Long Answer Questions: Sectors of the Indian Economy - Notes | Study Social Studies (SST) Class 10 - Class 10

Q1. Give a few examples of public sector activities and explain why the government has taken them up.

Public Sector Organisations in India

Construction of roads, bridges, railways, harbours, generating electricity, providing irrigation through dams, health, education etc. are a few examples of public sector activities Government has taken up these activities because these activities require a huge amount of investment which is beyond the capacity of the private sector and several things needed by the society as a whole which the private sector will not provide at a reasonable cost. Even if they do provide these things, they would charge a high rate for their use.m, Let us further understand this with the help of an example. Selling electricity at a price which covers the full cost of generation may push up the cost of production in industries. Many units, especially small scale units, might have to shut down. The government here steps in by producing and supplying electricity at rates which these industries can afford. So the government has to bear a part of the cost.

Q2. Distinguish between primary sector and secondary sector by stating four points of distinction.

Primary Sector	Secondary Sector
(i) Primary sector includes all agricultural and allied activities, e.g., forestry, fishing mining, quarrying etc.	This sector is also known as the manufacturing sector.
(ii) It produces goods by exploiting natural resources such as land, water, forests, mines etc.	The manufacturing sector converts one type of commodity into another. For example - manufacturing of cotton cloth from cotton yarn, sugar from sugarcane etc.
(iii) Farmers buy many goods such as tractors. fertilisers, equipment etc. from the secondary sector. Thus, it shows the dependence of the primary sector on the secondary sector.	Similarly, the manufacturing sector needs raw materials such as cotton yarn to produce cotton, sugarcane to produce sugar, wood for furniture etc. This shows the dependence of the secondary sector on the primary sector.
(iv) Agriculture, a part of the primary sector, is the largest sector in terms of the workforce it employs and plays the most important role.	Manufacturing is one of the important components of the secondary sector.