Development

NCERT Solution

1. Development of a country can generally be determined by

(i) its per capita income
(ii) its average literacy level
(iii) health status of its people
(iv) all the above
► (iv) all the above

2. Which of the following neighbouring countries has better performance in terms of human development
than India?
(i) Bangladesh
(ii) Sri Lanka
(iii) Nepal
(iv) Pakistan
► (ii) 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?
(i) Rs 7500
(ii) Rs 3000
(iii) Rs 2000
(iv) Rs 6000
► (iv) Rs 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?

Per Capita Income is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different [Link] limitation of
this criterion are:
→ It doesn't show distribution of income.
2. The per capita income of countries having excess population always low.
→ It also ignores other factors such as infant mortality rate, literacy level, healthcare, etc.

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

World bank only uses per capita income for measuring development while UNDP uses many other factors
like infant mortality, healthcare facility education level which help in improving the quality of life and helps in
making the citizens more productive.

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

We use averages because they are useful for comparing differing quantities of the same category. 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. However, there are limitations to the use of averages. This does not show distribution
of thing between people. For an example, if a country has very high per capita income then we can't say that
citizen living in that country are very rich because we are not knowing about the distribution of wealth in that
country. Some people might be richer while other people are very poorer in that country.
7. Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human development ranking than Punjab. Hence, per
capita income is not a useful criterion at all and should not be used to compare states. Do you agree?
Discuss.

No, I do not agree with the statement that per capita income is not a useful criterion at all. Kerala, with lower per
capita income has a better human development ranking than Punjab because, human development ranking is
determined using a combination of factors such as health, education, and income. So, this does not imply that per
capita income is not useful. Rather, per capita income is one of the development factors and can not be neglected.
The World Bank uses per capita income as the criterion for measuring development and comparing states. But
this criterion has certain limitations because of which determination of Human Development Index (HDI) is done
using this criterion along with some other development factors like health, education etc.

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?

The present sources of energy that are used by the people of India are electricity, coal, crude oil, cowdung and
solar energy. Other possibilities fifty years from now, could include ethanol, bio-diesel, nuclear energy and a
better utilisation of wind energy, especially with the imminent danger of oil resources running out.

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

The issue of sustainability is important for development because development must be in tandem with the future.
If natural resources are not sustained, then development will stagnate after a point of time. Exploiting resources
unethically will ultimately undo the development that a country may have achieved. This is because in the future,
those resources will not be available for further progress.

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.

"The Earth has enough resources to meet the needs of all but not enough to satisfy the greed of even one person".
This statement is relevant to the discussion of development since both resources and development go hand in
hand. For the sustainability of development, the maintenance of resources is also crucial. As the statement claims,
the Earth has enough resources- renewable and non-renewable to satisfy everyone's needs; however, these need
to be used with a view to keep the environment protected and clean so that a balance of production and use is
maintained, and shortages are avoided.

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

Few examples of environmental degradation:

→ Deforestation
→ Soil erosion
→ Falling levels of ground water
→ Depletion of the ozone layer and combustion from automobiles causing extreme air pollution
→ Water Pollution
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.

TABLE 1.6 SOME DATA REGARDING INDIA AND ITS NEIGHBOURS FOR 2017

Country Gross National Life Expectancy Mean Years of HDI Rank in

income (GNI) per at birth (2017) Schooling of People the World
capita (2011 PPP aged 25 and above (2018)
US$) (2017)

Sri Lanka 11,326 75.5 10.9 76

India 6,353 68.8 6.4 130
Myanmar 5,567 66.7 4.9 148
Pakistan 5,331 66.6 5.2 150
Nepal 2,471 70.6 4.9 149
Bangladesh 3,677 72.8 5.8 136

Answer

(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+ yrs population: Top country - Sri Lanka; Bottom country - Bangladesh
(iv) Gross Enrolment Ratio for three levels: Top country - Sri Lanka; Bottom country - Pakistan
(v) HDI Rank in the world: Top country - Sri Lanka; Bottom country - Nepal

13. The following table shows the proportion of undernourished adults in India. It is based on a survey of
various states for the year 2001. Look at the table and answer the following questions.
1. Development of a country can generally be determined by
(i) its per capita income
(ii) its average literacy level
(iii) health status of its people
(iv) all the above
► (iv) all the above