Inclusive Growth and Employment — Practice Questions
UPSC Prelims-pattern practice questions on inclusive growth, inequality measures, poverty estimates, the national MPI and labour codes, with full explanations.
Questions
These are original UPSC-pattern practice questions. Attempt each one before revealing the answer.
“Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth” was the central theme of which Five Year Plan?
Solution
The Eleventh Plan (2007–12) carried this title. The Twelfth Plan (2012–17) extended it to Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable Growth. The Ninth and Tenth Plans had different central themes.
Answer: C
Consider the following statements:
- A Gini coefficient of zero represents perfect equality.
- The farther the Lorenz curve lies from the line of equality, the greater the inequality.
- The Kuznets hypothesis suggests that inequality first rises and then falls as per capita income increases.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Solution
All three are correct. The Gini coefficient (0 to 1) is derived from the area between the line of equality and the Lorenz curve, so a curve farther from the diagonal means more inequality. Kuznets proposed an inverted-U relationship between income and inequality.
Answer: D
Consider the following pairs:
| Committee / Method | Associated fact | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Tendulkar methodology | Poverty ratio of 21.9% for 2011-12 |
| 2. | Rangarajan Committee | Poverty ratio of 29.5% for 2011-12 |
| 3. | National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector | Chaired by C. Rangarajan |
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Solution
Pairs 1 and 2 are correct. Pair 3 is wrong — the NCEUS was chaired by Arjun Sengupta; its 2007 report highlighted that about 77% of the population lived on less than ₹20 a day in 2004-05.
Answer: B
With reference to the National Multidimensional Poverty Index released by NITI Aayog, consider the following statements:
- It measures deprivations in health, education and standard of living.
- It uses 12 indicators, including maternal health and bank account.
- It is calculated from household consumption expenditure data.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Solution
Statements 1 and 2 are correct — three equally weighted dimensions and 12 indicators (the global MPI’s 10, plus maternal health and bank account). Statement 3 is wrong — the MPI uses deprivation indicators from the National Family Health Survey, not consumption expenditure, which is the basis of poverty lines like Tendulkar’s.
Answer: A
Consider the following:
- Code on Wages
- Industrial Relations Code
- Code on Social Security
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code
- Code on Skill Development
How many of the above are among the Labour Codes enacted by Parliament in 2019–2020?
Solution
Four Labour Codes were enacted: the Code on Wages (2019), and the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020). They consolidate 29 central labour laws. There is no “Code on Skill Development”.
Answer: C
Mains
Low female labour force participation is one of the biggest obstacles to inclusive growth in India. Discuss the reasons and suggest measures.
Solution
Introduction: Inclusive growth requires that women share in productive employment. Yet women’s labour force participation in India has long been low compared with men’s and with many peer economies, which limits household incomes and the demographic dividend.
Body:
- Reasons: social norms on women’s mobility and paid work; unpaid care and domestic work; safety and transport constraints; lack of suitable jobs near home; mechanisation of agriculture reducing manual farm work; rising household incomes and education keeping young women out of the labour force for longer; under-counting of women’s work.
- Measures: childcare and maternity support; safe transport and hostels for working women; labour-intensive sectors that employ women (apparel, food processing, electronics assembly); self-help groups and credit (DAY-NRLM, MUDRA); skilling and digital access; flexible and remote work; better measurement of women’s work in surveys.
Conclusion: Raising women’s participation would widen the base of growth and make it more inclusive; it needs action on both jobs and the care economy.