QUESTIONS, ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS
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1. Rangaiah is a farmer who sells vegetables online. Priya buys vegetables for ₹50. She scans his QR code and pays through UPI. The money goes directly to Rangaiah's bank account.
What does this situation show?
Answer: C) Priya used digital money to make an online payment.
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2. What were the limitations of the barter system?
The limitations of the barter system include the lack of double coincidence of wants, the absence of a common standard measure of value, lack of divisibility for certain goods, problems of portability, and issues with durability (such as items rotting or getting spoiled over time).
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3. What were the salient features of ancient Indian coins?
Ancient Indian coins (called karshapanas or panas) were minted and controlled entirely by rulers, made from precious metals like gold, silver, and copper or their alloys, and had symbols punched or embossed on them called rupas, which included nature motifs (animals, trees, hills), figures of kings or queens, and deities.
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4. How does the barter system take place and what kinds of commodities were used for exchange under the system?
The barter system takes place through the direct exchange of goods and services for other goods and services without using money. Commodities used for exchange under this system included cowrie shells, salt, tea, tobacco, cloth, cattle (cows, goats, horses, sheep), and seeds.
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5. How has money as a medium of exchange transformed over time?
Money has transformed from early commodities (like cowrie shells and cattle) and primitive items to metallic coinage issued by rulers, followed by paper currency introduced in the late 18th century, and finally to modern digital forms of money including debit cards, credit cards, net banking, and UPI.
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6. What steps might have been taken in ancient times so that Indian coins could become the medium of exchange across countries?
Ancient Indian coins gained widespread acceptance across countries due to consistent purity and weight of precious metals used in minting, flourishing maritime and overland trade relations, and the high quality and high demand for Indian goods in international markets, which made foreign traders and kingdoms willingly accept them.
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7. Read the following lines from the Arthashastra.
"An annual salary of 60 panas could be substituted by an adhaka of grain per day, enough for four meals..." (One adhaka is equal to about 3 kg) What does this indicate about the value of one pana?
The fine for failing to help a neighbour was 100 panas. Compare this with the annual salary. What conclusion can you draw about the human values being encouraged through this?
This indicates that one pana held significant value, as a relatively small amount could command substantial daily provisions or grain. Comparing the high fine of 100 panas for failing to help a neighbour with an annual salary of 60 panas reveals that society placed immense value on mutual cooperation, social responsibility, community support, and looking out for one's fellow citizens.
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8. The RBI is the only legal source that prints and distributes paper currency in India. To prevent illegal printing of notes and their misuse, the RBI has introduced many security features. Find out what some of these measures are and discuss them in class.
Security features introduced by the RBI include safety threads, watermarks, latent images, micro-lettering, fluorescent ink, optical variable ink, and specific tactile features or special marks to help visually impaired individuals identify denominations.
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9. Write and enact a skit to show how people may have persuaded each other to use cowrie shells (or other such items) as the medium of exchange.
[Classroom role-play/skit activity demonstrating how communities transitioned from cumbersome barter items to universally accepted compact items like cowrie shells for easier transactions.]
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10. Interview a few of your family members and local shopkeepers, and ask them their preferences in making and receiving payments do they prefer.
[Field-interview and survey-based activity where students collect responses from family members and shopkeepers regarding their payment preferences between cash and digital methods.]
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