Which of the following statements about the British colonial economic policies is/are correct?

The answer is D, because all three statements describe the colonial economic structure built into India under British rule.

A is correct. Raw materials such as cotton, jute, indigo, raw silk and opium flowed out of India to feed British mills and markets. India was a net exporter of primary goods.

B is correct. Machine-made cloth from Lancashire and Manchester flooded Indian markets while British goods enjoyed favourable tariff treatment. Indian handicrafts were ruined, so India became a net importer of finished goods.

C is correct. Land was pushed towards cash crops like indigo, cotton, jute and opium, while food grain production lagged. The Champaran indigo agitation of 1917 shows the cost of forced cultivation on peasants.

Core concept: the colonial drain and de-industrialisation of India, a standard Modern India theme and a recurring Mains angle on the making of the colonial economy. Dadabhai Naoroji's drain theory remains useful for economic nationalism answers.

Trap: aspirants often reject B by assuming trade was balanced, or pick C without linking cash crop expansion to the decline of food security.