Ch. 1 Development
Q. What is the Human Development Report?
A. The Human Development Report is a report published by the UNDP, which compares countries based on the educational levels of the people, their health status, and the per capita income of the countries.
Q. What is the difference in the criteria used by the World Bank and that of the UNDP for measuring development? Which one do you think is better and why?
A. The Human Development Report is a report published by the UNDP, which compares countries based on the educational levels of the people, their health status, and the per capita income of the countries.
Q. What is the difference in the criteria used by the World Bank and that of the UNDP for measuring development? Which one do you think is better and why?
A.
| World Bank | UNDP |
| World Bank compares countries on the basis of their average income(per capita income) i.e. the total income of the country divided by its total population. | It compares countries on the basis of: per capita income educational level of people i.e. literacy rate health status (life expectancy at birth) |
The criteria used by UNDP is better because it considers other goals which affect human development and are necessary for better living standards.
Q. Explain the meaning of HDI. Mention 3 components of measuring HDI.
A. HDI stands for Human Development Index. It is a criterion used by UNDP to compare the level of human development in different countries.
3 components of measuring HDI are:
・Health: Health status of a country is compared on the basis of life expectancy of that country i.e. the average number of years a person of that country can expect to live.
・Education: Education is compared on the basis of literacy rate i.e. the proportion of the literate population in the 15 and above age group.
・Per capita income: It is the total income of a country divided by its total population.
Q. What is average? Are there any limitations to the use of average?
A. ・Average is the result obtained by adding several amounts together and then dividing this total by the number of amounts.
・Average of anything, though useful for comparison can be very inaccurate at times. This is because average can be affected by the extreme even though the number of these extremes might be very less.
Q. Name some developmental goals common to all people.
A. Some developmental goals common to all people are-
i) Job security.
ii) Social security i.e. equal treatment, freedom and respect in the society.
iii) Higher income.
iv) Better working environment.
v) Bigger and better social circles.
vi) National development.
Q. Name some developmental goals common to all people.
A. Some developmental goals common to all people are-
i) Job security.
ii) Social security i.e. equal treatment, freedom and respect in the society.
iii) Higher income.
iv) Better working environment.
v) Bigger and better social circles.
vi) National development.
Q. Explain any three examples of what factors other than income are important aspects of our life.
A. The three factors are:
Infant Mortality Rate (or IMR): indicates the number of children per 100 that die before the age of one year in a particular year. Eg The IMR of Maharashtra was 25 in 2012 and that of Kerala was 12 even though the per capita income of Maharashtra was more.
Literacy Rate: It is the proportion of literate population in the 7 and above age group. Eg The Literacy Rate of Maharashtra was 82% in 2011 and that of Kerala was 94%.
Life Expectancy at Birth: It is the average expected length of life of a person at the time of birth. Eg. The Life Expectancy of India in 2013 was 66.4 while that of Nepal was 68.4 even though the per capita income of India was more.
All these factors are important to judge a countries living standards other than the per capita income.
Q. What is development? What are the two aspects of development?
A. Development is the change in state for betterment.
Two aspects of development are:
・Different persons can have different developmental goals.
・What may be development for one, may not be development for the other. It may even be destructive for the other.
Q. Define the following:
i) Infant Mortality Rate
ii) Literacy rate
iii) Net Attendance Ratio
iv) Per capita income
A. i) Infant Mortality Rate is the number of children that die before the age of one year as a proportion to 1000 live children born in that year.
ii) Literacy rate is the proportion of the literate population in the 7 and above age group.
iii) Net Attendance Ratio is the total number of children of age group 14 and 15 years attending school as a percentage of the total number of children of that age group.
iv) Per capita income or average income of a country is the total income of that country divided by its total population.
Q. What is BMI and how is it calculated?
A. BMI is Body Mass Index. Steps to calculate BMI are:
i) Take the weight of the person in kilograms and take the height in metres.
ii) Divide the weight by the square of the height.
iii) If the number so obtained is less than 18.5, then the person is undernourished, and if the BMI is more than 25, then the person is overweight.
Q. Why are public facilities essential for development? Explain any 4 public facilities.
A. Public facilities are essential for development because money cannot buy everything. If a lot of public facilities like health, education etc. are not available to the people, then money is of no use. e.g. even though Kerala has low per capita income than Maharashtra, still it can be considered more developed because the health status and educational level of the people of Kerala is better than that of Maharashtra. The life expectancy and literacy rate of Kerala is more than that of Maharashtra. This is because Kerala has better public facilities.
4 public facilities are:
・PDS- Public Distribution System is a facility to provide the people living below the poverty line with food grains and other essential items at a very cheap rate.
・Hospitals- Hospitals, pharmacies and dispensaries are necessary to maintain the health status of people. People can get treatment for health issues in government hospitals at a very cheap rate. Healthcare of people is essential for development.
・Schools- Schools are very necessary to educate people. The more the number of educated people will be, the better will be their economic opportunities and contribution to the Nation as a whole.
・Railways- Railways are crucial for the transport system of the country. They allow people to commute to almost any part of the country. Thus people can travel to different places to get better opportunities.
Q. What is the main criterion used by World Bank to categorise countries? What are the limitations of this criterion?
A. The criterion used by the World Bank to categorise countries is their per capita income or average income i.e. the total income of a country divided by its total population. In the World Development Reports, brought out by the World Bank, countries with per capita income of US$ 12736 per annum and above in 2013, are called rich countries and those with the per capita income of US$ 1045 or less are called low-income countries.
The limitations of this criterion are-
i) Average income is not a very effective way of comparison because it does not tell us how the income of a country is distributed among people. Average income is easily affected by the extreme values.
ii) This criterion does not take into consideration the other goals which affect human development and are necessary for better living standards namely the health and education levels of people.
Q. Is Per Capita Income a true measure of Development? Elaborate. (HOTS)
・Different persons can have different developmental goals.
・What may be development for one, may not be development for the other. It may even be destructive for the other.
Q. Define the following:
i) Infant Mortality Rate
ii) Literacy rate
iii) Net Attendance Ratio
iv) Per capita income
A. i) Infant Mortality Rate is the number of children that die before the age of one year as a proportion to 1000 live children born in that year.
ii) Literacy rate is the proportion of the literate population in the 7 and above age group.
iii) Net Attendance Ratio is the total number of children of age group 14 and 15 years attending school as a percentage of the total number of children of that age group.
iv) Per capita income or average income of a country is the total income of that country divided by its total population.
Q. What is BMI and how is it calculated?
A. BMI is Body Mass Index. Steps to calculate BMI are:
i) Take the weight of the person in kilograms and take the height in metres.
ii) Divide the weight by the square of the height.
iii) If the number so obtained is less than 18.5, then the person is undernourished, and if the BMI is more than 25, then the person is overweight.
Q. Why are public facilities essential for development? Explain any 4 public facilities.
A. Public facilities are essential for development because money cannot buy everything. If a lot of public facilities like health, education etc. are not available to the people, then money is of no use. e.g. even though Kerala has low per capita income than Maharashtra, still it can be considered more developed because the health status and educational level of the people of Kerala is better than that of Maharashtra. The life expectancy and literacy rate of Kerala is more than that of Maharashtra. This is because Kerala has better public facilities.
4 public facilities are:
・PDS- Public Distribution System is a facility to provide the people living below the poverty line with food grains and other essential items at a very cheap rate.
・Hospitals- Hospitals, pharmacies and dispensaries are necessary to maintain the health status of people. People can get treatment for health issues in government hospitals at a very cheap rate. Healthcare of people is essential for development.
・Schools- Schools are very necessary to educate people. The more the number of educated people will be, the better will be their economic opportunities and contribution to the Nation as a whole.
・Railways- Railways are crucial for the transport system of the country. They allow people to commute to almost any part of the country. Thus people can travel to different places to get better opportunities.
Q. What is the main criterion used by World Bank to categorise countries? What are the limitations of this criterion?
A. The criterion used by the World Bank to categorise countries is their per capita income or average income i.e. the total income of a country divided by its total population. In the World Development Reports, brought out by the World Bank, countries with per capita income of US$ 12736 per annum and above in 2013, are called rich countries and those with the per capita income of US$ 1045 or less are called low-income countries.
The limitations of this criterion are-
i) Average income is not a very effective way of comparison because it does not tell us how the income of a country is distributed among people. Average income is easily affected by the extreme values.
ii) This criterion does not take into consideration the other goals which affect human development and are necessary for better living standards namely the health and education levels of people.
Q. Is Per Capita Income a true measure of Development? Elaborate. (HOTS)
A. No; per capita income is not a true measure of development because of the following reasons-
・Average income is not a very effective way of comparison because it does not tell us how the income of a country is distributed among people. Average income is easily affected by the extreme values.
・This criterion does not take into consideration the other goals which affect human development and are necessary for better living standards namely the health and education levels of people.
・Since money cannot buy everything, thus other factors such as the public facilities available in a country are also important criteria to measure development. Thus per capita income is insufficient as it doesn't include public facilities.
・HDI i.e. Human Development Index is, therefore, a better way to measure development as it takes into account even the health and education levels of the people which in turn are also the indicators of the level of public facilities available in a country.
・For instance, Event though Nepal has less than half the per capita income of India, yet it is not far behind India in life expectancy and literacy levels. Similarly, within India, Kerala has a lower per capita income than Maharashtra. Yet, Kerala has higher literacy rate, net attendance ratio and lower infant mortality rate because of better public facilities than Maharashtra. Thus Kerala can be considered more developed than Maharashtra despite its lower average income.
Q. Explain the term sustainable development? Suggest any two measures to ensure sustainable development.
A. Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
2 measures to ensure sustainable development are-
・We should switch to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy, geothermal and tidal energy etc. as these resources are inexhaustible resources and cause much less pollution.
・Equitable distribution of resources should be ensured. If the present trend of resource depletion by a few individuals and countries continues, sustainability cannot be achieved.
Q. "For development, people look at a mix of goals." Support the statement with suitable examples.
A.・People don't just look for just one goal for development. Instead, they look for a mix of goals. One of the most common developmental goals is higher income. But it is not the only goal people consider as development.
・Money, or material things that one can buy with it, is one factor on which our life depends. But the quality of our life also depends on non-material things such as equal treatment, freedom, security and respect from others etc.
・For example, if you get a job in a far-off place you would consider many factors apart from income such as facilities for your family, working atmosphere, or opportunity to learn. Similarly, a job may pay you less but may offer job security while another may pay you more but would not offer job security. Thus you will consider a mix of goals.
・HDI i.e. Human Development Index is, therefore, a better way to measure development as it takes into account even the health and education levels of the people which in turn are also the indicators of the level of public facilities available in a country.
・For instance, Event though Nepal has less than half the per capita income of India, yet it is not far behind India in life expectancy and literacy levels. Similarly, within India, Kerala has a lower per capita income than Maharashtra. Yet, Kerala has higher literacy rate, net attendance ratio and lower infant mortality rate because of better public facilities than Maharashtra. Thus Kerala can be considered more developed than Maharashtra despite its lower average income.
Q. Explain the term sustainable development? Suggest any two measures to ensure sustainable development.
A. Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
2 measures to ensure sustainable development are-
・We should switch to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy, geothermal and tidal energy etc. as these resources are inexhaustible resources and cause much less pollution.
・Equitable distribution of resources should be ensured. If the present trend of resource depletion by a few individuals and countries continues, sustainability cannot be achieved.
Q. "For development, people look at a mix of goals." Support the statement with suitable examples.
A.・People don't just look for just one goal for development. Instead, they look for a mix of goals. One of the most common developmental goals is higher income. But it is not the only goal people consider as development.
・Money, or material things that one can buy with it, is one factor on which our life depends. But the quality of our life also depends on non-material things such as equal treatment, freedom, security and respect from others etc.
・For example, if you get a job in a far-off place you would consider many factors apart from income such as facilities for your family, working atmosphere, or opportunity to learn. Similarly, a job may pay you less but may offer job security while another may pay you more but would not offer job security. Thus you will consider a mix of goals.
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