Chapter- Development
Q1-Why is per capital income considered as an important criterion for
development?
Ans: Per capital income is considered an important criterion for development as
without financial resources no country can provide facilities for education or health
services.
2. Increase in total income of a country may or may not lead to greater welfare
of the masses. Discuss.
Ans: Increase in total income of a country can be beneficial if the increase is evenly
spread over different social groups. However if only the rich get richer and the poor
remain where they were, income growth does not lead to growth in social welfare.
Growth of high tech jobs has made things better off for only a select group of people
in India. The great majority of people specially in the rural sector have remained
untouched by the boom in national economy.
3. Money alone cannot provide all that makes life worth living. Discuss this
statement.
Ans: Money by itself is not a completely adequate indicator of total welfare. For
example money incomes may be high in an industrial colony but the environment
may be polluted. There may be insufficient provisions for health care. The
educational facilities for children may be expensive. In the absence of these
facilities, high money incomes alone would not be enough.
4. How can development be made sustainable? Illustrate with examples from
everyday life.
Ans: Development can be made sustainable if the existing resources are used in a
planned manner. Enough must be left for the coming generations. Emphasis should
be developing renewable sources of energy and recycling of metals.
5. Define the following terms :
Infant mortality rate
Literacy rate
Net attendance ratio
BMI
Ans:
Infant mortality rate : It indicates the number of children that die before the age of
1 year as a proportion of 1000 live children bom in that particular year.
Literacy rate: It measures the proportion of literate population in the 7 and above
age group.
Net Attendance ratio: It is the total number of children of age group 6 to 10
attending school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group.
BMI : stands for Body Mass Index. It is calculated by dividing the weight of a person
in kilograms (kgs) by the square of his/her height in metres. It is an indicator of the
level of nourishment in adults.