Development 1

TJ SINGH

DEVELOPMENT
Introduction:

Different persons can have different developmental goals. What may be

development for one may not be development for the other. It may even
be destructive for the other. For example; a dam may be developmental
goal for an industrialist, but the same dam can create havoc with the life
of people who need to be evacuated in the catchment area.
Different people have different developmental needs. These needs are
based on their particular life situations. For example; for a person in a
remote village, access to an all weather road can be the developmental
goal. On the other hand, for a person living in Delhi or Mumbai;
construction of a rapid mass transit system may be the developmental
goal.
This creates a need for a development goal which can encompass
different needs of different people in a fair way.

Goals of Development:

Per Capita Income: The total income of a country divided by the population
is called the per capita income of that country. As per the World
Development Report, 2006 the per capital income in India was Rs. 28,000
per annum.
Gross National Product: The total income generated in the country is called
Gross National Product.
Gross Domestic Product: The total income generated minus the income
generated by exports is called the Gross Domestic Product.
Infant Mortality Rate: The number of children who die before completing
one year out of 1000 births is called the infant mortality rate. The lesser
figure is a better indicator of development. This is an important parameter as
it shows the quality and extent of availability of healthcare in a country. As
per 2011 census, the child mortality rate in India is 30.15.
Male to Female Ratio: Number of female per thousand male is called sex
ratio. A lesser figure shows society’s aversion to a girl child and worse
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condition of women in society. As per 2011 census, the sex ratio in India is
940 per thousand male.
Life expectancy: The maximum age up to which an adult lives is called the
life expectancy rate. This also shows the overall quality of life in a country.
As per 2011 census, the life expectancy in India for males is 67 years and for
females it is 72 years.

Literacy Rate: The percentage of literate people is another important

indicator of development. Education is a big leveler as it opens newer
opportunities for the educated person. Especially in a country like India you
can see many examples of a brilliant student coming from a lower class
family cracking the IITs. Once you are in IIT then you get a bright and secure
future for you and your family. As per 2011 census, the literacy rate in India
is 74%.
Infrastructure: Roads, railways, airports, ports and power generation are the
lifelines of a nation’s economy. A better infrastructure ensures a better
economic activity leading to overall prosperity.

Combination of Goals Needed for Development:

The above mentioned list is not all inclusive but they are more important than
other goals which are not mentioned here.

Per capita Infant

Literacy Net attendance ratio
State income mortality rate
rate (2001) class 1 to 4 (1995 - 96)
(2003) (2003)
Punjab 26000 49 70 81
Kerala 22800 11 91 91
Bihar 5700 60 47 41

The data given in this table shows some interesting aspects of development.
It shows the interrelationship between different aspects of development.
When per capita income is compared, Punjab comes as the richest state
among the three and Bihar is at the bottom. 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
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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.

QUESTIONS

1. Do the following two statements mean the same? Justify your

answer.
o People have different developmental goals.
o People have conflicting developmental goals.

Answer: Both the statements are true but their meanings are
different. Two people may have different developmental goals
buy they need not always be conflicting. For example;
construction of a flyover to reduce waiting time at a railway
crossing can be the developmental goal for an office worker. But
if the construction of the flyover necessitates demolition of slums,
it can be contradictory for the slum dwellers. But on the other
hand, 24 hour electricity supply would be developmental goal for
almost each and every person.

2. Give some examples where factors other than income are

important aspects of our lives.
Answer: Good income is important for a comfortable life, but it is
not the only important factor. A good income would be useless if
a person does not have access to quality health services. If good
schools are not available in the neighbourhood, it can be difficult
to provide proper education to the children. These are some
examples which show factors; other than income; which affect our
life.
3. Explain some of the important ideas of the above section in your
own words.
Answer:Different persons can have different developmental
goals. What may be development for one may not be development
for the other. It may even be destructive for the other. For
example; a dam may be developmental goal for an industrialist,
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but the same dam can create havoc with the life of people who
need to be evacuated in the catchment area.

Different people have different developmental needs. These needs

are based on their particular life situations. For example; for a
person in a remote village, access to an all weather road can be the
developmental goal. On the other hand, for a person living in Delhi
or Mumbai; construction of a rapid mass transit system may be the
developmental goal.

4. Give three examples where an average is used for comparing

situations.
Answer: Height of students in a class with a large number of
students, income of people of a state, forest cover in a country,
etc. are some examples where averages are used for comparing
situations.

Answer the following questions:

1. Why do you think average income is an important criterion for

development? Explain.
Answer: Income can enable people to at least make provision for
basic necessities of life. If the average income of a country is on a
higher side, its chances of faring better on development index are
better. Hence, average income can be an important criterion for
development.
2. Besides size of per capita income, what other property of income
is important in comparing two or more societies?
Answer: Purchasing power parity is another important property of
income; while comparing two or more societies. Purchasing
power parity shows the ability of people to purchase some items
which are taken for comparison.
3. Suppose records show that the average income in a country has
been increasing over a period of time. From this, can we conclude
that all sections of the economy have become better? Illustrate
your answer with an example.
Answer: Increase in average income cannot be a guarantee of
overall progress of the economy. As the data of Punjab and
Kerala; in this chapter; show, there are other factors which also
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need to be analysed before arriving at a conclusion. Some of those

factors are; infant mortality rate, literacy rate, etc.
4. From the text, find out the per capita income level of middle-
income countries as per WDR 2006.
Answer: Sri Lanka: $ 4390, India: $ 3139, Pakistan: $ 2225
5. Write a paragraph on your notion of what should India do, or
achieve, to become a developed country.
Answer: When we look at the figures related to Human
Development Index, India lags behind on several parameters.
Although the life expectancy, infant mortality, and literacy rate
have shown improvement in 2011 census, much more needs to be
done. Given the vast population of India, the absolute number of
infants how die before completing one year is very high. This can
be attributed to lack of proper healthcare, drinking water,
sanitation and nutrition; especially in rural areas. India needs to
develop facilities to improve on these parameters to become a
developed country.

Answer the following questions:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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
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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.
4. 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. Because 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 gobar gas for rural India. Solar power is another source
which can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and can give us
security against shortage of fuel in the future.
5. 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.
6. “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.
7. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may
have observed around you.
Answer: In my city, I can hardly see any greenery. The air quality
is so bad, that many people in my neighbourhood suffer from
some respiratory problem. The river which flows from the city,
looks more like a filthy drain. All of this shows the level of
environmental degradation.
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1. Development of a country can generally be determined by

a. Its per capita income
b. Its average literacy level
c. Health status of its people
d. All the above
Answer: (d) All of the above
2. Which of the following neighbouring countries has better
performance in terms of human development than India?
a. Bangladesh
b. Sri Lanka
c. Nepal
d. Pakistan
Answer: (b) Sri Lanka
3. Assume there are four families in a country. The average per
capita income of these families is Rs 5000. If the income of three
families is Rs 4000, Rs 7000 and Rs 3000 respectively, what is the
income of the fourth family?
a. Rs 7500
b. Rs 3000
c. Rs 2000
d. Rs 6000
Answer: (d) Rs 6000

The following table shows the proportion of undernourished adults in India.

It is based on a survey of various states for the year 2001. Look at the table
and answer the following questions.

State Male (%) Female (%)

Kerala 22 19
Karnataka 36 38
Madhya Pradesh 43 42
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
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food in the country? Describe in your own words.

Answer: Some of the possible reasons can be as follows:
o Uneven distribution of foodgrain production
o Improper supply chain
o Malfunctioning of Public Distribution System.

For each of the items given in Table 1.6, 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:

a. Per capita income: Sri Lanka (top), Myanmar (bottom)

b. Life Expectancy: Sri Lanka (top), Myanmar (bottom)
c. Literacy rate (15+ year): Sri Lanka (top), Bangladesh (bottom)
d. Gross enrolment ratio: Sri Lanka (top), Pakistan (bottom)