UPSC Previous Year Question | Prelims GS | 2020

Which of the following statements correctly explains the impact of Industrial Revolution on India during the first half of the nineteenth century?

  1. Indian handicrafts were ruined.
  2. Machines were introduced in the Indian textile industry in large numbers.
  3. Railway lines were laid in many parts of the country.
  4. Heavy duties were imposed on the imports of British manufactures.

Answer

Correct Answer

Indian handicrafts were ruined.

Explanation

British machine-made goods entered India under one-way free trade and destroyed traditional handicrafts (deindustrialisation). Modern textile mills began only in the 1850s, railways began in 1853, and Indian imports of British goods were not heavily taxed.

Topics: colonial economy, deindustrialisation of indian handicrafts, history, modern india