Indian Economy and Policy

Directions: In the following question, four statements are provided between an opening statement 1 and a closing statement 6. The four statements form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these six taken together.

1. India's experience of industrialisation is characteristic of the difficulties faced by a newly independent developing country. A. In 1947, India was undoubtedly an under-developed country with one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world. B. Indian industrialisation was the result of a conscious deliberate policy of growth by an indigenous political elite. C. Today, India ranks fifth in the international community of nations if measured in terms of purchasing power. D. Even today, however, the benefits of Indian industrialisation since independence have not reached the masses.
2. Industrialisation in India has thus been a limited success, one more example of growth without development.

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question given below.

Who imported the first foreign car in India?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are in bold to help you to locate them while answering of the question.

One of the oldest cars seen in India was a Serpollet, a French car, named after its inventor. It was noticed by one Peter Moore, a Professor of mechanical engineering at the University of London, while he was wheeling through India on his worldwide tour.

The first car was imported by the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad in 1895. The first Rolls Royce, known as the pearl of the East, was brought into the country in 1908 by the then Maharaja of the Gwalior State, Madhava Rao Scindia, who was the grandfather of the Railway Minister during Mr. Rajeev Gandhi’s government, Mr. Madhav Rao Scindia. However, the market for the cars in India was very limited in those days.

Thus, the Indian market was monopolised by the two domestic manufacturers, who were manufacturing the foreign-designed Ambassador and Premier Cars. This went on for nearly forty years. While the automobile industry in the world had undergone a sea-change, in India,  it was still using the obsolete technology.

In 1959, the Government of India appointed on official committee, under the Chairmanship of an able administrator-economist, Mr. L. K. Jha, to study the possibility of manufacturing India’s own low budget car called the people’s car. A similar committee was again appointed under another official, Mr. G. Pande, in 1961.

A big nationwide debate followed as to what type of car India should have, whether it should be manufactured in the public or private sector. Those were the days when the public sector was the most acceptable form of economic system considered in India. Therefore, the general consensus was that the car should be produced in the public sector and it should be priced as to be within the reach of the growing middle class of the country.

Then come the oil crisis of the 1970s. It shook the whole world, especially India  and the western developed countries, which were dependent on imported oil. In Europe and the United States, public debates started, actuated by the environmentalists and government economists,  whether it was proper to have huge oil consuming big cars or to have small economical family cars which would not be petrol-guzzlers. The consensus, therefore emerged that India should manufacture a small fuel efficient car, which should be within the reach of the growing middle class of the country.

Thus, the debate, which had started during the time of India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru came to fruition in the late 1970s. The decision to set up the project to manufacture a small fuel efficient car was quickened because the late Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of the former Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, took active interest in this project. He set up a company in the private sector to manufacture the car, named Maruti, in collaboration with the Japanese automobile market leader Suzuki.

After Mr. Sanjay Gandhi’s untimely death in an aircrash, the government took over the company, and thus the Maruti Udyog Limited was born in 1984. And ever since the Maruti car appeared on the Indian roads during the last few years, the automobile scene has witnessed a sea change. Now, nearly 70 percent of India’s domestic market is served by the Maruti Car. Maruti has become the status symbol for India’s burgeoning middle classes. Estimated to be 150 million, this segment of population is larger than Europe’s combined market, which emerged after the European community came into existence legally in 1992. The car has also brought about quality consciousness among the automobile consumers as well as dealers. The automobile sector, which was almost negligible earlier, has started expanding.

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question given below.

According to the passage, Maruti car has become the status symbol for India's growing middle class which is approximately _______ in number.

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are in bold to help you to locate them while answering of the question.

One of the oldest cars seen in India was a Serpollet, a French car, named after its inventor. It was noticed by one Peter Moore, a Professor of mechanical engineering at the University of London, while he was wheeling through India on his worldwide tour.

The first car was imported by the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad in 1895. The first Rolls Royce, known as the pearl of the East, was brought into the country in 1908 by the then Maharaja of the Gwalior State, Madhava Rao Scindia, who was the grandfather of the Railway Minister during Mr. Rajeev Gandhi’s government, Mr. Madhav Rao Scindia. However, the market for the cars in India was very limited in those days.

Thus, the Indian market was monopolised by the two domestic manufacturers, who were manufacturing the foreign-designed Ambassador and Premier Cars. This went on for nearly forty years. While the automobile industry in the world had undergone a sea-change, in India,  it was still using the obsolete technology.

In 1959, the Government of India appointed on official committee, under the Chairmanship of an able administrator-economist, Mr. L. K. Jha, to study the possibility of manufacturing India’s own low budget car called the people’s car. A similar committee was again appointed under another official, Mr. G. Pande, in 1961.

A big nationwide debate followed as to what type of car India should have, whether it should be manufactured in the public or private sector. Those were the days when the public sector was the most acceptable form of economic system considered in India. Therefore, the general consensus was that the car should be produced in the public sector and it should be priced as to be within the reach of the growing middle class of the country.

Then come the oil crisis of the 1970s. It shook the whole world, especially India  and the western developed countries, which were dependent on imported oil. In Europe and the United States, public debates started, actuated by the environmentalists and government economists,  whether it was proper to have huge oil consuming big cars or to have small economical family cars which would not be petrol-guzzlers. The consensus, therefore emerged that India should manufacture a small fuel efficient car, which should be within the reach of the growing middle class of the country.

Thus, the debate, which had started during the time of India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru came to fruition in the late 1970s. The decision to set up the project to manufacture a small fuel efficient car was quickened because the late Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of the former Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, took active interest in this project. He set up a company in the private sector to manufacture the car, named Maruti, in collaboration with the Japanese automobile market leader Suzuki.

After Mr. Sanjay Gandhi’s untimely death in an aircrash, the government took over the company, and thus the Maruti Udyog Limited was born in 1984. And ever since the Maruti car appeared on the Indian roads during the last few years, the automobile scene has witnessed a sea change. Now, nearly 70 percent of India’s domestic market is served by the Maruti Car. Maruti has become the status symbol for India’s burgeoning middle classes. Estimated to be 150 million, this segment of population is larger than Europe’s combined market, which emerged after the European community came into existence legally in 1992. The car has also brought about quality consciousness among the automobile consumers as well as dealers. The automobile sector, which was almost negligible earlier, has started expanding.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage.

The major reason behind a lesser growth in industry in Punjab is________

Punjab is a state of India, located in the northwestern part of the subcontinent. It is bounded by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and Rajasthan to the southwest and by the country of Pakistan to the west. Punjab in its present form came into existence on November 1, 1966, when most of its predominantly Hindi-speaking areas were separated to form the new state of Haryana. The city of Chandigarh, within the Chandigarh union territory, is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. The word Punjab is a compound of two Persian words, panj (“five”) and āb (“water”), thus signifying the land of five waters, or rivers (the Beas, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, and Sutlej). The word’s origin can perhaps be traced to panca nada, Sanskrit for “five rivers” and the name of a region mentioned in the ancient epic the Mahabharata. As applied to the present Indian state of Punjab, however, it is a misnomer: since the partition of India in 1947, only two of these rivers, the Sutlej and the Beas, lie within Punjab’s territory, while the Ravi flows only along part of its western border. The state of Punjab has also gained true recognition among all individuals due to the presence of forestry, tourism, agriculture, industries and minerals. Livestock is also one of the other key highlights of the state. However, the state of Punjab has scarcity of basic minerals and fuels. This is one of the prime factors behind the poor rate of industrial development. Agriculture has been always a strong point in the economy of the state. The state has indeed made a huge impact in the overall economy of the country as far as the production of wheat is concerned. A few of the agriculture-based industries associated with the state include paper, wood, beverages and food products.

Directions: The question is a logical sequence of statements with a missing link, the location of which is shown parenthetically. From the five choices available you are required to choose the one which best fits the sequence logically. Any classical economist will tell you that for India to go beyond 7 per cent GDP growth, the investment rate and capital productivity need to be stepped up. (.) There is some truth in this. Compared to Southeast Asia and the newly industrialised economies, our productivity rates are abysmal, though improving.

The best reason for Britain not going in for importing doctors and nurses could be that

Directions: The passage below is followed by a question based on its content. Answer the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.
PASSAGE – I
The good thing about India is nothing remains secret for long. Somehow, word gets out and into the media, and then a heated discussion begins. And thus, some bad and malafide decisions are mercifully thwarted. These are the few saving graces of our democracy as it has come to be.
The latest decision in the pipeline is the UK's National Health Services negotiating with Indian medical institutions to treat British patients in India. This cannot be left merely to the NHS and a few private medical organizations in India. There are larger issues involved that need detailed discussions. The issues range from the macro to the micro, from globalisation to overcrowding in Indian hospitals. Bureaucrats, experts, NGOS must have a say as it impacts ordinary Indians too. The purpose of discussion is not to obstruct, but to ensure an equitable decision is taken in the larger public interest and to ensure that the privileged few–be they Indian or British–do not profit at public expense.
As with every decision, there are pros and cons. A few Indian doctors and hospitals will certainly profit. But the cons are far many too to ignore. As it is, our high-quality hospitals are overcrowded with Indian patients. A waiting list already exists, which of course the privileged short-circuit using connections. So allowing British patients to use our facilities could further clog our hospitals, deny beds to Indian patients. That's clearly unacceptable. But it can happen. Remember the money-spinning Apollo hospitals, controversy-ridden for not treating enough poor patients as it is mandated to do.
One can see why sending patients to India is an easy, cheap option for the British. Even including airfare, the total expense would be much cheaper. Our doctors and nurses are inexpensive by world standards, and extremely competent at that. Also some of our private hospitals, for instance the Escorts Hospital in New Delhi, are world-class. On the other hand, Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is overburdened. Waiting lists for even routine operations like cataract run into months. The best option for Britain would be to reform their NHS, upgrade hospitals and import more doctors and nurses. But that they don't want to do. Money is always a constraint and immigration is now a touchy political issue. It appears the British government and public want to have their cake and eat it too – they want good medical service, but don't want to foot the social and political cost of importing labour. So if doctors cannot or should not come to the patients, the patients must go to the doctors. So go abroad. Not only the British, but even Scandinavians who find themselves stuck at the rear end of interminable waiting lists, are increasingly going to France and Germany for surgeries and other serious medical interventions. India can be even more attractive–it's further, but still cheaper. To buttress their argument with moral ballast, British authorities sanctimoniously claim that by bringing their patients to  India, they  are averting brain  drain. India’s  problem is not  brain drain but excess brain and brawn. As much as the West needs new markets to sell their goods, India needs new markets to absorb her labour. Excess labour and consequentially, unemployment, is our problem, WTO negotiations have shown how hypocritical western nations are. They squeeze developing countries to drop subsidies and open markets, while they retain their subsidies and close their markets to foreign goods. In no field is this more blatant than agriculture, where western nations continue with huge farm subsidies while at the time same blocking their markets to  agricultural produce from developing countries. The West is almost diabolical in the way they not only exploit the inadequacies of poorer nations, but add a moral halo to boot. They pretend they are being charitable in giving aid when in reality it is often to help Third World nations buy their own products or services. Economists have shown how trade and not aid is what really helps developing countries to prosper. Halving the West's protectionist barriers could boost developing country incomes by $150 billion a year, three times what is currently given in aid.
But one can argue that India invests heavily in training professionals and it is a heavy drain when they leave our shores. This is true but perhaps there is a solution. We have no dearth of students. More top-notch educational institutions could be established with or without foreign investment in smaller towns to ensure growth and spread of ancillary industries. Some of these students may emigrate, but many will remain. Another option is to outsource diagnostic facilities in India, maybe even get foreign institutions to invest in upgrading our government hospitals in a few, select smaller towns (with airports) to avoid overcrowding in metropolitan cities. A certain number of beds in these hospitals could then be reserved for foreign patients. This could be a win-win for them and for us because the upgradation would attract better staff, ease congestion from big cities and provide better medicare to Indians living in the region.
We live in a changing world that constantly throws up new challenges. The clever thing to do is to convert these into opportunities. There is no wisdom in being blindly obstructionist or rapaciously greedy. Coming up with creative solutions is what we need most. We shouldn't be diffident about extracting maximum mileage out of our inherent strengths so that more Indians can benefit, so that the nation as a whole develops in a more even-handed manner than the current lopsided growth concentrated entirely in a few big cities, in a few geographical zones. A creative approach could simultaneously cure many maladies.