introduction to indian economy section 8 Practice Questions Answers Test with Solutions & More Shortcuts

Answer: (c)

Navratna was the title given originally to nine Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) identified by the Government of India in 1997 as “public sector companies that have comparative advantages”, giving them greater autonomy to compete in the global market so as to “support [them] in their drive to become global giants”.

The number of PSEs having Navratna status has been raised to 16, the most recent addition being Oil India Limited.

The list of such companies is:

1. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited;
2. Bharat Electronics Limited;
3. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited;
4. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited;
5. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited;
6. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited;
7. National Aluminium Company Limited;
8. National Mineral Development Corporation Limited;
9. Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited;
10. Oil India Limited;
11. Power Finance Corporation Limited;
12. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited;
13. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited;
14. Rural Electrification Corporation Limited;
15. Shipping Corporation of India Limited;
16. GAIL (India) Limited.

Answer: (a)

The first stage of stable or slow population growth:

The growth of the population was slow due to the high death rate which nullified the high birth rate. In this stage, these economies were primitive and primarily agrarian, with widespread illiteracy, poor sanitation and health care conditions, negligible knowledge of family planning and large family sizes which contributed to factors such as high fertility rate and high death rate.

In the period between the first and the second stages, the death rates start reducing and birth rates remain stable which brings an imbalance in the economy. Measures like diseases control, improving nutrition levels, and sanitation improvement are implemented to reduce death rates, but the measures for controlling birth rates are not implemented, which results in a population explosion. This required a period of transition for adjustment, thus bringing the second stage of transition.

The second stage of population explosions:

In this stage rise in income levels contributed to improvement in health care, education, disease control and so on which in turn contributed to reducing the death rates. This accelerated the growth of the population. The family size reduced and improved trade and economic conditions resulted in more food and better food habits which further helped the population to grow at a much higher rate than in the first stage. The demographic changes brought imbalances in the economy, creating conditions for further transition of society.

The third stage of low birth rates and low death rates:

Modernization and industrialization changed the living pattern in such nations, the rural population shifted to cities and family sizes were reduced to become nuclear families. The standard of living increased which further brought down mortality rates and birth rates. As a result, the growth of the population declined.

Answer: (a)

A merchant bank is a financial institution which provides capital to companies in the form of share ownership instead of loans. It is a bank that deals mostly in (but is not limited to) international finance, long-term loans for companies and underwriting. Merchant banks do not provide regular banking services to the general public.

Answer: (a)

India Brand Equity Foundation is a Trust established by the Ministry of Commerce with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as its associate.

IBEF’s primary objective is to promote and create international awareness of the Made in India label in markets overseas and to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge of Indian products and services.

Towards this objective IBEF works closely with stakeholders across government and industry. IBEF works with a network of stakeholders – domestic and international – to promote Brand India.

Answer: (b)

The economic liberalisation in India refers to ongoing economic reforms in India that started on 24 July 1991.

In 1991, the government of P. V. Narasimha Rao and his finance minister Manmohan Singh (currently the Prime Minister of India) started breakthrough reforms which included opening for international trade and investment, deregulation, initiation of privatization, tax reforms, and inflation controlling measures.