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CodeVID-M12-WS
Indian Economy on the Eve of Independence — Practice Worksheet
Chapter: Indian Economy on the Eve of Independence
Topic: Indian Economy on the Eve of Independence
Maximum Marks: 35
Time: 30 minutes
Name: ____________________ Roll No.: __________ Date: ____________

General Instructions

  • All questions are compulsory.
  • Choose the correct option (A, B, C or D) for each question.
  • The answer key is at the end — try the paper first!
Section A — Multiple Choice (1 mark each) 15 × 1 = 15 marks
1.
India became independent in:
  • A.1945
  • B.1947
  • C.1950
  • D.1935
2.
The aim of British economic policy was to serve:
  • A.India
  • B.Britain
  • C.Both equally
  • D.Farmers
3.
Under the British, India was a supplier of ____ and a market for British finished goods.
  • A.Machinery
  • B.Cheap raw materials
  • C.Technology
  • D.Software
4.
About what share of people depended on agriculture at independence?
  • A.85%
  • B.30%
  • C.10%
  • D.50%
5.
The exploitative land-revenue system that left cultivators poor was the:
  • A.Green Revolution
  • B.Zamindari system
  • C.Public sector
  • D.Five-Year Plan
6.
Forcing farmers to grow cash crops for export is the ____ of agriculture.
  • A.Commercialisation
  • B.Industrialisation
  • C.Nationalisation
  • D.Globalisation
7.
The decline of handicrafts without modern industry replacing them is:
  • A.Industrialisation
  • B.De-industrialisation
  • C.Commercialisation
  • D.Privatisation
8.
India's first iron and steel company (TISCO) was set up in:
  • A.1853
  • B.1907
  • C.1947
  • D.1991
9.
Under British rule, India mainly exported:
  • A.Finished goods
  • B.Primary/raw products
  • C.Machinery
  • D.Software
10.
The export surplus that went to pay Britain's expenses is called the:
  • A.Drain of wealth
  • B.Green Revolution
  • C.Trade surplus benefit
  • D.Land reform
11.
About what share of the workforce was in agriculture under British rule?
  • A.70–75%
  • B.20%
  • C.40%
  • D.10%
12.
Life expectancy on the eve of independence was about:
  • A.32 years
  • B.55 years
  • C.68 years
  • D.45 years
13.
The literacy rate at independence was under:
  • A.16%
  • B.50%
  • C.75%
  • D.90%
14.
Railways were introduced in India in:
  • A.1853
  • B.1907
  • C.1947
  • D.1991
15.
British infrastructure was mainly built to serve:
  • A.India's development
  • B.British trade and administration
  • C.Indian farmers
  • D.Indian schools
Section B — Challenge / Olympiad (2 marks each) 10 × 2 = 20 marks
16.
Indian-made textiles, once exported worldwide, lost their markets under the British mainly because:
  • A.Cheap machine-made British cloth flooded India
  • B.Indians stopped weaving
  • C.Cotton ran out
  • D.Demand rose
17.
Although India often ran an export surplus under the British, ordinary Indians did not benefit because the surplus was used to:
  • A.Meet Britain's expenses (a drain of wealth)
  • B.Build Indian schools
  • C.Pay Indian farmers
  • D.Fund Indian industry
18.
The near-unchanged occupational structure (most people in agriculture for decades) indicates that the economy was:
  • A.Stagnant and undeveloped
  • B.Rapidly industrialising
  • C.Service-led
  • D.Fully modern
19.
Both high birth and high death rates with very low life expectancy place colonial India in the demographic stage typical of a:
  • A.Poor, underdeveloped country
  • B.Rich, developed country
  • C.Post-industrial economy
  • D.Welfare state
20.
The railways are described as a 'mixed blessing' because they:
  • A.Helped movement and broke isolation, but were built mainly to serve British trade
  • B.Were useless
  • C.Only carried passengers
  • D.Developed Indian industry fully
21.
The commercialisation of agriculture sometimes worsened famines because farmers grew:
  • A.Cash crops for export instead of food for themselves
  • B.Too much food
  • C.Only wheat
  • D.Nothing at all
22.
A key reason Indian agriculture stayed low in productivity was the zamindari system, which gave cultivators:
  • A.No incentive to improve the land they did not own
  • B.Free machinery
  • C.High profits
  • D.Modern irrigation
23.
The few modern industries that did develop (jute, cotton, steel) were limited because they were:
  • A.Few, regionally concentrated and largely foreign-controlled, with no capital-goods base
  • B.Spread evenly across India
  • C.Fully Indian-owned
  • D.The largest in the world
24.
Independent India in 1947 inherited an economy best described as:
  • A.Backward and stagnant, needing planned development
  • B.Rich and industrialised
  • C.A leading exporter of machinery
  • D.Fully literate
25.
Studying the eve of independence matters because it explains why independent India chose to focus on:
  • A.Self-reliance, industry and agricultural reform through planning
  • B.Continuing colonial trade only
  • C.Abolishing all industry
  • D.Exporting only raw materials

Answer Key

Section A — Multiple Choice (1 mark each)
  1. (B) 1947
  2. (B) Britain
  3. (B) Cheap raw materials
  4. (A) 85%
  5. (B) Zamindari system
  6. (A) Commercialisation
  7. (B) De-industrialisation
  8. (B) 1907
  9. (B) Primary/raw products
  10. (A) Drain of wealth
  11. (A) 70–75%
  12. (A) 32 years
  13. (A) 16%
  14. (A) 1853
  15. (B) British trade and administration
Section B — Challenge / Olympiad (2 marks each)
  1. (A) Cheap machine-made British cloth flooded India
  2. (A) Meet Britain's expenses (a drain of wealth)
  3. (A) Stagnant and undeveloped
  4. (A) Poor, underdeveloped country
  5. (A) Helped movement and broke isolation, but were built mainly to serve British trade
  6. (A) Cash crops for export instead of food for themselves
  7. (A) No incentive to improve the land they did not own
  8. (A) Few, regionally concentrated and largely foreign-controlled, with no capital-goods base
  9. (A) Backward and stagnant, needing planned development
  10. (A) Self-reliance, industry and agricultural reform through planning
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