#Question 1 of 20Score: +1.0 / -0.25
Poverty Estimation, Unemployment Types and Employment Schemes
Practice poverty-and-unemployment with 20 free MCQ questions covering economics. Detailed explanations in English and Hindi, perfect for UPSC, SSC, and competitive exam preparation.
FreePrep.inPoverty Estimation, Unemployment Types and Employment Schemes20:00
Poverty Estimation, Unemployment Types and Employment Schemes20:00
poverty-and-unemployment — Answer Key & Explanations (20 Questions)
Show
Attempt the quiz above first, then review every question with its correct answer and a short explanation below.
Q1.Disguised unemployment in agriculture means that:
- A.workers are paid very high wages
- B.workers have no skills at all
- C.more workers are employed than needed, so removing some does not reduce output✓ Correct Answer
- D.workers are unemployed only in winter
Explanation: Their marginal productivity is close to zero, so they are "disguised" as employed.
Q2.MGNREGA guarantees how many days of wage employment per year to every rural household that asks for it?
- A.50 days
- B.150 days
- C.100 days✓ Correct Answer
- D.200 days
Explanation: The Act guarantees 100 days of unskilled manual work to adult members of a rural household.
Q3.Unemployment that occurs in agriculture during the off-season is called:
- A.structural unemployment
- B.cyclical unemployment
- C.frictional unemployment
- D.seasonal unemployment✓ Correct Answer
Explanation: Farm work is available only in some months, leaving workers idle in others.
Q4.The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which measures unemployment, is conducted by the:
- A.Reserve Bank of India
- B.NITI Aayog
- C.Election Commission
- D.National Statistical Office✓ Correct Answer
Explanation: The NSO under the Ministry of Statistics runs the PLFS.
Q5.The poverty line is:
- A.the maximum income a person may earn
- B.a boundary between two States
- C.the tax-free income limit
- D.the minimum level of consumption or income needed to meet basic needs✓ Correct Answer
Explanation: People below this level are counted as poor.
Q6.Educated unemployment refers to:
- A.unemployment among illiterate people only
- B.unemployment among people who have completed schooling or higher education✓ Correct Answer
- C.unemployment among government servants
- D.unemployment among foreign workers
Explanation: It arises when the jobs available do not match the qualifications of educated job-seekers.
Q7.The 1979 Task Force on poverty set the poverty line using a calorie norm of 2,400 calories per person per day for:
- A.urban areas
- B.hill areas only
- C.coastal areas only
- D.rural areas✓ Correct Answer
Explanation: The norm was 2,400 calories for rural areas and 2,100 for urban areas.
Q8.Which committee (1993) recommended state-specific poverty lines using consumer price indices?
- A.Tendulkar Committee
- B.Rangarajan Committee
- C.Lakdawala Committee✓ Correct Answer
- D.Mahalanobis Committee
Explanation: The Lakdawala Expert Group estimated state-wise poverty lines.
Q9.Which expert group, set up in 2005 and reporting in 2009, revised the method of estimating poverty?
- A.Lakdawala Committee
- B.Rangarajan Committee
- C.Alagh Committee
- D.Tendulkar Committee✓ Correct Answer
Explanation: The Tendulkar Committee moved beyond calorie norms to a broader consumption basket.
Q10.The expert group that reviewed the Tendulkar method of poverty estimation and reported in 2014 was headed by:
- A.C. Rangarajan✓ Correct Answer
- B.Suresh Tendulkar
- C.D. T. Lakdawala
- D.Y. K. Alagh
Explanation: The Rangarajan Expert Group submitted its report in 2014.
Q11.Frictional unemployment arises because of:
- A.a deep economic recession
- B.a lack of rainfall
- C.the time taken by workers to move between jobs or find a first job✓ Correct Answer
- D.a rise in exports
Explanation: It is temporary and exists even in a healthy economy.
Q12.Unemployment caused by a downturn in the business cycle is called:
- A.seasonal unemployment
- B.cyclical unemployment✓ Correct Answer
- C.frictional unemployment
- D.disguised unemployment
Explanation: Falling demand during a recession reduces hiring and causes layoffs.
Q13.The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was enacted in:
- A.2005✓ Correct Answer
- B.1991
- C.1999
- D.2011
Explanation: The Act was passed in 2005 and came into force in 200 districts from February 2006.
Q14.The National Rural Livelihoods Mission (Aajeevika) was launched in:
- A.1999
- B.2005
- C.2011✓ Correct Answer
- D.2016
Explanation: It restructured the SGSY and promotes self-help groups of the rural poor.
Q15.The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) was launched in:
- A.1999✓ Correct Answer
- B.1978
- C.1991
- D.2006
Explanation: SGSY, begun in April 1999, merged earlier self-employment schemes such as IRDP.
Q16.The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) was launched in:
- A.1983
- B.2017✓ Correct Answer
- C.2005
- D.2011
Explanation: PLFS began in April 2017 and gives quarterly estimates for urban areas and annual estimates for the whole country.
Q17.Which scholars made the pioneering estimate of poverty in India in the 1971 study "Poverty in India"?
- A.Amartya Sen and Jean Drèze
- B.V. M. Dandekar and N. Rath✓ Correct Answer
- C.D. T. Lakdawala and C. Rangarajan
- D.Dadabhai Naoroji and R. C. Dutt
Explanation: Dandekar and Rath estimated poverty using the cost of a minimum calorie diet.
Q18.The Sen Index measures poverty by combining:
- A.literacy, life expectancy and income
- B.the head-count ratio, the poverty gap and income inequality among the poor✓ Correct Answer
- C.exports, imports and savings
- D.rainfall, soil and crops
Explanation: Amartya Sen's index looks at how many are poor, how poor they are and how unequal they are.
Q19.Relative poverty is judged by comparing a person's living standard with:
- A.the average standard of living of others in society✓ Correct Answer
- B.a fixed calorie requirement
- C.the price of food grains
- D.the value of the national currency
Explanation: Absolute poverty uses a fixed minimum; relative poverty depends on the society's standard.
Q20.Unemployment caused by a mismatch between workers' skills and the jobs created by changes in the economy is called:
- A.structural unemployment✓ Correct Answer
- B.seasonal unemployment
- C.cyclical unemployment
- D.frictional unemployment
Explanation: Technological and sectoral change can leave workers with skills that are no longer in demand.