DAVPS, ROHINI
ECONOMICS
CLASS X
DEVELOPMENT
Meaning
Development applies to all round development of a country. Such as freedom, participative
involvement, economic equality, security, life with dignity, etc. Thinking about these aspects and
planning for the way through which desires get fulfilled through democratic political process where
people participate without any discrimination.
National Development
The individuals seek different goals and their motive of national development is also likely to be
different. While planning for national development it should to be kept in mind that different people
could have different as well as conflicting notions for a country’s development.
Under national development priority is given to those goals which benefit a large number of people.
Human Development Report
Criteria for measuring HDR-
1) Living Standard (per capita income)
2) Health Status (Life Expectancy)
3) Educational levels of the people (Literacy rate and Enrollment ratio)
The Human Development Index (HDI) considers public health, education, poverty level, inequality and
environmental aspects to measure human development.
Developed Countries
1) Developed countries or economies are those whose per capita income is US$ 12736 and above.
2) They are technologically advanced
3) They have higher GDP and higher standard of living.
4) The unemployment rate is low.
5) Better health facilities and literacy rates
Eg : USA, UK, Japan etc
Developing Countries
1) Developing countries or economies are those whose per capita income is US$ 1045 or less.
2) They are mostly dependent on developed countries for technology.
3) They have high infant mortality rate, death rate, birth rate and low life expectancy.
4) The unemployment and poverty rates are high.
5) They have lower standard of living.
Eg : Nepal, Pakistan etc
Limitations of Per Capita Income
1. A rise in per capita income is due to rise in prices and not due to increase in physical output. It is
not a reliable index of economic development.
2. National income rises but its distribution makes the rich richer and poor poorer.
3. It excludes all non- marketed goods and services, even though they may be important for
human happiness and better quality of life.
4. Rise in per capita income may be due to the use of modern capital intensive technology in
production which may be labor displacing in nature, thus adversely affecting poor masses.
5. If the rate of population growth is higher than the rate of growth of national income, this will
lead to fall in per capita availability of goods and services and economic welfare.
Economic Growth and Economic Development (comparison)
Economic growth can be defined as a process whereby a country’s real national income increases over a
long period of time. In other words, it is concerned with an increase in national income.
Economic development however, not only concerns itself with increase in income, but with it’s
composition and distribution as well. It covers the process of long- term increase in income, as well as of
achieving a more equitable income distribution and poverty alleviation.
Economic Development is wider concept than Economic Growth.
Economic Development = Economic growth + change
ECONOMICS
CLASS X
DEVELOPMENT
NCERT QUESTIONS
5. In what respects is the criterion used by UNDP for measuring development different from
the one used by the World Bank ?
UNDP has taken education, health and per capita income as the base. It is also considered as a
broader concept of development and countries have been ranked, accordingly.
World Bank uses per capita income as its base for comparison. Under this, countries have been
divided into – rich, middle and poor. This is considered a narrow concept of development.
6. Why do we use averages ? Are there any limitations to their use ? illustrate with examples.
We use averages for better understanding. For comparison between countries, total income not
such a useful measure. Since countries have different populations, comparing total income will
not tell us what an average person is likely to earn.
According to the criterion used by World Bank, countries with higher per capita income are
called rich countries and low per capita is called poor countries.
There are limitations to this criterion. Although the country may be rich, there may not be equal
distribution of income. A small number of people may be extremely rich and masses may be
poor. Hence, while average income is useful for comparison it does not tell us how this income
is distributed among people.
7. Kerala, with lower per capita has a better human development ranking than Punjab. Hence
per capita income is not an useful criterion at all and should not be used to compare states.
Do you agree ? Discuss
Yes, I do agree that money or per capita income is not the only factor. Factors like the Infant
Mortality Rate and Net Attendance Ratio also play a very crucial role in the overall human
development. When, compared, in these factors Kerala is considered to be better than Punjab.
IMR is 11 in Kerala as compared to 49 in Punjab.
Literacy rate was 91% in Kerala as compared to 70% in Punjab. Whereas the Net Attendance
Ratio from class I – V was 91 in Kerala as compared to 81 in Punjab.
Hence, Kerala has better human development ranking than Punjab.
10. ‘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 discussion of development ?
Discuss.
According to the statement the natural resources of the Earth are overused in the name of
development. Earth provides enough resources to meet the needs of all but today’s generation
has become so greedy that for their own progress and development they resort to activities like
deforestation, unsustainable fuel wood use, shifting cultivation, fodder extraction,
encroachments into forest lands, indiscriminate use of agro- chemicals, extraction of ground
water in excess of recharge capacity, etc.
11. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have observed around
you.
a) Burning of coal and mineral oil
b) Deforestation
c) Use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
12. Why is literacy essential for the economic development ? Explain.
a) Education gives us vast knowledge.
b) A literate person is eligible to get suitable employment.
c) Education develops the ability to implement modern technology.
d) With the knowledge of professionals, technology can develop and help in the development of
the country.
e) Literate people understand the importance of remaining healthy and stay away from
diseases.
EXTRA QUESTIONS/ HOTS
1. A resource will get exhausted after 15 years from now if used at current rate. In which
category do you like to put the resource ?
Non- renewable.
2. Why does Kerala have a low Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) ?
Adequate provisions of basic healthcare and educational facilities along with good
infrastructure of healthcare centres are the reason behind low IMR in Kerala.
3. In Uttar Pradesh most industries are running on thermal power but in Gujarat, most
industries have become mandatory to run by solar energy. Which state do you think has
adopted sustainable development ?
Gujarat.
4. ‘Money cannot buy all the goods and services that one needs to live well’. Explain
a) Apart from money, the infrastructure and facility like health and education is required
to live well. You cannot buy all services and goods by money until the facility
arrangements are available at required time and place.
b) The reason behind undernourishment of 40% people of India is poverty and
unavailability of resources. The food distribution system is not good in most of the rural
parts of the country, due to which most of the people remain undernourished.
5. Different people have different goals. Explain.
Progress or development has always been an important concept pursued by human beings.
Different people seek different things and have different goals for development.
Various categories of people will have different set of developmental goals which are often
conflicting, example, a girl expects equal freedom and opportunity like her brother and
expects her brother’s involvement in household work. Her brother may not like this.
Another example is, industrialists want more dams for their electricity requirement, but
dams displace local community, submerge forestland and whole ecological set up may be
completely destroyed.
Development perspective is contrasting and sometimes conflicting. Hence, different people
have different developmental goals.
6. For development, people look at mix of goals. Explain with suitable example.
a) It is true that if women are engaged in paid work, their dignity in the household and
society increases. However, it is also the case that if there is respect for women there
would be more sharing of housework and a greater acceptance of women working
outside.
b) A safe and secure environment may allow more women to take up a variety of jobs or
run a business.
c) Hence, the developmental goals that people have are not only about better income but
also about other important things in life.
7. ‘National Development of a country depends on the availability of public facilities’. How ?
Public facilities are those provided by the government, instead of individuals or private
sources. For this reason, they may be either highly subsidized or totally free of cost.
They are important because many persons do not have enough income to be able to avail
facilities provided by the private sector, resulting in difficulties face like inadequate
healthcare, poor nutrition etc.
The utility of two public facilities available in India are
a) Public Distribution System (PDS) which provides fair average quality of foodgrains and
other essential items to the weaker section of the population at a subsidized price.
b) The other is healthcare in government hospitals and dispensaries, which is provided to
all at subsidized rates.
8. What is sustainable economic development ? write any three measures to control
environmental degradation.
Sustainability for development refers to the development which takes place without
damaging the environment.
Such development should not compromise on the needs of the future generations
otherwise, it is meaningless.
Three measures to control environmental degradation-
a) Over exploitation should be avoided. Rule of three ’R’s- Recycle, Reduce and Reuse
should be adopted.
b) In place of conventional and non- renewable energy resources, renewable energy
resources must be adopted.
c) New technologies should be developed for judicious use of resources and pollution free
environment.
9. Explain inferences which have been drawn by comparing the development levels of
Maharashtra, Kerala and Bihar.
a) Per Capita income or average income is not a best criteria to compare the development
level of different regions.
b) Apart from increasing income, government should also focus on literacy, healthcare and
public amenities.
c) More steps should be taken to bring down the rate of Infant Mortality Rate.
10. Explain the different bases for comparison of economic development of different nation/
states.
a) Per Capita Income : This is the total national income (GDP) divided by the total
population
b) Life expectancy at birth : This is the number of years, a new born child is expected to live
(IMR) if subject to the mortality risks prevailing for the population concerned.
c) Net Attendance Ratio : The total number of children enrolled in or attending primary
school, as a percentage of total number of children of primary school age.
d) Literacy Rate : This is the total percentage of the population of an area at a particular
time aged 7 years and above, who can read and write with understanding atleast in one
language.
11. Mention the characteristics of Development.
a) Development is linked with the desire to improve.
b) Development involves thinking about the questions and about the ways in which we can
work towards achieving our desired goals.
c) There can be different developmental goals for different persons.
d) Development for one may not be development for other. It may even be destructive for
other.
e) Development is also referred as comparing different things, they could have similarities
as well as differences.