Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7

Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7- Employment: Growth, Informalisation, and Other Issues

Human resources are the backbone of any economy. The nature of human resources employed in each economic sector helps the government decide the industry’s contribution to the national income. Having employment is thus not only crucial for fulfilling the personal needs of individuals but also important for the economic development of the nation. Understanding the trends in work also helps the government to understand the trends in employment and accordingly plan the crucial human resources in our country. It is essential for the students of today, who are the future human resources, to understand the employment situation in our country. Chapter 7 of Class 11 Economics will help the students to understand the same. 

Employment: Growth, Informalisation, and Other Issues, Chapter 7 explains in detail various concepts such as economic activity, worker, workforce and unemployment, nature of participation of men and women in multiple sectors, understand the nature and extent of unemployment in the country, and evaluate the government initiatives taken towards generating employment in various industries and areas.

Understanding the concepts can help students relate the text to the current scenarios in the country. 

The Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7 provided by Extramarks are a great resource for students when they are looking for credible study material to practice questions for their examination preparations.

Extramarks is a trusted study confidante for lakhs of students across the country to study, prepare and revise for the examinations. The Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7 is curated by subject experts from various sources such as NCERT books, CBSE sample papers, reference books, etc. We completely understand the importance of practising questions to help students understand concepts better. The step-by-step solutions prepared by subject experts at Extramarks will be an excellent guide for students to understand Chapter 7 for Class 11 Economics thoroughly without missing out on any key topic.

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Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7 with Solutions

Chapter 7 contains essential topics for students to have a thorough understanding of the status of employment in the Indian economy. The questions cover critical concepts from the whole chapter. It includes the concept of workers and employment, participation of people in employment, self-employment and hired workers, growth and changes in the employment sector, informalisation of employment, unemployment, various government initiatives taken and so on so that students get a revision when practising these questions. Studying the Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7 will also greatly help students to get good grades in their examinations.

Visit the Extramarks website to keep yourself updated about the CBSE syllabus, NCERT solutions, and exam patterns. Here is a list of Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7 provided for students to practice and revise the chapter.It will ensure that even the minutest doubt is resolved and the students develop an interest in learning and mastering the topic with ease.

Question 1. Who is a worker?

Answer 1: An individual who engages in productive activity and actively contributes to the flow of goods and services in the economy is known as a worker.

Question 2. Workers enjoy job security in

1. Unorganised Sector
2. Agriculture Sector
3. Organised Sector
4. Private Sector

Answer 2: c) Organised sector.

Explanation: The organised industry offers its employees job security. They are only required to work a certain amount of hours per week.

Question 3. What is meant by the participation ratio?

Answer 3: The participation ratio is the percentage of the population engaging in productive activity. It is often referred to as the worker population ratio.

Question 4. Unemployment in rural areas is:

1. Disguised unemployment
2. Industrial unemployment
3. Seasonal unemployment
4. (A) & (C) 
5. (A) & (B)

Answer 4:  Option D. (A) & (C)

Explanation: Rural unemployment is used to describe unemployment in rural areas. Seasonal unemployment is when people experience unemployment for a certain period. Disguised unemployment is when too many people work at one time in an activity; the loss of a few does not impact productivity.

Question 5. Inflation implies

1. A rise in prices of selected goods.
2. Continuous rise in the general price level.
3. Rise in the general price level.
4. A continuous rise in the general price level over a long period.

Answer 5: Option C: Rise in  the general price level.

Explanation: The rate at which prices increase over a specific period is known as inflation. Inflation is often measured broadly, such as the general price rise or a country’s cost of living.

Question 6. The newly emerging jobs are found mostly in the ____________sector. (service/manufacturing)

Answer 6: The newly emerging jobs are found chiefly in the service sector.

Question 7. Raj is going to school. You will find him working on his farm when he is not in school. Can you consider him a worker? Why?

Answer 7:Yes, Raj is a worker. It is because his efforts help to increase the farm’s overall productivity. Raj is a worker because, as implied by definition, a person who is involved in economic activity or supporting someone else in economic activity and, as a result, contributing to the country’s GDP is known as a worker.

Question 8. Why are fewer women found in regular salaried employment?

Answer 8: It is well known that more males than women are employed in traditional salaried positions. They make up about 23% of the working population, while women make up about 21%. Over time, the gap has diminished but is still present. The following points summarise why there are fewer women found in regular salaried employment:

• Regularly paying employment demands specialised expertise and a high literacy level, which many Indian women lag far behind. Most women in India lack the educational credentials and professional abilities required for regular, well-paying work because female education is not prioritised in India.
• Discouragement in the family is another factor. Families in India still do not want their females to leave the house for employment, especially if the hours are long, as they are in traditional salaried occupations.
• The prevalent idea that a woman should be the primary caregiver for a kid also contributes to significant female turnover when and after a child is born.
• The surge in crime against women has also led to women withdrawing from regular jobs due to security concerns, such as late working hours in private sector firms and MNCs, which are not regarded as desirable by most women.

Question 9. The following table shows the distribution of the workforce in India for the year 1972-73. Analyse it and give reasons for the nature of workforce distribution. You will notice that the data is pertaining to the situation in India 30 years ago

Answer 9: 

1. According to the table above, there were 234 million workers in 1972–1973. Out of these, 195 million were from the rural and 39 million from the urban populations. This demonstrates that 83% of the overall workforce was based in rural areas, with the remaining 17% coming from the urban population, which signifies that most rural residents work in agriculture and related industries.
2. 64% of the labour in rural areas was male, and 36% was female. In contrast, 82% of workers in urban areas were men, and only 18% were women. As there were fewer chances for women to pursue higher education, male participation in urban and rural populations was more elevated than female participation. The way society was set up prohibited women from taking up jobs.
3. As can be observed, just 18% of women work in urban areas, compared to 36% in rural areas. Most of the rural population worked in agriculture or closely related fields, but productivity remained low. Poverty is caused by lower production.

The above information indicates that 30 years ago, there was a significant unemployment and poverty issue in the Indian economy. In agriculture, there was disguised unemployment, and the proportion of women in labour was low.

Question 10. What is informalisation of the Indian workforce?

Answer 10: The phrase “informalisation of the workforce” describes a situation in which the proportion of workers in the formal sector progressively decreases while the informal sector’s workforce proportion increases. .

The informal economy employs millions of farmers, farm workers, small business owners, and others.

It also includes all non-farm casual wage employees with multiple employers.

In India, progress and development frequently lead to an increase in the number of people engaged in the formal sector and a decrease in the number of people employed in the unofficial sector; hence, informalisation indicates a country’s diminished progress and growth.

Here are some reasons for informalisation in India:

• Uncertainties in the job market are to blame for the informalisation of the workforce.
• Low skill and illiteracy levels.
• Greater import competition
• Fewer formal work opportunities
• More flexibility in the workplace.
• Outsourcing and unbundling of manufacturing jobs.
• Contractual services.
• A rise in the demand for telecommunications and IT services.
• Economic reforms bring about indirect economic liberalisations.

The current state of informalisation in the Indian labour force can be seen from the points below:

1. Only 10% of the world’s 470 million workers are currently employed in the official sector. In other words, social security and other benefits that ostensibly employed Indians enjoy do not apply to 90% of the country’s workforce.
2. Informal workers suffer from stricter working conditions, with no job security, benefits or safeguards, and low wages. The informal sector does not adhere to the protections provided to workers under various laws and is outside of the government’s purview.
3. As businesses operating in the informal sector are not counted in the government’s fiscal revenue net, the informal sector also affects the government in terms of revenues lost.
4. The informal or unorganised sector accounts for 84.7% of jobs in the Indian economy, according to the NSSO. Aside from agriculture, the industries that contribute most to informal employment include manufacturing, construction, and trade.
5. By offering social security measures, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has started working to improve and develop the nation’s informal sector.

Question 11. You are residing in a village. If you were asked to advise the village panchayat, what activities would you suggest to improve your village and generate employment?

Answer 11: The following are some suggestions that can help generate employment opportunities in the village:

• Increase Production:

To boost production in the industrial and agricultural sectors, it is crucial to create more jobs. Government should support small-scale and cottage industries for this reason. As the small-scale and cottage industries serve as an extension of the industrial sector, this would not only help create new employment prospects but also benefit the industrial sector.

• Increase Productivity:

Demand for labour and labour productivity are closely related. As a result of higher profits brought about by higher productivity, there is a corresponding increase in investment and labour demand. Rural workers should be given technical training and technological know-how to boost their output and promote their acceptance of modernisation.

• Control over Population:

One of India’s main challenges is population growth. It lessens the likelihood of economic growth. Population growth causes unemployment to increase, which in turn, increases poverty. Therefore, educating rural residents about various birth control options and the advantages of family planning and the nuclear family is essential.

• Creating Non-agricultural Employment:

Due to its rural economy, India employs a sizable share of its workforce in the agriculture industry. This sector’s development is still in its infancy, and as a result, it experiences disguised unemployment. In addition, many farmers experience seasonal unemployment for three to four months out of the year. Therefore, employing these people in non-agricultural fields is essential when they are not engaged in agriculture. Non-agricultural job creation in industries like pottery and handicrafts helps lower disguised unemployment and increases farmers’ income during the off-season. The revenues from non-agricultural jobs can then be used to boost farm productivity and output.

• Easy Credit and Finance:

Due to the scarcity of financial institutions in rural areas, it is frequently difficult for people to acquire financing. They are offered at higher interest rates even if credit or funding is available. A shortage of financing impedes rural expansion. Therefore, financial institutions and banks should be established to provide rural residents access to easy loans.

• Education and Health Facilities:

Education and healthcare infrastructure in rural areas has traditionally trailed behind. It hinders their production and lowers their quality of life and life expectancy. In addition to primary and secondary schools, hospitals, night schools for adults, technical training programmes, and facilities for good sanitation should all be built in rural regions.

Question 12. Do you think in the last 50 years, employment generated in the country is commensurate with the growth of GDP in India? How?

Answer 12: Economic growth implies growth in the GDP, or growth in the total product produced throughout an accounting period inside an economy’s domestic market. The output level is raised by creating additional employment opportunities and utilising better technologies. In recent years, India has seen jobless economic growth that increased total output levels without corresponding increases in employment possibilities. As a result, unemployment persisted. 

The introduction of new and improved technology that replaced labour with machines led to an increase in GDP. It does not result in creating new jobs in the tertiary and industrial sectors.  So, the industrial or tertiary sectors did not take up the surplus labour from the agricultural industry.

As a result, the agricultural industry continued to have disguised unemployment, low levels of productivity, and severe poverty. Additionally, MNCs significantly contributing to India’s economic development only hired skilled workers with academic qualifications. These MNCs didn’t focus on creating more jobs as they did on increasing productivity levels by utilising better technologies. As a result, employment growth in the nation does not correspond to India’s GDP growth.

Question 13. Victor can get work only for two hours a day. For the rest of the day, he is looking for work. Is he considered unemployed? Why? What kind of other jobs could persons like Victor be doing?

Answer 13: Victor is not unemployed; instead, he is underemployed because his full potential is not being utilised in the two hours of labour per day that he performs. He qualifies as a casual worker.

Until they find a job paying a regular wage, people like Victor can work part-time as delivery boys, courier services, waiters in restaurants, etc.

Question 14. What will happen if no additional employment is generated in the economy even though we can produce goods and services in the economy? How could jobless growth happen?

Answer 14: In many cases, growth and creating goods and services are impossible without creating more jobs. Since all three sectors and their demand depend on one another, businesses must employ individuals in the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors to produce goods and services. Even if the economy expands, a scenario without employment is unlikely to last very long.

The phrase “jobless growth” describes the circumstance in which economic expansion occurs despite persistently high unemployment.

While the economist is unsure of what causes this but mentioned below are a few scenarios where jobless growth can be seen:

• Large Firms Eclipsing Small Firms:

In most economies, small firms generate the bulk of jobs, yet giant corporations are more productive and can benefit from economies of scale. Any new employment may be eliminated if these big organisations take market share from small enterprises, resulting in economic growth without raising job levels.

• Shift to the Service Sector:

As the service sector grows and replaces more and more of the industrial sector in the economy, the economy may expand even in these circumstances, even though no new jobs are created. This is because the service sector heavily relies on automation.

• Technological Developments:

As a result of technical advancement, productivity might increase significantly. For example, the emergence of e-commerce led to the loss of thousands of employees. Therefore, the economy grows but with a persistently high unemployment rate in such circumstances.

• Labour Productivity:

For jobless growth to occur, labour productivity must improve at a pace greater than or equal to the GDP. It will guarantee that no new employment is created and that the economy is expanding.

• Mechanisation:

Industries that have historically required a lot of workforce are starting to automate some of their processes. Technology lessens job prospects even though it boosts efficiency and profitability. When unemployment persists, there is less job growth.

Question 15. How will you know if a worker is working in the informal sector?

Answer 15: The following points will help to recognise whether a person is working in an informal sector:

• The workers who are employed by a business with ten or fewer employees (apart from public and private sector establishments) are working in an informal sector.
• Informal employees include farmers, labourers, independent contractors, and small business owners.
• The workers who do not have a pension, gratuity, or provident fund are also considered to be working in the informal sector.
• Workers in the informal sector are vulnerable to market uncertainties because they are not protected by any labour laws, except for the Minimum Wages Act.

Benefits of Solving Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7

In Class 11 Economics, Chapter 7 discusses concepts imperative for students to understand. A thorough understanding of the concepts will benefit students in understanding the chapter well and gain a broader understanding of the employment scenario in the country.

Solving the Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7 will help students understand the basics of employment and working scenarios, the concept of unemployment and how the government is tackling the issue of generating employment across various sectors and regions.

To prepare well for the examinations, students should understand the concepts and practice the questions to get good marks in their exams.

The benefits of solving the Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7 are below:

• The list of important questions was created with the CBSE syllabus and requirements in mind, enabling students to provide an in-depth study of the entire chapter after going through them.
• Subject matter experts with years of experience in the field of economics prepare step-by-step solutions; as a result, students may entirely rely on and trust these solutions.
• Important Questions Class 11 Economics Indian Economic Development Chapter 7 is helpful in knowing how the questions might appear in the examinations. Students will be prepared for their tests if they review them along with the study resources.
• Practising Important Questions will help students ace their examinations and get better grades.

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