India, Pakistan and China have totally different political systems, but they have one thing in common: they all followed plans for their economic and social development. China had a command economy, whereas India and Pakistan followed a mixed economy. The development programmes of all three countries were launched in the 1950s. Major development indicators like growth rates and per capita incomes were more or less the same for all three nations till the early 1980s, and they showed low progress. But with the introduction of economic reforms, changes in the level of development could be clearly seen. Today China has moved ahead of both India and Pakistan in terms of social and economic development.
The passage says the development programmes of all three countries began in the 1950s. Under China’s Great Leap Forward campaign of 1958, people were encouraged to:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → set up industries in their backyards
The Great Leap Forward of 1958 aimed at industrialising China on a massive scale, so people were encouraged to set up industries in their backyards.
Going to learn from the countryside belongs to the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), and household plots came with the 1978 reforms.
NCERT (2026-27): “8.2 Developmental Path—a Snapshot View … The Great Leap Forward (GLF) campaign initiated in 1958 aimed at industrialising the country on a massive scale. People were encouraged to set up industries in their backyards. In rural areas, communes were started. Under the Commune system, people collectively cultivated lands. In 1958, there were 26,000 communes covering almost all the farm population. GLF campaign met with many problems. A severe drought caused havoc in China killing about 30 million people. When Russia had conflicts with China, it withdrew its professionals who had earlier been sent to China to help in the industrialisation process. In 1965, Mao introduced the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–76) under which students and professionals were sent to work and learn from the countryside. …” |