Defense of the nation is a service provided by our armed forces. This service is.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Public good which is non-rival and non-excludable in consumption.
National defence is a public good. Such a good is non-rival: a chocolate eaten by one person is gone for others, but defence protects everyone at once. It is also non-excludable: a cinema can refuse someone without a ticket, but defence cannot leave out a citizen, even one who does not pay.
Option (1) Non-Public good which is non-rival and non-excludable in consumption. — Incorrect. The two features are right, but a good with these features is a public good.
Option (2) Public good which is non-rival and non-excludable in consumption. — Correct. Defence has both features of a public good.
Option (3) Non-Public good which is rival and non-excludable in consumption. — Incorrect. Defence for one person takes nothing away from another, so it is non-rival. It is also a public good.
Option (4) Public good which is rival and non-excludable in consumption. — Incorrect. A public good is non-rival, so these words do not fit together.
NCERT (2026-27): “Allocation Function of Government Budget Government provides certain goods and services which cannot be provided by the market mechanism i.e. by exchange between individual consumers and producers. Examples of such goods are national defence, roads, government administration etc. which are referred to as public goods. To understand why public goods need to be provided by the government, we must understand the difference between private goods such as clothes, cars, food items etc. and public goods. There are two major differences. One, the benefits of public goods are available to all and are not only restricted to one particular consumer. For example, if a person eats a chocolate or wears a shirt, these will not be available to others. It is said that this person’s consumption stands in rival relationship to the consumption of others. However, if we consider a public park or measures to reduce air pollution, the benefits will be available to all. One person’s consumption of a good does not reduce the amount available for consumption for others and so several people can enjoy the benefits, that is, the consumption of many people is not ‘rivalrous’. Two, in case of private goods anyone who does not pay for the goods can be excluded from enjoying its benefits. If you do not buy a ticket, you will not be allowed to watch a movie at a local cinema hall. However, in case of public goods, there is no feasible way of excluding anyone from enjoying the benefits of the good. That is why public goods are called non-excludable.…” |