Why has the industrial sector performed poorly in the reform period?
Similar to the agricultural sector, industrial sector's performance was also poor. The poor performance of industrial sector may be attributable to the following reasons:
1. Cheaper Imports: The demand for industrial output reduced due to the cheaper imports. The imports from the developed countries were cheaper due to the removal of import tariffs. These cheaper and quality foreign imports led to the fall in the demand of domestic goods.
2. Lack of Investment: Due to the lack of investment in infrastructure facilities (including power supply) the domestic firms could not compete with their developed foreign counterparts in terms of cost of production and quality of goods. The inadequate infrastructural investment pushed up the cost of production of the domestic producers and, consequently, led to the non-feasibility of their growth prospectus.
3. High Non-tariffs Barriers by the Developed Countries: It was very difficult to access the developed countries market due to high non-tariff barriers maintained by the developed countries. For instance, US did not remove quota restrictions on imports of textiles from India and China.
4. Vulnerable and Infant Domestic Industries: During the pre-liberalised period, the domestic industries were provided a protective environment to grow and expand. But at the time of liberalisation, the domestic industries were still not developed up to the extent it was thought and consequently, they could not compete with the multi-national companies. The dependence of domestic industries on traditional technologies which were neither cost effective nor quality effective was an important reason for their poor growth. Thus, the domestic industries were adversely affected by liberalisation.
How is RBI controlling the commercial banks?
Distinguish between the following
(i) Strategic and Minority sale
(ii) Bilateral and Multi-lateral trade
(iii) Tariff and Non-tariff barriers.
Agriculture sector appears to be adversely affected by the reform process. Why?
Why were reforms introduced in India?
Those public sector undertakings which are making profits should be privatised. Do you agree with this view? Why?
Why did RBI have to change its role from controller to facilitator of financial sector in India?
Do you think outsourcing is good for India? Why are developed countries opposing it?
What do you understand by devaluation of rupee?
Do you think the navaratna policy of the government helps in improving the performance of public sector undertakings in India? How?
Discuss economic reforms in India in the light of social justice and welfare.
What was the focus of the economic policies pursued by the colonial government in India? What were the impacts of these policies?
What are the two major sources of human capital in a country?
What do you mean by rural development? Bring out the key issues in rural development.
Define a plan?
Who is a worker?
Explain the term ‘infrastructure’.
What is meant by environment?
Why are regional and economic groupings formed?
Why calorie-based norm is not adequate to identify the poor?
Name some notable economists who estimated India’s per capita income during the colonial period?
Explain the role of micro-credit in meeting credit requirements of the poor.
The newly emerging jobs are found mostly in the sector (service/manufacturing).
Suppose you are from a poor family and you wish to get help from the government to set up a petty shop. Under which scheme will you apply for assistance and why?
How can creation of income earning assets address the problem of poverty?
What happens when the rate of resource extraction exceeds that of their regeneration?
Explain how the opportunity costs of negative environmental impact are high.
The traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British rule. Do you agree with this view? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Who is a casual wage labourer?
How can we increase the effectiveness of health care programmes?
Explain the relevance of intergenerational equity in the definition of sustainable development.