Economics

Chapter 1: Development

1. What is development?
Development is a complex task and involves thinking about basic necessary requirements,
betterment of the community, a harmonious relationship in society and equality within
citizens and about the ways in which we can work towards achieving these goals

2. Why our history and politics effect the present development?

This is because the way we live today is influenced by the past.
i) We can’t desire for change without being aware of this.
ii) In the same way, it is only through a process of democratic political process that
these hopes and possibilities can be achieved in real life.

3. How do developmental goals differ from person to person?

Not every person has the same notion of development or progress. Each one of them seek
different things
i) They seek things that are most important for them, i.e., which can fulfil their
aspirations or desires
ii) At times, two persons or groups of persons may seek things which are conflicting
iii) A girl expects as much freedom and opportunites as her brother, and that he also
shares in houselhold work
iv) To get more electricity, industrialists may want more dams
v) But this may submerge the land and disrupt the lives of people who are displaced-
such as tribal people. They might resent this and may prefer small check dams or
tanks to irrigate lands
This makes two things very clear:
i) Different persons can have different development goals
ii) What may be development for one may not be for the other. It may even be
destructive for others

4. Name a few goals which are alike for each human being
Our developmental goals should not be materialistic but such which enhances our life, style
and dignity in society. For example:
i) More income than their consumption
ii) Equal Treatment
iii) Freedom
iv) Security
v) Respect of others
vi) Elimination of discrimination

5. What is national development?

i) National development is a comprehensive term which includes improvement in
living standard of the people, increase in per capital income, providing social
amenities like education, medical care, social services, etc. to the citizens of the
country.
 ii) National Development can be achieved only if we think of considering each point of
view equally, resolving conflicts, community benefit and approaching different
alternatives
iii) It is very important to keep in mind that different persons could have different as
well as conflicting notions of a country’s development

6. How do we compare different countries or states?

For comparing countries, their income is considered to be one of the most important
attributes
i) Countries with higher income are more developed than others with low income. This
is based on the understanding that more income means more of all things that human
beings need
ii) The income of the country is the income of all the residents of the country This gives
us the total income of the country
iii) We majorly compare the average income which is the total income of the country
divided by its total population. The average income is also called the per capita
income

7. What problem do we face in comparing the countries on the basis of total income?
For comparison between countries, total income is not such a useful measure. Since countries
have different population, comparing total income will not tell us what an average person is
likely to earn. It does not answer the question, are people in one country better off than
others in the country

8. How do we classify countries as rich, low income and low middle income countries
According to World Development Reports given by the World Bank:
i) Countries with per capita income of $ 12,056 per annum and above in 2017, are
called rich countries
ii) Those with per capita income of $ 955 or less are called low income countries
iii) India comes in the category of low middle-income countries because its per capita
income in 2017 was just $ 1820 per annum

9. Which countries are developed countries?

The rich countries, excluding countries of Middle East and certain other small countries, are
generally called developed countries

10. What are the problems in comparing countries on the basis of average income
Although average income is useful for comparision it dooes not tell us how this income is
distributed among the people. People would be better off in countries with equitable
distribution of income

11. What is Infant Mortality Rate

IMR 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

12. What is Literacy Rate

It measures the proportion of literate population in the 7-and-above age group

13. What is Net Attendance Ratio

It is the total number of children in the age group 14 and 15-years attending school as a
percentage of total number of children in the same age group
14. Why is that Haryana has higher infant mortality rate and lesser literacy rate than
Kerala although average per capita income in Haryana is more than that of Kerala?
The reason for such a situation is that money in our pockets cannot buy all the goods and
services that we may need to live well. For example, money cannot buy a pollution free
environment and ensure that we get unadulterated medicines both of which are necessary for
reduction of IMR. Money also can’t increase the literacy rate if the students are not willing to
study in a community.

15. What are public facilities and why are they important?
Public facilities are those facilities which are not possible for any individual to access at
economic cost, so government provides such facilities to public to ensure quality of life and
for development of the country. For example, healthcare, electricity, sanitation, public
transport, schools, drinking water, etc.
Importance of public facilities are:
i) Their benefits can be shared by many people
ii) Basic needs of people get fulfilled in affordable way
iii) Economic development of country
iv) Equality in life

16. Why is providing goods and services collectively, the best way to provide important
things in life?
This can be understood through examples
i) It will be cheaper to have collective security for the whole locality rather than a own
security man for each house
ii) One is able to study when many other children also want to study and because many
people believe that the government should open schools and provide other facilities
so that all children have a chance to study.
iii) Even today, in many areas, particularly girls, are not able to go to high school
because the government/society has not provided adequate facilities to the
community as a whole

17. Why does Kerala have a Low Infant Mortality Rate?

This is because it has adequate provision of basic health and educational facilities

18. Health and nutritional status of people of which states is likely to be better?
The Health and Nutritional Status of people is likely to be better in those states where the
Public Distribution System (PDS) functions well

19. Which state has the highest literacy rate?

Kerala

20. What was the constitutional goal regarding education?

The constitutional goal of free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14,
was expected to be achieved by 1960

21. How to find out if we are properly nourished or not?

 One way to find out if we are properly nourished is to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI).
Weight(kg)
Formula for calculating the BMI is 2 . BMI is not applicable for growing
[ Height(m)]
children.
22. What should be the basis for comparing countries?
There could be a long list of such criterion but then it would not be so useful. So the most
important ones are: income, health and education

23. On what basis, does Human Development Report published by UNDP compare
countries
i) The education levels of the people,
ii) Their health status
iii) Per capita income

24. Give the full form HDI

HDI stands for Human Development Index.

25. What does Life Expectancy denote?

Life Expectancy at birth denotes average expected length of life of a person at the time of
birth

26. Why is Per Capita Income calculated in dollars?

Per capita income is calculated in dollars for all countries so that it can be compared.
It is also done in a way so that every dollar would buy the same amount of goods and services
in any country

27. What has been conveyed by prefixing Human to Development?

Many improvements have been suggested in calculating HDI and many new components
have been added to the Human Development Report but, by pre-fixing Human to
Development, it has been made clear that happening to citizens of a country is important. It is
people, their health, their well-being, that is more important

28. What do you understand by sustainability of development?

i) Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
ii) We would certainly like this level of development to go up further or at least be
maintained
iii) However, since the second half of the 20th century, a number of scientists have been
warning that the present type, and levels of development are not sustainable

29. What are the some of the places where ground water is overused?
Groundwater overuse is particularly found in:
i) The agricultural prosperous regions of Punjab and western UP
ii) Hard rock plateaus of central and south India
iii) Some coastal areas
iv) Rapidly growing urban settlements

30. What do you mean by overuse of resources?

 Renewable resources are resources which are replenished by nature. However, these resources
may be overused. For example, in the case of groundwater, if we use more than what is being
replenished by rain then we would be overusing the resource

31. Give an account of non-renewable resources

i) Non-renewable resources are those which will get exhausted after years of use
ii) We have a fixed stock on earth which cannot be replenished.
iii) We do discover new resources that we did not know of earlier. New resources in this
way add to the stock.
iv) However, over time, even this will get exhausted
v) For example, crude oil that we extract from the earth is a non-renewable resource.
However, we may find a source of oil that we did not know of earlier. Explorations
are being undertaken all the time.

32. For how long will the crude oil reserves last?
50 years

33. From where does India gets its crude oil?

India depends on importing oil from abroad because they do not have enough stocks of their
own

34. Why does USA secure its crude oil?

Countries like USA have low reserves of crude oil and hance want to secure oil through
military or economic power
35. Is crude oil essential for the development process in a country? Discuss
Oil and natural gas are the basis of every industrialized economy on Earth right now.
Crude oil provides 97% of the energy for transportation (cars, trains, airplanes) in the world.
It is also used in making lubricant oils and petrochemicals. A country lacking this essential
resource be placed back in terms of technology.

36. India has to import crude oil. What problems will such countries face?
Large amounts of crude oil are imported in countries like India which lack stocks. Being a
non-renewable resource, crude oil has high prices and therefore it lays a great impact on the
economy of such countries. Despite this, crude oil is very useful and thus countries spend
tons on money on it

37. Are the consequences environment degradation regional?

Consequences of environmental degradation do not respect national or state boundaries; this
issue is no longer region or nation specific. Our future is linked together

38. Who all are working on sustainable development?

Sustainable development is a new area of knowledge in which scientists, economists,
philosophers and other social scientists are working together

39. Fill in the blank:

In general, the question of development or progress is perennial

INTEXT QUESTIONS
1. Why do different persons have different notions of development? Which of the following
explanations is more important and why?
(a) Because people are different.
(b) Because life situations of persons are different.
Ans: (b) Different persons have different notions of development because life situations of
persons are different. Development goals of a girl from a rich urban family will be surely
different from a farmer in Rajasthan. It is because their situations, lifestyle and status are very
different from each other. A goal which a person has entirely depends on his or her present
life situation. Over a period of time if the situation changes, automatically goals of a person
will also change.

2. Do the following two statements mean the same? Justify your answer.
(a) People have different developmental goals.
(b) People have conflicting developmental goals
Ans: Yes, these two statements mean almost the same, as different persons could have
different as well as conflicting developmental goals, e.g., in Gujarat, government is in favour
of the Narmada Project, while the people who are adversely affected by the project/dam are
opposing this.

3. Give some examples where factors other than income are important aspects of our lives.
Though income is one of the most important aspects of our lives, there are other important
things, such as
(a) People also seek things like equal treatment, freedom, security and respect.
(b) Women need safe and secure environment to take up a variety of Jobs or run a business.
(c) People also need political rights.
(d) People seek a pollution-free environment.

4. Pg. 7: What should be the developmental goals for such an area?

Ans: The developmental goals of this area should include
(a) Availability of loans for making pucca houses with own toilets.
(b) Ownership of land on which they live.
(c) Availability of municipal services like electricity, water and sanitation.
(d) Regular employment.
(e) Medical facilities in the locality like a dispensary.

5. Why do you think average income is an important criterion for development? Explain.
Ans: It is an important criterion because it tells us what an average person is likely to earn
and also gives some idea about the rising standard of living. Prosperity of a country depends
not only on its national income but also on the number of people who would share it. In case
the number of people is large, the average income will be less. This is the case in India.

6. Besides size of per capita income, what other property of income is important in
comparing two or more societies?
Ans: Average income, i.e., per capita income is important but not the only criterion for
development. Along with average income, equitable distribution of income in a country
should also be considered.

7. 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
Ans: All sections of the economy have become better cannot be concluded because different
sections of the economy may have become better or worse. An example is the current
 situation in India, where the average income has increased every year; the service sector has
increased very much, but agriculture is having virtually no growth.

8. Write a paragraph on your notion of what should India do, or achieve, to become a
developed country.
Ans: To become a developed sovereign state, India should achieve the following:
(a) A highly developed economy.
(b) Have advanced infrastructure facilities like better roads, better telecom network, better
transportation facilities, etc.
(c) Higher per capita income, matching that of other developed countries.
(d) A higher general standard of living with enough food to feed the poorest people
adequately.
(e) The service sector should provide more wealth / income than the industrial or agricultural
sector.

9. Does availability of good health and educational facilities depend only on the amount of
money spent by the government on these facilities? What other factors could be
relevant?
Ans: No, it does not only depend on amount of money spent:
i) It also depends on the capabilities of the doctors and quality of the medicines in the
case of health facilities.
ii) In education, the quality of the teachers is important.

10. In Tamil Nadu, 90 percent of the people living in rural areas use ration shops whereas in
West Bengal only 35 percent of the people use ration shops tell. Where the people are
better off and why?
Ans: People will be better off in Tamil Nadu. This is because of public facilities development
in Tamil Nadu is better. In West Bengal, all the poor people cannot get good food because of
the very poor public distribution system. If they cannot get food the mortality rate increases
and also the literacy rate decreases. Thus, West Bengal is regarded as less developed than that
of Tamil Nadu