Ans: A

Exp: 

Statement-I is correct: The proportion of workers in the agricultural sector in India has shown a decline over the last few decades (58.2% in 2001 to 54.6% in 2011). The NSSO’s latest annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report for 2021-22 (July-June) shows the farm sector’s share in the country’s employed labour force at 45.5%.

 Statement-II is correct: The participation rate in the secondary and tertiary sectors has registered an increase. This indicates a shift in the dependence of workers from farm-based occupations to non-farm-based ones, indicating a sectoral shift in the economy of the country. Generally, as countries get richer, the share of the population working in agriculture tends to decline as people move towards employment in industry and services. Since the 1990’s economic reform, India has registered a decrease in the rate of participation of workers in agriculture sector, and increase in the rate of participation of workers in secondary and tertiary sectors.

                                                                                                                               (Fig: Sectoral composition of the workforce in India in 2011)

Ans: B

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: The period from 1901-1921 is referred to as a period of stagnant or stationary phase of growth of India’s population, as during this period, the growth rate of the population was very low.

Statement 2 is incorrect: From 1901-21,  the birth rate and death rate were high, keeping the rate of population growth low. Poor health and medical services, the illiteracy of the population at large, and an inefficient distribution system of food and other basic necessities were largely responsible for high birth and death rates in this period.

Statement 3 is correct: The census years 1911- 1921 registered a negative growth rate of about -0.31 percent. It has happened only once throughout the demographic history of India.

Ans: A

Exp: 

Statement 1 is incorrect: The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of babies before the age of one year per 1000 live births.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period.

Statement 3 is correct: The rate of natural increase, or the growth rate of population, refers to the difference between the birth rate and the death rate. When this difference is zero (or, in practice, very small), then we say that the population has stabilised or has reached the ‘replacement level’, which is the rate of growth required for new generations to replace the older ones that are dying out.

Ans: A

Exp: 

Statement 1 is correct: A clustered rural settlement is a compact or closely built-up area of houses. In this type of village, the general living area is distinct and separated from the surrounding farms, barns, and pastures. The closely built-up area and its intervening streets present some recognisable patterns or geometric shapes,  such as rectangular, radial, linear, etc. Such settlements are generally found in fertile alluvial plains and in the northeastern states. Sometimes, people live in compact villages for security or defence reasons, such as in the Bundelkhand region of central India and in Nagaland. In Rajasthan, scarcity of water has necessitated compact settlement for maximum utilisation of available water resources.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Hamleted Settlements: Sometimes settlements are fragmented into several units physically separated from each other and bearing a common name. They are called as Hamelted settlements. These units are locally called panna, para, palli, nagla, dhani, etc., in various parts of the country. This segmentation of a large village is often motivated by social and ethnic factors.  Such villages are more frequently found in the middle and lower Ganga plains, Chhattisgarh, and the lower valleys of the Himalayas.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Dispersed Settlements: The dispersed or isolated settlement pattern in India appears in the form of isolated huts or hamlets of a few huts in remote jungles or on small hills with farms or pastures on the slopes. Extreme dispersion of settlement is often caused by the extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and land resource base of habitable areas. Many areas of Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala have this type of settlement.

Ans: A

Exp: 

 The Smart Cities Mission was launched in 2015. The main objective of the Mission is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, a clean and sustainable environment, and a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’. The Mission aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through comprehensive work on the social, economic, physical, and institutional pillars of the city. The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development through the creation of replicable models that act as lighthouses for other aspiring cities. 100 cities have been selected to be developed as Smart Cities through a two-stage competition. The Mission is operated as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The Central Government will give financial support to the extent of Rs. 48,000 crore over 5 years, i.e., on average Rs.100 crore per city per year. An equal amount on a matching basis is to be provided by the State/ULB.  Additional resources are to be raised through convergence from ULBs’ own funds, grants under the Finance Commission, innovative finance mechanisms such as Municipal Bonds, other government programmes, and borrowings. Emphasis has been given to the participation of the private sector through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). Citizens’ aspirations were captured in the Smart City Proposals (SCPs) prepared by the selected cities.