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Poverty and Unemployment — GK Questions with Answers

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25 questions
  1. Disguised unemployment generally means — (IAS, 2013)
    1. a large number of people remain unemployed
    2. alternative employment is not available
    3. the marginal productivity of labour is zero
    4. the productivity of workers is low
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) the marginal productivity of labour is zero

    In disguised unemployment more people look like they are working, but the extra workers add, in effect, zero to output.

  2. How does the National Rural Livelihood Mission try to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor — 1. By setting up large numbers of new manufacturing units and agri-business centres in rural areas. 2. By strengthening self-help groups and providing skill development. — (IAS, 2012)
    1. Only 1
    2. Only 2
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Only 2

    The NRLM is built mainly around strengthening self-help groups and giving them skills, not around setting up new factories.

  3. Who is eligible to benefit from MGNREGA — (IAS, 2011)
    1. Adult members of SC and ST households only
    2. Adult members of BPL households
    3. Adult members of households from all backward communities
    4. Adult members of any household
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) Adult members of any household

    MGNREGA sets no condition on caste or income level; an adult member of any rural household can register for unskilled manual work.

  4. What is the calorie norm India uses for a rural person while fixing the poverty line
    1. 1800 kilocalories
    2. 2400 kilocalories
    3. 2600 kilocalories
    4. 2100 kilocalories
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) 2400 kilocalories

    The norm is 2400 kilocalories a day for a rural person and 2100 kilocalories a day for an urban person.

  5. What did the 1962 expert committee use as the base for fixing the poverty line
    1. Calorie intake
    2. Minimum consumption expenditure
    3. Total income
    4. Total wealth
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Minimum consumption expenditure

    This committee used minimum consumption expenditure as its base, not calorie intake.

  6. Relative poverty is based on
    1. comparing the per-person income of different countries
    2. calorie intake
    3. the Gini coefficient
    4. the minimum wage
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) comparing the per-person income of different countries

    Relative poverty is decided by comparing the per-person income of one country against another.

  7. Who formed the Lakdawala Committee, and when
    1. The Planning Commission, in 1989
    2. The Ministry of Finance, in 2009
    3. The RBI, in 1993
    4. NITI Aayog, in 2012
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) The Planning Commission, in 1989

    The Planning Commission formed the Lakdawala Committee in 1989; its report came in July 1993.

  8. What did the Tendulkar Committee add to the poverty line besides calories
    1. Spending on health, education and clothing
    2. Spending on entertainment
    3. Spending on travel
    4. The amount saved
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Spending on health, education and clothing

    The Tendulkar Committee stopped treating poverty as calories alone, and folded in spending on health, education and clothing too.

  9. By the Tendulkar Committee’s count, what was the poverty rate in 2004-05
    1. 21.9%
    2. 27.5%
    3. 37.2%
    4. 45%
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) 37.2%

    The official estimate was 27.5%, but the Tendulkar method put it at 37.2%.

  10. When did the Rangarajan Committee submit its report
    1. 2009
    2. 2012
    3. 2014
    4. 2016
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) 2014

    The Rangarajan Committee was formed in May 2012 and submitted its report on 6 July 2014.

  1. What was the Rangarajan Committee’s rural poverty line (per month) for 2011-12
    1. ₹816
    2. ₹972
    3. ₹1000
    4. ₹1407
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) ₹972

    The Rangarajan Committee set the rural line at ₹972 a month (₹32 a day), higher than Tendulkar’s ₹816.

  2. What was the N.C. Saxena Committee’s task
    1. Suggesting a method for identifying rural BPL households
    2. Suggesting a method for identifying urban BPL households
    3. Calculating GDP
    4. Measuring inflation
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Suggesting a method for identifying rural BPL households

    The N.C. Saxena Committee was formed to suggest a method for identifying BPL households in rural areas.

  3. By the S.R. Hashim Committee’s rule, how many of these four items — fridge, two-wheeler, landline, washing machine — keep a household off the BPL list
    1. Two
    2. Three
    3. All four
    4. None
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Three

    A household owning any three of these four items is not treated as poor.

  4. What is the formula for the MPI
    1. H × A
    2. H + A
    3. H ÷ A
    4. H − A
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) H × A

    H stands for how widespread MPI poverty is, and A for how intensely it is felt among those poor.

  5. Which three measures does the Sen Index combine
    1. Head count ratio, gap index and Gini coefficient
    2. Income alone
    3. Birth rate, death rate and literacy
    4. GDP, inflation and interest rate
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Head count ratio, gap index and Gini coefficient

    The Sen Index pulls together the head count ratio, the gap index and the Gini coefficient.

  6. What weight does the Fisher Price Index give to food items
    1. 40%
    2. 50%
    3. 60%
    4. 70%
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) 60%

    The Fisher Price Index gives food items a weight of 60%.

  7. What was the World Bank’s international poverty line for the period 1990 to 2015
    1. US $1.25
    2. US $1.90
    3. US $2.15
    4. US $3.20
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) US $1.90

    For that period the World Bank treated US $1.90 a day as the international poverty line.

  8. How do India’s government poverty standard and the ADB’s differ
    1. India US $1.02/day, ADB US $1.35/day
    2. Both are the same
    3. India’s is higher
    4. The ADB has no standard
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) India US $1.02/day, ADB US $1.35/day

    India’s government standard is US $1.02 a day, while the ADB’s standard is US $1.35 a day.

  9. Who developed the Gini coefficient
    1. Corrado Gini
    2. Amartya Sen
    3. Suresh Tendulkar
    4. C. Rangarajan
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Corrado Gini

    Italian statistician Corrado Gini developed this measure.

  10. What was India’s wealth Gini coefficient roughly in 2017
    1. 0.27
    2. 0.39
    3. 0.58
    4. 0.83
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) 0.83

    India’s wealth Gini coefficient was 0.83 in 2017, placing it among the most unequal countries.

  1. Who is left out of the definition of the labour force
    1. A person willing to work
    2. A person voluntarily not working
    3. A person who has a job
    4. An unemployed person looking for work
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) A person voluntarily not working

    A person who voluntarily stays out of work does not want to work at all, so they are not part of the labour force.

  2. What is the recall period for Current Weekly Status (CWS)
    1. 1 day
    2. 1 week
    3. 1 month
    4. 1 year
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) 1 week

    Under CWS, putting in even a single hour on any one day of that week is enough to count as employed.

  3. How often does the NSSO run its survey on employment and unemployment
    1. Every year
    2. Every three years
    3. Every five years
    4. Every ten years
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Every five years

    On the Bhagwati Committee’s recommendation, the NSSO has run this survey every five years since 1972-73.

  4. When did the National Statistical Office start the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
    1. 2011
    2. 2014
    3. 2017
    4. 2020
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) 2017

    The NSO started the PLFS in 2017.

  5. What wage-to-material ratio must MGNREGA maintain
    1. 50:50
    2. 60:40
    3. 70:30
    4. 80:20
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) 60:40

    A 60:40 ratio of wages to materials must be maintained, to maximise the employment generated.

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