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Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

AI-generated practice question — model-generated for extra practice, not a previous-year CBSE board question.

Q1. [1] medium thorough-understanding
[mcq] Despite cheap machine-made cloth flooding Indian markets in the nineteenth century, handloom cloth production continued to grow well into the twentieth century. Which of the following best explains how handloom weavers managed to survive competition from mill-made cloth? (A) The government imposed heavy tariffs on mill-made cloth, making it unaffordable for most buyers. (B) Weavers adopted new technologies, carved out niche markets with finer weaves, and catered to demands mills could not meet. (C) Mill owners voluntarily withdrew from segments of the market traditionally served by handloom weavers. (D) Colonial administrators passed legislation reserving certain cloth types exclusively for handloom production.
  1. A The colonial government banned the import of mill-made cloth to protect Indian weavers.
  2. B Weavers adopted technological improvements like the fly shuttle and focused on specialised products that mills could not easily replicate.
  3. C Handloom weavers lowered their prices below those of mill-made goods to retain customers.
  4. D Indian mills shifted entirely to yarn production, leaving the cloth market open for handloom weavers.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 15:01 · grounding rag
Model Answer

(B) Weavers adopted technological improvements like the fly shuttle and focused on specialised products that mills could not easily replicate.

Weavers survived by adopting the fly shuttle (over 35% looms by 1941), boosting productivity, and producing specialised weaves — Banarasi saris, Madras lungis — which mills could not imitate.

Source: The Age of Industrialisation, Chapter 4, Section 5.1

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Explanation

The passage explicitly states two survival strategies: (1) technological adoption — the fly shuttle increased productivity without raising costs excessively; and (2) niche specialisation — finer, intricate weaves like Banarasi saris and Madras handkerchiefs could not be replicated by mills. Option A is wrong (no import ban mentioned), C is wrong (weavers did not simply cut prices), and D is wrong (mills shifted to cloth, not away from it). Always link your MCQ choice to textbook evidence when writing the answer.

Previous-year CBSE Grade 10 board exam questions, organised by subject and chapter, each with a model answer — free to read and print.