Previous Year Question

An Economic Activity is an activity involving the production, distribution, exchange, or consumption of goods and services and is associated with earning income, securing a livelihood, or creating economic value. In contrast, Non-Economic Activities are primarily performed for objectives such as personal satisfaction, social service, love, compassion, or moral responsibility.

Option (a): Transport is an economic activity. It involves providing services for moving passengers and goods from one place to another. Transport is part of the Tertiary Sector and plays an important role in facilitating trade, industry, and other economic activities.

Option (b): Farming is an economic activity. It involves using land, labour, capital, and other resources to produce agricultural products. Agriculture is a major component of the Primary Sector and provides foodgrains, raw materials, and livelihoods.

Option (c): Employment is an economic activity. It involves individuals providing physical or intellectual services in return for salaries, wages, or other remuneration. Employment may exist in the agricultural, industrial, or service sectors.

Option (d): Voluntary Social Service is generally considered a non-economic activity when its objective is to promote social welfare without receiving remuneration. Examples include providing free education through a social organisation, assisting people in need, or voluntarily contributing to community service.

However, in the context of National Income Accounting, every unpaid activity is not automatically classified as non-economic. Services provided by an organisation may have economic value even when volunteers receive no remuneration. In this question, Voluntary Social Service is classified according to the traditional distinction between economic and non-economic activities.