In the Census, a “marginal worker” is a person who worked:

for less than 183 days (six months) in the preceding year

for 183 days or more in the preceding year, on any kind of work

only on cultivable land owned by their own family during the year

for less than 183 days (six months) in the preceding year

only in the unorganised sector and only for wages paid in cash

Which of the following was NOT set up in the Chotanagpur-Santhal Pargana belt between 1947 and 1975?

Tata Iron and Steel Company at Sakchi (registered 1907)

Damodar Valley Corporation (1948)

Sindri fertiliser factory (production from 1951)

Heavy Engineering Corporation, Ranchi (incorporated 1958)

Tata Iron and Steel Company at Sakchi (registered 1907)

Which best explains why the freight equalisation policy (1952 to 1993) disadvantaged mineral-rich states such as the part of Bihar that became Jharkhand?

It equalised the delivered price of coal and steel, so locating a factory near the mines lost its cost advantage

It banned private investment within a fixed distance of the mines, so firms had to build their plants elsewhere

It equalised the delivered price of coal and steel, so locating a factory near the mines lost its cost advantage

It levied an export duty on minerals leaving the producing states, so mineral exports from them became dearer

It fixed mineral royalty at a very low rate for all states, so the mining states earned little from their ore

In NITI Aayog’s national multidimensional poverty baseline report (based on NFHS-4, 2015-16), which two states had the highest and second-highest proportion of multidimensionally poor people?

Bihar highest, Jharkhand second

Uttar Pradesh highest, Jharkhand second

Jharkhand highest, Bihar second

Bihar highest, Uttar Pradesh second

Bihar highest, Jharkhand second

A mineral-rich state reports fast real GSDP growth, yet its per-capita income stays well below the national average. Which explanation fits Jharkhand’s structure best?

Much output comes from capital-intensive mines and plants employing few local people, while many workers remain in low-productivity farming and marginal work

The state’s population has been falling since 2001, which lowers the average income per person even as total output rises sharply

Per-capita income is calculated only from the agriculture sector, which is why it stays well below the national average year after year

Much output comes from capital-intensive mines and plants employing few local people, while many workers remain in low-productivity farming and marginal work

Growth at constant prices is always lower than growth at current prices, so real growth in output can never raise incomes per person

Which relation among state income measures is correct?

NSDP is GSDP minus depreciation

Per-capita NSDP is NSDP multiplied by population

GSDP is GSVA minus product taxes plus product subsidies

Constant-price figures include the effect of inflation

NSDP is GSDP minus depreciation

Which pair of districts both had a sex ratio above 990 females per 1,000 males at Census 2011?

Pashchimi Singhbhum and Simdega

Economy, Demography and Planning of Jharkhand

This chapter answers the commission’s Main Paper V, Group D, “Economy of Jharkhand” (growth, structure and sectoral composition; demography with Census 2001 and 2011 and inter-district variation; poverty, unemployment, food security, malnutrition, education and health indicators; five-year plans, the Tribal Sub-Plan and the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan, and public finance trends), and the Preliminary General Studies-II item on the history of the state’s economic development since 1947. Economy figures go stale within a year, so the chapter teaches the stable core: the economic history, the structure, the Census 2011 district table, the poverty and planning framework, and a method for reading each year’s Economic Survey. Every figure that can change carries its date or source.

1. A mineral state: how to read the structure of the economy

Jharkhand came into being on 15 November 2000 under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 (Act 30 of 2000), passed by Parliament in August 2000. It was the 28th state of the Union and was formed out of 18 districts of Bihar (the Census of 2011 counted 24). It took the mineral-bearing Chotanagpur plateau and the Santhal Pargana, and with them eastern India’s oldest industrial belt. Its economy is therefore mineral-based: coal, iron ore and copper feed power, steel and metal industries, while farming is mostly rain-fed on poor upland soils.

Four measures recur in every Economic Survey. GSDP is the market value of the final goods and services produced in the state in a year. GSVA (gross state value added) is the value each sector adds, at basic prices; GSDP equals GSVA plus product taxes minus product subsidies. NSDP is GSDP less depreciation, and per-capita NSDP divides it by population, an average that says nothing about distribution. Each is quoted at current prices (that year’s prices, inflation included) or at constant prices (a fixed base year, so the growth is real). Always check which, and which base year, before comparing two numbers.

Three structural features have held since formation. First, industry is large because of mining: the secondary sector includes mining and quarrying, manufacturing, power and construction, and coal and metals give it a weight few states match. Second, services have grown to rival industry and, in the 2025-26 Economic Survey, are reported as the largest sector (the two are close). Third, agriculture is small in output but large in people: it is roughly one-eighth of GSVA in the latest Survey, yet Census 2011 shows cultivators and agricultural labourers were about 48 per cent of main workers (section 3). Output is made in capital-intensive mines and plants, but livelihoods remain on the land, which is the root of low per-capita income.

Snapshot as reported from the state Economic Survey 2025-26 (tabled February 2026); verify against the Survey itself before using any figure
Item	Figure and source (reported)
Per-capita income, 2024-25, current prices	About Rs 1.17 lakh (Rs 1,16,663), the first time above Rs 1 lakh
Real GSDP growth, 2024-25	About 7 per cent (7.02 per cent), above the national figure of about 6.5 per cent
Largest sector of GSVA, 2025-26 Survey	Services, reported ahead of industry (the two are close)
Agriculture and allied share of GSVA	About 12 per cent (12.3 per cent for 2025-26)

⚠️ Perishable numbers

Two reports can give different “latest” growth for the same year because the Survey revises estimates (advance, quick, provisional, revised). In a stem, anchor to the year and the Survey named; never carry a number from one Survey into another, and never compare current-price and constant-price figures.

2. Economic history since 1947: rich land, poor people

The belt that is now Jharkhand was already India’s industrial heartland in 1947, because the Tatas had built steel at Jamshedpur. Planned development after independence added public-sector giants on coal, power, fertiliser, machinery and steel. The table gives the dates that the commission’s questions rest on.

Economic milestones of the Chotanagpur belt
Year	Event	Why it matters
1907 to 1919	Tata Iron and Steel Company registered (1907); first steel at Sakchi (1912); Sakchi renamed Jamshedpur on 2 January 1919	Private-sector base of the belt
1948	Damodar Valley Corporation constituted (7 July 1948)	Flood control, irrigation and power; Centre, Bihar and West Bengal partners
1951	Sindri fertiliser factory begins production (31 October 1951)	Ammonium sulphate; later closed, then revived by a joint venture (dedicated 1 March 2024)
1952 to 1993	Freight equalisation policy in force	Removed the cost advantage of sitting on the minerals
1958	Heavy Engineering Corporation incorporated at Ranchi (31 December 1958)	Machinery for steel and mining
1972	First blast furnace of Bokaro Steel Plant blown in (2 October 1972)	Soviet-assisted public-sector steel; later part of SAIL
1972 and 1973	Coking coal mines nationalised (1 May 1972); other coal mines (1 May 1973)	Coal under public ownership; Coal India formed in 1975
2000	Jharkhand formed (15 November 2000)	Mineral royalty and displacement become state questions

Why did mineral wealth not become local prosperity? Three reasons recur in Mains answers. First, freight equalisation: the Union paid to equalise the delivered price of coal and steel everywhere, so a factory gained nothing by locating beside the mines, and processing industry moved to ports and markets while the mineral states kept extraction. Second, ownership and royalty: the Union fixes mineral royalty rates under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and the state receives royalty rather than the value added downstream. Third, enclave industry: capital-intensive steel and colliery towns drew skilled migrants, while tribal and peasant households lost land to mines, dams and plants without proportionate jobs (Chapter 6 treats displacement).

🎯 Why this matters

This is the “resource paradox” of the commission’s economic-history question: a state with a large share of the country’s coal, iron ore and copper but average incomes below the national mean. The policy cause (freight equalisation, 1952 to 1993) and the ownership cause (Union-fixed royalty) are separate and both must appear in an answer.

3. Census 2011: the state’s demographic profile

Jharkhand at the 2001 and 2011 Censuses (2011 figures from the Census primary census abstract; growth computed from the two totals)
Indicator	Census 2001	Census 2011
Population	26,945,829	32,988,134
Decadal growth, 2001 to 2011	-	22.4 per cent (computed)
Density (persons per sq km)	338	414
Sex ratio (females per 1,000 males)	941	948
Literacy rate (per cent)	53.56	66.41
Male literacy (per cent)	67.30	76.84
Female literacy (per cent)	38.87	55.42
Urban population (per cent)	-	24.05
Scheduled Tribe share (per cent)	26.3	26.2
Scheduled Caste share (per cent)	-	12.08

Read the table as a story. Population grew about 22.4 per cent in the decade, faster than India’s 17.7 per cent, and density (414) stayed above the national 382. The sex ratio of 948 is above India’s 943 and rose from 941. Literacy rose by nearly 13 points to 66.41 per cent but remains below India’s 74.04 per cent; the gain was larger for women (about 16.5 points) than for men (about 9.5 points), so the gender gap narrowed from about 28 to about 21 points. About three-quarters of people (75.95 per cent) were rural. Scheduled Tribes were 26.2 per cent, almost unchanged from 26.3 per cent in 2001.

The workforce shows the economy’s structure in people (Census 2011 district tables, summed for the state). Workers were about 39.7 per cent of the population: 49.8 per cent of men but 29.1 per cent of women. Nearly half of all workers (47.9 per cent) were marginal workers, that is, they worked for less than 183 days in the year, which signals seasonal, insecure work. Among main workers, 29.4 per cent were cultivators, 18.2 per cent agricultural labourers, 3.7 per cent household-industry workers and 48.8 per cent other workers.

🧠 Memory ladder

Remember 2011 as a ladder of ones: 66 literate (women 55), 948 females, 414 per sq km, 26 per cent tribal, 24 per cent urban, 12 per cent Scheduled Caste. Quote the second digit group only after checking the Census year.

4. District-wise Census 2011: the required table

Census 2011 counted 24 districts (18 at formation in 2000). The table lists them in descending order of population, with Census sex ratio, literacy (persons aged 7 and above) and Scheduled Tribe share worked out from the Census primary census abstract. Density is rounded and approximate: published district densities differ by a few per cent because district area figures differ between publications, so use density only for the extremes.

Jharkhand districts at Census 2011 (density in persons per sq km)
District	Population	Density (approx.)	Sex ratio	Literacy (%)	ST share (%)
Ranchi	2,914,253	572	949	76.06	35.76
Dhanbad	2,684,487	about 1,300	909	74.52	8.68
Giridih	2,445,474	493	944	63.14	9.74
Purbi Singhbhum	2,293,919	644	949	75.49	28.51
Bokaro	2,062,330	715	922	72.01	12.40
Palamu	1,939,869	442	928	63.63	9.34
Hazaribagh	1,734,495	488	947	69.75	7.02
Pashchimi Singhbhum	1,502,338	208	1,005	58.63	67.31
Deoghar	1,492,073	602	925	64.85	12.13
Garhwa	1,322,784	323	935	60.33	15.56
Dumka	1,321,442	351	977	61.02	43.22
Godda	1,313,551	580	938	56.40	21.26
Sahibganj	1,150,567	558	952	52.04	26.80
Saraikela-Kharsawan	1,065,056	401	956	67.70	35.18
Chatra	1,042,886	280	953	60.18	4.37
Gumla	1,025,213	191	993	65.73	68.94
Ramgarh	949,443	708	921	73.17	21.19
Pakur	900,422	497	989	48.82	42.10
Jamtara	791,042	437	954	64.59	30.40
Latehar	726,978	169	967	59.51	45.54
Koderma	716,259	282	950	66.84	0.96
Simdega	599,578	159	997	67.99	70.78
Khunti	531,885	210	997	63.86	73.25
Lohardaga	461,790	307	985	67.61	56.89

Four patterns carry most questions. Size: Ranchi is the most populous and Lohardaga the least; Dhanbad is by far the densest (above 1,000 per sq km), while Simdega and Latehar are the sparsest. Gender: Pashchimi Singhbhum (1,005) is the only district where women outnumber men, and the tribal districts of Simdega, Khunti, Gumla, Pakur and Lohardaga follow closely; the coal-industrial districts are lowest, with Dhanbad (909) at the bottom. Literacy: Ranchi (76.06), Purbi Singhbhum (75.49) and Dhanbad (74.52) lead, while Pakur (48.82) and Sahibganj (52.04) in the Santhal Pargana trail. Tribes: Khunti (73.25), Simdega, Gumla and Pashchimi Singhbhum have a tribal majority, Lohardaga (56.89) a smaller one; Koderma (0.96) and Chatra (4.37) have almost none.

🧠 Two ends

Two opposite ends to remember: the tribal, forested south and west (Khunti, Simdega, Gumla, Pashchimi Singhbhum) is sparse, gender-balanced and middling in literacy; the coal-industrial east (Dhanbad, Bokaro, Ramgarh) is dense, male-heavy and highly literate.

⚠️ Year and count

Do not mix the Census year or the district count. These are Census 2011 values for the 24 districts then existing; a question that says “at the time of formation” means 18 districts, and boundaries have changed since. The Scheduled Tribe share of a district is a share of that district, not of the state’s tribal population.

5. Poverty, hunger, health and education

Poverty has been measured in two ways. The Tendulkar method (expert group report of December 2009) uses a consumption-expenditure line. The Planning Commission’s last estimate, for 2011-12 (released July 2013), put Jharkhand’s poverty ratio at 36.96 per cent (rural 40.84, urban 24.83), against 21.9 per cent for India, with state poverty lines of Rs 748 (rural) and Rs 974 (urban) per person per month. Since then the official tracker is NITI Aayog’s National Multidimensional Poverty Index, which scores households on 12 indicators in health, education and standard of living. Its baseline (NFHS-4, 2015-16) put Jharkhand at about 42 per cent, second only to Bihar; the 2023 review (NFHS-5, 2019-21) put it near 29 per cent, a large fall but still among the highest in the country.

Nutrition and health follow the same story of improvement from a low base. According to the National Family Health Surveys, child stunting fell from about 45 per cent (NFHS-4, 2015-16) to about 40 per cent (NFHS-5, 2019-21) and wasting from about 29 to about 22 per cent, yet roughly two-thirds of children aged 6 to 59 months were still anaemic in NFHS-5. The burden is heaviest in tribal and landless households, which is why the policy levers are the Public Distribution System and the National Food Security Act, 2013, Anganwadi (ICDS) nutrition, school meals and health-mission services. Unemployment is best read from the Periodic Labour Force Survey, quoted with its round and year, because the high share of marginal and seasonal work means the headline rate understates underemployment.

⚠️ Two series

Never splice poverty numbers from different series. The Planning Commission’s 2011-12 figure (consumption line, 36.96 per cent) and NITI Aayog’s MPI headcount (42 per cent in 2015-16, 29 per cent in 2019-21) measure different things, so a fall “from 37 to 29” is not a valid trend.

6. Planning, sub-plans and public finance

The Planning Commission steered the Five-Year Plans. The 10th Plan (2002 to 2007) was the first full Plan period of Jharkhand as a state, followed by the 11th (2007 to 2012) and the 12th (2012 to 2017); state outlays combined state resources, central assistance and borrowing, with emphasis on roads, power, irrigation, schools and tribal areas. The Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015, and Five-Year Plans ended with the 12th Plan in March 2017.

Because Scheduled Tribes were over a quarter and Scheduled Castes about 12 per cent of the 2011 population, plan funds are earmarked for them. The Tribal Sub-Plan strategy was adopted in 1974-75, in the Fifth Plan, and the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (Special Component Plan) works on the same principle: a share of outlay at least in proportion to population. NITI Aayog’s guidelines of 2017 carry the idea forward as the Development Action Plans for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST) and Scheduled Castes (DAPSC).

Public finance has three sources: the state’s own revenue (SGST, state excise, stamps and registration, mineral royalty and non-tax receipts), a share of central taxes fixed by the Finance Commission under Articles 270 and 280, and grants and centrally sponsored schemes. A mineral state’s own revenue rises with royalty and the District Mineral Foundation, but it leans heavily on central transfers. To read a Budget or Economic Survey without memorising numbers, follow the steps below.

Fix the year, the Survey or Budget document and whether figures are actual, revised or budget estimates.
Note current versus constant prices and the base year before quoting any growth rate.
Read the sector shares of GSVA and compare with the workforce shares to find the productivity gap.
In the Budget, check the fiscal deficit and revenue deficit as a share of GSDP, the share of capital outlay, and committed spending on salaries, pensions and interest.
Before the exam, refresh: latest GSDP and growth, per-capita income, sector shares and the fiscal ratios, each with its date.

Key takeaways

Jharkhand was formed on 15 November 2000 under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000, from 18 districts of Bihar; its economy is mineral-based, with industry large because of mining, services reported as the largest sector in the 2025-26 Survey (close to industry), and agriculture small in output but large in workforce.
Mineral wealth did not become local prosperity because of freight equalisation (1952 to 1993), Union-fixed royalty and capital-intensive enclave industry; key dates are DVC 1948, Sindri 1951, HEC 1958, Bokaro 1972 and coal nationalisation 1972 and 1973.
Census 2011: population 32,988,134, sex ratio 948, density 414, literacy 66.41 per cent (women 55.42), urban 24.05 per cent, Scheduled Tribes 26.2 per cent; the literacy gender gap narrowed from about 28 to about 21 points since 2001.
District extremes at Census 2011: Ranchi largest, Dhanbad densest, Pashchimi Singhbhum the only district with a sex ratio above 1,000, Ranchi most literate, Pakur least literate, Khunti highest tribal share, Koderma lowest.
Poverty: 36.96 per cent in 2011-12 on the Tendulkar line; about 42 per cent (2015-16) falling to about 29 per cent (2019-21) on NITI Aayog’s multidimensional index; the two series must never be spliced.
Planning: the 10th Plan (2002 to 2007) was the first full Plan of the state; NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015; the Tribal Sub-Plan (1974-75) lives on as DAPST and DAPSC. Date-stamp every economic figure and check current against constant prices.

Practice questions (17)

Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.

According to Census 2011, which Jharkhand district had the largest population?
1. Ranchi
2. Giridih
3. Dhanbad
4. Purbi Singhbhum
Show answer
Answer: A — Ranchi
Ranchi had 2,914,253 persons at Census 2011, ahead of Dhanbad (2,684,487) and Giridih (2,445,474). Dhanbad is the tempting answer because it is the most densely populated district, but density and total population are different measures.
At Census 2011, in which one of the following districts did females outnumber males, that is, the sex ratio was above 1,000?
1. Simdega
2. Pashchimi Singhbhum
3. Purbi Singhbhum
4. Saraikela-Kharsawan
Show answer
Answer: B — Pashchimi Singhbhum
Pashchimi Singhbhum recorded 1,005 females per 1,000 males, the only district above 1,000. Simdega (997) is close but falls short, which makes it the tempting distractor, while Purbi Singhbhum (949) and Saraikela-Kharsawan (956) are well below.
As a share of the district’s own population at Census 2011, which district had the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes?
1. Simdega
2. Gumla
3. Khunti
4. Pashchimi Singhbhum
Show answer
Answer: C — Khunti
Khunti had about 73.3 per cent Scheduled Tribes, ahead of Simdega (70.8), Gumla (68.9) and Pashchimi Singhbhum (67.3). All four are tribal-majority districts, so the answer rests on the exact ranking, not on which district is “most tribal” in popular image.
Consider the following statements about Jharkhand at the Censuses of 2001 and 2011.
P: The sex ratio rose from 941 in 2001 to 948 in 2011.
Q: The density of population in 2011 was lower than the density of India (382).
R: The Scheduled Tribe share in 2011 was slightly lower than in 2001.
S: Female literacy in 2011 was above 60 per cent.
Which statements are correct?
1. P, Q and S only
2. Q and S only
3. R and S only
4. P and R only
Show answer
Answer: D — P and R only
P is correct (941 to 948) and R is correct (26.3 to 26.2 per cent). Q is wrong: Jharkhand’s density of 414 is above India’s 382. S is wrong: female literacy was 55.42 per cent, below 60.
Match each Census 2011 feature with its Jharkhand district.
P: Lowest literacy rate
Q: Highest literacy rate
R: Highest Scheduled Tribe share
S: Lowest Scheduled Tribe share
(i) Koderma
(ii) Khunti
(iii) Pakur
(iv) Ranchi
1. P-iii, Q-iv, R-ii, S-i
2. P-iii, Q-iv, R-i, S-ii
3. P-ii, Q-iv, R-iii, S-i
4. P-iv, Q-iii, R-ii, S-i
Show answer
Answer: A — P-iii, Q-iv, R-ii, S-i
Pakur had the lowest literacy (48.82 per cent), Ranchi the highest (76.06), Khunti the highest Scheduled Tribe share (73.25) and Koderma the lowest (0.96). Swapping the two literacy districts or the two tribal-share districts gives the wrong pairings.
At Census 2011 a Jharkhand district recorded a sex ratio of 1,005, a literacy rate of about 58.6 per cent and a Scheduled Tribe share of about 67 per cent. Which district is it?
1. Simdega
2. Pashchimi Singhbhum
3. Gumla
4. Latehar (western plateau)
Show answer
Answer: B — Pashchimi Singhbhum
Only Pashchimi Singhbhum (1,005; 58.63 per cent; 67.31 per cent) fits all three figures. Simdega has a higher literacy (67.99) and tribal share (70.78) and a sex ratio of 997, and Gumla’s sex ratio is 993, so the sex ratio alone rules them out.
In the Census, a “marginal worker” is a person who worked:
1. for 183 days or more in the preceding year, on any kind of work
2. only on cultivable land owned by their own family during the year
3. for less than 183 days (six months) in the preceding year
4. only in the unorganised sector and only for wages paid in cash
Show answer
Answer: C — for less than 183 days (six months) in the preceding year
A marginal worker worked for less than 183 days (six months) in the preceding year; a main worker worked for 183 days or more. In Jharkhand about 48 per cent of all workers were marginal in 2011, which shows seasonal, insecure work. The wage and landownership options are not part of the definition.
Which of the following was NOT set up in the Chotanagpur-Santhal Pargana belt between 1947 and 1975?
1. Damodar Valley Corporation (1948)
2. Sindri fertiliser factory (production from 1951)
3. Heavy Engineering Corporation, Ranchi (incorporated 1958)
4. Tata Iron and Steel Company at Sakchi (registered 1907)
Show answer
Answer: D — Tata Iron and Steel Company at Sakchi (registered 1907)
The Tata company was registered in 1907, long before independence, so it is the one that was not set up in the 1947 to 1975 period. The Damodar Valley Corporation, Sindri and Heavy Engineering Corporation all belong to the post-independence planned phase.
Arrange in chronological order.
P: Freight equalisation policy introduced
Q: Heavy Engineering Corporation incorporated at Ranchi
R: Damodar Valley Corporation constituted
S: First blast furnace of Bokaro Steel Plant blown in
1. R, P, Q, S
2. P, R, Q, S
3. R, Q, P, S
4. R, P, S, Q
Show answer
Answer: A — R, P, Q, S
The order is R (DVC, 1948), P (freight equalisation, 1952), Q (Heavy Engineering Corporation, 1958) and S (Bokaro blast furnace, 1972). Placing the Corporation before the freight policy, or Bokaro before the Corporation, are the common slips.
Which best explains why the freight equalisation policy (1952 to 1993) disadvantaged mineral-rich states such as the part of Bihar that became Jharkhand?
1. It banned private investment within a fixed distance of the mines, so firms had to build their plants elsewhere
2. It equalised the delivered price of coal and steel, so locating a factory near the mines lost its cost advantage
3. It levied an export duty on minerals leaving the producing states, so mineral exports from them became dearer
4. It fixed mineral royalty at a very low rate for all states, so the mining states earned little from their ore
Show answer
Answer: B — It equalised the delivered price of coal and steel, so locating a factory near the mines lost its cost advantage
By equalising the delivered price of coal and steel across the country, the policy let factories locate near markets and ports, so the mineral states lost the advantage of sitting on the resource. It was a transport-price policy, not an export duty, an investment ban or a royalty rule.
As per the Planning Commission’s July 2013 estimate for 2011-12 using the Tendulkar methodology, Jharkhand’s combined (rural and urban) poverty ratio was closest to:
1. 22 per cent
2. 29 per cent
3. 37 per cent
4. 45 per cent
Show answer
Answer: C — 37 per cent
The estimate was 36.96 per cent (rural 40.84, urban 24.83), so 37 per cent is closest. The figure of about 22 per cent is the national ratio (21.9 per cent) for the same year and is the tempting distractor.
In NITI Aayog’s national multidimensional poverty baseline report (based on NFHS-4, 2015-16), which two states had the highest and second-highest proportion of multidimensionally poor people?
1. Uttar Pradesh highest, Jharkhand second
2. Jharkhand highest, Bihar second
3. Bihar highest, Uttar Pradesh second
4. Bihar highest, Jharkhand second
Show answer
Answer: D — Bihar highest, Jharkhand second
The baseline gave Bihar about 52 per cent (51.91) and Jharkhand about 42 per cent (42.16), so Bihar was highest and Jharkhand second. Reversing the first two misreads the ranking; the other options name states or orders that the baseline does not support.
Consider the following statements about planning.
P: The Tribal Sub-Plan strategy was adopted in 1974-75, during the Fifth Five-Year Plan.
Q: NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission with effect from 1 January 2015.
R: The 11th Plan (2007 to 2012) was the first full Plan period of Jharkhand as a separate state.
S: NITI Aayog’s guidelines of 2017 carry the sub-plan idea forward as DAPST and DAPSC.
Which statements are correct?
1. P, Q and S only
2. Q and S only
3. P, Q and R only
4. P and S only
Show answer
Answer: A — P, Q and S only
P, Q and S are correct. R is wrong: the first full Plan period after the November 2000 formation was the 10th Plan (2002 to 2007), not the 11th. Choosing options that include R, or that leave out Q, fails on those points.
Using the figures below, by how many percentage points did the gap between male and female literacy in Jharkhand narrow between Census 2001 and Census 2011?
Census 2001: male 67.30 per cent, female 38.87 per cent.
Census 2011: male 76.84 per cent, female 55.42 per cent.
1. About 9.5 points
2. About 7.0 points
3. About 16.5 points
4. About 21.4 points
Show answer
Answer: B — About 7.0 points
The gap was 67.30 − 38.87 = 28.43 points in 2001 and 76.84 − 55.42 = 21.42 points in 2011, so it narrowed by about 7.0 points. The 16.5 points is only the rise in female literacy and 9.5 only the rise in male literacy; 21.4 is the 2011 gap itself.
A mineral-rich state reports fast real GSDP growth, yet its per-capita income stays well below the national average. Which explanation fits Jharkhand’s structure best?
1. The state’s population has been falling since 2001, which lowers the average income per person even as total output rises sharply
2. Per-capita income is calculated only from the agriculture sector, which is why it stays well below the national average year after year
3. Much output comes from capital-intensive mines and plants employing few local people, while many workers remain in low-productivity farming and marginal work
4. Growth at constant prices is always lower than growth at current prices, so real growth in output can never raise incomes per person
Show answer
Answer: C — Much output comes from capital-intensive mines and plants employing few local people, while many workers remain in low-productivity farming and marginal work
Per-capita NSDP divides total state output by population. When high-value output comes from capital-intensive mines and plants while about half of main workers depend on cultivation or farm labour and many are marginal workers, the average stays low. The population grew about 22 per cent in 2001 to 2011, and the other options are false statements about the measure.
Which relation among state income measures is correct?
1. Per-capita NSDP is NSDP multiplied by population
2. GSDP is GSVA minus product taxes plus product subsidies
3. Constant-price figures include the effect of inflation
4. NSDP is GSDP minus depreciation
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Answer: D — NSDP is GSDP minus depreciation
NSDP is GSDP less consumption of fixed capital (depreciation). GSDP is GSVA plus product taxes minus product subsidies, so the option that subtracts product taxes from GSVA reverses the signs. Constant prices remove inflation, and per-capita NSDP divides, not multiplies, by population.
Which pair of districts both had a sex ratio above 990 females per 1,000 males at Census 2011?
1. Pashchimi Singhbhum and Simdega
2. Dumka and Saraikela-Kharsawan
3. Ranchi and Purbi Singhbhum
4. Pakur and Lohardaga
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Answer: A — Pashchimi Singhbhum and Simdega
Pashchimi Singhbhum (1,005) and Simdega (997) are both above 990. Pakur (989) misses by one point and Lohardaga (985) by five, Dumka (977) and Saraikela-Kharsawan (956) are lower, and Ranchi (949) and Purbi Singhbhum (949) lower still.