Daily Quiz #8 UPSC Prelims Marathon – July 9, 2019

Explanation: Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom and an economic non-entity, developed a new concept of assessing development in the early 1970s—the Gross National Happiness (GNH). Without rejecting the idea of human development propounded by UNDP, the kingdom has been
Officially following the targets set by the GNH. Bhutan has been following the GNH since 1972 which has the following parameters to attain happiness/development:
•Higher real per capita income
•Good governance
•Environmental protection
• Cultural promotion (i.e., inculcation of ethical and spiritual values in life without which, it says, progress may become a curse rather than a blessing).

Explanation: The Anthropocene is a newly invented term that combines two Greek words: ‘anthropo’ for human; and ‘cene’ for new, as in a new geological epoch. The Anthropocene is the new epoch in which humanity, through its technological prowess and population of 7 billion, has become the major driver of changes of Earth’s physical systems, including the climate, carbon cycle, water cycle, nitrogen cycle and biodiversity.

Explanation: The economic profile of India was in complete distress at the time of Independence. Being a typical case of colonial economy, India was serving a purpose of development not for herself but for a foreign land—the United Kingdom. Both agriculture and industry were having structural distortions while the state was playing not even a marginal role. During the half century before India became independent, the world was having accelerated development and expansion in its agriculture and industry on the shoulders of the active role being played by the states, with the same happening in the UK itself. There was not only the unilateral transfer of investible capital to Britain by the colonial state (the ‘drain of wealth’), but the unequal exchange was day by day crippling India’s commerce, trade and the thriving handloom industry, too. The colonial state practiced policies which were great impediments in the process of development in the country. Throughout the colonial rule, the economic vision that the state had was to increase India’s capacity to export primary products, and increase the purchase/import of the British Manufactured goods and raise revenues to meet the drain of capital as well as meet the revenue requirements of the imperial defense. The social sector was a neglected area for the British rulers which had a negative impact on the production and productivity of the economy. India remained a continent of illiterate peasants under British rule. At the time of Independence, its literacy was only 17 per cent with 32.5 years of life expectancy at birth. Industrialization of India was also neglected by the colonizers—the infrastructure was not built to industrialize India but to exploit its raw materials. Indian capitalists who did emerge were highly dependent on British commercial capital and many sectors of the industry were dominated by British firms, e.g., shipping, banking, insurance, coal, plantation crops and jute.

Explanation: A major shift took place in the Indian economic thinking when the government announced in 2002 that from now onwards, in place of industry, agriculture will be the prime moving force of the economy. This was a policy shift of historic importance which was announced by the highest economic think tank of the country—the Planning commission—as the economy commenced the Tenth Plan (2002–07). As per the Planning Commission such a policy shift will solve the three major challenges faced by the economy:
•Economy will be able to achieve food security with the increase in agricultural production. Besides, the agricultural surplus will generate exports in the globalizing world economy benefiting out of the WTO regime.
•The challenge of poverty alleviation will be solved to a great extent as the emphasis will make agriculture a higher income-generating occupation and induce growth in the rural economy by generating more gainful employment.
•The situation of India as an example of ‘market failure’ will cease.
•Though the world’s perception regarding agriculture had changed by the mid-1990s, India recognizes the sector as the prime moving force of the economy a bit late, i.e., by 2002. Now, there is a consensus among experts and policymakers regarding the role of agriculture in the Indian economy. Agriculture and allied activities remained the major source of livelihood for nearly half of the Indian population-its share in employment being 48.7 per cent, with 17.4 per cent contribution in the GDP.

Explanation: By early 2015, we saw some major changes taking place in the area of planning in India. The Government replaced the existing body, Planning Commission, with the NITI Aayog (a new economic ‘Think Tank’), with the aim of ‘overhauling’ the very process and method of planning in the country. This move is believed to originate out of India’s experiences of development planning spanning over six decades. Co-operative federalism, bottom-up approach, holistic and inclusive development with the need of an Indian model of development are some of the hallmarks of the new design. The move is also seen in light of the changed needs of the economy.