises frequently required official permissions to establish or expand capacity. Relaxing those requirements could encourage new firms, greater rivalry and investment, which is why the stated reason directly explains the liberalisation objective.
Q85. What was a central objective of India’s Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Profit maximisation alone
(B) Growth accompanied by equity
(C) A pure laissez-faire system
(D) Complete opening to international markets
Answer: (B) Growth accompanied by equity
Explanation: The policy combined industrial expansion with the goal of reducing economic disparities. A large public-sector role was intended to build basic industries and support more balanced development, rather than rely solely on private profit incentives.
Q84. How does the WTO primarily contribute to the process of economic globalisation?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) By providing military assistance
(B) By regulating migration
(C) By facilitating rules-based trade among nations
(D) By operating national central banks
Answer: (C) By facilitating rules-based trade among nations
Explanation: The World Trade Organization provides a multilateral framework for trade agreements, negotiations and dispute settlement. It aims to make cross-border exchange more predictable through agreed rules, although members retain negotiated obligations and exceptions.
Q83. How could licensing rules during India’s planned-economy era help established industrial groups?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) By guaranteeing foreign investment
(B) By eliminating market concentration
(C) By allowing firms to accumulate licences and deter entrants
(D) By creating universal farm jobs
Answer: (C) By allowing firms to accumulate licences and deter entrants
Explanation: Control over scarce industrial licences could favour incumbents possessing administrative resources and connections. Holding approvals or capacity allocations may have constrained rival entry, even though the licensing system formally aimed to guide industrial development.
Q82. What does disinvestment in public-sector enterprises ordinarily involve?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Closing every public enterprise
(B) Borrowing exclusively through bonds
(C) Selling some government shareholding
(D) Merging all private firms into the state
Answer: (C) Selling some government shareholding
Explanation: Disinvestment changes the government’s equity ownership in a company through sales of shares. It need not mean complete privatisation: the state may still retain controlling ownership after disposing of a minority stake.
Q81. Which item is ordinarily left out when GDP is calculated to avoid double counting?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Final household consumption
(B) Government purchases of services
(C) Intermediate goods already incorporated into final products
(D) Net exports
Answer: (C) Intermediate goods already incorporated into final products
Explanation: National accounting values final production or the value added at each production stage. Adding the entire value of intermediate inputs to the final product would count some output twice and overstate gross domestic product.
Q80. What did a Five-Year Plan “holiday” signify in India’s planning history?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) The suspension of all public investment
(B) Replacement of regular five-year plans by annual plans
(C) A national public holiday
(D) The abolition of the Planning Commission
Answer: (B) Replacement of regular five-year plans by annual plans
Explanation: The plan holiday of 1966–69 was a period of annual plans between the Third and Fourth Five-Year Plans. Economic difficulties, drought and war-related pressures made a normal multi-year plan difficult at that time.
Q79. Which international institutions were especially associated with India’s 1991 external-sector support and reform programme?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) WHO and UNICEF
(B) World Bank and IMF
(C) UNESCO and ILO
(D) WMO and ICAO
Answer: (B) World Bank and IMF
Explanation: India obtained external financial assistance in the aftermath of the balance-of-payments crisis. The IMF and World Bank were central institutions in that response, alongside domestic policy decisions to stabilise finances and restructure economic regulations.
Q78. What was the central purpose of import substitution in the early Indian planning period?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Increase dependence on imported consumer goods
(B) Protect domestic production and reduce import reliance
(C) Eliminate all exports permanently
(D) Replace domestic production with international credit
Answer: (B) Protect domestic production and reduce import reliance
Explanation: Import substitution sought to develop local manufacturing behind trade restrictions so goods previously purchased abroad could be produced in India. It supported industrial self-reliance, although prolonged protection also raised concerns about efficiency and competition.
Q77. Which economic arrangement best describes India’s mixed economy?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) The state owns every enterprise
(B) Private actors produce everything without government
(C) Public and private sectors coexist
(D) Production is organised solely by households
Answer: (C) Public and private sectors coexist
Explanation: India’s mixed economy combines public-sector enterprises, private businesses and policy intervention by the state. The relative roles have evolved, particularly after 1991, but public and private economic activity continue to operate alongside one another.
Q76. What reform most directly facilitated entry of multinational corporations into the Indian economy?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) Land redistribution
(B) Globalisation
(C) Complete trade prohibition
(D) A return to the licence raj
Answer: (B) Globalisation
Explanation: Greater openness to cross-border investment and technology enabled multinational enterprises to enter more activities in India. This was a prominent element of globalisation within the 1991 reforms, alongside trade and investment-policy liberalisation.
Q75. The Industrial Policy of which year marked a decisive reduction in licensing restrictions on private industry?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2025]
(A) 1956
(B) 1977
(C) 1980
(D) 1991
Answer: (D) 1991
Explanation: The New Industrial Policy of 1991 removed compulsory industrial licensing for most sectors and eased limitations on domestic and foreign private investment. It represented an important break from the previously permission-intensive industrial policy system.
Q74. Which item was NOT directly associated with post-1991 banking and financial-sector reforms?
[RPSC RAS Preliminary 2025]
(A) Capital adequacy norms
(B) Recognition of non-performing assets
(C) Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act
(D) SARFAESI Act
Answer: (C) Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act
Explanation: Capital adequacy standards, transparent identification of bad loans and secured-asset recovery are banking reform matters. The FRBM Act primarily establishes fiscal discipline for government budgets, making it distinct from measures directed specifically at banking operations.
Q73. What fiscal deficit, as a percentage of GDP, was projected for 2024–25 in the Union Budget 2024–25?
[CGPSC Preliminary 2025]
(A) 4.9%
(B) 3.9%
(C) 2.9%
(D) 3.5%
Answer: (A) 4.9%
Explanation: The Budget projected a fiscal deficit of 4.9 percent of GDP for 2024–25. Fiscal deficit is the government’s expenditure exceeding receipts other than borrowings. The target reflected a phased attempt to reduce borrowing needs.
Q72. Which system of industrial controls was dismantled substantially after liberalisation?
[MPPSC Assistant Professor (Commerce) 2025]
(A) Licence-Permit-Quota Raj
(B) Bank nationalisation
(C) Agricultural subsidy programmes
(D) Cooperative banking
Answer: (A) Licence-Permit-Quota Raj
Explanation: The Licence-Permit-Quota Raj used extensive permits and administrative allocations to regulate capacity and entry. The 1991 policy removed industrial licensing for many activities, although certain sensitive or strategic industries remained subject to controls.
Q71. What distinctive role did the government play in India’s mixed economy?
[RRB NTPC Undergraduate CBT-I 2025]
(A) The public sector dominated major core industries
(B) All business licensing was absent
(C) Every enterprise was fully privatised
(D) Consumer demand replaced all public priorities
Answer: (A) The public sector dominated major core industries
Explanation: Post-independence Indian planning assigned the public sector a leading role in heavy industry, infrastructure and other strategic fields. Private enterprise still coexisted alongside it, distinguishing this model from either pure capitalism or total state ownership.
Q70. In economic terminology, what makes an economy mixed?
[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I 2025]
(A) Equal output in rural and urban areas
(B) Coexistence of private and public sectors
(C) Equal agricultural and industrial output
(D) Simultaneous socialism and communism
Answer: (B) Coexistence of private and public sectors
Explanation: A mixed economy combines state activity with private ownership and market exchange. Ownership and enterprise forms can vary by industry, and government policy often seeks to balance economic efficiency with public welfare and strategic needs.
Q69. For the statement that liberalisation transformed India’s economy, how does the assertion that India is positioned among major global economies relate?
[UPSC CDS-I English 2025]
(A) It contradicts the first statement
(B) It contrasts with the first statement
(C) It correlates with the first statement
(D) It merely coincides with the first statement
Answer: (C) It correlates with the first statement
Explanation: The two assertions are consistent and connected: liberalisation altered trade, investment and production incentives, while India’s rising economic position reflects a broad transformation. Correlation here does not imply that reforms alone caused every development.
Q68. Which field received the main emphasis under the First Five-Year Plan?
[RRB NTPC Undergraduate CBT-I 2025]
(A) Agriculture
(B) Tertiary-sector tourism
(C) Defence manufacturing
(D) Advanced consumer electronics
Answer: (A) Agriculture
Explanation: The First Plan, implemented from 1951 to 1956, gave high priority to agriculture, irrigation and community development. Restoring food production and rural infrastructure was urgent in the early post-independence years, unlike the later heavy-industry strategy.
Q67. In what year did Finance Minister Manmohan Singh present the New Economic Policy to Parliament?
[MP Excise Constable 2025]
(A) 2003
(B) 2000
(C) 1991
(D) 1987
Answer: (C) 1991
Explanation: The reform package was launched in 1991 when Manmohan Singh was Finance Minister in the government headed by P. V. Narasimha Rao. It followed severe foreign-exchange pressures and introduced structural changes across trade, investment and industry.
Q66. Which industrial policy marked the beginning of broad liberalisation of Indian manufacturing?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2024]
(A) Industrial Policy 1956
(B) Industrial Policy 1977
(C) Industrial Policy 1980
(D) Industrial Policy 1991
Answer: (D) Industrial Policy 1991
Explanation: The 1991 policy abolished routine licensing for most industries, lowered barriers to private expansion and encouraged foreign investment. Earlier policies retained considerably greater administrative controls over industrial entry and capacity expansion.
Q65. Which planning model formed the conceptual basis of the First Five-Year Plan in India?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2024]
(A) Mahalanobis model
(B) Harrod–Domar model
(C) Solow residual model
(D) Lewis dual-sector model
Answer: (B) Harrod–Domar model
Explanation: The First Plan drew on the Harrod–Domar emphasis on savings, investment and growth. India’s early planning programme directed resources heavily toward agriculture, irrigation and related infrastructure rather than the capital-goods priority adopted later.
Q64. What is deducted from gross domestic product to obtain net domestic product?
[SSC CGL Tier I 2024]
(A) Subsidies
(B) Depreciation
(C) Indirect taxes only
(D) Imports
Answer: (B) Depreciation
Explanation: Net domestic product equals GDP less consumption of fixed capital, commonly called depreciation. Depreciation represents the value of productive assets used up through wear, obsolescence and normal use during the accounting period.
Q63. Regarding the objectives of the Planning Commission, was it meant to (1) increase production and employment opportunity, and (2) assess national resources?
[UPSC NDA-II General Ability Test 2024]
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2
(D) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2
Explanation: The Planning Commission was constituted in 1950 to evaluate resources, establish priorities and design development programmes. Increasing output and employment opportunities formed part of its mandate, linking resource assessment with long-term national economic goals.
Q62. Which does NOT belong to the liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation dimensions of the 1991 economic-policy changes?
[SSC MTS 2024]
(A) Liberalisation
(B) Privatisation
(C) Globalisation
(D) Urbanisation
Answer: (D) Urbanisation
Explanation: Urbanisation is a change in population distribution and settlement patterns, not a component of the LPG reform classification. The three policy dimensions instead describe regulatory relaxation, enhanced private participation and deeper integration with international markets.
Q61. In 2021, the Department of Public Enterprises was moved under which Union ministry?
[SSC CHSL Tier I 2024]
(A) Heavy Industries
(B) Finance
(C) Commerce and Industry
(D) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Answer: (B) Finance
Explanation: Moving the Department of Public Enterprises into the Ministry of Finance brought it closer to government investment, fiscal and disinvestment policymaking. The department deals with central public-sector enterprise administration and related oversight frameworks.
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.
Q50. Which industrial product grouping showed especially high growth beginning in the 1980s?
[WBCS Mains (Polity & Economy) 2023]
(A) Capital goods
(B) Consumer durables
(C) Intermediate goods
(D) Consumer non-durables
Answer: (B) Consumer durables
Explanation: Consumer durables expanded rapidly as household purchasing power, access to credit and manufacturing capacity increased. Market reforms subsequently reinforced competition and variety. Unlike basic commodities, durable goods include items purchased for use over several years.
Q49. Arrange in correct chronology:
1 Planning Commission;
2 National Development Council;
3 NDC approval of First Plan;
4 National Planning Committee.
[UPSC NDA-II General Ability Test 2022]
(A) 1–2–3–4
(B) 2–1–3–4
(C) 4–1–2–3
(D) 1–4–2–3
Answer: (C) 4–1–2–3
Explanation: The National Planning Committee was formed in 1938, followed by the Planning Commission in 1950 and the National Development Council in 1952. The NDC’s subsequent consideration of the First Plan therefore comes last in the sequence.
Q48. Which description correctly identifies a mixed economy?
[RRB NTPC CBT-II Level 5 2022]
(A) Public and private sectors operate together
(B) Only public industries may operate
(C) Public and private sectors cannot coexist
(D) Only private industry is permitted
Answer: (A) Public and private sectors operate together
Explanation: Mixed economic systems combine markets and private property with public enterprises, regulation and government services. India’s development strategy long relied on both sectors, especially state-led core industries alongside private agriculture, commerce and manufacturing.
Q47. What were the starting and ending years of India’s Twelfth Five-Year Plan?
[RRB Group D 2022]
(A) 2013–18
(B) 2012–17
(C) 2010–15
(D) 2011–16
Answer: (B) 2012–17
Explanation: The Twelfth Plan covered 2012–17 and carried the theme faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth. It was India’s last regular Five-Year Plan before development-policy coordination moved to the NITI Aayog framework.
Q46. Which economy lets private businesses independently decide production and selling prices through markets, with no economic role for the state in the definition?
[RRB NTPC CBT-I 2021]
(A) Capitalist economy
(B) World economy
(C) Mixed economy
(D) State economy
Answer: (A) Capitalist economy
Explanation: In the pure capitalist model tested, firms and consumers coordinate activity through prices and voluntary exchange. Actual capitalist economies may still regulate markets, so the question describes a theoretical extreme rather than every real-world example.
Q45. After the 1991 reforms, which observations about rural India were correct:
(1) rural productivity declined;
(2) rural workforce share steadily rose;
(3) non-farm activity expanded;
(4) rural employment growth slowed?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2020]
(A) 1 and 2 only
(B) 3 and 4 only
(C) 3 only
(D) 1, 2 and 4 only
Answer: (B) 3 and 4 only
Explanation: Rural worker productivity did not uniformly fall, and the rural share of the workforce did not keep rising. Rural non-agricultural activity gained importance, while employment growth slowed during the period assessed in the original question.
Q44. Regarding Indian planning, consider:
(1) Second Plan prioritised basic capital-goods industry;
(2) Fourth Plan addressed wealth concentration;
(3) Fifth Plan first integrated the financial sector.
Which are correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2019]
(A) 1 and 2 only
(B) 2 only
(C) 3 only
(D) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (A) 1 and 2 only
Explanation: The Second Plan emphasised capital and basic industries. The Fourth Plan addressed concentration of wealth and regional imbalances. The claim concerning first inclusion of the financial sector in the Fifth Plan is not correct.
Q43. What was the 2019–20 Union Budget target for receipts from disinvestment of public enterprises including Air India?
[CGPSC Civil Service Prelims 2019]
(A) ₹90,000 crore
(B) ₹1,05,000 crore
(C) ₹1,50,000 crore
(D) ₹1,95,000 crore
Answer: (B) ₹1,05,000 crore
Explanation: The Union Budget set a ₹1.05 lakh crore disinvestment target for the financial year 2019–20. Disinvestment generates government receipts by selling equity in public enterprises, and should not be confused with ordinary tax revenue.
Q42. Which were functions of the former National Development Council:
mobilising state efforts for planning;
framing broad development policies; and
encouraging balanced regional development?
[CGPSC Civil Service Prelims 2019]
(A) First only
(B) Second only
(C) Third only
(D) All three
Answer: (D) All three
Explanation: The National Development Council helped integrate central and state views on development plans. Its responsibilities included encouraging cooperative implementation and balanced growth across regions, complementing the technical planning role of the Planning Commission.
Q41. In which year did the process of major economic reforms begin in India?
[RPSC Grade II Social Science 2018]
(A) 1995
(B) 1991
(C) 1982
(D) 2001
Answer: (B) 1991
Explanation: In 1991 a severe external-payments crisis accelerated reforms in industrial policy, trade, investment and finance. The new framework reduced licensing restrictions and opened additional opportunities for private enterprises and foreign capital under government supervision.
Q40. Which institution issues India’s Economic Survey?
[CGPSC Civil Service Prelims 2018]
(A) Planning Commission
(B) Reserve Bank of India
(C) Ministry of Finance
(D) Finance Commission
Answer: (C) Ministry of Finance
Explanation: The annual Economic Survey is prepared under the Ministry of Finance and reviews economic trends, challenges and policies. It is generally presented before the Union Budget and is an analytical report rather than a binding development plan.
Q39. Which law superseded the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act framework?
[RRB Group D 2018]
(A) Goods and Services Tax Act
(B) Business Freedom Act
(C) Prohibited Trade Practices Act
(D) Competition Act
Answer: (D) Competition Act
Explanation: The Competition Act, 2002 created a modern framework for preventing anti-competitive conduct and promoting market competition. It replaced the older MRTP regulatory approach, reflecting India’s shift toward competition-based oversight after liberalisation.
Q38. Who was the first Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog?
[MPPSC Prelims 2018]
(A) Arvind Panagariya
(B) Raghuram Rajan
(C) C. Subramaniam
(D) Rajiv Kumar
Answer: (A) Arvind Panagariya
Explanation: Economist Arvind Panagariya became NITI Aayog’s first Vice-Chairman after its establishment in 2015. The organisation replaced the Planning Commission and was designed as a policy advisory institution that works with state governments.
Q37. Which developments occurred after India liberalised in 1991:
(1) huge rise in agriculture’s GDP share;
(2) higher share of global exports;
(3) more FDI;
(4) larger foreign-exchange reserves?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2017]
(A) 1 and 4 only
(B) 2, 3 and 4 only
(C) 2 and 3 only
(D) All four
Answer: (B) 2, 3 and 4 only
Explanation: The agricultural share of GDP generally declined as other sectors expanded. India’s engagement with world trade rose, while foreign direct investment and reserve holdings increased greatly over subsequent years. Therefore only statements 2, 3 and 4 qualify.
Q36. The major economic reforms in India were introduced in which year?
[WBCS Prelims 2017]
(A) 1989
(B) 1990
(C) 1991
(D) 1992
Answer: (C) 1991
Explanation: The year 1991 marks the launch of India’s New Economic Policy under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. Balance-of-payments stress led to stabilisation measures and market-oriented structural reforms intended to support efficiency and external integration.
Q35. What did the Economic Survey 2015–16 call India’s “Chakravyuha Challenge”?
[UPPSC Civil Service Prelims 2017]
(A) Moving from socialism to capitalism
(B) Moving from limited entry to markets with easy exit
(C) Moving from limited entry to markets without adequate exit
(D) Abandoning mixed economy for capitalism
Answer: (C) Moving from limited entry to markets without adequate exit
Explanation: The Chakravyuha analogy addressed firms entering markets more easily than they could exit after failure. Slow bankruptcy and asset resolution trapped capital and resources, so reforms needed effective mechanisms for orderly business exit as well as entry.
Q34. Which combination of sectors is associated with a mixed economy?
[MPPSC Assistant Professor (Commerce) 2017]
(A) Public, private and cooperative
(B) Public and cooperative only
(C) Private and joint only
(D) Agriculture and industry only
Answer: (A) Public, private and cooperative
Explanation: In India the mixed economic structure allows state enterprises, privately owned firms and cooperative ventures to operate simultaneously. These forms differ in ownership incentives, but all can contribute to output, jobs and the provision of goods and services.
Q33. Which economist is most closely identified here with a policy framework compatible with mixed economic management?
[MPPSC Assistant Professor (Commerce) 2017]
(A) Karl Marx
(B) Adam Smith
(C) J. M. Keynes
(D) Alfred Marshall
Answer: (C) J. M. Keynes
Explanation: John Maynard Keynes advocated government intervention to stabilise demand and employment in a market economy. His ideas helped shape systems that retain private enterprise while using fiscal and other public policies to address economic instability.
Q32. Put the events in chronological order: 1 Garibi Hatao; 2 nationalisation of major banks; 3 start of Green Revolution.
[UPPSC Civil Service Prelims 2016]
(A) 1, 2, 3
(B) 3, 2, 1
(C) 2, 1, 3
(D) 3, 1, 2
Answer: (B) 3, 2, 1
Explanation: The Green Revolution gathered pace in the mid-1960s, major commercial banks were nationalised in 1969, and the Garibi Hatao slogan was central to the 1971 election campaign. Thus the correct chronology is 3, 2, 1.
Q31. On which date was India’s National Development Council established?
[UPPSC Mains 2016]
(A) 26 January 1950
(B) 2 October 1950
(C) 6 August 1951
(D) 6 August 1952
Answer: (D) 6 August 1952
Explanation: The National Development Council was set up on 6 August 1952. It sought to mobilise resources for plans, encourage common economic policies and ensure balanced growth through cooperation between central leadership and the states.
Q30. Who drafted the First Five-Year Plan for 1951–56 according to this NDA examination question?
[UPSC NDA General Ability Test 2015]
(A) P. C. Mahalanobis
(B) K. N. Raj
(C) J. C. Kumarappa
(D) Jawaharlal Nehru
Answer: (B) K. N. Raj
Explanation: Economist K. N. Raj played a central role in preparing the First Five-Year Plan. The early plan prioritised agriculture and irrigation; P. C. Mahalanobis is associated more prominently with the heavy-industry orientation of the Second Plan.
Q29. In which year did the First Five-Year Plan of India begin?
[WBCS Prelims 2015]
(A) 1947
(B) 1950
(C) 1951
(D) 1955
Answer: (C) 1951
Explanation: India began its First Five-Year Plan in 1951, with the programme continuing until 1956. Agricultural recovery, irrigation and community development were central priorities. The Planning Commission had been established earlier, in 1950, to frame national development plans.
Q28. During which Five-Year Plan did India face wars with China and Pakistan in close succession?
[WBCS Prelims 2015]
(A) Second Plan
(B) Third Plan
(C) Fourth Plan
(D) Fifth Plan
Answer: (B) Third Plan
Explanation: The Third Five-Year Plan covered 1961–66. India faced conflict with China in 1962 and war with Pakistan in 1965, disrupting public finances and development priorities. Economic difficulties contributed to the subsequent sequence of annual plans.
Q27. Large-scale heavy industrialisation became a central planning goal in which Indian Five-Year Plan?
[WBCS Prelims 2015]
(A) First Plan
(B) Second Plan
(C) Third Plan
(D) Fourth Plan
Answer: (B) Second Plan
Explanation: The Second Plan, spanning 1956–61, was shaped by the Mahalanobis approach and prioritised capital goods, steel and major public enterprises. The strategy aimed to build domestic productive capacity, reducing long-run dependence on imported machinery.
Q26. Which years constituted India’s first plan holiday?
[WBCS Prelims 2015]
(A) 1965–67
(B) 1966–68
(C) 1966–69
(D) 1965–98
Answer: (C) 1966–69
Explanation: India followed annual plans from 1966–67 through 1968–69 instead of beginning a Fourth Plan immediately. War, drought and broader economic pressures made stable five-year allocations difficult, while the government continued shorter planning exercises.
Q25. India’s New Agricultural Strategy took shape during which decade?
[WBCS Prelims 2015]
(A) 1950s
(B) 1960s
(C) 1970s
(D) None of these
Answer: (B) 1960s
Explanation: The New Agricultural Strategy emerged in the 1960s through intensive agricultural programmes and later high-yielding seed technology. Expanded irrigation, fertiliser and improved cultivation techniques supported the Green Revolution, albeit unevenly across regions.
Q24. Under which Prime Minister was the abolition of India’s Planning Commission announced?
[UPPSC Civil Service Prelims 2015]
(A) Narendra Modi
(B) Morarji Desai
(C) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(D) I. K. Gujral
Answer: (A) Narendra Modi
Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the plan to replace the Planning Commission in 2014. NITI Aayog was then formed in January 2015 as a policy think tank placing greater emphasis on cooperative federalism and strategic advice.
Q23. What was the stated overarching objective of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2014]
(A) Inclusive growth and poverty reduction only
(B) Inclusive and sustainable growth only
(C) Growth limited chiefly to unemployment reduction
(D) Faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth
Answer: (D) Faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth
Explanation: The Twelfth Plan for 2012–17 explicitly framed development around faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth. Its formulation linked the pace of expansion with distributional progress and environmental concerns, rather than growth alone.
Q22. At the time of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, how much infrastructure investment did the government initially estimate would be required?
[UPPSC Civil Service Prelims 2014]
(A) US$100 billion
(B) US$250 billion
(C) US$500 billion
(D) US$1,000 billion
Answer: (D) US$1,000 billion
Explanation: The initial Twelfth Plan projection for infrastructure investment was around one trillion US dollars, equivalent to US$1,000 billion. Such spending was intended to address transport, power and other capacity bottlenecks constraining economic development.
Q21. What annual growth target was set for agriculture, forestry and fisheries in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan?
[UPPSC Civil Service Prelims 2014]
(A) 3.5%
(B) 4.0%
(C) 5.0%
(D) 5.5%
Answer: (B) 4.0%
Explanation: The Twelfth Plan targeted four percent yearly growth for agriculture and allied activities. Raising farm output and productivity was important to rural incomes, food availability and inclusive growth within the broader national development strategy.
Q20. TRYSEM, the Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment programme, belonged to which field?
[UPPSC Civil Service Prelims 2014]
(A) Rural development
(B) Industrial development
(C) Urban development
(D) Defence development
Answer: (A) Rural development
Explanation: TRYSEM provided skills for young people from economically disadvantaged rural households to help create self-employment opportunities. It formed part of earlier poverty-alleviation and rural livelihoods efforts rather than urban industrial or defence planning.
Q19. Under which Prime Minister was the New Economic Policy of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation announced?
[UPPSC Civil Service Prelims 2013]
(A) Rajiv Gandhi
(B) V. P. Singh
(C) P. V. Narasimha Rao
(D) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Answer: (C) P. V. Narasimha Rao
Explanation: The New Economic Policy was announced under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao in 1991, with Finance Minister Manmohan Singh leading major fiscal and structural measures. The programme aimed to restore external stability and enhance competitiveness.
Q18. Who belonged to the National Development Council:
1 Prime Minister;
2 Finance Commission Chairman;
3 Union Cabinet Ministers;
4 State Chief Ministers?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2013]
(A) 1, 2 and 3 only
(B) 1, 3 and 4 only
(C) 2 and 4 only
(D) All four
Answer: (B) 1, 3 and 4 only
Explanation: The Council brought together the Prime Minister, Union Cabinet ministers and Chief Ministers to coordinate national economic planning. The Chairman of the Finance Commission was not a member in the grouping tested, making statements 1, 3 and 4 correct.
Q17. Which of the following was NOT a constitutional body?
[UPPSC Civil Service Prelims 2013]
(A) Union Public Service Commission
(B) State Public Service Commission
(C) Finance Commission
(D) Planning Commission
Answer: (D) Planning Commission
Explanation: The UPSC and state public service commissions derive from constitutional provisions, as does the Finance Commission. The Planning Commission, by contrast, was established through an executive resolution in 1950 and was not created by the Constitution.
Q16. Which measures are parts of inclusive governance:
(1) letting NBFCs operate as banks;
(2) effective district planning committees;
(3) higher public-health spending;
(4) stronger midday meals?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2012]
(A) 1 and 2 only
(B) 3 and 4 only
(C) 2, 3 and 4 only
(D) All four
Answer: (C) 2, 3 and 4 only
Explanation: Inclusive governance improves access to public services and participation in decision-making. District planning, public health and school nutrition support those aims. Simply converting non-bank finance companies into banks does not itself represent an inclusive-governance measure.
Q15. Who served as Secretary of the former National Development Council?
[CGPSC Prelims 2011]
(A) Secretary in the Union Finance Ministry
(B) Secretary in the Ministry of Planning
(C) Secretary of the Planning Commission
(D) Secretary of the Finance Commission
Answer: (C) Secretary of the Planning Commission
Explanation: The Secretary of the Planning Commission also acted as Secretary to the National Development Council. This reflected the administrative linkage between the body that prepared Five-Year Plans and the forum that reviewed their national and state implications.
Q14. In which Five-Year Plan did industrial policy shift toward infrastructure and away from heavy-industry primacy?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2010]
(A) Fourth
(B) Sixth
(C) Eighth
(D) Tenth
Answer: (C) Eighth
Explanation: The Eighth Plan of 1992–97 followed the 1991 reform programme. Greater attention to infrastructure and private participation distinguished its strategy from earlier planning approaches led primarily by public investment in heavy industrial capacity.
Q13. Under the Constitution, who causes Finance Commission recommendations to be laid before Parliament?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2010]
(A) President of India
(B) Lok Sabha Speaker
(C) Prime Minister
(D) Union Finance Minister
Answer: (A) President of India
Explanation: Article 281 makes the President responsible for placing Finance Commission recommendations, with an explanatory memorandum, before both Houses. Although the Finance Ministry administers fiscal policy, this particular constitutional obligation rests with the President.
Q12. Which was NOT an explicit core element of inclusive growth in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2010]
(A) Reducing poverty
(B) Increasing job opportunities
(C) Strengthening capital markets
(D) Reducing gender disparity
Answer: (C) Strengthening capital markets
Explanation: The Eleventh Plan emphasised inclusion through poverty reduction, employment, health, education and gender equity. Strengthening capital markets can support finance generally, but it was not among the specific social-inclusion priorities tested here.
Q11. Evaluate: Assertion — the Planning Commission functioned as an economic cabinet for both Union and states;
Reason — it formulated Five-Year Plans to use national resources in a balanced manner.
[UPPSC Mains 2010]
(A) Both true, and Reason explains Assertion
(B) Both true, but Reason does not explain Assertion
(C) Assertion true, Reason false
(D) Assertion false, Reason true
Answer: (B) Both true, but Reason does not explain Assertion
Explanation: The Commission had a broad advisory and coordinating role covering Union and state development, and it formulated national plans. Although the reason is correct, the description economic cabinet reflects its overall influence, not merely the task of preparing plans.
Q10. Which NDC functions were recognised:
1 reviewing National Plan progress;
2 suggesting ways to achieve plan objectives;
3 laying down plan guidelines;
4 directly allocating planning funds?
[UPPSC Mains 2010]
(A) 1, 2 and 3 only
(B) 2, 3 and 4 only
(C) 1, 2 and 4 only
(D) All four
Answer: (A) 1, 2 and 3 only
Explanation: The National Development Council reviewed plans and suggested guiding policies and improvements. Direct allocation of funds was not its defining role. Its purpose was coordination and participation between central and state governments on development goals.
Q9. During which Five-Year Plan did India experience the 1975 Emergency and the 1977 change of government?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2009]
(A) Third
(B) Fourth
(C) Fifth
(D) Sixth
Answer: (C) Fifth
Explanation: The Fifth Plan began in 1974. The National Emergency of 1975–77 and the election that brought the Janata Party to power occurred during that planning period, which the new government subsequently ended ahead of schedule.
Q8. Considering India’s development plans, did the Second Plan stress heavy industry and the Third Plan use import substitution as an industrial strategy?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2009]
(A) First statement only
(B) Second statement only
(C) Both statements
(D) Neither statement
Answer: (C) Both statements
Explanation: The Second Plan promoted major industries and domestic capital-goods capacity. The subsequent planning period also pursued self-reliance through import-substituting industry. These strategies aimed to reduce external dependence while expanding productive capacity in India.
Q7. Who was the first Chairman of the Planning Commission?
[Uttarakhand PCS Prelims 2006]
(A) M. Visvesvaraya
(B) Jawaharlal Nehru
(C) P. C. Mahalanobis
(D) John Mathai
Answer: (B) Jawaharlal Nehru
Explanation: The Planning Commission was established in 1950, with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as its first Chairman. It provided the institutional basis for development planning and prepared national programmes intended to promote balanced economic growth.
Q6. Who chaired meetings of India’s former National Development Council?
[Uttarakhand PCS Prelims 2006]
(A) Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission
(B) Prime Minister
(C) Union Finance Minister
(D) Vice-President
Answer: (B) Prime Minister
Explanation: The Prime Minister presided over the National Development Council, a body established in 1952 to engage state leadership in development planning. Chief Ministers and Union representatives discussed the implementation and approval of major national plans.
Q5. On what date was India’s Planning Commission constituted?
[BPSC 47th Prelims 2005]
(A) 10 March 1950
(B) 15 March 1950
(C) 16 March 1951
(D) 20 March 1950
Answer: (B) 15 March 1950
Explanation: The Planning Commission was created through a Union Cabinet resolution on 15 March 1950. As a non-constitutional body, it assessed national resources, formulated Five-Year Plans and recommended development priorities under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.
Q4. Which NDC functions were recognised:
1 reviewing National Plan progress;
2 suggesting ways to achieve plan objectives;
3 laying down plan guidelines;
4 directly allocating planning funds?
[UPPSC Mains 2005]
(A) 1, 2 and 3 only
(B) 2, 3 and 4 only
(C) 1, 2 and 4 only
(D) All four
Answer: (A) 1, 2 and 3 only
Explanation: The National Development Council considered plan progress and helped guide national planning priorities while coordinating with state governments. Distribution of individual funding allocations was not among the core functions identified in the examination.
Q3. For planning in India, assess:
1 the Planning Commission was the highest approving body;
2 its Secretary also served the NDC;
3 economic and social planning belongs to the Concurrent List.
Which are correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2004]
(A) 1 and 2 only
(B) 2 and 3 only
(C) 2 only
(D) 3 only
Answer: (B) 2 and 3 only
Explanation: The National Development Council approved national plans, making the first claim incorrect. The Planning Commission Secretary also served the NDC. Economic and social planning appears under Entry 20 of the Constitution’s Concurrent List.
Q2. Which statement about India’s old planning institutions was INCORRECT?
[UPPSC Mains 2004]
(A) The Prime Minister chaired the Planning Commission
(B) The Planning Commission was the highest decision-making body for national plans
(C) The Planning Commission Secretary also served the NDC
(D) The Prime Minister presided over the NDC
Answer: (B) The Planning Commission was the highest decision-making body for national plans
Explanation: The Planning Commission was responsible chiefly for preparing national plans and advising on implementation. The National Development Council was the leading approval forum. The Prime Minister chaired both bodies, while their secretariat functions overlapped.
Q1. Which institution gave final approval to India’s Five-Year Plans under the old planning system?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2002]
(A) Union Cabinet
(B) President acting on the Prime Minister’s advice
(C) Planning Commission
(D) National Development Council
Answer: (D) National Development Council
Explanation: The Planning Commission prepared and coordinated plan proposals, but the National Development Council was the forum for their final approval. It brought central and state leaders together to align national development objectives and priorities.