Poverty, Employment & Inclusive Growth MCQs for UPSC Prelims

Correct answer: D - 1, 2 and 3

Correct answer (d) 1, 2 and 3. Inclusive growth aims to spread the benefits of growth widely. Self-Help Groups bring poor and rural women into formal credit and livelihoods, MSMEs generate broad-based employment and entrepreneurship, and the Right to Education Act builds human capital among disadvantaged children, so all three further inclusive growth. Because every measure qualifies, the narrower options (a), (b) and (c) are incorrect.

Correct answer: C - 2 and 4

Human capital formation refers to building up the knowledge, skills, health and capacities embodied in people, which is intangible wealth, so statements 2 and 4 are correct. Statement 1 is wrong because the accumulation of capital in the sense of physical or financial assets is gross capital formation, not human capital formation. Statement 3 is wrong because human capital is not tangible wealth like land, machinery or money; it resides in the abilities of individuals. Hence the correct combination is 2 and 4.

Correct answer: D - the average number of live births a woman would have by the end of her child-bearing age.

The total fertility rate is defined as the average number of live births a woman would have over her reproductive lifetime if current age-specific fertility rates persist, so option (d) is correct. Option (a) describes the crude birth rate per thousand population, not fertility per woman. Option (b) refers to a single couple rather than a population average. Option (c) describes the natural rate of population growth, which is birth rate minus death rate.

Correct answer: A - Promoting skill development

The demographic dividend is the economic boost that comes from a large share of working-age population, but it is realised only when that population is productively employed. Promoting skill development equips the youth with employable skills so the available labour force translates into higher output, which is the key to reaping the dividend. More social security schemes and reduced infant mortality improve welfare but do not directly make the workforce productive, and privatisation of higher education is a narrow policy choice, not the core requirement. Hence skill development is the best answer.

Correct answer: B - 1 and 3 only

RBI's payment bank guidelines explicitly list mobile telephone companies and supermarket chains owned and controlled by residents among eligible promoters, so statement 1 is correct. Payment banks are barred from lending, so statement 3 is also correct. However, payment banks may issue debit cards but are prohibited from issuing credit cards, which makes statement 2 wrong. Thus the right combination is '1 and 3 only'.

Correct answer: C - promoting financial inclusion in the country

PMJDY, launched in August 2014, is a National Mission for Financial Inclusion. It aims to give every household access to a basic bank account, along with a RuPay debit card, accident insurance cover and access to credit, remittance and pension services. It is not a housing loan scheme, so the first option is wrong. Promotion of women's SHGs is the domain of livelihood missions such as DAY-NRLM, not PMJDY. The scheme is universal in coverage and not targeted only at marginalized communities, so the last option is also incorrect.

Correct answer: B - 2 and 3 only

Statement 1 is wrong: EPF coverage is tied to establishments meeting the eligibility threshold and does not automatically extend to every casual worker. Statement 2 is treated as correct because labour-law entitlements on working hours and overtime apply broadly to workers including casual labour. Statement 3 is correct: the Payment of Wages Act empowers the appropriate government to notify that wages in specified industries or establishments be paid only through bank accounts. The official key gives 2 and 3 only, though this was a disputed question with some keys favouring '3 only', which was not an available option.

Correct answer: B - 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct, so the answer is (b). The National Rural Livelihood Mission (Aajeevika) works by mobilising rural poor households into self-help groups and their federations, providing them revolving funds, bank linkage and skill development for self-employment and placement. Statement 1 is wrong because the mission does not set up manufacturing industries or agribusiness centres; it builds community institutions and capabilities. Statement 3 is wrong because the mission does not distribute free seeds, fertilizers, diesel pump-sets or micro-irrigation equipment; input subsidies of that kind belong to other agricultural schemes, not NRLM.