Question

(i) “The real motive behind infrastructural development in India was to strengthen the British interests.” Do you agree with the given statement?…

Accepted Answer

(a) (i) Yes. Basic infrastructure such as railways, posts and telegraphs developed under the colonial regime. However, the real motive behind this development was not to provide basic amenities to the people of India but to serve various colonial interests. The roads and railways were built primarily to mobilise the army within India, drawing out raw materials from the countryside to the nearest railway station/port to export. In addition to this, communication tools like telephone and telegraph were introduced to serve the purpose of maintaining law and order. (ii) In the post-reform period, Government of India devised Navratna Policy for Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) with an objective to improve efficiency, infuse professionalism and enable them to compete more effectively in the liberalised global environment. Under this policy, the government partly disinvested some PSUs. However, some PSUs were granted greater managerial and operational autonomy and allowed PSUs to raise resources by themselves from financial markets. OR (b) (i) The introduction of farm subsidies had been an opinionated step taken by the Government of India. Arguments in favour of continuing farm subsidies: - Eliminating subsidies may increase inequalities of income between rich and poor farmers. - Most farmers (small and marginal) may not be able to afford expensive agricultural inputs without subsidies. Arguments against farm subsidies: - It is often argued that farm subsidies have helped the fertilizer industry much more than helping the needy farmers. - Economists argue that subsidies are a huge burden on government’s finances. (ii) For a nation, both growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and equity in distribution of income are equally important. Growth refers to an increase in a country’s capacity to produce goods and services. Equity refers to reductions in inequality of income and wealth. Growth with equity ensures that the fruits of economic development are enjoyed by all sections of society. Hence, achieving equitable growth is an important objective that was taken into consideration in the Indian economic planning.

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