On what basis are the public sector and the private sector distinguished?
- A.Ownership of enterprises
- B.Number of workers employed
- C.Use of machinery
- D.Location of the enterprise
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, ownership. In the public sector the government owns the assets and provides the services, and the aim is public welfare rather than profit; in the private sector ownership rests with individuals or companies and profit is the motive.
Option B, the number of workers, matters for definitions such as that of a factory under labour law, but not for this division. Option C, the use of machinery, distinguishes capital intensive from labour intensive production, another idea altogether. Option D, location, has no bearing on ownership. The reason the government takes up railways, roads, irrigation, power and ports is that these need heavy investment and return it slowly, so private firms would not build them at prices ordinary people could pay; they also carry benefits for the whole economy that a private balance sheet does not capture.
Read the full article: Sectors of the Indian Economy: Primary to Tertiary
Practice Questions
View allMining is classified under which sector of the economy?
- A.Primary sector
- B.Secondary sector
- C.Tertiary sector
- D.Quaternary sector
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Mining takes a product straight out of nature without changing its form, exactly as farming, fishing and forestry do, and every activity of that kind is placed in the primary sector.
Read the full explanation →Which sector of the economy is also known as the service sector?
- A.Primary sector
- B.Secondary sector
- C.Tertiary sector
- D.Public sector
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It produces no goods at all; it provides services such as transport, storage, communication, trade, banking, insurance, education, health care and administration, which is why it is commonly called the service sector.
Read the full explanation →Disguised unemployment is most commonly found in which sector in India?
- A.Agriculture
- B.Information technology
- C.Banking
- D.Mining
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On a small family holding every member of the household may work on the land even though the work needs far fewer hands; if some of them were withdrawn, total output would not fall.
Read the full explanation →How many days of wage employment in a financial year does MGNREGA guarantee to a rural household?
- A.50 days
- B.100 days
- C.150 days
- D.200 days
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The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, passed in 2005, guarantees one hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
Read the full explanation →Which sector employs the largest share of India's workforce?
- A.Primary sector
- B.Secondary sector
- C.Tertiary sector
- D.Quaternary sector
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Agriculture and its allied activities still give work to the largest number of Indians, even though the sector's contribution to national income is far smaller than that share of employment would suggest.
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