Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 3.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. imported.
The sentence reads:
“Agricultural products, engineering goods, food items and toiletries that were already created in India were not permitted to be _(3) _____ until the 1990s.”
In economic terms, India followed an import-substitution policy from independence until the early 1990s. This meant domestic goods faced minimal competition because foreign alternatives could not be imported into India. In effect, goods made within the country were safeguarded from external competition by restrictions on imports, especially on consumer items.
As one expert source notes:
'Consumer goods simply could not be imported so domestic producers faced no import competition.“
Thus, although a product might already be made in India, its international edition or bring-in from abroad was not allowed. Once liberalisation reforms took place after 1991, India began permitting imports of such goods.
Political technicians who previously could not bring in manufactured goods from abroad received exim-scrips and import licences only after trade liberalisation began.
So, “imported” captures the exact meaning: these items were produced domestically, and foreign-made equivalents were disallowed for import until the policy changes in the 1990s.
Why the other options are incorrect
martyred - Irrelevant and nonsensical in this context.
intoxicated - Completely unrelated to trade or policy terminology.
elated - Emotion-related word with no relevance to production or trade dynamics.