Chapter 1 - Development

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 the above

2. Which of the following neighboring 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

(4000+7000+3000+x) ÷ 4 = 5000

14000+x = 5000 × 4

x = 20000-14000

x = 6000

4. What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different countries? What are the
limitations of this criterion, if any?

Answer: World Bank uses the per capita income to classify different countries. The per capita income is
calculated by dividing the total income of the country by the population of the country. For the year
2017, the countries with per capita income of US $12,056 per annum were declared rich countries and
the countries with per capita income of US $ 1035 or less are called low-income countries.

The limitations of the criterion are:

1. Other important factors, including literacy rate, infant mortality rate, healthcare, are ignored
while classifying the countries.

2. The economy of the country cannot determine the development of the country.

3. It does not tell us about how this average income is distributed among the people in the
individual countries. 
4. Two countries with the same per capita income might be very different with regard to income
distribution. 
5. One might have equitable distribution of income while the other might have great disparities
between the rich and the poor.

5. In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development different from the
one used by the World Bank?

Answer: The criterion used by the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) for measuring
development is different from the one used by the World Bank in following ways:
i) UNDP measures development on the parameters of education, health and per capita income whereas
World Bank measures the same only on the basis of per capita income.
ii) UNDP ranks the countries on the basis of development whereas World Bank classifies them into three
categories: rich countries, middle income countries and poor countries.
iii) UNDP has a broader framework to measure development whereas World Bank has a narrow
framework to measure the same.

6. Why do we use averages? Are there any limitations to their use? Illustrate with your own examples
related to development.

Answer: Different countries have a different population, so calculating the average helps in getting an
estimated answer which can be used to compare different things at different levels. There are
limitations of calculating averages because we cannot know the difference in the income of the people
and the unfair distribution of income in a country or state.

For example, if we calculate the per capita income of two countries A and B with 5 people each, the
salary of five people in country A is Rs.23,000, Rs.22,000, Rs.23,500, Rs.28,000 and Rs.25,000 and the
income of people living in country B are Rs.1,50,000, Rs. 22,000, Rs.50,000, Rs.4000, Rs.2500. The
average income of country A will be Rs.24,300, and that of country B will be Rs.45,700. This proves that
the average of country B is higher than that of country A, and yet there is a disparity in the income
distribution of country B and the income is evenly distributed in country A.
7. Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human development ranking than Haryana.
Hence, per capita income is not a useful criterion at all and should not be used to compare states. Do
you agree? Discuss.

Answer: Kerala, with lower per capita income, has a better human development ranking than Haryana.
Hence, per capita income is not a useful criterion at all and should not be used to compare states. This is
true because the literacy rate, infant mortality rate, healthcare facilities, etc. are better in Kerala in
comparison to Haryana. The per capita income is only calculated by calculating the average income of
the state, irrespective of any other factor.

8. 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?

Answer: The present sources of energy that are used by the people of India are electricity, coal, crude
oil, cow dung and solar energy. Other possibilities 50 years from now, could include ethanol, biodiesel,
nuclear energy and a better utilization of wind energy, especially with the imminent danger of oil
resources running out.

Presently, fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gasoline are in high demand from the people as the source of
energy. To a certain extent; even there are solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy and hydro
energy in use but very little. Seemingly, since India has very little developed the sources like solar
energy, wind energy, geothermal energy and hydro energy yet, so in the near future, these might be the
few possibilities of sources of energy known to people.

9. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?

Answer: Sustainable development refers to using natural resources in a manner so that they can be
used by the present and future generations. It refers to meeting the needs of today without
compromising the needs of tomorrow. For example, in the case of groundwater, if we use more than
what is being replenished by rain then we would be overusing this resource. 

When we overuse a resource it would not be available to the future generations. So sustainability
ensures that the resource is not overused and helps the future generation to get their part.  

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.

Answer: Development not just depends on the economic factors of a country, but is also
dependent on resources that are available for the people of a country to use. The statement:
“The Earth has enough resources to meet the needs of all but not enough to satisfy the greed of
even one person” is completely relevant in terms of the development of a country because
natural resources are non-renewable resources. Earth has enough resources for every need and
those resources have to be used judiciously.

● Over exploitation of resources will lead to environmental degradation and eventually affecting
the current generation and the future generations.
 ● The development should be sustainable in nature and not exhaustive and over exploitative.

● The time for replenishment of resources should be allowed for 'green economic development'
to practice.

11. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have observed around you.

Answer: Humans increase environmental degradation as they increase the levels of carbon dioxide in
the air. Global warming may affect environmental factors, including the availability of water. Warming
increases transpiration from plants. An earlier snow melt increases the chances of flooding as well as the
chances of drought.

Global warming increases the annual precipitation. The additional rain causes an increase in the rate of
soil erosion, which leads to a further decline in water quality. Even with the increased precipitation,
warmer temperatures decrease the amount of moisture the soil holds.

From an agricultural standpoint, global degradation leads to the need for additional irrigation water.
Adding water in this manner increases the salinity of the soil, eventually to the point that it is no longer
able to support crops.

Few examples of environmental degradation:

1.      Deforestation

2.      Soil erosion

3.      Falling levels of ground water

4.      Depletion of the ozone layer and combustion from automobiles causing extreme air pollution

5.      Water Pollution

6.      Throwing waste in river

7.      Use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides

8.      Burning of coal and mineral oil

12. 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: As per table 1.6, Sri Lanka tops in all the four categories. It has the highest Gross National
Income, Life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling of people aged 25 and above and HDI rank in
the world. Nepal has the lowest Gross National Income among the given countries. Pakistan has the
least Life Expectancy at birth and ranks the lowest HDI rank in the world among the given countries.
Mean years of schooling of people aged 25 and above is the lowest for Myanmar and Nepal.

13. The following table shows the proportion of adults (aged 15-49 years) whose BMI is below normal
(BMI <18.5 kg/m2) in India. It is based on a survey of various states for the year 2015-16. Look at the
table and answer the following questions.
 State Male Female

Kerala 8.5 10

Karnataka 17 21

Madhya Pradesh 28 28

All States 20 23

a.

a. Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

Answer: The nutritional level of people in Kerala is higher than the nutritional level of people in Madhya
Pradesh.

a. Can you guess why around one-fifth 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.

Answer: One-fifth of the population in the country are undernourished even though it is argued that
there is enough food in the country because of the following reasons:

1. The disparity in the distribution of food grains by Public Distribution System (PDS).

2. Nutritious food cannot be afforded by the poor population in the country.

3. Educational backwardness of people results in unemployment because of which people cannot

4. There is no proper distribution of ration at the fixed price stores.