Question

Improvements in technology and liberalization together have accelerated globalization. Evaluate.

Hint:

Explain the role of technology and of liberalisation separately, then show how together they integrate markets.

Answer 1

Step 1: Meaning of the terms:
Globalisation is the process of rapid integration or interconnection between countries, mainly through foreign trade and foreign investment by MNCs.
Technology here means better transport, telecom and the Internet. Liberalisation means removing the barriers that the government had put on foreign trade and investment.
The question asks us to judge how the two together made globalisation faster.

Step 2: Role of technology:
Better transport, such as large container ships and cheaper air cargo, lets goods move to far markets quickly and at low cost.
Telecom services and the Internet allow information, orders, money and services to travel across the world within seconds.
Because of this, firms can spread production across many countries and still manage it from one place.

Step 3: Role of liberalisation:
Before 1991 India kept high taxes and quotas on imports. Liberalisation lowered such trade barriers, so goods could be bought and sold more freely.
It also made it easier for foreign companies to invest and set up units in India, and for Indian companies to operate abroad.
Businesses could now decide for themselves what to import or export.

Step 4: Evaluate the two together:
Technology made it physically easy and cheap to link countries, while liberalisation made it legally easy. One without the other would have achieved much less.
Together they increased the interconnection between countries, integrated markets, and expanded opportunities for trade and investment.
So the claim is correct: technology and liberalisation together have accelerated globalisation.

Final Answer:
Technology made movement of goods, services and information fast and cheap, and liberalisation removed trade and investment barriers. Together they integrated markets and speeded up globalisation. \[ \boxed{\text{Technology and liberalisation together accelerated globalisation}} \]