Read carefully the passages given below and answer the questions. Who is this man? You see him every day, sometimes on the street, sometimes in the ration shop, an ageless and timeless entity in the ever-changing world around him. And yet he is elusive. The man-in- the-street is no flesh-and-bone creature but a mere statistic, an apocryphal figure who is invoked by politicians and economists alike but with whom they are most comfortable as long as he remains abstract. Let us go beyond abstraction and get to the concrete reality of this common man. This particular man is middle-aged, literate, obviously urban and with an income much higher than the average per capita income. This man lives with the very rich with their indifference to wealth and the very poor with their resignation towards misfortune. But can one define him merely in terms of the average per capita income or calorific intake of food or is there something more tangible about this man, his lifestyle, his work, his ambition, his struggles? With a steady acceleration in the rate of inflation from 2.1 per cent in 1950-1960 to 9.2 percent in 1980-87, the dismal real per capita income growth of barely 1.5 per cent per annum has obviously eluded even this common man. What can this man buy with his one rupee note, which was worth 100 paise in 1950 and is now worth only 11 paise? Without inheritance and without really knowing the art of making easy money, he hardly has anything to fall back on in his old age except his meager pension, if he is what goes under the curious name of ‘government servant’ – and his son. After all, discharge of filial obligations still represents the most important element of social security in India. Given the population growth rate of 2.2 persons per annum an average family size is 6.2. However, this man being urban and literate is likely to have a smaller family of only four members. Having reached the plateau of his life, his aspirations are directed towards his children – probably most towards his son. The desire to make his son as engineer or a doctor from the moment he is born takes the shape of nurturing him in an expensive English medium “convent school”. However, the aspiration level may soon slide down to reconciling with reality, of the son becoming a bank clerk or a section officer. Even in that, luck will have to play a role because given the total educated job seekers being more than 16,452,000 the son may ultimately have to settle for any kind or job.

The common man’s desire to rise higher on the social scale is quite great and he is thus unlikely to withstand consumerist pressures. He may succumb to acquiring second-hand assets or wait for his son’s Lakshmi to bring the goodies home. At the same time, the preparation for his daughter’s marriage starts from the time she is born while her education may or may not be in a “public” school. The social cancellation effect of this Lakshmi give-and-take, however, does not reflect in the case of individual households, as the gruesome figures of dowry deaths make clear. The common man’s efforts to meet the requirements of roti, kapadaaurmakan are valiant enough. He realises the importance of a good diet but the forbidding prices more or less make it imperative for him to go for something cheaper. Figures of availability of many important items of consumption, themselves ensure that the overall consumption level of his family is not very high. For instance, per capita availability of sugar in 1986-87 was only 11.1 kg per annum, which works down to merely 30.2 gm. per day, sufficient only for a cup of tea or two. Although this man is depicted as wearing a dhoti, given the average per capita availability of cloth at less than 15 metres per annum, he is unlikely to wear such a garment. However, his simple thinking and simple living does not deter the common man from aspiring to be a ‘lakhpati’ through the medium of a bumper lottery ticket or take refuge like ‘MungeriLal’ in his ‘hasinsapne’. (A popular television serial where the protagonist is an economically average man who dreams of extraordinary riches). The top priority in his dream world is of course to own a flat or a small house. The common man’s familial and interpersonal links are strong enough to take him to his ‘native place’ once in every two or three years. And in ordinary dreary life, he manages to draw enough from his memories, his traditions, his religion, even without being overtly religious. The Club culture of the rich and the community culture of the poor are both absent from his life but he does take part enthusiastically in popular festivals. However, apart from his occasional picnic outings with his neighbours and friends, the prime time peep at the outside world through the Doordarshan window, the occasional movie in a cinema house, does he have anything else to distract him from his over- burdened and ever-growing responsibilities? The common man is aware of political conditions, and feels strongly about corruption, annual budgets, high prices, his personal deprivation …. But does he voice them loud enough; does he have a solution or are his concerns lost somewhere in his daily struggle for a decent living? Is he happy with the state, which arises out of the wants of man? Is the common man optimistic about his future? Does this common man have a future? In surveying the Indian economic context, in the end since we come up with questions rather than answers, the only conclusion that we can arrive at is that in the economy, as in society and politics, since so little can be said, much must be invented. Action is the essence of economic analysis.

Read carefully the passages given below and answer the questions.

Who is this man? You see him every day, sometimes on the street, sometimes in the ration shop, an ageless and timeless entity in the ever-changing world around him. And yet he is elusive. The man-in- the-street is no flesh-and-bone creature but a mere statistic, an apocryphal figure who is invoked by politicians  and  economists  alike  but  with  whom  they  are  most  comfortable  as  long  as  he  remains abstract.

Let us go beyond abstraction and get to the concrete reality of this common man. This particular man is middle-aged, literate, obviously urban and with an income much higher than the average per capita income.  This man lives with the very rich with their  indifference to wealth and  the very poor with their resignation towards misfortune. But can one define him merely in terms of the average per capita income or calorific intake of food or is there something more tangible about this man, his lifestyle, his work, his ambition, his struggles?

With a steady acceleration in the rate of inflation from 2.1 per cent in 1950-1960 to 9.2 percent in

1980-87, the dismal real per capita income growth of barely 1.5 per cent per annum has obviously eluded even this common man. What can this man buy with his one rupee note, which was worth 100 paise in 1950 and is now worth only 11 paise? Without inheritance and without really knowing the art of  making  easy  money,  he  hardly  has  anything  to  fall  back  on  in  his  old  age  except  his  meager pension, if he is what goes under the curious name of ‘government servant’ – and his son. After all, discharge of filial obligations still represents the most important element of social security in India.

Given the population growth rate of 2.2 persons per annum an average family size is 6.2. However, this  man  being  urban  and  literate is likely to  have a  smaller  family of  only four  members.  Having reached  the  plateau  of  his  life,  his  aspirations  are  directed  towards  his  children  –  probably  most towards his son. The desire to make his son as engineer or a doctor from the moment he is born takes the  shape  of  nurturing  him  in  an  expensive  English  medium  “convent  school”.  However,  the aspiration level may soon slide down to reconciling with reality, of the son becoming a bank clerk or a section officer. Even in that, luck will have to play a role because given the total educated job seekers being more than 16,452,000 the son may ultimately have to settle for any kind or job.

The common man’s desire to rise higher on the social scale is quite great and he is thus unlikely to withstand  consumerist pressures.  He  may succumb  to  acquiring  second-hand  assets  or  wait for  his son’s  Lakshmi  to  bring  the  goodies  home.  At  the  same  time,  the  preparation  for  his  daughter’s marriage starts from the time she is born while her education may or may not be in a “public” school. The social cancellation effect of this Lakshmi give-and-take, however, does not reflect in the case of individual households, as the gruesome figures of dowry deaths make clear.

The common man’s efforts to meet the requirements of roti, kapadaaurmakan are valiant enough. He realises the importance of a good diet but the forbidding prices more or less make it imperative for him to  go  for  something  cheaper.  Figures of availability of many important items of  consumption, themselves ensure that the overall consumption level of his family is not very high. For instance, per capita availability of sugar in 1986-87 was only 11.1 kg per annum, which works down to merely 30.2 gm. per day, sufficient only for a cup of tea or two. Although this man is depicted as wearing a dhoti, given the average per capita availability of cloth at less than 15 metres per annum, he is unlikely to wear such a garment.

However, his simple thinking and simple living does not deter the common man from aspiring to be a ‘lakhpati’  through  the  medium  of  a  bumper  lottery ticket  or  take  refuge  like  ‘MungeriLal’  in  his ‘hasinsapne’. (A popular television serial where the protagonist is an economically average man who dreams of extraordinary riches). The top priority in his dream world is of course to own a flat or a small house.

The common man’s familial and interpersonal links are strong enough to take him to his ‘native place’ once in every two or three years. And in ordinary dreary life, he manages to draw enough from his memories, his traditions, his religion, even without being overtly religious. The Club culture of the rich  and  the  community  culture  of  the  poor  are  both  absent  from  his  life  but  he  does  take  part enthusiastically  in  popular  festivals.  However,  apart  from  his  occasional  picnic  outings  with  his neighbours and friends, the prime time peep at the outside world through the Doordarshan window, the occasional movie in a cinema house, does he have anything else to distract him from his over- burdened and ever-growing responsibilities?

The common man is aware of political conditions, and feels strongly about corruption, annual budgets, high prices, his personal deprivation …. But does he voice them loud enough; does he have a solution or are his concerns lost somewhere in his daily struggle for a decent living? Is he happy with the state, which  arises  out  of  the  wants  of  man?  Is  the  common  man  optimistic  about his  future?  Does  this common man have a future?

In  surveying  the  Indian economic  context,  in the end since we come up  with questions rather  than answers, the only conclusion that we can arrive at is that in the economy, as in society and politics, since so little can be said, much must be invented. Action is the essence of economic analysis.

Read carefully the passages given below and answer the questions.

Who is this man? You see him every day, sometimes on the street, sometimes in the ration shop, an ageless and timeless entity in the ever-changing world around him. And yet he is elusive. The man-in- the-street is no flesh-and-bone creature but a mere statistic, an apocryphal figure who is invoked by politicians  and  economists  alike  but  with  whom  they  are  most  comfortable  as  long  as  he  remains abstract.

Let us go beyond abstraction and get to the concrete reality of this common man. This particular man is middle-aged, literate, obviously urban and with an income much higher than the average per capita income.  This man lives with the very rich with their  indifference to wealth and  the very poor with their resignation towards misfortune. But can one define him merely in terms of the average per capita income or calorific intake of food or is there something more tangible about this man, his lifestyle, his work, his ambition, his struggles?

With a steady acceleration in the rate of inflation from 2.1 per cent in 1950-1960 to 9.2 percent in

1980-87, the dismal real per capita income growth of barely 1.5 per cent per annum has obviously eluded even this common man. What can this man buy with his one rupee note, which was worth 100 paise in 1950 and is now worth only 11 paise? Without inheritance and without really knowing the art of  making  easy  money,  he  hardly  has  anything  to  fall  back  on  in  his  old  age  except  his  meager pension, if he is what goes under the curious name of ‘government servant’ – and his son. After all, discharge of filial obligations still represents the most important element of social security in India.

Given the population growth rate of 2.2 persons per annum an average family size is 6.2. However, this  man  being  urban  and  literate is likely to  have a  smaller  family of  only four  members.  Having reached  the  plateau  of  his  life,  his  aspirations  are  directed  towards  his  children  –  probably  most towards his son. The desire to make his son as engineer or a doctor from the moment he is born takes the  shape  of  nurturing  him  in  an  expensive  English  medium  “convent  school”.  However,  the aspiration level may soon slide down to reconciling with reality, of the son becoming a bank clerk or a section officer. Even in that, luck will have to play a role because given the total educated job seekers being more than 16,452,000 the son may ultimately have to settle for any kind or job.

The common man’s desire to rise higher on the social scale is quite great and he is thus unlikely to withstand  consumerist pressures.  He  may succumb  to  acquiring  second-hand  assets  or  wait for  his son’s  Lakshmi  to  bring  the  goodies  home.  At  the  same  time,  the  preparation  for  his  daughter’s marriage starts from the time she is born while her education may or may not be in a “public” school. The social cancellation effect of this Lakshmi give-and-take, however, does not reflect in the case of individual households, as the gruesome figures of dowry deaths make clear.

The common man’s efforts to meet the requirements of roti, kapadaaurmakan are valiant enough. He realises the importance of a good diet but the forbidding prices more or less make it imperative for him to  go  for  something  cheaper.  Figures of availability of many important items of  consumption, themselves ensure that the overall consumption level of his family is not very high. For instance, per capita availability of sugar in 1986-87 was only 11.1 kg per annum, which works down to merely 30.2 gm. per day, sufficient only for a cup of tea or two. Although this man is depicted as wearing a dhoti, given the average per capita availability of cloth at less than 15 metres per annum, he is unlikely to wear such a garment.

However, his simple thinking and simple living does not deter the common man from aspiring to be a ‘lakhpati’  through  the  medium  of  a  bumper  lottery ticket  or  take  refuge  like  ‘MungeriLal’  in  his ‘hasinsapne’. (A popular television serial where the protagonist is an economically average man who dreams of extraordinary riches). The top priority in his dream world is of course to own a flat or a small house.

The common man’s familial and interpersonal links are strong enough to take him to his ‘native place’ once in every two or three years. And in ordinary dreary life, he manages to draw enough from his memories, his traditions, his religion, even without being overtly religious. The Club culture of the rich  and  the  community  culture  of  the  poor  are  both  absent  from  his  life  but  he  does  take  part enthusiastically  in  popular  festivals.  However,  apart  from  his  occasional  picnic  outings  with  his neighbours and friends, the prime time peep at the outside world through the Doordarshan window, the occasional movie in a cinema house, does he have anything else to distract him from his over- burdened and ever-growing responsibilities?

The common man is aware of political conditions, and feels strongly about corruption, annual budgets, high prices, his personal deprivation …. But does he voice them loud enough; does he have a solution or are his concerns lost somewhere in his daily struggle for a decent living? Is he happy with the state, which  arises  out  of  the  wants  of  man?  Is  the  common  man  optimistic  about his  future?  Does  this common man have a future?

In  surveying  the  Indian economic  context,  in the end since we come up  with questions rather  than answers, the only conclusion that we can arrive at is that in the economy, as in society and politics, since so little can be said, much must be invented. Action is the essence of economic analysis.

Read carefully the passages given below and answer the questions.

Who is this man? You see him every day, sometimes on the street, sometimes in the ration shop, an ageless and timeless entity in the ever-changing world around him. And yet he is elusive. The man-in- the-street is no flesh-and-bone creature but a mere statistic, an apocryphal figure who is invoked by politicians  and  economists  alike  but  with  whom  they  are  most  comfortable  as  long  as  he  remains abstract.

Let us go beyond abstraction and get to the concrete reality of this common man. This particular man is middle-aged, literate, obviously urban and with an income much higher than the average per capita income.  This man lives with the very rich with their  indifference to wealth and  the very poor with their resignation towards misfortune. But can one define him merely in terms of the average per capita income or calorific intake of food or is there something more tangible about this man, his lifestyle, his work, his ambition, his struggles?

With a steady acceleration in the rate of inflation from 2.1 per cent in 1950-1960 to 9.2 percent in

1980-87, the dismal real per capita income growth of barely 1.5 per cent per annum has obviously eluded even this common man. What can this man buy with his one rupee note, which was worth 100 paise in 1950 and is now worth only 11 paise? Without inheritance and without really knowing the art of  making  easy  money,  he  hardly  has  anything  to  fall  back  on  in  his  old  age  except  his  meager pension, if he is what goes under the curious name of ‘government servant’ – and his son. After all, discharge of filial obligations still represents the most important element of social security in India.

Given the population growth rate of 2.2 persons per annum an average family size is 6.2. However, this  man  being  urban  and  literate is likely to  have a  smaller  family of  only four  members.  Having reached  the  plateau  of  his  life,  his  aspirations  are  directed  towards  his  children  –  probably  most towards his son. The desire to make his son as engineer or a doctor from the moment he is born takes the  shape  of  nurturing  him  in  an  expensive  English  medium  “convent  school”.  However,  the aspiration level may soon slide down to reconciling with reality, of the son becoming a bank clerk or a section officer. Even in that, luck will have to play a role because given the total educated job seekers being more than 16,452,000 the son may ultimately have to settle for any kind or job.

The common man’s desire to rise higher on the social scale is quite great and he is thus unlikely to withstand  consumerist pressures.  He  may succumb  to  acquiring  second-hand  assets  or  wait for  his son’s  Lakshmi  to  bring  the  goodies  home.  At  the  same  time,  the  preparation  for  his  daughter’s marriage starts from the time she is born while her education may or may not be in a “public” school. The social cancellation effect of this Lakshmi give-and-take, however, does not reflect in the case of individual households, as the gruesome figures of dowry deaths make clear.

The common man’s efforts to meet the requirements of roti, kapadaaurmakan are valiant enough. He realises the importance of a good diet but the forbidding prices more or less make it imperative for him to  go  for  something  cheaper.  Figures of availability of many important items of  consumption, themselves ensure that the overall consumption level of his family is not very high. For instance, per capita availability of sugar in 1986-87 was only 11.1 kg per annum, which works down to merely 30.2 gm. per day, sufficient only for a cup of tea or two. Although this man is depicted as wearing a dhoti, given the average per capita availability of cloth at less than 15 metres per annum, he is unlikely to wear such a garment.

However, his simple thinking and simple living does not deter the common man from aspiring to be a ‘lakhpati’  through  the  medium  of  a  bumper  lottery ticket  or  take  refuge  like  ‘MungeriLal’  in  his ‘hasinsapne’. (A popular television serial where the protagonist is an economically average man who dreams of extraordinary riches). The top priority in his dream world is of course to own a flat or a small house.

The common man’s familial and interpersonal links are strong enough to take him to his ‘native place’ once in every two or three years. And in ordinary dreary life, he manages to draw enough from his memories, his traditions, his religion, even without being overtly religious. The Club culture of the rich  and  the  community  culture  of  the  poor  are  both  absent  from  his  life  but  he  does  take  part enthusiastically  in  popular  festivals.  However,  apart  from  his  occasional  picnic  outings  with  his neighbours and friends, the prime time peep at the outside world through the Doordarshan window, the occasional movie in a cinema house, does he have anything else to distract him from his over- burdened and ever-growing responsibilities?

The common man is aware of political conditions, and feels strongly about corruption, annual budgets, high prices, his personal deprivation …. But does he voice them loud enough; does he have a solution or are his concerns lost somewhere in his daily struggle for a decent living? Is he happy with the state, which  arises  out  of  the  wants  of  man?  Is  the  common  man  optimistic  about his  future?  Does  this common man have a future?

In  surveying  the  Indian economic  context,  in the end since we come up  with questions rather  than answers, the only conclusion that we can arrive at is that in the economy, as in society and politics, since so little can be said, much must be invented. Action is the essence of economic analysis.

Read carefully the passages given below and answer the questions.

Who is this man? You see him every day, sometimes on the street, sometimes in the ration shop, an ageless and timeless entity in the ever-changing world around him. And yet he is elusive. The man-in- the-street is no flesh-and-bone creature but a mere statistic, an apocryphal figure who is invoked by politicians  and  economists  alike  but  with  whom  they  are  most  comfortable  as  long  as  he  remains abstract.

Let us go beyond abstraction and get to the concrete reality of this common man. This particular man is middle-aged, literate, obviously urban and with an income much higher than the average per capita income.  This man lives with the very rich with their  indifference to wealth and  the very poor with their resignation towards misfortune. But can one define him merely in terms of the average per capita income or calorific intake of food or is there something more tangible about this man, his lifestyle, his work, his ambition, his struggles?

With a steady acceleration in the rate of inflation from 2.1 per cent in 1950-1960 to 9.2 percent in

1980-87, the dismal real per capita income growth of barely 1.5 per cent per annum has obviously eluded even this common man. What can this man buy with his one rupee note, which was worth 100 paise in 1950 and is now worth only 11 paise? Without inheritance and without really knowing the art of  making  easy  money,  he  hardly  has  anything  to  fall  back  on  in  his  old  age  except  his  meager pension, if he is what goes under the curious name of ‘government servant’ – and his son. After all, discharge of filial obligations still represents the most important element of social security in India.

Given the population growth rate of 2.2 persons per annum an average family size is 6.2. However, this  man  being  urban  and  literate is likely to  have a  smaller  family of  only four  members.  Having reached  the  plateau  of  his  life,  his  aspirations  are  directed  towards  his  children  –  probably  most towards his son. The desire to make his son as engineer or a doctor from the moment he is born takes the  shape  of  nurturing  him  in  an  expensive  English  medium  “convent  school”.  However,  the aspiration level may soon slide down to reconciling with reality, of the son becoming a bank clerk or a section officer. Even in that, luck will have to play a role because given the total educated job seekers being more than 16,452,000 the son may ultimately have to settle for any kind or job.

The common man’s desire to rise higher on the social scale is quite great and he is thus unlikely to withstand  consumerist pressures.  He  may succumb  to  acquiring  second-hand  assets  or  wait for  his son’s  Lakshmi  to  bring  the  goodies  home.  At  the  same  time,  the  preparation  for  his  daughter’s marriage starts from the time she is born while her education may or may not be in a “public” school. The social cancellation effect of this Lakshmi give-and-take, however, does not reflect in the case of individual households, as the gruesome figures of dowry deaths make clear.

The common man’s efforts to meet the requirements of roti, kapadaaurmakan are valiant enough. He realises the importance of a good diet but the forbidding prices more or less make it imperative for him to  go  for  something  cheaper.  Figures of availability of many important items of  consumption, themselves ensure that the overall consumption level of his family is not very high. For instance, per capita availability of sugar in 1986-87 was only 11.1 kg per annum, which works down to merely 30.2 gm. per day, sufficient only for a cup of tea or two. Although this man is depicted as wearing a dhoti, given the average per capita availability of cloth at less than 15 metres per annum, he is unlikely to wear such a garment.

However, his simple thinking and simple living does not deter the common man from aspiring to be a ‘lakhpati’  through  the  medium  of  a  bumper  lottery ticket  or  take  refuge  like  ‘MungeriLal’  in  his ‘hasinsapne’. (A popular television serial where the protagonist is an economically average man who dreams of extraordinary riches). The top priority in his dream world is of course to own a flat or a small house.

The common man’s familial and interpersonal links are strong enough to take him to his ‘native place’ once in every two or three years. And in ordinary dreary life, he manages to draw enough from his memories, his traditions, his religion, even without being overtly religious. The Club culture of the rich  and  the  community  culture  of  the  poor  are  both  absent  from  his  life  but  he  does  take  part enthusiastically  in  popular  festivals.  However,  apart  from  his  occasional  picnic  outings  with  his neighbours and friends, the prime time peep at the outside world through the Doordarshan window, the occasional movie in a cinema house, does he have anything else to distract him from his over- burdened and ever-growing responsibilities?

The common man is aware of political conditions, and feels strongly about corruption, annual budgets, high prices, his personal deprivation …. But does he voice them loud enough; does he have a solution or are his concerns lost somewhere in his daily struggle for a decent living? Is he happy with the state, which  arises  out  of  the  wants  of  man?  Is  the  common  man  optimistic  about his  future?  Does  this common man have a future?

In  surveying  the  Indian economic  context,  in the end since we come up  with questions rather  than answers, the only conclusion that we can arrive at is that in the economy, as in society and politics, since so little can be said, much must be invented. Action is the essence of economic analysis.