ECO- Development
Exercises Page No. 16
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 of the above
Answer: d. all of the above
2. Which of the following neighbouring 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. 4,000, Rs.
7,000 and Rs. 3,000, respectively, what is the income of the fourth family?
a. Rs. 7,500
b. Rs. 3,000
c. Rs. 2,000
d. Rs. 6,000
Answer: d. Rs. 6,000
(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 a per capita income
of US $12,056 per annum were declared rich countries, and the countries with a per
capita income of US $ 955 or less are called low-income countries.
The limitations of the criterion are
1. Other important factors, including literacy rate, infant mortality rate, and healthcare, are
ignored while classifying the countries.
2. Information about the unequal distribution of income is not mentioned by the World Bank
3. The economy of the country cannot determine the development of the country.
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 UNDP is different from the one used by the World
Bank because UNDP compares countries based on the educational level of the
people, their health status and per capita income. This is in contrast with the method
used by the World Bank because it only calculates the per capita income for
measuring development.
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 different populations, so calculating the average
helps in getting an estimated answer which can be used to compare different things
at different levels. There are limitations in 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 is
Rs.1,50,000, Rs. 22,000, Rs.50,000, Rs.4,000, Rs.2,500. 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 between 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 used by people in India include firewood,
coal, petroleum, crude oil and natural gas. The other possibilities fifty years from now
can be using solar energy and wind energy as sources of various energy forms. This
is because the current usage of energy sources may result in the loss of natural
resources for future generations.
9. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?
Answer: Sustainable development refers to using natural resources in a manner that
they can be used by the present and future generations. The issue of sustainability is
important for development because if natural resources are not used carefully, they
may not be available for future generations. The depletion of resources of a country
may ultimately result in a lack of development of the country.
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. It is the responsibility of the people to use them to meet their needs and
not to satisfy their greed. If natural resources are not used wisely now, future
generations may not be able to use them for their needs, which will result in the
downfall of the development of a country.
11. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have
observed around you.
Answer: A few examples of environmental degradation that we can observe around
us are
1. Pollution caused by vehicles and the excess use of fuels in vehicles
2. Industrial waste collected in residential areas and discarded into water bodies
3. Deforestation
4. Mining
5. Soil erosion
The increased pollution in the environment has resulted in global warming, the
melting of glaciers, and worsening atmospheric conditions.
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 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. The mean
years of schooling of people aged 25 and above are 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
17 21
Karnataka
28 28
Madhya Pradesh
All States 20 23
(i) 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.
(ii) 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 is 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 the 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 afford the basic necessity of food.
4. There is no proper distribution of ration at the fixed-price stores.