CG Board Class 10 Social Science Chapter 21 Solutions: Globalization (वैश्वीकरण) (2026-27)

In our daily lives, many things demonstrate our connection with other countries

1. Consumer Products: Toys imported from China, mobile phones, computers, and foreign brands of shoes, clothes, and electronics.
2. Automobiles: Foreign models of cars, motorcycles, and trucks plying on Indian roads.
3. Media & Information: Global news coverage on television, international movies, foreign music, and instant information via the internet.
4. Language & Education: People learning English, Chinese, and other foreign languages to acquire skills for employment in global companies.

In terms of physical goods, India’s imports grew significantly alongside exports. However, in the services sector, India’s exports grew at a much faster pace than imports, making India one of the top exporters of services worldwide. Overall, foreign trade and service exports experienced rapid, multi-fold growth during the globalisation period.

Examples of ICT:** Smartphones, high-speed internet networks, Wi-Fi, computer networks, e-mail, e-commerce applications, WhatsApp, social media platforms, ATMs, and RTGS/NEFT digital banking systems.

• Impact on People’s Lives:

1. Instant Communication: People can connect with relatives, friends, and business partners across the globe within seconds.
2. Business & Banking: Online shopping, digital money transfers, and banking transactions have become effortless through RTGS and e-commerce.
3. Employment & Services: ICT enabled the growth of call centers and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) units, creating millions of jobs for educated youth.

The rapid decline in transportation and communication costs over the past 50 years has drastically accelerated foreign trade and foreign investment

1. Transport Costs: Container shipping and reduced freight rates (sea, road, rail, and air) made it cheaper to transport raw materials and finished goods globally, enabling companies to trade over long distances profitably.
2. Communication Costs: Dramatic drops in international telecommunication and internet costs allowed Multinational Corporations (MNCs) to monitor, manage, and integrate production facilities located across different countries in real time from a single central office.

Yes, the decision of the Indian government to impose trade barriers and import duties after independence was largely correct and necessary at that time

1. Protection of Infant Domestic Industry: Indian industries were just establishing themselves during the 1950s and 1960s; unrestricted imports of cheap foreign goods would have crushed local producers.
2. Self-Reliance: It allowed India to build a strong domestic manufacturing base in essential sectors.
3. Global Precedent: Historically, all developed nations protected their domestic industries through trade barriers during the initial stages of their economic development.

Liberalisation means the policy process of removing or relaxing government-imposed restrictions, trade barriers, and quotas on foreign trade and foreign investment. Under liberalisation, the government exercises less control over economic activities, giving businesses and producers freedom to make decisions regarding imports, exports, and investments.

Foreign Trade:** Refers to the exchange/sale and purchase of goods and services across national borders between two or more countries (imports and exports).

The rapid growth in automobile manufacturing and car ownership is viewed as economic progress and industrial pride. However, this “development” for vehicle owners and manufacturers creates severe hazards for others

1. Air Pollution & Health Damage: Exhaust emissions release harmful particulate matter (PM2.5), causing lung damage to school children and respiratory illnesses among urban residents.
2. Environmental Degradation: Constructing wider roads and concrete infrastructure leads to cutting thousands of trees, depleting groundwater recharge capacity, and turning cities into concrete jungles.
3. Resource Conflict: Land that could be used for parks, agriculture, or public housing is swallowed up by roads and parking lots.

Globalisation is the process of rapid integration and interconnectedness among different countries of the world. It involves the free movement and exchange of goods, services, technology, capital investments, and people across national borders, primarily driven by Multinational Corporations (MNCs), advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and the liberalisation of trade policies.

The process of globalisation is driven by the international flow of four main components

1. Flow of Goods: Movement of raw materials, manufactured products, and consumer items across borders.
2. Flow of Services: Exchange of IT, call centers, financial, educational, and healthcare services globally.
3. Flow of Capital & Foreign Investment: Investment money and technology transferred by MNCs across nations.
4. Flow of Technology & Information: Transmission of digital data, software, ideas, and communication over ICT networks.

Why Restrictions were Imposed (Post-1947):** After independence, Indian industries were in an infant stage during the 1950s and 1960s. Restrictions and import duties were imposed to protect domestic producers from fierce foreign competition, enabling local industries to establish themselves.

• Why Restrictions were Removed (1991 Economic Reforms): By 1991, the Indian government realized that Indian producers needed to face global competition to improve quality, adopt modern technology, and enhance productivity. Consequently, trade obstacles were removed to attract foreign investment, facilitate exports, and integrate India into the global economy.

Flexibility in labour policies allows employers and MNCs to hire workers on a temporary, contract basis rather than offering permanent employment. This helps companies in the following ways

1. Cost Reduction: Companies cut wage costs significantly and avoid paying mandatory employee benefits like medical insurance, provident fund, and double overtime wages.
2. Market Adaptability: Employers can easily dismiss workers or reduce staff during slack demand seasons without legal complications.
3. Competitive Edge: Lower production costs enable exporters to win foreign supply contracts by offering cheaper prices in global markets.

Globalisation has created contrasting impacts across different sections of society

1. Gainers: Rich urban consumers enjoyed greater choices of high-quality products at lower prices. Large corporations, educated professionals, and ICT companies expanded their wealth significantly.
2. Losers: Small-scale producers in industries like toys, tyres, dairy, and edible oil could not compete with cheap imports and were forced to close down. Industrial workers faced job insecurity, casualization of labour, lower wages, and loss of social security benefits.
3. Widening Disparities: Wealth distribution statistics show that the richest 10% held 66% of India’s wealth in 2000, which increased to 75% by 2015.

Liberalisation accelerates globalisation by removing legal and economic obstacles to international transactions

1. Facilitates Imports and Exports: Removing import tariffs and quotas allows goods to flow freely across borders without cost penalties.
2. Encourages Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): Foreign companies can easily set up factories, offices, and subsidiaries in developing nations.
3. Global Market Integration: Producers obtain freedom to source raw materials, component parts, and services from whichever country offers the lowest production costs.

Twenty years from now, globalisation will likely create a hyper-connected world

1. Digital Integration: Artificial intelligence, 6G networks, and advanced automation will enable seamless remote working and virtual global trade.
2. Shared Environmental Standards: Countries will be forced to collaborate closely on green technologies and renewable energy to combat climate change.
3. Need for Regulation: Unless governments enforce fair global trade rules, wealth disparity may widen further, making equitable globalisation a central necessity.

Response:** Both debaters present partial truths because globalisation has a dual character

• Positive Arguments: Globalisation brought modern technology, increased consumer choices, created IT/BPO employment, boosted service exports, and enabled top Indian firms (like Tata Motors, Infosys) to become global MNCs.
• Negative Arguments: It severely harmed small-scale domestic producers (toys, edible oil), rendered industrial employment temporary/informal, stripped workers of social security, increased wealth inequality, and accelerated environmental degradation.
• Conclusion: The goal should not be to reject globalisation, but to reform it into a just and equitable globalisation supported by supportive government policies and labour laws.

Data on Wealth Concentration: In the year 2000, the richest 10% of India’s population held 66% of the country’s total wealth. By 2015, this share increased to 75%. Conversely, the share of the bottom 90% of the population dropped from 34% in 2000 to just 24%** in 2015.

• Examples:

1. Corporate Profits vs Worker Security: While owners of IT, automobile, and garment export companies earn massive profits, their workers (like Sushila) suffer from low wages, 14-hour workdays, lack of provident fund, and job loss risks.
2. Formal vs Informal Sector: High-salaried permanent jobs are restricted to a tiny educated elite, forcing the vast majority (including 2 crore small-scale industry workers) into informal, low-paying work.

Globalisation has adversely affected the environment in several major ways

1. Industrial Pollution: Rapid industrial growth and lenient environmental regulations attract polluting factories to developing nations, degrading air and water bodies.
2. Vehicular Explosion & Air Quality: The post-2000 surge in automobile manufacturing doubled vehicle counts, adding 1,400 new vehicles daily on Delhi roads. High PM2.5 levels cause lung damage in 40% of school children.
3. Loss of Green Cover & Water Crisis: Road expansion and urban concrete sprawl require cutting thousands of trees and paving soil, diminishing rainwater absorption capacity and triggering acute water shortages.

To work in a call centre servicing a British client, one requires

1. Fluency in English: Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
2. Accent & Cultural Familiarity: Training in British pronunciation, accent, mannerisms, and cultural etiquette so British callers feel served locally.
3. Computer & ICT Skills: Efficiency in operating computers, customer management software, and internet systems.
4. Problem-Solving Ability: Patience, politeness, and rapid analytical skills to address customer complaints on telephone lines.

Before establishing production units in any country, a Multinational Corporation (MNC) considers

1. Proximity to Markets: Presence of a large consumer base to sell finished goods.
2. Availability of Cheap Labour: Low wage costs for skilled, semi-skilled, and English-speaking workers.
3. Availability of Raw Materials: Abundant and easy access to natural resources (e.g., limestone for cement plants in Chhattisgarh).
4. Infrastructure & ICT: Reliable electricity, transportation networks, and telecommunications.
5. Government Policies: Tax concessions, flexible labour laws, and supportive trade policies.

MNCs control and expand global production through four main methods

1. Acquisition of Local Companies: Buying established local companies to instantly gain production facilities and market share (e.g., France’s Lafarge acquiring Tata Steel Cement and Raymond Cement factories in Chhattisgarh).
2. Joint Ventures: Collaborating with local companies to share capital investment and technology (e.g., Ford Motors partnering with Mahindra).
3. Contracting / Farming Out Production: Placing production orders with small artisan units or home workers and selling the output under their global brand name (e.g., contracting women in Ludhiana for football lacing).
4. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO): Outsourcing customer care and IT support services to local call centers in developing nations.

In 1991, the Indian government introduced New Economic Reforms centred on Liberalisation, Privatisation, and Globalisation (LPG). Major changes included

1. Removal of trade barriers, import tariffs, and quotas on foreign goods.
2. Opening various economic sectors for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
3. Allowing foreign MNCs to establish offices, factories, and joint ventures freely in India.

Small domestic producers face severe survival challenges due to globalisation

1. Unequal Competition: Small units cannot match the low prices, massive advertising budgets, and advanced technology of MNCs.
2. Factory Closures & Unemployment: Sectors like toys, tyres, edible oil, and dairy witnessed widespread closures of small factories, causing job losses for millions.
3. Price Pressure from MNC Buyers: Small contractors supplying goods to MNCs are forced to supply at extremely low prices, squeezing their profits.

Globalisation has created severe uncertainty and distress for industrial workers

1. Job Insecurity: Employers prefer flexible labour contracts, shifting workers from permanent roles to temporary, short-term employment.
2. Wage Cuts & Long Hours: To cut production costs, factories reduce worker wages and demand long 12-to-14-hour work shifts without extra pay.
3. Loss of Social Security: Temporary workers are denied medical benefits, provident funds, paid leave, and overtime allowances (as seen in the case of Sushila).
4. Growth of Informal Sector: Secure formal jobs have shrunk, forcing workers into the unorganised sector.

MNCs set up joint ventures with local companies for the following reasons

1. Local Market Knowledge: Local companies possess established distribution networks, customer familiarity, and regulatory knowledge.
2. Resource Sharing: Joint ventures reduce the financial risk for the foreign MNC while combining foreign capital and technology with local factory space and labour.
3. Quick Market Entry: Partnering with an existing domestic firm provides an immediate foothold in the foreign country’s market.

(Accurate Textbook Matching Based on Table 21.1)