Class 10 Economics


Sectors of The Indian Economy NCERT Exercise Questions

Part 2

Question 1: Make a long list of all kinds of work that you find adults around you doing for a living. In what way can you classify them? Explain your choice.

Answer:

Primary SectorA farmer working in his field, a dairy owner selling dairy products and milk, a fisherman selling fish.
Secondary SectorAn engineer working in a factory, a foreman working in a factory
Tertiary SectorA chartered accountant, a transporter, a banker, a teacher, etc.

Question 2: A research scholar looked at the working people in the city of Surat and found the following.

Place of workNature of employment
In offices and factories registered with the governmentOrganised (15%)
Own shops, office, clinics in marketplaces with formal licenceOrganised (15%)
People working on the streets, construction workers, domestic workersUnorganised (20%)
Working in small workshops usually not registered with the governmentUnorganised (50%)

Question 3: What is the percentage of workers in the unorganized sector in this city?

Answer: 70%

Question 4: Do you think the classification of economic activities into primary, secondary and tertiary is useful? Explain how.

Answer: The classification of economic activities into primary, secondary and tertiary sector is useful from many perspectives. It helps the economists to understand the problems and opportunities in an economy in a better way. The government can utilize the information to bring various welfare programmes and supportive measures to grow the economy so that there could be better employment generation.

Question 5: For each of the sectors that we came across in this chapter why should one focus on employment and GDP? Could there be other issues which should be examined? Discuss.

Answer: GDP gives an overall picture of the economy and contribution by various sectors. It gives a ready- reference for policymakers. Hence, GDP has its importance in analysis of economic performance. All the economic activities are done with the sole purpose of earning livelihood and hence data regarding employment generation are important. Apart from these information, we also need to look at the growth pattern in various sectors; on different parameters.

Question 6: What do you understand by disguised unemployment? Explain with an example each from the urban and rural areas.

Answer: When a person appears to be working but his potential is not being fully utilised; he is facing disguised unemployment. The worker; in this case; is working in a particular occupation because he does not have anything better to do. Compulsion; rather than choice is the main deciding factor in this case. In case of rural areas, many people may be working on a small plot of land when the work could have been done by a few people. The additional people are working because they do not have anything better to do. This is the classic case of hidden unemployment. In urban areas; a shop may be shared by many brothers and all of them may be working in the same shop. They could have diversified into more gainful employment but sticking to their shop because they may not be getting opportunities.

Question 7: How is the tertiary sector different from other sectors? Illustrate with a few examples.

Answer:

Tertiary sectorOther sectors
Does not produce tangible goods.Produces tangible goods
Machines are not required.Machines are required.
Relies more on intellectual capability of workers.Relies more on physical labour of workers.
Many services can be provided through telecommunication to large geographical distances.The finished products needs to be supplied to the end user.
Example: Work of a designer, chartered accountant.Example: Work of a mechanic, mason, etc.

Answer the following questions:

Question 8: Distinguish between open unemployment and disguised unemployment.

Asnwer: When a person is without work, this is called unemployment. When a person is doing a job but is unable to fulfill his potential because he is not getting something better to do, this is called disguised unemployment. The person may be sticking to the occupation because of various reasons; like lack of employment opportunities, lack of resources, etc.

Question 9: “Tertiary sector is not playing any significant role in the development of Indian economy.” Do you agree? Give reasons in support of your answer.

Asnwer: This statement is partially true. When we look at the growth of tertiary sector from 1970-71 to 2011-12, then it can be said that this sector has shown good growth. Moreover, the tertiary sector is the largest contributor to the GDP in 2011-12, which is another positive for this sector. But when the percentage of employment is analysed, tertiary sector has failed to generate employment which could match with its contribution in the GDP. Hence, it can be said that the tertiary sector has not grown in terms of employment generation.