Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Crude oil.

Important Points

• An import is a good or service bought in one country that was produced in another.
• Imports and exports are components of international trade.
• If the value of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports, the country has a negative balance of trade (BOT), also known as a trade deficit.

Key Points

• India produces just 20% crude oil of its demand and rests 80% is imported from abroad.
• Crude oil and other related products account for around 22% total import of India.
• The second spot is obtained by the capital goods (machinery, base metal, transport equipment) which accounts for 19.2% of the total Indian imports.
• The third spot is obtained by the import of gems and jewellery (16.8 per cent of the total imports), the fourth and fifth spot is secured by the chemical & related products (12.7%), and electronic goods (11.4%) respectively.

The correct answer is Inflation.

Key Points

• Inflation:
  • ​Inflation is an increase in the level of prices of the goods and services that households buy.
  • It is measured as the rate of change of those prices.
  • The well-known indicator of inflation is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the percentage change in the price of a basket of goods and services consumed by households.
  • Inflation refers to the increase in the prices of the goods and services of daily use, such as food, housing, clothing, transport, recreation, consumer staples, etc.
  • Inflation is calculated in India by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation.

Additional Information

• Deflation: 
  • ​It is also called negative inflation.
  • During a deflationary period, prices fall in the same way as they arise in the case of inflation: continuously and in a generalized manner.
• Stagflation:
  • ​Stagflation is the extreme economic situation, a peculiar combination of stagnant growth and rising inflation leading to high unemployment.
  • Causes of Stagflation:
    • ​Government expansion of the money supply.
    • Decreasing level of Productivity.
    • Supply-side shock.
    • Increasing structural Unemployment.
    • Central bank raising Interest rates.
    • A sudden increase in oil prices.
  • Hyperinflation:​
    • It is the situation when the price of goods and services rises uncontrollably over a definite time period.
    • It is also called Rapid Inflation.

The correct answer is Mycem Cement Factory - Katani.

Key Points

• Mycem Cement Factory is situated in Damoh.
  • It was established in 2013.
  • It is a subsidiary of Heidelberg cement of Germany.
• National Newsprint and Paper Mill are situated in Nepanagar, Burahnpur, Madhya Pradesh.
  • It was established in 1948.
  • It is India's first newspaper printing mill.
• Security Paper Mill is situated in Hoshangabad.
  • It was established in 1968.
  • Stamp paper, postal tickets, and currency notepaper are manufactured here.
  • It is under the control of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
• Tissue Paper Mill is situated in Indore.
• Kaimur factory is situated in Katani.
  • It was established in 1923.
  • This factory is operated under ACC cement company.

The correct answer is Walra.

 Key Points

• Jhum cultivation also called Walra and burn agriculture is a form of crop-growing farming activity.
  • In the North-East states, agriculture is primarily based on Jhum cultivation.
  • It is an agricultural system where a farming community slashes secondary forests on a planned location, burns the slash, and cultivates the land for a limited number of years.
  • The land is then left unused and the farming community moves to the next location to repeat the process till they return back to the starting point.
  • It has frequently been claimed that jhum has led to the loss of valuable natural resources of the region.
  • The practice involves clearing vegetative/forest cover on slopes of hills, drying and burning it before the onset of monsoon, and cropping on it thereafter. 

Additional Information

• The shifting agriculture practiced by the tribes belonging to Dungarpur and Banswara districts in south Rajasthan.
• During May and June, the existing vegetation is cleared by burning.
  • Then grains are shown before the monsoon arrives.
  • Thus cultivating a patch of land for a few years, they move to a new patch of land and the cycle continues.
  • Once the place is left after harvesting, it remains unattended for 10-20 years to have its vegetation back.
  • It is believed that soil fertility is restored during this fallow period.

The correct answer is All of the above.

Key Points

• Meaning of Economic Reforms:
  • Economic reforms refer to the fundamental changes that were launched in 1991 with the plan of liberalising the economy and quickening its rate of economic growth.
  • The Narasimha Rao Government, in 1991, started the economic reforms in order to rebuild internal and external faith in the Indian economy.
  • The reforms intended at bringing in larger cooperation of the private sector in the growth method of the Indian economy.
  • Policy changes were proposed with regard to technology up-gradation, industrial licensing, removal of restrictions on the private sector, foreign investments, and foreign trade.
  • The essential features of the economic reforms are – Liberalisation, Privatisation, and Globalisation, commonly known as LPG.
• Need for Economic Reforms
  • Poor performance of the industrial sector. Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • Adverse balance of payments. Hence statement 2 is correct.
  • The rise in the fiscal deficit. Hence statement 3 is correct.
  • Inflation. Hence statement 4 is correct.
  • The Gulf War