The 50 Most Important GK MCQs on the Indian Economy 1950–1990, along with their answers, are collected in this post. For candidates preparing for the UPSC, SSC, Railway, CDS, NDA, State PSCs, and other government examinations, these questions are perfect. Knowing these facts not only improves your static GK but also gives you an advantage in terms of macroeconomics, microeconomics, their jargon, and the fundamentals that underpin the nation’s economic policies.
Multiple-Choice Question (50 GK Questions With Answers)
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1. After independence, India adopted which type of economy?
a) Capitalist
b) Socialist
c) Mixed economy
d) Communist
2. Who was the Chairperson of the Planning Commission in 1950?
a) Rajendra Prasad
b) B.R. Ambedkar
c) Jawaharlal Nehru
d) Mahatma Gandhi
3. Which were the main goals of Five Year Plans?
a) Trade, defence, exports, imports
b) Education, industry, defence, railways
c) Growth, modernisation, self-reliance, equity
d) Capitalism, socialism, democracy, secularism
4. Who is called the architect of Indian planning?
a) Amartya Sen
b) Dadabhai Naoroji
c) P.C. Mahalanobis
d) Manmohan Singh
5. GDP refers to:
a) Imports minus exports
b) Government income
c) Only goods produced
d) Value of all final goods & services produced in a year
6. Modernisation also meant:
a) Raising taxes
b) Only new machines
c) Women’s empowerment and social changes
d) More imports
7. Self-reliance in plans aimed to:
a) Encourage luxury imports
b) Get foreign aid
c) Reduce dependence on foreign countries
d) Promote exports only
8. Land reforms after independence focused on:
a) Urbanisation
b) Export crops
c) Equity – land to the tiller
d) Promoting industry
9. Land ceiling means:
a) State ownership of all land
b) Unlimited land ownership
c) Maximum land a person can own
d) Free land distribution
10. Which states saw successful land reforms?
a) Punjab & Haryana
b) Bihar & Orissa
c) Kerala & West Bengal
d) Gujarat & Maharashtra
11. The Green Revolution was based on:
a) Mechanisation
b) Imports of food
c) High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds
d) Cash crops only
12. Marketed surplus means:
a) Farm produce eaten by family
b) Farm produce sold in the market
c) Government quota of grains
d) Surplus land given away
13. The first phase of Green Revolution benefitted:
a) Bihar & UP
b) Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
c) Kerala & Bengal
d) Rajasthan & MP
14. Criticism of Green Revolution was:
a) High employment
b) Less food production
c) Gap between rich & poor farmers widened
d) Reduced irrigation
15. Subsidies were given to:
a) Promote exports
b) Encourage adoption of new technology
c) Reduce tax burden
d) Fund zamindars
16. By 1990, what % of the population was still in agriculture?
a) 30%
b) 45%
c) 65%
d) 20%
17. The IPR 1956 classified industries into:
a) Two categories
b) Three categories
c) Four categories
d) Five categories
18. Small-scale industries were encouraged because they are:
a) Capital intensive
b) Import dependent
c) Labour intensive
d) Foreign dominated
19. Import substitution strategy meant:
a) Producing goods domestically instead of importing
b) Promoting exports
c) Importing capital goods
d) Free trade
20. Tariffs and quotas were used to:
a) Increase exports
b) Protect domestic industries
c) Encourage imports
d) Reduce inflation
21. Share of industry in GDP rose from 1950 to 1990 from:
a) 5% → 10%
b) 13% → 25%
c) 30% → 50%
d) 20% → 60%
22. A major drawback of PSUs was:
a) Over-competition
b) Heavy losses & inefficiency
c) Lack of workers
d) Too much profit
23. “License raj” meant:
a) Need for government license for industries
b) Zamindari in industries
c) Foreign trade rules
d) Farmer licensing
24. Trade policy before 1991 was:
a) Export-led
b) Inward-looking & restrictive
c) Open economy
d) Fully globalised
25. Main reason for 1991 reforms was:
a) Low population
b) Inefficiency & global pressures
c) High exports
d) Excess resources
26. Who guided India’s first Five Year Plan?
a) M K Gandhi
b) Pandit Nehru
c) Rajendra Prasad
d) Sardar Patel
27. Main objective of planning was:
a) Expand empire
b) Attract FDI
c) Raise living standards
d) Increase military
28. Economist linked to Second Five Year Plan:
a) Mahalanobis
b) Amartya Sen
c) Ambedkar
d) V.K.R.V. Rao
29. Planning Commission was set up in:
a) 1947
b) 1950
c) 1960
d) 1955
30. Which concept was borrowed from USSR?
a) WTO policy
b) Five Year Plans
c) Capitalism
d) Panchayati Raj
31. By 1990, which sector had the largest GDP share?
a) Agriculture
b) Industry
c) Services
d) Defence
32. Which committee promoted small-scale industry?
a) Rao
b) Gandhi
c) Karve Committee
d) Patel
33. Limit for small-scale industry investment in 1950 was:
a) Rs. 1 crore
b) Rs. 50,000
c) Rs. 10 lakh
d) Rs. 5 lakh
34. Which industry was kept exclusively for public sector?
a) Defence
b) Hotels
c) Bread-making
d) Cotton textiles
35. Main crops of Green Revolution were:
a) Sugarcane & cotton
b) Tea & coffee
c) Wheat & rice
d) Maize & pulses
36. Equity in planning meant:
a) Export promotion
b) Industrial growth
c) Reducing inequality & poverty
d) Encouraging luxury
37. Second phase of Green Revolution spread in:
a) 1950s
b) 1970s–80s
c) 1960s
d) 1990s
38. Who provided loans for HYV seeds?
a) Foreign aid
b) Government banks
c) Zamindars
d) World Bank
39. IPR stands for:
a) Indian Public Resources
b) Industrial Policy Resolution
c) Import Policy Regulation
d) Internal Planning Report
40. Industry’s annual growth rate (1950–90) was about:
a) 2%
b) 6%
c) 10%
d) 12%
41. Basis of the Second Plan was:
a) WTO policy
b) IPR 1956
c) Globalisation
d) Five Year 9
42. Subsidies were criticised because:
a) They promoted exports
b) Burdened finances & helped big farmers
c) Increased equality
d) Attracted FDI
43. Green Revolution started in:
a) 1950s
b) 1960s
c) 1970s
d) 1980s
44. Import substitution was adopted to:
a) Protect infant industries
b) Reduce production
c) Promote luxury goods
d) Encourage imports
45. Which sector kept most of the workforce till 1990?
a) Industry
b) Services
c) Agriculture
d) Defence
46. Who set up Indian Statistical Institute?
a) Amartya Sen
b) P.C. Mahalanobis
c) Nehru
d) Rao
47. Which journal was started by Mahalanobis?
a) Economic Times
b) Sankhya
c) Indian Economy Review
d) Planning Today
48. The Green Revolution began around:
a) 1947
b) 1965
c) 1975
d) 1980
49. An economy where demand & supply decide production is:
a) Capitalist
b) Socialist
c) Mixed
d) Traditional
50. India’s stress on self-reliance was influenced by:
a) Cold War
b) Colonial exploitation (British rule experience)
c) Partition only
d) WTO
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Answer Key
| Q.No | Answer | Q.No | Answer |
| 1 | Mixed economy | 26 | Pandit Nehru |
| 2 | Jawaharlal Nehru | 27 | Raise living standards |
| 3 | Growth, modernisation, self-reliance, equity | 28 | Mahalanobis |
| 4 | P.C. Mahalanobis | 29 | 1950 |
| 5 | Value of all final goods & services produced in a year | 30 | Five Year Plans |
| 6 | Women’s empowerment and social changes | 31 | Services |
| 7 | Reduce dependence on foreign countries | 32 | Karve Committee |
| 8 | Equity – land to the tiller | 33 | Rs. 5 lakh |
| 9 | Maximum land a person can own | 34 | Defence |
| 10 | Kerala & West Bengal | 35 | Wheat & rice |
| 11 | High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds | 36 | Reducing inequality & poverty |
| 12 | Farm produce sold in the market | 37 | 1970s–80s |
| 13 | Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu | 38 | Government banks |
| 14 | Gap between rich & poor farmers widened | 39 | Industrial Policy Resolution |
| 15 | Encourage adoption of new technology | 40 | 6% |
| 16 | 65% | 41 | IPR 1956 |
| 17 | Three categories | 42 | Burdened finances & helped big farmers |
| 18 | Labour intensive | 43 | 1960s |
| 19 | Producing goods domestically instead of importing | 44 | Protect infant industries |
| 20 | Protect domestic industries | 45 | Agriculture |
| 21 | 13% → 25% | 46 | P.C. Mahalanobis |
| 22 | Heavy losses & inefficiency | 47 | Sankhya |
| 23 | Need for government license for industries | 48 | 1965 |
| 24 | Inward-looking & restrictive | 49 | Capitalist |
| 25 | Inefficiency & global pressures | 50 | Colonial exploitation (British rule experience) |
Tips for Aspirants – Why These GK Questions Matter
Economics GK is essential if you want to take tests for the UPSC, SSC, Railways, or other State Public Service Commissions. Exam questions from “Indian Economy 1950–1990” are often repeated because they provide a rational perspective on microeconomics, macroeconomics, their jargon, and the fundamental ideas that underpin the nation’s economic policies.
🟢 These GK questions with answers help in:
- Strengthening your static GK base
- Quick revision of conceptual theories
- Differentiating between similar-sounding options
- Retaining chronological facts like Microeconomics, Macroeconomics terminologies and major events ( Post Colonial Economic situation of the country )
Pro Tip: Revise these questions multiple times, focus on keywords (like industry, exploitation, scarcity, trade practices, indebtedness etc. ), and try linking each theory to a scientist’s name—it helps in elimination strategy!
Conclusion
We hope you found this collection of 50 MCQs on Indian Economy 1950–1990 helpful in your exam preparation. Economics isn’t just about memorizing terms and time periods—it’s about understanding how our economy came to be in its present state and how it continues to change.
👉 Stay tuned for Economics GK Part-3
✍️ For more GK questions with answers, visit our dedicated 👉 GK Section.
