UPPSC 2023 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 15 of 150

Correct — D, Voluntary Social Service. An economic activity is one undertaken to earn income or a livelihood — it produces or supplies goods and services for monetary gain. Voluntary social service is done out of love, charity or social duty, with no expectation of monetary reward, so it is a non-economic activity.

• (a)Transportation — Transport is a service performed for payment (carrying goods or people for a fare) — an income-earning, hence economic, activity.
• (b)Farming — Farming produces crops and food for sale or livelihood — a primary-sector production activity, clearly economic.
• (c)Service — Rendering a service for remuneration (teaching, banking, transport, etc.) is by definition an economic activity.

Human activities are classed as economic or non-economic. Economic activities are performed to earn money/income and involve the production, distribution or consumption of goods and services — for example farming, transport, trade and professional services. Non-economic activities are done for reasons other than money — love, charity, religion or social service — and yield no income, e.g., unpaid voluntary social work.

The odd one out is the activity with no monetary motive. Transportation, farming and paid services all generate income; only voluntary social service is done free of charge, which makes it non-economic. The discriminator is always the income/money motive, not how 'useful' the activity is.

• Economic activity = done to earn income/livelihood (a money motive).
• Non-economic activity = done from love, charity or duty, without pay.
• Farming, transport, trade and professional services are economic activities.
• Voluntary/charitable social service earns no income → non-economic.

• Assuming any 'useful' activity is economic — the test is the income/money motive
• Treating unpaid household or voluntary work as an economic activity

Asked as 'which is / is not an economic activity' or classify an activity as economic/non-economic; the money-motive is the discriminator.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The basic distinguishing feature of an economic activity is that it is undertaken:

  • (a)for social welfare
  • (b)to earn income/money
  • (c)out of religious duty
  • (d)for recreation

  Answer(b) to earn income/money — the defining money motive.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  A teacher teaching students in a school for a salary is an example of:

  • (a)non-economic activity
  • (b)economic activity
  • (c)voluntary service
  • (d)leisure

  Answer(b) economic activity — a paid service.