Question

Identify the sector of the economy on the basis of ownership with the help of following information:

• The government owns most of the assets.
• Delivery of services in the hands of government.
• Fair price shops is an example of it.

• A. Private Sector
• B. Public Sector
• C. Joint Sector
• D. Cooperative Sector

Hint:

Start from the example given. Ask who would run a shop that sells essentials below the market price, and whether a business working for profit could do so.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Concept:

• The example given in a clue-based question is usually the fastest route to the answer, because an example belongs to only one category.
• Here the example is the fair price shop.

Step 1: Start from the example.
Fair price shops sell foodgrains, sugar and kerosene at prices fixed by the government to families holding ration cards. They are run to make essentials affordable, not to earn a profit.
No private business would sell below market price by choice.

Step 2: Ask what kind of body behaves like that.
Only the government undertakes activities where the purpose is service rather than profit, such as schools, hospitals, roads, water supply and the public distribution system. That is the public sector.

Step 3: Confirm with the other two clues.
The government owning most of the assets and delivering the services is precisely the definition of the public sector, so all three clues agree.

Step 4: Eliminate the near misses.
A joint sector unit is shared between the government and private owners, and a cooperative is owned by its members. Neither matches a clue that says the government owns most of the assets.

Final Answer: (B) Public Sector