Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: 1.2 crore
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question is drawn from Indian economy and current statistics related to employment. The Central Statistics Office used payroll data from sources such as the Employees Provident Fund Organisation to estimate formal job creation over a recent ten month period ending in June of a particular year. The figure was widely reported in the media. Examinations often pick such headline numbers to test whether candidates keep track of important economic indicators.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The CSO analysis of payroll data suggested that close to 1.2 crore new jobs were created in the formal sector over that ten month period. The figure was derived from enrolments in organisations like EPFO, ESIC and related schemes. While the exact methodology and interpretation were debated, the reported headline number remained around 1.2 crore jobs. Therefore, among the given options, 1.2 crore is the figure that matches this widely cited statistic.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall reading about a CSO report that estimated job creation based on payroll enrolments rather than only survey data.
Step 2: Remember that the figure commonly mentioned in news articles at that time was around 1.2 crore jobs.
Step 3: Convert this memory into the nearest value among the given options.
Step 4: Compare 1.2 crore with 2.4 crore, 3.5 crore and 6.9 crore, which are significantly higher.
Step 5: Select 1.2 crore as the correct answer.
Verification / Alternative check:
One alternative check is to think about the plausibility of the numbers. A figure like 6.9 crore jobs in ten months would imply almost seven crore new formal jobs in less than a year, which is unrealistically high compared to the size and historical trends of the labour market. Values around 2.4 or 3.5 crore would also be unusually large. The figure close to 1.2 crore fits better with typical yearly employment additions and matches the number quoted in economic analysis at the time, confirming it as the correct choice.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The options 2.4 crore, 3.5 crore and 6.9 crore are distractors that either double, nearly triple or multiply several times the reported estimate. They may loosely reflect millions if someone misreads the original findings, but they are not the actual figure cited in the CSO report. Selecting any of these would indicate a misremembered magnitude of the statistic, which can affect understanding of employment trends.
Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes confuse million and crore units, leading to errors when converting numbers. For example, 12 million jobs might be misinterpreted as 1.2 crore or 12 crore. Others may simply pick a larger number believing that economic performance announcements use big figures. To avoid this, aspirants should practise converting million to crore and vice versa and pay careful attention to units and decimal places when revising economic data.
Final Answer:
The Central Statistics Office report indicated that nearly 1.2 crore jobs were created in the country during the ten month period up to June of that year.
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