The Gandhiyan economy is based on the principle of

The correct answer is B) Trusteeship. Gandhi's economic thinking rested on the idea that those who hold wealth hold it as trustees for society. Owners may keep a reasonable living, but the surplus is to be used for the common good, and the aim is to change owners' minds rather than to expropriate them. Gandhi drew this from the Gita's idea of non-possession and from his own experience of labour disputes such as the Ahmedabad mill strike of 1918. Shriman Narayan Agarwal's Gandhian Plan of Economic Development for India (1944) set out the framework in detail.

Why the others are wrong:

• A) Competition is the principle of market capitalism, which Gandhi considered a source of exploitation and moral decay.
• C) State Control is closer to the socialist and Marxist model. Gandhi was wary of centralised power and preferred decentralised village economies, cottage industries and Swadeshi.
• D) None of the above is incorrect because option B fits.

The core concept is trusteeship as a non-violent alternative to both capitalism and state socialism. It links directly to Mains GS-1 and GS-2 on Gandhian thought, Sarvodaya, and Village Swaraj, and it underlies the Bhoodan and Gramdan movements.

Trap: Aspirants often pick State Control because Gandhi supported welfare and social justice. The point is that his route to those goals was voluntary moral reform through trusteeship, not state ownership.