DEVELOPMENT

Q1. What is the meaning of development? Explain the two aspects of development?

Ans.(i) Development means change for the better/ progress over a period of time.

(ii) It comprises of social, political, economic, cultural elements or issues.

(iii) All economies whether developed or developing aim at development i.e. quality education, medical

care, nutritive food and better living conditions so as to improve the quality of life of people.

Two aspects of development are:

 Different persons can have different developmental goals.

 What may be development for one may not be development for the other. It might be

destructive for others.

Q2. Why do different persons have different notions of development? Explain with examples.

Ans. (i) People have different developmental goals because life situations of people are different.

(ii) They seek things that are most important for them i.e. which can fulfill their aspirations or desires.

(iii) For eg: Developmental goal of a landless rural labourer may be to get more days of work, better

wages etc whereas a prosperous farmer would aspire for a high family income through higher support

prices for his crops, hardworking and cheap labourers etc.

Q3. ‘People have conflicting developmental goals.’ Justify the statement with suitable examples.

Ans. (i)Two persons, or group of persons, at times may seek things which are conflicting.

(ii) What may be development for one may not be development for the other. It may even be

destructive for the other.

(iii) For e.g.:

 A girl expects as much freedom and opportunity as her brother and that he also shares in the

household work. Her brother may not like this.

 Similarly, to get more electricity, industrialists may want more dams. But, this may submerge

the land and disrupt the lives of people who are displaced such as tribals. They might resent this
and prefer small check dams to irrigate their land.

Q4. Give some examples where factors other than income are important aspects of our lives.

OR

Mention the factors on which the quality of life depends.

Ans. Besides seeking more income, people also seek things like equal treatment, freedom, security

respect of others, affectionate behavior of family and friends, clean environment, good health and

education facilities.

Q5. ‘For development, people look at a mix of goals.’ Support the statement giving suitable examples.

Ans. The developmental goals that people have are not only about better income but also about other

important things in life like respect of others, equal treatment, freedom, security, affectionate behavior

etc.

For eg(i) Women who are engaged in paid work gets more respect in the household and society. As a

result, there would be more sharing of housework and a greater acceptance of women working outside.

A safe and secure environment, as desired by women, may encourage more women to take up a variety

of jobs or run a business.

(ii) Before accepting a job, people may consider many factors, apart from income, such as facilities for

family, working atmosphere, job security, opportunity to learn, scope for promotion, work timings etc.

Q6. Mention the economic indicators to assess the development of a country.

Ans. (i)National Income/ Total Income: It is the sum total of incomes earned by the residents of a

country during a particular year.

(ii) Per capita Income:It is the average income of people of a country during a particular year. It is

obtained by dividing total income of a country by its population.

Per capita income= Total income

Population

A sound economy with higher national and per capita income can provide better standard of living to
the people of a country.

Q7.Why is total income not a useful measure for comparing development of various countries?

Ans.(i)Since countries have different populations comparing total income does not tell what an average

person is likely to earn.

(ii) It therefore can’t be used to judge precisely whether people in one country are better off than others

in a different country.

(iii) It only focuses on the monetary aspect i.e. income and does not tell about the availability of

educational, medical facilities, quality of environment, and other services that too influence the quality

of life.

Q8. Why is per capita income a better measure for comparing development of various countries?

OR

What is the significance of per capita income?

Ans. (i)Different countries have different populations. So, total income doesn’t tell what an average

person is likely to earn. Therefore, average income is more useful for making comparisons.

(ii) It determines the amount of goods and services that citizens are able to use. Hence, it can be used to

judge the general standard of living enjoyed by the average citizen.

(iii) It is an important indicator for categorizing countries into developed, developing and under

developed.

Q9. Discuss the limitations of average income as a measure of development.

OR

Why is per capita not a reliable indicator of economic development?

Ans. (i) Per capita income can’t be used solely as a measure of development because it hides disparities.

(ii) It doesn’t tell us how the income is distributed among people. There may be a very large number of

poor people in a society but only a handful of very rich persons. Per capita income will not reflect these

differences.
(iii) It doesn’t tell about the educational, medical facilities, quality of environment and other services

that influence the quality of life.

Q10. What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different countries?

Ans. (i) In World Development Reports, brought out by the World Bank, per capita income is used in

classifying countries.

(ii)Countries with per capita income of U.S. $12736 per annum and above in 2013, are called rich

countries.

(iii)Countries with per capita income of U.S. $1045 per annum or less, are called low income countries.

(iv)India was recognized as low middle income country because its per capita income in 2013 was first $

1570 per annum.

Q11. Explain the basis of comparison of economic development of different states or countries.

Ans.(i) Per capita Income:It is the average income of people of a country during a particular year. Higher

per capita income means more availability of goods and services per head and higher standard of living.

(ii) Infant Morality Rate:It indicates the number of children that die before the age of one year as a

proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year.

Lower IMR indicates better medical and child care facilities, better availability of food , clean

environment etc.

(iii) Literacy Rate:It measures the proportion of literate population in the 7 and above age group. Higher

literacy rate implies people can undertake better job opportunities.

(iv) Net Attendance Ratio (NAR): It is the total number of children of age group 14 and 15 years

attending school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group. Higher NAR shows

provision of better education facilities.

Q12. What is BMI? How is it calculated?

Ans. BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is calculated to assess the nutritional status of adults.

Its Calculation:
 Taken the weight of the person in kg.

 Then take the height in metres.

 Divide weight by the square of height.

 If this figure is less than 18.5, then the person would be considered undernourished.

 If BMI is more than 25, then a person is overweight.

Q13. ‘ Money in your pocket can’t buy all goods and services that you may need to live well.’ Justify

Ans. Income by itself is not a completely adequate indicator of material goods and services that citizens

are able to use.

 For eg: money can’t buy us a particular free environment.

 Money can’t ensure that we get unadulterated medicines unless we can afford to shift to a

community that already has these things.

 Money may also be able to protect us from injectious diseases unless the whole of our

community takes preventive steps.

Hence, there must be an adequate provision of public facilities for the development of a country.

Q14.Describe the public facilities needed for the development of a country.

Ans. Public facilities are provided by the government for the welfare of the people.

(i) Adequate provision of health and education facilities for all.

(ii) Provision of safe drinking water, electricity at reasonable rates.

(iii) Availability of unadulterated medicines, eatables.

(iv) Good infrastructure such as road, transport, irrigation facilities etc.

(v) An effective Public Distribution System.

Q15. Distinguish between human and economic development.

Ans.Economic Development Human Development

1.It refers to quantitative growth taking Place in an economy measured

through an increase in the production of goods and services during a year.

published by UNDP compares

countries based on educational level of

people,their health status and per

capita income.

2. It is measured on the basis of

national and per capita income.

2. It is measured as a cumulative index

of :

(i) life expectancy

(ii) adult literacy rate and grpss

enrollment ratio.

(iii) Standard of living judged by per

capita income.

3. It is narrow in scope. 3. It is broader in scope.

Q16. Explain the indicators used by UNDP for measuring development.

OR

Explain the components of Human Development Index.

Ans. (i) Per capita income – It is used to indicate the purchasing power of the people or their ability to

buy goods and services.

(ii) Adult Literacy Rate – It means the proportion of literate population in the 15 and above age group.

(iii) Gross Enrollment Rate – This means enrollment ratio for primary school, secondary school and

higher education beyond secondary school.

(iv) Life Expectancy at Birth – It denotes average expected length of life of a person at the time of birth.

Q17. Why Kerala has a better human development ranking lower than Maharashtra, inspite of lower
per capita income?

Ans. (i) Kerala has lower infant morality rate than Maharashtra.

(ii) Kerala has higher literacy rate and net attendance ratio than Maharashtra.

(iii) It shows Kerala has adequate provision of basic health and education facilities, availability of clean

environment, a strong Public Distribution System.

It therefore indicated high level of human development in Kerala compared to Maharashtra.

Q18. In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development different from

the one used by the World Bank?

Ans.

World Bank UNDP

1. In World Development Reports

brought out by the World Bank, per

capita income is used for measuring

development.

1. Human Development Report

published by UNDP compares

countries based on educational level of

people, their health status and per

capita income.

2. It focuses only on qualitative aspect

of development.

2. It focuses on qualitative and

quantitative aspect of development.

3. It is narrow in scope. 3. It is broader in scope.

Q19. What is Sustainable Development? Why is the issue of sustainability important for
development?

Ans. Sustainable Development means development should take place without damaging the

environment. Development in the present should not compromise with the needs of future generations.

IMPORTANCE:

1. Limited resources: The stock of natural resources is limited. Thus, the growth of all countries of

the world in future is likely to be endangered if the limited resources are completely exhausted.

For e.g. if we continue using crude oil at present rate, then the future generations will have no

oil reserves after 53 years.

2. Concern for environment: The process of development has led to environmental degradation

and pollution adversely affecting the quality of life in present and future generations.

Hence, sustainable development aims at raising the quality of life of both present and future

generations without threatening natural resources and environment.

Q20. What are renewable resources and non-renewable resources? Give examples.

Ans. Renewable resources are those which can be used without the possibility of resource becoming

depleted or exhausted. These resources are replenished by nature. For example: groundwater, plants

etc.

Non-Renewable resources are those which get exhausted with extraction and use. There is a fixed stock

of such resources which can’t be replenished. For example: fossil fuels like coal, minerals etc.

Q21. State some of the measures/strategies to achieve sustainable development.

Ans. (i) Lesser use of fossil fuels and reliance on non-conventional and environment friendly sources of

energy such as wind power and solar energy.

(ii) Shift to organic farming.

(iii) Use of cleaner fuels such as CNG and in rural areas LPG and gobar gas should be promoted.

(iv) Conserve water through rainwater harvesting.

(v) Use of energy efficient appliances and LED bulbs.

even one person.’ How is this statement relevant to to the discussion of development?

Ans. (i) Resources are important for the development activities of a nation.

(ii) Unreasonable consumptions and over-utilization of resources may lead to socio-economic and

environmental problems.

(iii) The exploitative nature of modern technology and the greed of selfish individuals are the root cause

of resource depletion.

Gandhiji has rightly said ‘ There is enough for everybody’s needs but not for anyone’s greed.

Q23. Is crude oil essential for the development of a country? Discuss.

Ans. Yes, it is essential for the development of a country because of the following reasons:

(i)It is used as a raw material in a number of industries such as chemicals,petrochemicals and for

manufacturing a variety of products such as plastics,detergents etc.

(ii) It is used as a source of energy for running industrial machines.

(iii) Petroleum derivates are used in cosmetic industry. For eg: Vaselline Jelly

(iv) By products of refined crude oil are petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Petrol and diesel are fuels for running automobiles , ships and tractors etc.

Q24. Why is groundwater overused? Can there be development without its overuse?

Ans. (i) Groundwater is overused due to:

 Urbanisation – large and growing population of cities.

 Agricultural advancement - rising demand of food and cash crops , thus resulting in increased

use of tubewells and wells for irrigation.

(ii) Development can be brought without overuse of groundwaterby taking following steps:

 Alternative sources of irrigation such as canals need to be developed.

 By harvesting rain water through rain water harvesting.

 Increasing the vegetation cover helps in increasing groundwater as plants reduce surface run off
and allow more water to seep into the ground.

Q25. Find out the present sources of energy used by people in India. What would be possibilities 50

years from now?

Ans. The present sources of energy used by people in India are:

 Conventional sources of energy: refer to such sources which are in use since a long period of

time. Such sources are non-renewable. For eg: coal, petroleum, natural gas etc.

 Non- Conventional sources of energy: refer to such sources which have come into use only in

recent times. For eg: solar energy, wind energy, bio-gas and tidal power. These are renewable

sources of energy.

Possibilties after 50 years:

 Resources like coal and petroleum are limited and once exhausted can’t regenerated. Their

consumption at present is too high in comparison to production and reserves. If these resources

are recklessly used to increase production, India will face energy crises.

 For eg: if use continue using oil at present rate, then future generations will have no oil reserves

after 50 years.

 India depends on oil imports from oil producting countries. The rising prices of oil and its related

articles will increase financial burden on everyone.

 Thus, India will have to use more of non-conventional sources of energy like solar energy, wind

energy etc as they are not likely to get exhausted in future by human activities.