Class 10 › Social Science › Economics — Understanding Economic Development Sectors of the Indian Economy Class 10 Social Science · Economics — Understanding Economic Development · Chapter 2
Practice all → Summary Questions & answers Practise this chapter → View all This chapter classifies economic activities into three sectors — primary (agriculture and related), secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (services) — and shows how they are interdependent. It explains how, as an economy develops, the relative share of these sectors in production and employment changes, with the tertiary or service sector becoming the largest contributor to India’s Gross Domestic Product. A key issue discussed is underemployment, or disguised unemployment, especially in agriculture, where more people work than are actually needed. The chapter introduces schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which aims to create rural jobs. It also distinguishes the organised and unorganised sectors, highlighting the insecurity and lack of benefits in the unorganised sector and the need to protect its workers. Finally, it explains the public and private sectors, contrasting their aims — public welfare versus profit — and argues that both are needed for balanced and inclusive economic growth in India.
Primary sector
Activities that produce goods by using natural resources, such as farming.
Secondary sector
Activities that turn raw materials into manufactured goods.
Tertiary sector
Activities that provide services, such as transport, banking and trade.
Gross Domestic Product
The value of all final goods and services produced in a year.
Disguised unemployment
A situation where more people work than are actually needed.
Organised sector
A sector with registered, regular jobs, fixed hours and security.
Unorganised sector
A sector with irregular, insecure jobs and no benefits.
Underemployment
Working less than one’s potential or below full capacity.
Q1 How are the three sectors of the economy interdependent? Answer Q2 What is disguised unemployment? Answer Q3 How does MGNREGA help workers? Answer Q4 Distinguish between the organised and unorganised sectors. Answer Q5 Why is the tertiary sector becoming more important in India? Answer Q6 How are the three sectors of the economy interdependent? Answer Q7 What is disguised unemployment? Answer Q8 How does MGNREGA help rural workers? Answer Q9 Distinguish between the organised and unorganised sectors. Answer Q10 Why has the tertiary sector become more important in India? Answer Q1 1. Complete the above table to show how sectors are dependent on each other. Answer Q2 2. Explain the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary sectors using examples other than those mentioned in the text. Answer Q3 3. Classify the following list of occupations under primary, secondary and tertiary sectors:
• Tailor
• Basket weaver
• Flower cultivator
• Milk vendor
• Fishermen
• Priest
• Courier
• Workers in match factory
• Moneylender
• Gardener
• Potter
• Bee-keeper
• Astronaut
• Call centre employee Answer Q4 4. Students in a school are often classified into primary and secondary or junior and senior. What is the criterion that is used? Do you think this is a useful classification? Discuss. Answer Q1 1. What does the history of developed countries indicate about the shifts that have taken place between sectors? Answer Q2 2. Correct and arrange the important aspects for calculating GDP from this Jumble.
To count goods and services we add the numbers that are produced. We count all those that were produced in the last five years. Since we shouldn’t leave out anything we add up all these goods and services. Answer Q3 3. Discuss with your teacher how you could calculate the total value of a good or service by using the method of value added at each stage. Answer Q1 Answer the following questions by looking at the graph:
1. Which was the largest producing sector in 1977–78? Answer Q2 2. Which is the largest producing sector in 2017–18? Answer Q3 3. Can you say which sector has grown the most over forty years? Answer Q4 4. What was the GDP of India in 2017–18? Answer Q1 1. Complete the table using the data given in Graphs 2 and 3 and answer the question that follows. Ignore if data are not available for some years.
What are the changes that you observe in the primary sector over a span of forty years? Answer Q2 2. Choose the correct answer:
Underemployment occurs when people
(i) do not want to work
(ii) are working in a lazy manner
(iii) are working less than what they are capable of doing
(iv) are not paid for their work Answer Q3 3. Compare and contrast the changes in India with the pattern that was observed for developed countries. What kind of changes between sectors were desired but did not happen in India? Answer Q4 4. Why should we be worried about underemployment? Answer Q1 1. Why do you think MGNREGA 2005 or Viksit Bharat-G RAM G 2025 is referred to as ‘Right to work’ ? Answer Q2 2. Imagine that you are the village head. In that capacity suggest some activities that you think should be taken up under this Act that would also increase the income of people? Discuss. Answer Q3 3. How would income and employment increase if farmers were provided with irrigation and marketing facilities? Answer Q4 4. In what ways can employment be increased in urban areas? Answer Q1 1. Look at the following examples. Which of these are unorganised sector activities?
(i) A teacher taking classes in a school
(ii) A headload worker carrying a bag of cement on his back in a market
(iii) A farmer irrigating her field
(iv) A doctor in a hospital treating a patient
(v) A daily wage labourer working under a contractor
(vi) A factory worker going to work in a big factory
(vii) A handloom weaver working in her house Answer Q2 2. Talk to someone who has a regular job in the organised sector and another who works in the unorganised sector. Compare and contrast their working conditions in all aspects. Answer Q3 3. How would you distinguish between organised and unorganised sectors? Explain in your own words. Answer Q4 4. The table below shows the estimated number of workers in India in the organised and unorganised sectors in the late 1990s. Read the table carefully. Fill in the missing data and answer the questions that follow. Answer Q5 · What is the percentage of people in the unorganised sector in agriculture? Answer Q6 · Do you agree that agriculture is an unorganised sector activity? Why? Answer Q7 · If we look at the country as a whole, we find that ———% of the workers in India are in the unorganised sector. Organised sector employment is available to only about ———% of the workers in India. Answer Q1 What was the most important conclusion that was derived from the classification exercises? What were the problems and solutions that were indicated? Can you summarise the information in the following table? Answer Q1 1. Fill in the blanks using the correct option given in the bracket:
(i) Employment in the service sector _________ increased to the same extent as production. (has / has not) Answer Q2 (ii) Workers in the _________ sector do not produce goods.
(tertiary / agricultural) Answer Q3 (iii) Most of the workers in the _________ sector enjoy job security.
(organised / unorganised) Answer Q4 (iv) A _________ proportion of labourers in India are working in the unorganised sector. (large / small) Answer Q5 (v) Cotton is a _________ product and cloth is a _________ product.
[natural /manufactured] Answer Q6 (vi) The activities in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors are_________
[independent / interdependent] Answer Q7 2. Choose the most appropriate answer.
(a) The sectors are classified into public and private sector on the basis of:
(i) employment conditions
(ii) the nature of economic activity
(iii) ownership of enterprises
(iv) number of workers employed in the enterprise Answer Q8 (b) Production of a commodity, mostly through the natural process, is an activity in _________ sector.
(i) primary
(ii) secondary
(iii) tertiary
(iv) information technology Answer Q9 (c) GDP is the total value of _________ produced during a particular year.
(i) all goods and services
(ii) all final goods and services
(iii) all intermediate goods and services
(iv) all intermediate and final goods and services Answer Q10 (d) In terms of GVA the share of tertiary sector in 2017–18 is between _________ per cent.
(i) 20 to 30
(ii) 30 to 40
(iii) 50 to 60
(iv) 60 to 70 Answer Q11 1. Unirrigated land Answer Q12 2. Low prices for crops Answer Q14 4. No job in the off season Answer Q15 5. Compelled to sell their grains to the local traders soon after harvest Answer Q16 4. Find the odd one out and say why.
(i) Tourist guide, dhobi, tailor, potter Answer Q17 (ii) Teacher, doctor, vegetable vendor, lawyer Answer Q18 (iii) Postman, cobbler, soldier, police constable Answer Q19 (iv) MTNL, Indian Railways, Air India, Jet Airways, All India Radio Answer Q20 5. A research scholar looked at the working people in the city of Surat and found the following.
Complete the table. What is the percentage of workers in the unorganised sector in this city? Answer Q21 6. Do you think the classification of economic activities into primary, secondary and tertiary is useful? Explain how. Answer Q22 7. For each of the sectors that we came across in this chapter why should one focus on employment and GVA? Could there be other issues which should be examined? Discuss. Answer Q23 8. Make a long list of all kinds of work that you find adults around you doing for a living. In what way can you classify them? Explain your choice. Answer Q24 9. How is the tertiary sector different from other sectors? Illustrate with a few examples. Answer Q25 10. What do you understand by disguised unemployment? Explain with an example each from the urban and rural areas. Answer Q26 11. Distinguish between open unemployment and disguised unemployment. Answer Q27 12. “Tertiary sector is not playing any significant role in the development of Indian economy.” Do you agree? Give reasons in support of your answer. Answer Q28 13. Service sector in India employs two different kinds of people. Who are these? Answer Q29 14. Workers are exploited in the unorganised sector. Do you agree with this view? Give reasons in support of your answer. Answer Q30 15. How are the activities in the economy classified on the basis of employment conditions? Answer Q31 16. Compare the employment conditions prevailing in the organised and unorganised sectors. Answer Q32 17. Explain the objective of implementing the MGNREGA 2005 or
Viksit Bharat-G RAM G 2025. Answer Q33 18. Using examples from your area compare and contrast that activities and functions of private and public sectors. Answer Q34 19. Discuss and fill the following table giving one example each from your area.
Well managed organisation Badly managed organisation
Public sector
Private Sector Answer Q35 20. Give a few examples of public sector activities and explain why the government has taken them up. Answer Q36 21. Explain how public sector contributes to the economic development of a nation. Answer Q37 22. The workers in the unorganised sector need protection on the following issues : wages, safety and health. Explain with examples. Answer Q38 23. A study in Ahmedabad found that out of 15,00,000 workers in the city, 11,00,000 worked in the unorganised sector. The total income of the city in this year (1997-1998) was Rs 60,000 million. Out of this Rs 32,000 million was generated in the organised sector. Present this data as a table. What kind of ways should be thought of for generating more employment in the city? Answer Q39 24. The following table gives the GVA in Rupees (Crores) by the three sectors:
Year Primary Secondary Tertiary
2001-02 13,23,000 10,40,000 19,31,000
2021-22 24,79,400 40,73,000 73,25,000
(i) Calculate the share of the three sectors in GDP for 2000 and 2013. Answer Q40 (ii) Show the data as a bar diagram similar to Graph 2 in the chapter. Answer Q41 (iii) What conclusions can we draw from the bar graph? Answer
Agriculture and related activities belong to the:
A tertiary sector B secondary sector C primary sector D public sector
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