(a) Indian handicrafts were ruined.

(b) Machines were introduced in the Indian textile industry in large numbers.

(c) Railway lines were laid in many parts of the country

(d) Heavy duties were imposed on the imports of British manufactures

Answer: a

Explanation:

The Charter Act, 1813 abolished East India Company’s monopoly of Indian trade.

With this event, a new phase in Britain’s economic relations with India began. Agricultural India was to be made an economic colony of industrial England.

The Government of India now followed a policy of free trade or unrestricted entry of British goods. Indian handicrafts were exposed to the fierce and unequal competition of the machine-made products of Britain and faced extinction.

Hence, option a is correct.

Read: Previous Year UPSC History Questions (PYQs) With Explanation 2020