NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Sociology Chapter 6: Globalisation and Social Change

These Class 12 Sociology Chapter 6 solutions cover Globalisation and Social Change from the NCERT textbook Social Change and Development in India (Part B), updated for the 2026–27 session. The chapter uses the sociological imagination to connect the micro and the macro—showing how distant policies of globalisation reshape everyday lives in India. Below you get all four end-of-chapter Questions answered in full, clear notes on key concepts (liberalisation, TNCs, the weightless economy, the new international division of labour, glocalisation), plus extra practice, MCQs, Assertion–Reason and FAQs.

Class: 12 Subject: Sociology Book: Social Change and Development in India Chapter: 6 Title: Globalisation and Social Change Session: 2026–27
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Class 12 Sociology Chapter 6 – Overview

Chapter 6, Globalisation and Social Change, argues that no discussion of social change in the twenty-first century is complete without understanding globalisation. Sociology uses the sociological imagination to link the individual and society—the local and the global—showing how a remote peasant, a neighbourhood grocer or middle-class youth are all touched by distant policy changes and the WTO. The chapter first asks whether global interconnections are new (the Silk route, colonialism and independent India show they are not), then defines globalisation as the growing interdependence of people, regions and countries, driven above all by information and communication technologies. It examines globalisation’s economic dimension (liberalisation since 1991, transnational corporations, the electronic, weightless and knowledge economies, globalisation of finance), its impact on labour and employment (the new international division of labour, post-Fordism, the Nike example), its political dimension (neo-liberalism, regional bodies like SAARC and ASEAN, IGOs and INGOs), and its cultural dimension (homogenisation versus glocalisation, gender, the culture of consumption, corporate culture and the threat to indigenous crafts). The recurring message is that globalisation affects everyone but affects them differently—opportunity for some, loss of livelihood for others.

Key Concepts & Terms

Globalisation: the growing interdependence between different people, regions and countries of the world as social and economic relationships come to stretch worldwide. It is driven above all by information and communication technologies, within a particular political context.

Sociological imagination: the capacity to make sense of the connections between the individual and society—the micro and the macro, the local and the global—so that personal lives can be linked to apparently remote public policies.

Liberalisation: the range of policy decisions taken by the Indian state since 1991 to open up the economy to the world market, removing rules that regulated trade and finance (also called economic reforms); often tied to IMF loans with conditions of structural adjustment.

Structural adjustment: economic measures committed to in return for international loans, usually involving cuts in state expenditure on the social sector such as health, education and social security.

Transnational corporations (TNCs/MNCs): companies that produce goods or market services in more than one country (e.g. Coca-Cola, General Motors, Mitsubishi), oriented to global markets and global profits even while having a national base.

Electronic economy: the system in which banks, corporations, fund managers and investors shift funds internationally at the click of a mouse, carrying great risk along with speed.

Weightless / knowledge economy: an economy in which products are based on information (computer software, media, internet services) and much of the workforce is involved in design, development, marketing and servicing rather than physical production.

Globalisation of finance: globally integrated financial markets undertaking billions of dollars of transactions within seconds in 24-hour electronic trading, centred in cities such as New York, Tokyo and London (Mumbai within India).

Digital divide: the gap between those who have access to information technology and the internet and those who do not—in India largely an urban–rural divide.

New international division of labour: the shift of routine manufacturing production and employment to Third World cities, making labour vulnerable; illustrated by Nike moving production from Japan to Korea to Thailand, Indonesia and India.

Fordism and post-Fordism: Fordism is mass production of goods at a centralised location; post-Fordism is flexible production at dispersed locations.

IGOs and INGOs: intergovernmental organisations are bodies set up by participating governments (e.g. the WTO); international non-governmental organisations are independent of governments (e.g. Greenpeace, the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders).

Glocalisation: the mixing of the global with the local—a strategy often adopted by foreign firms to enhance marketability (Star, MTV and Cartoon Network using Indian languages; McDonald’s selling only vegetarian and chicken products in India; ‘Bhangra pop’ and remixes).

Other key terms: homogenisation (the fear that all cultures become similar), culture of consumption (a way of life in which spending is encouraged and shapes the growth of cities), corporate culture (a management approach that builds a firm’s identity to enhance employee loyalty and productivity), and the kupamanduka (the well-frog symbolising isolationism).

NCERT “Questions” — Full Solutions

All questions below are reproduced verbatim from the NCERT textbook’s end-of-chapter Questions section. Answers are original, written in exam-ready style.

1. Choose any topic that is of interest to you and discuss how you think globalisation has affected it. You could choose cinema, work, marriage or any other topic.

ANSWER This is an open question, so any well-argued topic is acceptable. A model answer using cinema is given below; you may instead develop work, marriage, food or music along the same lines. Cinema and globalisation: Indian cinema has changed visibly with globalisation. Earlier Hindi films told local stories even when a few scenes were shot abroad; then came films where characters returned to India though part of the story was set overseas; today many stories are set entirely outside India, reflecting a globally connected, diasporic audience. Production and technology: the communication and digital revolution has transformed film-making—digital cameras, computer-generated effects, dubbing and simultaneous worldwide release. Films are now financed, marketed and distributed across countries, and streaming platforms allow audiences anywhere to watch Indian films and Indians to watch world cinema. Cultural effect (glocalisation): globalisation has not simply made our cinema ‘Western’. It shows glocalisation—global themes, music and styles are blended with Indian languages, festivals and family values, producing fusion music, ‘Bhangra pop’ and remixes. As the chapter stresses, globalisation creates not only new local traditions but global ones too, so cinema is being both homogenised and localised at the same time.

2. What are the distinctive features of a globalised economy? Discuss.

ANSWER A globalised economy is marked by the stretching of economic relationships worldwide so that people, regions and countries become increasingly interdependent. Its distinctive features are: 1. Liberalisation: economic policies (in India since 1991) that open up the economy to the world market by removing rules regulating trade and finance, encouraging foreign investment and integration into the global market, often alongside IMF loans and structural adjustment. 2. Transnational corporations: the central role of TNCs that produce goods and market services across many countries, oriented to global markets and profits, with some Indian corporations also becoming transnational. 3. The electronic economy: banks, corporations and investors can shift funds internationally with the click of a mouse, allowing instantaneous movement of ‘electronic money’—with great speed but also great risk. 4. The weightless or knowledge economy: the economy is no longer primarily agricultural or industrial; products are increasingly based on information (software, media, internet services), and much of the workforce is engaged in design, development, marketing and servicing rather than physical production. 5. Globalisation of finance: globally integrated financial markets handle billions of dollars in seconds through 24-hour electronic trading centred in New York, Tokyo and London (Mumbai in India). 6. A new international division of labour: routine manufacturing shifts to Third World cities; flexible, dispersed production (post-Fordism) replaces centralised mass production (Fordism), making labour mobile and insecure. Together these features make the globalised economy fast, interconnected and uneven in its impact.

3. Briefly discuss the impact of globalisation on culture.

ANSWER Globalisation affects culture in many ways, and India’s long ‘open-ended’ approach to outside influences shapes how it responds. The main impacts are: Homogenisation versus glocalisation: one view fears that all cultures will become similar (homogeneous) and that local cultures will be overtaken; another points to glocalisation—the mixing of the global with the local, as when foreign channels use Indian languages, McDonald’s serves vegetarian food and goes vegetarian during Navaratri, and music produces ‘Bhangra pop’, ‘Indi pop’ and remixes. Heated cultural debates: there are intense debates about clothes, styles, music, films, languages and body language, much as nineteenth-century reformers debated culture and tradition—what is different now is the scale and intensity of change. Gender and culture: a fixed traditional idea of cultural identity is sometimes used to defend undemocratic practices against women, and globalisation can be made a ‘bogey’ to justify them; India’s democratic tradition allows a more inclusive definition of culture. Culture of consumption and corporate culture: cultural consumption (art, food, fashion, music, tourism) now shapes the growth of cities—shopping malls, multiplexes and amusement parks—and advertising promotes a culture where spending is encouraged; corporate culture builds organisational identity to raise loyalty and productivity. Threat to indigenous traditions: many craft, literary and knowledge traditions are endangered—defunct theatre groups, weaver suicides, struggling traditional entertainers like the dombari, and attempts to patent Tulsi, Haldi, Rudraksha and Basmati. Yet culture is not fixed; globalisation may create both new local and new global traditions.

4. What is glocalisation? Is it simply a market strategy adopted by multinational companies or is genuine cultural synthesis taking place? Discuss.

ANSWER Meaning of glocalisation: glocalisation refers to the mixing of the global with the local. It is neither entirely spontaneous nor entirely delinked from the commercial interests of globalisation. It stands in contrast to homogenisation, which claims that all cultures will become similar. As a market strategy: glocalisation is often a deliberate strategy adopted by foreign firms while dealing with local traditions, in order to enhance their marketability. In India, foreign television channels like Star, MTV, Channel V and Cartoon Network use Indian languages; McDonald’s sells only vegetarian and chicken products (not its beef products popular abroad) and goes vegetarian during the Navaratri festival. Clearly, much glocalisation is driven by the commercial motive of selling more by adapting to local tastes. As genuine cultural synthesis: at the same time, real cultural blending does take place. The growth of ‘Bhangra pop’, ‘Indi pop’, fusion music and remixes shows new forms emerging from the meeting of global and local. India’s historically open-ended culture has long absorbed outside influences and been enriched by them, so globalisation is likely to create not just new local traditions but global ones too. Conclusion: glocalisation is therefore both—it begins largely as a market strategy, yet it can lead to genuine cultural synthesis. The two are intertwined: commercial adaptation often opens the way to creative new hybrid cultural forms, so glocalisation cannot be reduced to marketing alone.

Extra Practice Questions

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. Define globalisation.

ANSWERGlobalisation refers to the growing interdependence between different people, regions and countries of the world as social and economic relationships come to stretch worldwide. Although economic forces are integral to it, it has been driven above all by information and communication technologies that intensify the speed and scope of interaction across the globe.

Q2. What is liberalisation? When did it begin in India?

ANSWERLiberalisation refers to the range of policy decisions taken by the Indian state since 1991 to open up the Indian economy to the world market by removing rules that regulated trade and finance. These reforms marked a break with the earlier policy of greater state control and protection of indigenous business.

Q3. What is a transnational corporation? Give two examples.

ANSWERTransnational corporations (TNCs) are companies that produce goods or market services in more than one country. They may be small firms with one or two factories abroad or gigantic firms whose operations criss-cross the globe. Examples include Coca-Cola and General Motors (others are Colgate-Palmolive, Kodak and Mitsubishi).

Q4. What is the ‘digital divide’?

ANSWERThe digital divide is the gap between those who have access to information technology, computers and the internet and those who do not. In India it is largely an urban–rural divide, since rural areas with erratic power supply, widespread illiteracy and poor infrastructure remain largely unconnected despite the rapid spread of computers and mobile phones.

Q5. Distinguish between Fordism and post-Fordism.

ANSWERFordism refers to the mass production of goods at a single, centralised location. Post-Fordism refers to a system of flexible production at dispersed locations across different countries. The shift from Fordism to post-Fordism, as in the Nike example, makes the labouring population more mobile but also more vulnerable and insecure.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1. ‘Global interconnections are not new to India.’ Explain with reference to the early years, colonialism and independent India.

ANSWERGlobalisation is often presented as new, but India has had global links from very early times. The early years: India was not isolated even two thousand years ago—the famous Silk route connected it to the great civilisations of China, Persia, Egypt and Rome, and traders, conquerors and migrants constantly came and settled here; the chapter cites the Afghan-origin grammarian Panini and the parable of the well-frog (kupamanduka) to warn against isolationism. Colonialism: modern capitalism had a global dimension from its very inception, and colonialism was part of a system needing new sources of capital, raw materials, energy, markets and a global network—reflected in the migration of Europeans to the Americas and Australia, the transport of Indian indentured labourers across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and the African slave trade. Independent India: India retained a global outlook inherited from the nationalist movement—solidarity with liberation struggles, Indians travelling overseas for education and work, and continuing export and import of goods and technology. So global interconnections are not novel; what is distinctive about today’s globalisation is the intensity, scale and complexity of change driven by the communication revolution.

Q2. Discuss the impact of globalisation on labour and employment in India.

ANSWERGlobalisation has an uneven impact on labour and employment. A new international division of labour has emerged in which routine manufacturing production and employment shifts to Third World cities—the Nike example shows production moving from Japan to South Korea, then Thailand and Indonesia, and since the 1990s to India, chasing cheaper labour. This shift from centralised mass production (Fordism) to flexible, dispersed production (post-Fordism) makes labour vulnerable and insecure, since production can relocate whenever labour becomes costlier. The impact is uneven: for urban middle-class youth, globalisation and the IT revolution have opened new careers—call centres, BPOs, software, sales in malls and restaurants—while broader employment trends remain disappointing, with job creation failing to keep pace with economic growth. Many also lose livelihoods: women silk spinners in Bihar after Chinese and Korean yarn entered the market, women gum collectors in Gujarat after cheap Sudanese gum, fish workers after large vessels entered Indian waters, and rag pickers after waste paper was imported. Thus globalisation simultaneously creates new opportunities and destroys older forms of livelihood.

Q3. Examine the political dimension of globalisation.

ANSWERGlobalisation has a clear political dimension as much as an economic one. A major political change—the collapse of the erstwhile socialist world—hastened globalisation and gave it a specific approach often called neo-liberal economic measures. These reflect a political vision of free enterprise, holding that free rein to market forces will be both efficient and fair, and are therefore critical of both state regulation and state subsidies. The chapter notes that a different, inclusive globalisation—one that includes all sections of society—is also possible. Another political development is the growth of regional mechanisms for collaboration such as the European Union (EU), ASEAN and SAARC, indicating the greater role of regional associations. Finally, there is the rise of International Governmental Organisations (IGOs)—bodies established by participating governments to regulate a transnational domain, such as the WTO with its growing say over trade rules—and International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) that are independent of governments and address international issues, such as Greenpeace, the Red Cross, Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders. Together these show how globalisation reshapes governance beyond the nation-state.

MCQs & Assertion–Reason

1. Globalisation is best defined as:

(a) the spread of one country’s culture    (b) the growing interdependence between people, regions and countries worldwide    (c) only the flow of capital    (d) the end of all national boundaries

2. The policy decisions taken by the Indian state since 1991 to open up the economy are called:

(a) globalisation    (b) privatisation    (c) liberalisation    (d) nationalisation

3. Companies that produce goods or market services in more than one country are called:

(a) public sector units    (b) transnational corporations    (c) cooperatives    (d) small-scale industries

4. An economy in which products have their base in information, such as software and internet services, is called the:

(a) agricultural economy    (b) industrial economy    (c) weightless or knowledge economy    (d) barter economy

5. The mixing of the global with the local is known as:

(a) homogenisation    (b) glocalisation    (c) liberalisation    (d) modernisation

6. The shift from centralised mass production to flexible production at dispersed locations is the shift from:

(a) post-Fordism to Fordism    (b) Fordism to post-Fordism    (c) liberalisation to globalisation    (d) socialism to capitalism

7. Which of the following is an example of an INGO?

(a) WTO    (b) SAARC    (c) Greenpeace    (d) European Union

8. The company used in the chapter to illustrate the new international division of labour is:

(a) Coca-Cola    (b) Nike    (c) Kodak    (d) Mitsubishi

9. Within India, the city known as the financial capital and a key centre of financial trading is:

(a) New Delhi    (b) Bengaluru    (c) Mumbai    (d) Kolkata

10. The parable of the well-frog (kupamanduka) in the chapter is a warning against:

(a) consumerism    (b) isolationism    (c) liberalisation    (d) migration

Answer key: 1-(b), 2-(c), 3-(b), 4-(c), 5-(b), 6-(b), 7-(c), 8-(b), 9-(c), 10-(b).

For each Assertion–Reason question, choose: (A) Both true and the Reason correctly explains the Assertion; (B) Both true but the Reason is not the correct explanation; (C) Assertion true, Reason false; (D) Assertion false, Reason true.

A-R 1. Assertion: Globalisation affects everyone but affects them differently.

Reason: While many in the privileged sections may benefit, the condition of a large already-excluded section can worsen.

A-R 2. Assertion: Global interconnections are entirely a new development unique to modern India.

Reason: The Silk route connected ancient India to China, Persia, Egypt and Rome centuries ago.

A-R 3. Assertion: Liberalisation and globalisation are related but not the same.

Reason: Liberalisation is the set of policy decisions taken since 1991 that pushes the wider stretching of economic relationships called globalisation.

A-R 4. Assertion: Glocalisation is purely a spontaneous cultural process.

Reason: Glocalisation is often a strategy adopted by foreign firms to enhance their marketability among local consumers.

A-R 5. Assertion: The communication revolution has compressed space and time.

Reason: Satellite technology lets two individuals on opposite sides of the planet talk and exchange documents and images instantly.

Answer key: 1-(A), 2-(D), 3-(A), 4-(C), 5-(A).

Exam Tips & Common Mistakes

How to score full marks in this chapter

Structure economy questions around the chapter’s own sub-headings—liberalisation, transnational corporations, the electronic economy, the weightless/knowledge economy and the globalisation of finance—and add the new international division of labour. For culture questions, always cover homogenisation versus glocalisation, gender, the culture of consumption, corporate culture and the threat to indigenous traditions. Use the textbook’s own examples—the Silk route, Nike, General Motors’ Pontiac Le Mans, the Bihar silk spinners, McDonald’s going vegetarian, ‘Bhangra pop’, SAARC/ASEAN, Greenpeace and the WTO—to show you have studied the chapter. Keep returning to the key idea that globalisation affects all but affects them differently, and that sociology links the micro to the macro.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Treating liberalisation and globalisation as the same thing—liberalisation (1991 reforms) is one driver of the wider process of globalisation.
  • Saying global interconnections are entirely new—the Silk route, colonialism and independent India show otherwise.
  • Confusing homogenisation (all cultures becoming similar) with glocalisation (mixing global and local).
  • Mixing up IGOs (e.g. WTO, set up by governments) with INGOs (e.g. Greenpeace, independent of governments).
  • Reversing Fordism (centralised mass production) and post-Fordism (flexible, dispersed production).
  • Presenting globalisation as wholly good or wholly bad—the chapter stresses its uneven, mixed impact.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Chapter 6 of Class 12 Sociology (Social Change and Development in India) about?

Chapter 6, Globalisation and Social Change, explains the meaning of globalisation and its economic, political and cultural dimensions, asks whether global interconnections are new, and shows how globalisation reshapes labour, employment, culture and everyday life in India—affecting everyone but affecting them differently.

What is glocalisation in Class 12 Sociology?

Glocalisation is the mixing of the global with the local. It is often a strategy used by foreign firms to boost marketability—such as channels using Indian languages or McDonald’s serving vegetarian food—but it can also lead to genuine cultural synthesis, as seen in ‘Bhangra pop’, ‘Indi pop’, fusion music and remixes.

How many questions are in the exercise of Chapter 6?

The end-of-chapter Questions section of Chapter 6 contains 4 questions, including the open topic-based question and questions on the features of a globalised economy, the impact on culture and glocalisation—all answered in full on this page.

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