Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

No, I do not agree with this view.

Small and medium industries play a crucial role in the Indian economy — they provide large-scale employment to millions of workers and contribute significantly to production and exports. Simply shutting them down would cause widespread unemployment and economic distress.

As seen in the example of Chinese toys, the government can use trade barriers (like import taxes or quotas) to protect domestic producers from cheaper foreign competition. All developed countries protected their domestic industries in early stages of development. India too can regulate imports to give small manufacturers time to improve quality and reduce costs, rather than abandoning them to unfair competition.

Fair competition should be ensured, not forced closure.

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• The examiner expects you to disagree and justify using two angles: (1) role of small industries (employment, production) and (2) the government's legitimate use of trade barriers/protection policy.
• Cite the toy example from the chapter — it directly matches this question.
• Avoid over-long explanations; 3 marks = ~3 clear points. One line of disagreement + two justification points is the ideal structure.
• Key terms to use: trade barrier, import tax, domestic producers, employment.