Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 11 Economics Notes Chapter 15 Indian Economy at the time of Independence
→ The basic obj ective of this chapter is to familarise you with the process of change in the economic development that occurred in the Indian economy.
→ Before British era, every Indian village was prosperous and self-reliant in political, social and economic aspects.
→ Agriculture was the main source for income of the government and livelihood of the people.
→ There were three classes in village- farmers, artisans and servants. Among these, the status of farmers was the highest.
→ India exported agricultural goods such as cotton and silk textiles, rice, jute, sugar, spices etc. and received gold ip return.
→ Indian Economy was called “The Golden Bird” and that is why foreign traders kept coming to India for trade.
→ British East India Company also came for trading but it had soon formed India as its colony.
→ The Britishers procured raw matrial from India at lesser prices and made things in their country which they sold at higher prices. As a result, the Indian economy faced exploitation.
→ According to some economists, before the 20th century, the growth rate of Indian economy declined to even less than 2 percent.
→ During British era, 85 per cent of the population was directly or indirectly dependant upon agriculture only.
There were three land-holding systems which existed in British era-
- Zamindari System, also known as Permanent System
- Ryotwari System
- Mahalwari System.
→ From the technical point of view, level of Indian Economy was weak and backward.
→ Zamindars molested the farmers badly. Due to this situation, farmers became their slaves and their condition became miserable.
→ During British rule, the productivity of food grains declined, but evidence of increase in productivity of non food grain crops is found.
→ Due to commercial agriculture, the productivity of cash crops increased.
→ The traditional cottage industries of India were destroyed and no modem industries were established in India due to which most people became unemployed.
→ However, in the later half of 19th century, some modem industries such as cotton textile and jute industry were established in India.
→ Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) was established in 1907.
→ Sugar, cement, paper etc. industries were developed after the end of the Second World War.
→ British government made India the exporter of raw material and the importer of capital goods of England of England.
→ The British imposed “free trade policy” in India forcibly while imposing a protectionist policy in England due to which Indian trade suffered a serious setback.
→ The industrial infrastructure of any country must be strong, than only the country’s economic development can become rapid.
The infrastructure is divided into 2 parts
- Social infrastructure
- Economic infrastructure.
→ Economic infrastructure includes country’s physical resources, irrigation, transportation, energy, communication, banking, technological know-how, etc.
→ In British era, the banking sector did not contribute substantially to economic development. The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 under RBI Act, 1934.
→ The British rulers developed roads, railways, airports, water transport and post-telegraph etc. resources, but their greedy self-interest was inherent in this.
→ Socio-Economic infrastructure-Under the Socio-Economic infrastructure, human resources of the country are included. This includes study of population, education, health, housing etc.
→ The first census in India was done in 1881, according to which India’s population was 25.4 crore.
→ The indicators of social development were also not in a very good condition at that time. Literacy rate was less than 16 percent and infant mortality rate was about 218 per thousand.
→ The colonial rulers did not make any efforts to resolve the problems of high birth rate, high death rate, low life expectancy, low literacy and inferior healthcare facilities.
→ In British era, the Indian economy became underdeveloped, static, stagnant and backward.
→ During independence, the Indian economy was underdeveloped, stagnant, feudal and backward, which was also affected by the partition of India and Pakistan.
→ During the partition of India and Pakistan, the fertile area that provided industrial raw material, went in the hands of Pakistan.
→The reasons of Indian economy being underdeveloped, static, stagnant and backward, in British era:
- Anti-Indian economic and political policies of the Britishers, land reform policies and excessive collection of land revenue
- Decline of craftsmanship in Indian industries
- Faulty anti- Indian trade policies
- Development of basic infrastructure on the basis of selfish self-interest
- Lack of social indicators such as education, health care, other facilities, etc.
→ Till the time of attaining independence, the Britishers had ruled for almost 200 years on India and they had exploited every sector as the Indian economy.
Indian Economy at the time of Independence Class 11 RBSE Notes Important Terms
• Economy- The state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money.
• Livelihood- A means of seeming the necessities of life. Like teacher, doctor, farmer etc.
• Farmer- A farmer is a person engaged in activities related to agriculture.
• Artisan- A worker in a skilled trade, especially one that involves making things by hand.
• Servant- A person who does work for someone else.
• Import- Bring goods or services into a country from abroad for sale.
• Export- Send goods or services to another country for sale.
• Barter System- Exchanging goods for other goods.
• National Income- The total amount of money earned within a country.
• Per Capita Income- Per capita income measures the average income (earned and unearned) per person in a given area in a specified year.
• Zamindari System or Permanent System- Under this system, the Zamindars were recognized as owners of the lands. Zamindars were given the rights to collect the rent from the peasants.
• Mediator- The persons working between government and farmers, who collected land revenue from the farmers and deposited it in the government treasury. For example- Zamindars.
• Mahalwari Settlement- In this system, the land was divided into Mahals. Each Mahal comprised one or more villages.
• Ryotwari Settlement- In Ryotwari System, the ownership rights were handed over to the peasants. The British Government collected taxes directly from the peasants.
• Modernization- Economic, social, and technical development is called Modernization.
• Food crops- World’s major food supply derived from plants like wheat, barley, rice.
• Cash crop- A crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower. Example- sugarcane.
• Investment- To invest is to allocate money to another resource, in the expectation of some benefit in the future.
• Resources- Factors used in the production of goods and services, like-land, labour, capital, electricity, raw material, etc.
• Unemployment- Unemployment is the situation of actively looking for employment but not being currently employed.
• Industrialization- The development of industries in a country or region on a wide scale.
• De- Industrialization- The reduction of industrial activity or capacity in a region or economy.
• Capital Industries- Capital industries refer to such industries which manufacture machinery, instruments and machine parts.
• Free Trade Policy- Free trade is a policy to eliminate discrimination against imports and exports. Buyers and sellers from different economies may voluntarily trade without a government applying tariffs, quotas, subsidies or prohibitions on goods and services.
• Economic Infrastructure- Economic infrastructure includes such basic services that represent a foundational tool for the economy of a nation, region or city. Infrastructure can include physical structure, system, institutions, services and facilities.
• Social Infrastructure- Social infrastructure can be broadly defined as the construction and maintenance of facilities that support social services. For example- healthcare (hospitals), education (schools and universities), public facilities (community housing and prisons) and transportation (railways and roads).
• Birth Rate- The number of live births per thousand of population per year.
• Mortality Rate- The number of deaths in a given area or period, or from a particular cause.
• Child Mortality Rate- The annual number of death of infants under one year of age per 1000 live births.
• Life Expectancy- Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time a person is expected to live, based on the year of his birth, his current age and other demographic factors, including gender.