Very Short Questions: Sectors of the Indian Economy

Q1: What are economic activities?
Ans: Economic activities are those activities that contribute to the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in an economy.

Q2: Many activities are undertaken by directly using natural resources. What are these activities known as?
Ans: Primary activities.

Q3: Give any two examples of primary activities.
Ans: (i) Animal rearing - keeping animals for milk, meat or wool. 
(ii) Lumbering - cutting and collecting timber from forests.

Q4: 'Dairy is a primary activity'. Give a reason.
Ans: Dairy is a primary activity because it directly depends on biological resources (animals) and natural inputs like fodder. Milk is a natural product produced by animals.

Q5: By what other name is the primary sector known as?
Ans: The primary sector is also called the agriculture and allied sector, since it includes farming and related activities such as fishing, forestry and animal husbandry.

Q6: What is the secondary sector?
Ans: The secondary sector includes activities in which natural products are transformed into other forms by manual work or by using machines. It covers manufacturing, construction and processing of raw materials into finished goods.
Q7: Give two examples of secondary activities.
Ans: (i) Manufacturing of a car - converting metal and parts into a finished vehicle. 
(ii) Manufacturing of a chair - making furniture from wood or other materials.

Q8: What is the tertiary sector?
Ans: The tertiary sector provides support services to both the primary and secondary sectors. It includes services such as banking, trade, transport, communication, education and health care, which help other sectors to function effectively.

Q9: Why tertiary sector also termed the service sector?
Ans: The tertiary sector is termed the service sector because it mainly provides services rather than physical goods. It supports production and distribution through services like banking, transport and communication.

Q10: What is GDP? [CBSE 2014]
Ans: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the money value of all final goods and services produced within a country's borders during a particular year. It measures the size of an economy.

Q11: Which organisation in India undertakes the task of measuring GDP?
Ans: The National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (Central Government), is responsible for compiling and publishing estimates of GDP in India.

Q12: What are final goods?
Ans: Final goods are goods that are ready for use by the consumer and will not be used again in production. For example, a pen bought for writing is a final good.

Q13: What are intermediate goods?
Ans: Intermediate goods are goods used up in the production process to make other goods. For example, the ink used to print a book or the steel used to make a car are intermediate goods.

Q14: 'While calculating Gross Domestic product the value of only final goods should be included'. Give a reason.
Ans: Only the value of final goods is included to avoid double-counting. The price of a final good already includes the value of all intermediate goods used to produce it, so counting both would overstate GDP.

Q15: Which sector has shown the highest growth rate?
Ans: The tertiary sector (services) has shown the highest growth rate in recent years, driven by expansion in areas such as information technology, finance and transport.

Q16: Which sector is the largest employer?
Ans: The primary sector (especially agriculture and allied activities) is the largest employer in India, providing livelihood to a majority of the rural population.

Q17: What is Right to Work?
Ans: Right to Work means that anyone willing to work at the prevailing wage should be provided work by the government. It aims to ensure employment and a minimum standard of living for those ready to work.

Q18: What is the organised sector?
Ans: The organised sector includes enterprises and workplaces where employment terms are regular, wages are fixed or periodically adjusted, and workers often receive benefits such as social security and paid leave.

Q19: What is the unorganised sector?
Ans: The unorganised sector consists of small, informal enterprises and workers who are largely outside government regulation. Work is often irregular, wages are low, and social security is usually absent.

Q20: There is a need for protection and support of the workers in the unorganised sector. Give two reasons.
Ans: (i) Unfair wages: Workers in the unorganised sector are often not paid fair or regular wages and lack minimum wage protection. 
(ii) Poor working conditions: Many workers face unsafe workplaces, long hours and no social security or job stability, making them vulnerable to economic shocks.