UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Staggering profits in Calcutta jute industry
Q1. The 1926 joint report by Mr. Johnston, M.P. and Mr. J. F. Sime, which documented that shareholders of the Calcutta jute industry had earned about £300 million sterling (roughly 90% per annum on capital), computed these staggering gains over the decade ending in which year?
- A. 1920
- B. 1922
- C. 1924
- D. 1926
Q2. With reference to the 1926 Johnston–Sime report on the Calcutta jute industry, consider the following statements:
1. Shareholder gains for the decade equalled about £300 million sterling.
2. The return on invested capital was around 90% per annum.
3. The roughly 300,000 workers averaged only about £12.5 per annum in wages.
4. The report was authored solely by the Secretary of the Dundee Jute Workers Union.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- Shareholder gains for the decade equalled about £300 million sterling.
- The return on invested capital was around 90% per annum.
- The roughly 300,000 workers averaged only about £12.5 per annum in wages.
- The report was authored solely by the Secretary of the Dundee Jute Workers Union.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 2 and 3
- D. 4 only
Q3. Consider the following statements regarding the origins of the mechanised jute industry in Bengal:
1. India's jute-processing industry began in 1855, with Calcutta becoming its major centre.
2. The first mill was set up on the Hooghly river, and jute-spinning machinery was brought from Dundee in Scotland.
3. Commercial jute-yarn manufacture had begun earlier at Dundee, in 1822.
4. The industry was stimulated by the Crimean War (1853–56), which cut off Egypt's supply of raw cotton to European mills.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- India's jute-processing industry began in 1855, with Calcutta becoming its major centre.
- The first mill was set up on the Hooghly river, and jute-spinning machinery was brought from Dundee in Scotland.
- Commercial jute-yarn manufacture had begun earlier at Dundee, in 1822.
- The industry was stimulated by the Crimean War (1853–56), which cut off Egypt's supply of raw cotton to European mills.
- A. 1 only
- B. 3 and 4
- C. 4 only
- D. 2 and 3
Q4. Consider the following statements comparing the jute industries of Dundee and Bengal:
1. Mechanised jute-yarn manufacture began at Dundee earlier than at Calcutta.
2. Bengal's jute mills were concentrated along the Hooghly river near Calcutta.
3. The jute textile industry of Bengal was the counterpart of the cotton textile industry of Ahmedabad.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Mechanised jute-yarn manufacture began at Dundee earlier than at Calcutta.
- Bengal's jute mills were concentrated along the Hooghly river near Calcutta.
- The jute textile industry of Bengal was the counterpart of the cotton textile industry of Ahmedabad.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q5. By 1882, from just two mills in 1863, the number of jute mills operating in Bengal had risen to how many?
Q6. The Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres (CRIJAF), which partners the National Jute Board and the Jute Corporation of India in the Jute-ICARE cultivation programme, functions under which Ministry?
- A. Ministry of Textiles
- B. Ministry of Agriculture
- C. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- D. Ministry of Science and Technology
Q7. Consider the following states:
1. West Bengal
2. Assam
3. Punjab
4. Bihar
Which of the above are correctly identified as jute-growing states of India?
- West Bengal
- Assam
- Punjab
- Bihar
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 1, 2 and 4
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q8. By 1882, the jute mills that had grown up in Bengal collectively employed in excess of how many workers?
- A. 2,000
- B. 20,000
- C. 200,000
- D. 2,000,000