Read the passage given below and answer the question.
In 1985, Meena’s grandfather applied for a telephone connection for his shop in a small town. The connection came only after several years. In the same town, a hotel run by the government made losses year after year, while two private hotels nearby did good business. Earlier, in the 1950s, the government had set up a large steel plant near the town under a five year plan.
In the 1980s, the long wait for a telephone connection, as in Meena’s town, was mainly because:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → telecom was reserved for the public sector, with no competition
Telecommunication was reserved for the public sector, even after private firms could also provide it. With no competition, people waited a long time for a phone, even till the late 1990s.
Option (1) quotas limited the number of new connections the government could give — Incorrect. Quotas limit imports. They did not fix phone connections.
Option (2) telecom was reserved for the public sector, with no competition — Correct. The state kept a monopoly the private sector could also have run.
Option (3) private telephone firms did not want to serve small towns — Incorrect. Private firms were not allowed into telecom at all.
Option (4) telephone equipment was reserved for the small-scale industry — Incorrect. The service was reserved for the public sector, not for small-scale units.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.5 Trade Policy: Import Substitution … It is now widely held that state enterprises continued to produce certain goods and services (often monopolising them) although this was no longer required. An example is the provision of telecommunication service. This industry continued to be reserved for the Public Sector even after it was realised that private sector firms could also provide it. Due to the absence of competition, even till the late 1990s, one had to wait for a long time to get a telephone connection. …” |