NCERT QUESTIONS
Q1. What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different
countries? What are the limitations of this criterion, if any ?
Ans: Per Capita Income is the main criterion used by the World Bank is
classifying different countries . The limitation of this criterion are:
It doesn’t show distribution of income .
It also ignore other factors such as infant mortality rate, literacy rate, healthcare, etc.
Q2. Why do we use averages ? Are there any limitation to their use ? Illustrate with your
own examples related to development.
Ans: We use averages as they are useful for comparing different quantities of the same
category. There are limitations of calculating averages because this does not give any
information about the distribution of a thing between people.
For example: to compute the per capita income of a country, averages have to be used
because there are differences in the incomes of diverse people.
Q3. Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human development ranking than
Haryana. Hence, per capita inca is not a useful criterion at all and should not used to
compare states . Do you agree ? Discuss.
Ans: Per Capita income is not the only Criterion for ascertaining the human development
ranking.
Other parameters like health status, infant mortality rate, literacy rate etc. also
needs to be given equal weight.
Hence, it is not Justified to conclude the per capita income is not of all useful, later it
needs to be assessed along with the other criteria while ascertaining human
development ranking.
Q4. 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 ?
Ans: The Present source of energy that are used by the people of India are electricity, coal.
Crude oil, low dung and solar energy.
Other possibilities fifty years from now, could include ethanol, bio -diesel nuclear and a
better especially with the imminent danger of oil resources running out
Q5. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development.
Ans: The issue of sustainability is important for development because:
It cares for the need of future generation items.
It promotes an efficient use of natural resources.
It lays emphasis on quality of life
Q6."The Earth have enough resources to meet the needs all but not enough to satisfy the
greed of even one persons. How is this statement relevant to the discussion of
development ? Discuss.
Ans :The above statement is relevant to the discussion development because:
It is a fact given in a above statement that even one person may exploit the natural
resources recklessly.
The reckless exploitation of resources may leads to exhausted and may damage the
resources.
The reckless use of minerals may disturbs the balance in nature.
It is the responsibility of the people to use them to meet their needs And not to
satisfy their greed.
Q7. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have observed
around you.
Ans: Few examples of environmental degradation:
Deforestation
Falling level of ground water
Depletion of ozone layer and Combustion from automobiles causing extreme
air pollution.
Water pollution.
Q8. For each of the items given in Table 1-6, find out which country is at the top and
which is at the bottom.
Ans (i) Per Capita income in US $:-
Top Country = Sri Lanka , Bottom country =Myanmar
(ii) Life Expectancy at Birth:
Top Country = Sri Lanka , Bottom country =Myanmar
iii) Literacy rate for 15 years population :-
Top county») Sri Lanta, Bottom county: Bangladesh
iv) Gross Enrollment ratio for three levels :-
Top country : Sri Lanka, Bottom country: Pakistan
v) HDI rank in world :-
Top country : Sri Lanka, Bottom country : Nepal.
Q9. The following tables show the proportion of undernourished adults in India. It is
based an a survey of various states for the year 2001. Look at the table and answer
the following question:
States Male (%) Female (%)
Kerala 22 19
Karnataka 36 38
Madhya Pradesh 43 42
All states 37 36
(i) Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
Ans: The nutritional level of people in Kerala is quite higher than the - both males
and females of Madhya Pradesh. Their ratio of the under-nourished is less than that
of Madhya Pradesh.
(ii) 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.
Ans: There is enough food in the country, even then 40% the people in the country
are undernourished because:
A large number of people are so poor that cannot afford nutritious food.
In most of the states, The PDS does not function properly and the poor
people cannot get cheap food items.
There is lack of educational and health facilities in many parts of the country
so many people remain backwards and poor. As such, they are unable to get
nutritious food.