Class 10 Economics Chapter 4, Globalisation and the Indian Economy, examines how Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) interlink production across countries, how foreign trade and foreign investment integrate global markets, the role of technology, the 1991 liberalisation of trade barriers, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the uneven impact of globalisation in India.
What Class 10 Social Science (Economics) Chapter 4 Covers
Production Across Countries & Interlinking Production defines an MNC as a company that owns or controls production in more than one nation (dividing design, manufacturing, assembly and customer care across countries to reduce costs by 50–60%), defines foreign investment (investment made by MNCs in land, buildings and machines), and explains the three ways MNCs spread production: (1) setting up joint production with local companies (yielding capital and latest technology), (2) buying up local companies (e.g. Cargill Foods buying Parakh Foods), and (3) placing orders with small producers (garments, footwear, sports items).
Foreign Trade, Globalisation, Technology & Liberalisation (1991) shows how foreign trade integrates markets across countries, defines Globalisation as the rapid integration or interconnection between countries, highlights the role of rapid transport (containers) and Information and Communication Technology (Internet, telecom, satellites), defines a trade barrier (such as tax on imports) and Liberalisation (removing government barriers or restrictions on foreign trade and foreign investment, adopted by India in 1991), and critiques the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Impact of Globalisation in India & The Struggle for a Fair Globalisation notes how globalisation benefited well-off urban consumers, top Indian companies (Tata Motors, Infosys, Ranbaxy, Asian Paints, Sundaram Fasteners) and IT/call-centre services (Special Economic Zones / SEZs), while hitting small producers (batteries, capacitors, plastics, toys, tyres, dairy, vegetable oil) and making workers’ jobs insecure under flexible labour laws, and explains how government can ensure fair globalisation.
Exercises in Chapter 4
- Chapter Exercises (13 Questions) cover what globalisation is, why the Indian government put barriers to foreign trade and foreign investment after Independence and why it wished to remove these barriers around 1991, how flexibility in labour laws helps companies, and how the globalisation process has affected India.
Read Class 10 Social Science (Economics) Chapter 4 Online
More Chapters
- Previous: Chapter 3: Money and Credit
- Next: Chapter 5: Consumer Rights
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FAQ
Why did the Indian government put barriers to foreign trade and foreign investment after Independence, and why were they removed in 1991?
After Independence (during the 1950s and 1960s), Indian industries were just coming up, and competition from imports at that stage would not have allowed these nascent industries to survive. Around 1991, the government decided the time had come for Indian producers to compete with producers around the globe so that competition would improve the performance and quality of domestic producers.
What are the various ways in which MNCs set up or control production in other countries?
MNCs set up or control production in three main ways: (1) forming partnerships/joint ventures with local companies, providing money for additional investments and bringing the latest technology; (2) buying up existing local companies and expanding production; and (3) placing orders for production with small producers and selling the products under the MNC’s own brand name.