All exercise questions (and the in-text questions and activities) from the NCERT textbook India: People and Economy, Chapter 8, “International Trade”, exactly as the English edition prints them, with a full model answer for each. Try your own answer first, then check it against this one.
1 Choose the right answers of the following from the given options
Q. Trade between two countries is termed as
(a) Internal trade (b) External trade (c) International trade (d) Local trade
Answer: (c) International trade. The chapter opens by stating that international trade is mutually beneficial because no country is self-sufficient; trade carried on between two countries is called international trade. Internal (or local) trade happens within a country, and “external trade” is not the term the chapter uses for this.
Q. Which one of the following is a land locked harbour?
(a) Vishakhapatnam (b) Mumbai (c) Kamarajar (Ennore) (d) Haldia
Answer: (a) Vishakhapatnam. The chapter states Visakhapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh is a land-locked harbour, connected to the sea by a channel cut through solid rock and sand. Mumbai is a natural harbour, Kamarajar (Ennore) is a newly developed open port near Chennai, and Haldia is a river port downstream from Kolkata — none of these three is described as land-locked.
Q. Most of India’s foreign trade is carried through
(a) Land and sea (b) Land and air (c) Sea and air (d) Sea
Answer: (c) Sea and air. The chapter states most of India’s foreign trade is carried through sea and air routes; only a small portion is carried through land routes to neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
2 Answer the following questions in about 30 words
Q. Mention the characteristics of India’s foreign trade.
Answer: India’s foreign trade has grown enormously in volume, from Rs. 1,214 crore (1950-51) to about Rs. 77,19,796 crore (2020-21), and its composition and direction have also changed greatly. Although both imports and exports have grown, the value of imports has continued to exceed that of exports, so India’s trade balance remains in deficit.
Q. Distinguish between port and harbour.
Answer: A harbour is a sheltered stretch of sea or river water giving ships safe anchorage, and can be natural (Mumbai, Cochin) or artificial (Chennai). A port is a harbour further developed with berths, cranes and warehousing, so that cargo and passengers can actually be loaded and unloaded there.
Q. Explain the meaning of hinterland.
Answer: A hinterland is the inland area served by a port, for collecting goods for export and distributing imported goods. The chapter notes that a hinterland’s boundary is hard to fix exactly, since it is not fixed over space, and it may overlap with a neighbouring port’s hinterland.
Q. Name important items which India imports from different countries.
Answer: India’s important imports include petroleum, oil and lubricants, machine and equipment, special steel, edible oil, chemicals, fertilisers, pearls and precious/semi-precious stones, gold and silver, and non-ferrous metals.
Q. Name the ports of India located on the east coast.
Answer: The east-coast ports of India are Kolkata (Shyama Prasad Mookerjee), Haldia, Paradwip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kamarajar (Ennore) and V.O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin).
3 Answer the following questions in about 150 words
Q. Describe the composition of export and import trade of India.
Answer: Export composition (Tables 8.2, 8.3): manufactured goods form the largest share of India’s exports (67.8% in 2021-22, worth Rs. 21,32,296 crore), with engineering goods and gems and jewellery contributing significantly, though China and other East Asian countries remain major competitors. Agriculture and allied products (11.9%, worth Rs. 3,75,742 crore) come third, after crude and petroleum products, where a traditional item like cashew has declined while floriculture, fresh fruits, marine products and sugar have grown. Crude petroleum and products (16.4%) have increased their share, while ore and minerals (2.0%) have stayed constant. Import composition (Tables 8.4, 8.5): apart from “others” (38.5%), the largest share is fuel (coal, POL), at 31.6% in 2021-22, followed by capital goods (10.1%, in steady decline) and then fertiliser and food-related items. Table 8.5 shows petroleum, oil and lubricants (Rs. 12,07,803 crore) as the single largest import item, followed by non-ferrous metals, chemical products, and pearls and precious stones. The value of imports has always exceeded that of exports, keeping India’s trade balance in continuing deficit (-Rs. 14,25,753 crore in 2021-22).
Q. Write a note on the changing nature of the international trade of India.
Answer: Since Independence, India’s international trade has changed radically in volume, composition and direction. In volume, foreign trade grew from Rs. 1,214 crore in 1950-51 to about Rs. 77,19,796 crore by 2020-21, driven mainly by the growing momentum of manufacturing, the government’s liberal policies, and the diversification of export markets. In composition, the export share of agriculture and manufacturing has fallen while that of petroleum and other commodities has risen; on the import side, foodgrain import was replaced by fertilisers and petroleum, while capital goods imports have declined steadily. In direction, India today trades with most countries and major trading blocks of the world, especially Asia and ASEAN, whose import trade with India was worth Rs. 29,18,577 crore in 2021-22, well ahead of Europe, North America, Africa and Latin America. India’s target is to double its share of world trade, currently only about 1%, within the next five years, through measures such as import liberalisation, reduced import duties and a shift from process to product patents. Even so, since imports have always exceeded exports, the trade deficit remains a persistent feature of India’s foreign trade.
4 In-text questions and activities (asked within the chapter)
Q. In 1950-51, India’s external trade was worth Rs. 1,214 crore, which rose to Rs. 77,19,796 crore in 2020-21. Can you calculate the percentage growth in 2020-21 over 1950-51?
Answer: Percentage growth = (new value − old value) ÷ old value × 100 = (77,19,796 − 1,214) ÷ 1,214 × 100 = 77,18,582 ÷ 1,214 × 100 ≈ 6,35,798 per cent. In other words, trade in 2020-21 was about 6,359 times its 1950-51 value. The chapter’s reasons: momentum in the manufacturing sector, liberal government policies and diversification of markets.
Q. Draw bar diagram to show the trends of exports of all items given in the table.
Answer: Plot the years on the x-axis and exports (Rs. crore) on the y-axis, one bar per year: 2004-05: 3,75,340; 2009-10: 8,45,534; 2013-14: 19,05,011; 2016-17: 18,52,340; 2021-22: 31,47,021. The bars show exports rising steeply, with a small dip in 2016-17 before a large rise by 2021-22. (Imports can be drawn beside each export bar in another colour to show that imports stayed higher every year.)
Q. Study Table 8.3 and select major commodities exported in 2021-22 and draw bar diagram.
Answer: In descending order: manufactured goods Rs. 21,32,296 crore; mineral fuels and lubricants Rs. 5,15,310 crore; agriculture and allied products Rs. 3,75,742 crore; ores and minerals Rs. 63,754 crore. Draw one bar for each; the manufactured-goods bar is about four times the next one, showing that manufactured goods dominate India’s exports.
Q. Arrange the items in ascending or descending order and write the names of the first five major items of India’s import list of 2021-22.
Answer: Descending order (Rs. crore): petroleum, oil and lubricants 12,07,803; non-ferrous metals 4,99,766; chemical products 3,08,882; pearls, precious and semi-precious stones 2,31,279; edible oils 1,41,532; fertilisers and fertiliser manufacturing 1,05,796; iron and steel 94,053; medicinal and pharma products 67,545; pulp and waste paper 11,934. The first five major items are petroleum, oil and lubricants; non-ferrous metals; chemical products; pearls, precious and semi-precious stones; and edible oils.
Q. Why does India import edible oil in spite of being an agriculturally rich country?
Answer: India’s production of oilseeds is not enough for its demand. Oilseeds are grown mostly on rain-fed land with low yields, while the demand for edible oil keeps rising with population and a better standard of living. The gap between domestic production and consumption has to be met by imports (edible oils were worth Rs. 1,41,532 crore of imports in 2021-22, Table 8.5).
Q. Select five most important and five least important items and represent them by bar diagram.
Answer: Five most important (largest): petroleum, oil and lubricants; non-ferrous metals; chemical products; pearls and precious stones; edible oils. Five least important (smallest): pulp and waste paper (11,934); medicinal and pharma products (67,545); iron and steel (94,053); fertilisers (1,05,796); edible oils (1,41,532). Table 8.5 has only nine items, so edible oils, the middle item, falls in both lists. Draw two bar diagrams using the values in Rs. crore.
Q. Can you identify some items of imports for which substitutes can be developed in India?
Answer: Edible oils (by raising oilseed production), fertilisers (by expanding domestic manufacture and using organic manure), iron and steel and medicinal and pharma products (by expanding domestic industry), and part of petroleum imports (by using renewable energy such as solar and wind power, and biofuels).
Q. Draw a multiple bar diagram to represent the major trading partners.
Answer: For each region draw two bars side by side, one for 2016-17 and one for 2021-22 (imports, Rs. crore): Europe 4,03,972 and 6,40,577; Africa 1,93,327 and 3,68,156; North America 1,95,332 and 3,78,041; Latin America 1,15,762 and 1,61,995; Asia and ASEAN 15,44,520 and 29,18,577. The diagram shows Asia and ASEAN far ahead of all other regions, and imports from every region rising.
Q. Can you find out the reasons for the variations in the location of ports along the two coasts?
Answer: The chapter notes that the west coast has more ports than the east coast. The west coast has deep water close to the shore and several natural harbours and estuaries (Mumbai, Mormugao, Cochin), and it faces the busy routes to the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The east coast is straight, with wide deltas, shallow water near the coast and heavy silt from the rivers (Chennai is shallow and Kolkata faces silting in the Hugli), so fewer good sites for ports are available there.
Q. Name the nearest domestic and international airports from your place. Identify the state with maximum number of domestic airports.
Answer: This depends on where you live: name the airport nearest to your town and the nearest airport with international flights (for example, from the chapter’s list of 25 major airports). Count the airports shown in each state on Fig. 8.5 (Air Routes) to find the state with the most domestic airports.
Q. Identify four cities where maximum number of air routes converge and also give reasons for this.
Answer: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai (Bengaluru and Hyderabad are also major hubs). Reasons: they are the largest metropolitan cities and centres of administration, industry, trade and finance; they have large populations and high passenger traffic; they have major international airports; and they are located so that they link different regions of the country with each other and with foreign countries.
Q1(ii) is the exercise most likely to trip a student who has not read the port descriptions carefully: only Visakhapatnam is called “land-locked” in the chapter, because it is connected to the sea by a channel cut through solid rock and sand — Mumbai, Kamarajar (Ennore) and Haldia are not described that way. Q2(ii) and Q2(iii) (port/harbour, hinterland) are definition questions, so learn both definitions word for word rather than only inside the 150-word answers above.