Development-Lesson 1

Class X

Keywords:

Per Capita Income – The total income incurred by a country in a given

financial year divided by the total population of the country. It is also known
as Average income.

Body Mass Index (BMI): It is a measure of body fat based on height and
weight that applies to adult men and women.

Human Development Index: It is a composite statistic of life expectancy,

education and per capita income indicators, which is used to rank countries
into four tiers of human development.

Infant Mortality Rate: The number of children that die before the age of one
year per 1000 live births in one year.

National Development: National development means an increase in per

capita income and also self-sufficiency of an economy.

Sustainable Economic Development: Sustainable economic development is

the process of economic development which aims to maintain the quality of
life of both the present and the future generations without harming natural
resources and environment.

Literacy Rate : Proportion of literate population in the 7 and above age group
who can read and write with understanding.

National Income: It is the sum total of all final goods and services produced
in a country during a given period of time plus net factor income from abroad.

Net Attendance Ratio: Total number of children of age group 6-10 attending
school as a percentage of the total number of children in the same age group.
GDP - Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the value of the finished domestic
goods and services produced within a nation's borders in a given financial
year.

GNP- Gross National Product (GNP) is the value of all finished goods and
services owned by a country's citizens, whether or not those goods are
produced in that country

Q. 1. Mention any four characteristics of Development.

● Development is linked with the desire to improve the present

Condition.
● There can be different development Goals for different persons
depending on their economic and social status.
● Development for one may not be development for others. It may even be
destructive for other.
● Development goal comprises of income and non monetary goals like
freedom, securily, equality etc

Q2. Distinguish between growth and development.

Question 3: What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in
classifying different countries? What are the limitations of this criterion,
if any?

Per Capita Income is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying
different countries. Economists agree that income is not the only factor to
improve the quality of life. There are many other factors which affect the
development, e.g. infant mortality rate, literacy level, healthcare, etc. Hence, it
can be said that the criterion used by the World Bank has its own limitations.

Question 4: In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for

measuring development different from the one used by the World Bank?
Anwer: UNDP uses many other factors which affect the quality of life. This
gives due to weight to other criteria; like infant mortality, healthcare, school
enrolment, etc. So, the UNDP looks at those factors which help in improving
the quality of life and helps in making the citizens more productive.

Question 5: Why do we use averages? Are there any limitations to their

use? Illustrate with your own examples related to development.
Anwer: Whenever we need to analyse a big sample size, it is difficult to
analyse individual data. Hence, it is important to use averages in such cases.

Averages have some limitations. Average figure may not reveal the true
picture. For example; the per capita income does not show the distribution of
income. It does not show the percentage of poor in the population. The per
capita income in India has risen significantly over the last two decades but so
has the number of poor.

Question 6: Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human
development ranking than Punjab. Hence, per capita income is not a
useful criterion at all and should not be used to compare states. Do you
agree? Discuss.
Anwer: In spite of being the richest state, Punjab shows a very high child
mortality rate compared to Kerala. The net attendance ratio of children in
classes 1 to 4 and literacy rate are higher in Kerala; as compared to Punjab.
This explains the significantly higher child mortality rate in Punjab. Bihar is
fairing badly against all parameters which speaks about its poor record on
Human Development Index.
Question 7: Find out the present sources of energy that are used by the
people in India. What could be the other possibilities fifty years from
now?
Anwer: Firewood is used by a majority of people in rural India. LPG is the
main kitchen fuel in urban India.
Thermal power and hydro electricity are the major sources of power for
industrial and domestic use.
Due of large scale deforestation, availability of firewood would become a big
concern fifty years from now. So, we need to find some alternate fuel; like Bio
gas for rural India. Solar power and Wind power is another source which can
reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and can give us security against
shortage of fuel in the future.

Question 8: Why is the issue of sustainability important for

development?
Anwer: Development does not only mean securing a better present, but it also
means securing a better future for the generations to come. Sustainable
development is the development which can be sustained for many years
without making undue drain on our resources. Hence, sustainability is an
important aspect of development.

Question 9: “The Earth has enough resources to meet the needs of all but
not enough to satisfy the greed of even one person”. How is this
statement relevant to the disscusion of development? Discuss.
Answer: This famous quote is from Mahatma Gandhi. We know that the earth
has plenty of resources which would outlast our lifetime. But we also need to
think about the future beyond our lifetime and we need to think about the
future generations. If we go on exploiting our natural resources
indiscriminately, then nothing would be left for the future generation. Hence,
we should control our greed and take as little from the nature as is really
necessary for our needs.

Q10. "Money in your pocket cannot buy all the goods and services that
you may need to live well" Is it true or not?

Ans. Income by itself is not a completely adequate indicator of material

goods and services that citizens are able to use. Normally money cannot
buy us a pollution-free environment or ensure that we get
 Unadulterated medicine. Money may also not be able to protect you from
infectious diseases,
Unless the whole of your community takes preventive steps.

Q11. What are the attributes considered to prepare the HDI?

Human development index is the quality of life-index prepared by UNDP.

It has mainly three indicators.
(i) Life Expectancy at Birth: It denotes the average expected length of life of
a person at the time of birth.
(ii) Gross Enrolment Ratio: It shows enrolment ratio in primary schools,
secondary schools and in higher education.
(iii) Per Capita Income: It is calculated in dollars for all countries so that it
can be compared.

Extra Notes: ( Not to be written in notebooks)

Question : List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may

have observed around you.
Answer: In Bangalore city, the air quality is bad due to large number of
vehicles on the road. Water table depletion a major problem due to over
population.

Question : For each of the items given in Table about Human Development
Report in this chapter, find out which country is at the top and which is at the
bottom.
Answer: Following are the top and bottom ranked countries on various
parameters:

● Per capita income: Sri Lanka (top), Bangladesh (bottom)

● Life Expectancy: Sri Lanka (top), Myanmar (bottom)
● Literacy rate (15+ year): Myanmar (top), Pakistan (bottom)

Question : The following table shows the proportion of undernourished adults

in India. It is based on a survey of various states for the year 2005-06. Look at
the table and answer the following questions.

State Male Female

 (%) (%)
Kerala 22 19
Karnataka 34 36
Madhya
42 38
Pradesh
All states 37 36

(a) Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

Answer: People of Kerala get better nutrition than the people of Madhya
Pradesh.

(b) Can you guess why around 40 per cent of people in the country are
undernourished even though it is argued that there is enough food in the
country? Describe in your own words.
Answer: Some of the possible reasons can be as follows:

● Uneven distribution of food grain production

● Malfunctioning of Public Distribution System.

Q. Describe any three public facilities needed for development.

Ans. Public facilities are provided by the government. Such facilities are:
i) The Public Distribution system ( PDS) , which provides fair average quality
of foodgrains and other essential items to weaker sections at subsidised
price.
ii) Government schools which provide elementary education upto class 8
totally free for all children upto the age of 14 years.
iii) Health care in government hospitals and dispensaries is provided to all
at subsidised rates.This includes outpatient as well as hospitalisation
facilities.

Q. “Development goals may be common, different or conflicting”-

Elucidate with suitable examples.

(i) Common Goals: There are some needs which are common to all like
income, freedom, equality, security, respect, friendship, etc.
(ii) Different Goals: Development or progress does not mean the same thing
for every individual. Each individual has his own idea of development. For
example, development for a farmer might mean irrigation facilities; while for
an unemployed youth, it may mean employment opportunities, etc.

(iii) Conflicting Goals: What may be development for some, may become
destruction for some others. For example, Industrialists may want dams for
electricity, but such dams would displace the natives of a region by
submerging their land.