Which of the following statements is/are correct about the Indian economy during the colonial period? (A) The average annual growth of per capita income was lower during 1920-25 to 1947 than during 1865 to 1920-25. (B) The colonial administration generated a large amount of revenue from peasants by raising the land revenue. (C) The British brought capital from England for the construction of Railways and passed on the burden of interest on it to the Indian tax payers. (D) Dadabhai Naoroji's estimates of the drain of wealth from India to England included, among other things, the home charges.

2 marksIndian EconomyThe Indian economy before and after independenceModerateabout 2 min

IIT JAM 2021 Question 33: The Indian economy before and after independence

Which of the following statements is/are correct about the Indian economy during the colonial period?

Select all that apply.

Answer and worked solution

Answer: (A) and (B) and (C) and (D)

All four statements reflect the standard economic history of colonial India. Per-capita income growth was slower in the late colonial decades than earlier (A); the administration extracted heavy land revenue from peasants (B); railway capital raised in England carried guaranteed interest that fell on Indian taxpayers (C); and Naoroji's drain estimates counted the home charges among the outflows (D).

So all of (A), (B), (C) and (D) are correct.

The trap

Each statement is a well-documented feature of the colonial economy, so none can be excluded; the answer is all four.

The Indian economy before and after independence has come up 30 times in 4 exams since 2010.

Take this paper as a timed mock More on this topic

Question from the IIT JAM 2021 paper. Solutions are TestStop's own. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any examination authority.