Class 12 Economics Short Questions with Answers - Comparative Development Experiences of India and its Neighbours

Q.1. Name the largest democracy of the world.
Ans. India is the largest democracy of the world.

Q.2. When did China announce its first Five Year Plan?
Ans. China announced its first Five Year Plan in 1953.

Q.3. What was the objective of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution introduced by Mao?
Ans. Under the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, students and professionals were sent to work and learn from the countryside.

Q.4. What are the government owned enterprises known in China?
Ans. The government owned enterprises are known as State Owned Enterprises—SOEs in China.

Q.5. When were reforms initiated in Pakistan?
Ans. Reforms were initiated in 1988 in Pakistan.

Q.6. Write a brief note on the commune system in China.
Ans. Commune system was started in the rural areas of China, under which people collectively cultivated lands. Commune lands were divided into small plots. These plots were allocated to individual households for cultivation, not ownership. Households were allowed to keep all income from the land after paying specified taxes. In 1958, there were 26,000 communes covering almost all the farm population. The commune system resulted in more equitable distribution of food grains in China.

Q.7. State the factors which created conducive environment for new investments in Pakistan.
Ans. Following factors created conducive environment for new investments in Pakistan:
(i) Adoption of green revolution
(ii) Shift of the orientation of nationalisation policy to denationalisation and encouragement to private sector
(iii) Financial support from western nations
(iv) Growing remittances from Pakistani workers in the Middle-east

Q.8. What were the problems faced by the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China?
Ans. GLF campaign faced many problems. These were:
(i) A severe drought caused havoc in China, which killed around 30 million people.
(ii) Russia had conflicts with China. As a result, Russia withdrew its professionals who were sent to China to help in the industrialisation process.

Q.9. What are special economic zones? Why were these established in China?
Ans. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are regions that are granted special economic policies and flexible governmental measures. Such policies and measures provide special tax incentives to foreign investment institutions. SEZs were created by the People’s Republic of China to attract and utilize foreign capital investments.

Q.10. Which country is the most populated in the world?
Ans. China is the most populated country in the world.

Q.11. Arrange India, China and Pakistan in terms of their HDI ranks.
Ans. The three nations are arranged in terms of their HDI ranks
(i) China
(ii) India
(iii) Pakistan

Q.12. Which sector contributes the most in the India’s GDP?
Ans. Service sector contributes the most in the India’s GDP.

Q.13. What is the density of population in India, Pakistan and China?
Ans. The density of population in India, Pakistan and China is 421, 236 and 145 persons per sq. km. respectively.

Q.14. Which country has largest share of poor among India, China and Pakistan?
Ans. India has the largest share of poor among the three countries.

Q.15. List any two problems which China faced prior to the introduction of reforms in 1978.
Ans. Problems faced by China prior to the introduction of reforms in 1978 were:
(i) Slow pace of growth
(ii) Lack of modernisation under the Maoist rule

Q.16. Where did India borrow from to correct its balance of payments crisis.
Ans. India borrowed from the IMF and World Bank to correct its balance of payments crisis.

Q.17. Critically assess pre and post-reform period in China.
Ans. Pre-reform period
(i) There was massive establishment of infrastructure in the areas of education and health
(ii) Extensive land reforms were introduced to bring about changes in the ownership of land holdings and encourage equity.
(iii) Development of small enterprises was promoted on a large scale.
Post-reform period
(i) Reforms in agriculture brought about prosperity to a vast number of poor people.
(ii) Reforms created conditions for the subsequent phenomenal growth in rural industries.
(iii) Strong support base was built up for more reforms.

Q.18. State the outcome of reforms in Pakistan.
Ans. The reform process led to worsening of all the economic indicators as stated below:
(i) The growth rate of GDP and its sectoral constituents have fallen in the 1990s compared to 1980s.
(ii) The official data of Pakistan indicates that the proportion of poor in 1960s was more than 40 per cent. It declined to 25 per cent in 1980s, which again started rising in 1990s.

Q.19. Discuss the sources of foreign exchange in Pakistan.
Ans. The sources of foreign exchange in Pakistan include:
(i) remittances from Pakistani workers in the Middle-east;
(ii) payment in exchange for exports of highly volatile agricultural products; and
(iii) loans from foreign countries.