Social Studies LONG ANS. QUESTIONS(5 Mark)

Grameen Bank of Bangladesh was started in the 1970s. It has now over 6 million borrowers in about 40,000 villages. Almost all the borrowers are women and belong to poorest sections of the society. These borrowers have proved that not only are poor women reliable borrowers, but they can start and run a variety of small income generating activities successfully. Thus, the Grameen Bank has played a significant role in the improvement of the condition of the poor women in Bangladesh. Professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank and a recipient of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize' for peace has stated that, "if credit can be made available to the poor people on terms and conditions that are appropriate and reasonable these million of small people with their millions of small pursuits and add up to create the biggest development wonder."

People obtain loans from various sources. The two sources of credit are formal sources and informal sources and can be differentiated on the basis of following features:
Formal sources of credit:
• Banks and cooperative societies fall under the formal sector. One can obtain loans from banks or cooperative societies.
• The Reserve Bank of India supervises the functioning of formal sources of loans.
• Bank loans require documentation and collateral (collateral is an asset such as land, building, vehicle, livestock, deposits with the bank, etc.). This is used as a guarantee to the lender until the loan is paid back.
• Formal sources cannot charge any rate of interest from the borrowers according to their whims.
• The rich households avail cheap credit from formal lenders as 90 per cent of the rich urban households take credit from formal sources.
(any 3 points of both the sources)
• In the informal sector money can be borrowed from a person, friend, relative, moneylender, traders, employers, etc.
• No organization checks or supervises the activities of lenders in the informal sector.
• Loans from informal sources do not require any such collateral.
• They charge a very high rate of interest on loans as they do not require any collateral.
• Poor households pay a large amount for borrowing as they take credit from informal sources. About 85 per cent of the loans taken by poor households in urban areas are from informal sources.

Political parties play a vital role in democracies which makes them an essential component of a democracy. The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies The key role played by the political parties in a democracy is
listed below:
• Political Parties contest elections. Those who win form the government and those
parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power,
• They offer different policies, schemes, and programs and the voters chose from them.
• Political Parties play a decisive role in making laws for the country.
• Parties form and run the government. The political executives of the political party in power take big policy decisions.
• Political Parties shape public opinion. They provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments.

A. We can understand the necessity of political parties by imagining a situation without parties.
B. The every candidate in the elections will be independent.So no one will be able to about make any promise to the people about any major major policy changes.
C. The government will be formed but its utility will remain ever uncertain.
D. Elected representatives will be responsible only to their constituency and not for the
entire country.
E. But no one will be responsible for how the country run.
F. Elections without political parties will also be responsible for the disintegration of the
country.
G. India also has non-party based elections to the panchayats in many states. Although
parties do not contest formally, it is generally noticed that the village splits into more
than one faction, each of which puts up a 'panel' of its candidates.This is exactly what the party does. That is why we have political parties in almost all the countries of the
world.
H. The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative
democracies, large-scale societies need representative democracy. Large societies
needed some way to bring various representatives together so that a responsible
government could be formed. 

Napoleon had destroyed democracy in France, but in the administrative field he had incorporated revolutionary principles in order to make the whole system more rational and efficient, which were as follows:
i. The Civil Code of 1804, also known as Napoleonic Code, abolished all the privileges based on birth, established equality before the law and gave the right to property.
ii. This Code was implemented in the regions under French control.
iii. Napoleon simplified administrative divisions, abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues in the Dutch Republic, in Switzerland, in Italy and Germany.
iv. Guild restrictions were removed in the towns too.
v. Uniform weights and measures were adopted. A common national currency helped in the movement of goods and capital from one region to another.
vi. Transport and communication systems were improved.

• Women actively participated in movements, faced the tortures of police, stood by their male counterparts, spread the idea of liberal nationalism and also were members of various revolutionary organisations. They faced the torture of police but still, they stood by their male counterparts.
• The issue of extending political rights to women was a controversial one within the liberal movement, in which large numbers of women had participated actively over the years.
• Women had formed their own political associations, founded newspapers and taken part in political meetings and demonstrations. Despite this, they were denied suffrage during the election of the Assembly. They were given little or no political rights or the right to vote till the end of the 19th century.

i. Electricity is required in all sectors of the economy.
ii. In agriculture use of electricity for the running the pump of water to irrigate the field helps to increase the output.
iii. Electricity is needed in food processing industry.
iv. Cottage and small scale industries cannot be developed without the use of electricity.
v. Higher consumption of electricity in households indicates the higher standard of living.
vi. Development and increase in the demand for electricity go hand in hand.
vii. Any other relevant point.

Biogas can solve the energy problem in the rural areas due to the reasons mentioned below:
i. It produces a gas having higher thermal efficiency than charcoal and kerosene.
ii. It provides a way for optimum utilization of animal and plant waste.
iii. It produces enriched organic manure that can supplement or even replace chemical fertilizers.
iv. It burns smoothly and does not leave much residue behind.
v. It is easy to produce and store.
vi. It is a renewable source of energy.
vii. It will reduce the burden on conventional sources of energy.
viii. It is eco-friendly, therefore it will help in reducing environmental pollution.
ix. It provides twin benefits to farmers by acting as an energy resource and improved quality of manure.
Some suggestions to improve the biogas energy production in rural areas given below
i. The Government should provide monetary assistance to people in rural areas.
ii. Also, awareness must be created for using this alternative sources of energy.