CBSE - Development

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
ANS (iv) all the above

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
ANS (ii) Sri Lanka

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
ANS (iv) Rs 6000

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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

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

(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

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.

(i) Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

(ii) Can you guess why around 40 per cent 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

(i) The nutritional level of people of Kerala is quite higher than the people � both males and females of Madhya Pradesh. Their ratio of the under-nourished is less than that of Madhya Pradesh.

(ii) There is enough food in the country, even then 40% of the people in the country are undernourished because:
→ A large number of people are so poor that they cannot afford nutritious food.
→ In most of the states, the Public Distribution System (PDS) does not function properly and the poor people cannot get cheap food items.
→ There is lack of educational and health facilities in many parts of the country. So many people remain backward and poor. As such, they are unable to get nutritious food.

Q.1 The total income of the country divided by its total population is Called:
(a) National income (b) Per capital income
(c) Total income (d) None of these

Q.2 Which organization publishes the Human Development Report:
(a) WHO (b) UNDP
(c) WTO (d) IMF

Q.3 Development of a country generally be determined by:
(a) its per capita income (b) its literacy level
(b) health status of its people (d) all above

Q.4 As per Human Development Report 2006 which neighboring country has the highest income following –
(a) Sri Lanka (b) India
(c) Pakistan (d) Nepal 

Answer key of MCQ: 1. (b) 2. (b) 3. (d) 4. (a) 

Different people have different goals for development because:
Different people have different aspiration and desire. Some may like to have `more income and better quality of
education for their children, while others may require no social discrimination and high support price for their
crops. So according to the living conditions and the environment in which the person stays, he or she pursue for the
goals. People seek things that are most important for them i.e., that which can fulfill their aspiration or desires.

The total income of the country is the income of all the residents of the country. For comparison between
countries, total income is not such a useful measure. Since countries have different population, comparing total
income will not tell us what an average people is likely to earn. Hence we compare the average income which is
the total income of the country divided by its total population. 

So, Average income = Total income /  Total population
The average income is also called per capita income.

(i) Control the rate of increasing population.
 (ii) Use of latest technology, irrigation facility, chemical fertilizers, and all information should be provided to farmers.
 (iii) New economic policy, international trade, liberalization and globalization should be adopted sincerely and effectively.
 (iv) Adequate facilities related with infrastructure, education, health, electricity, water, transport etc should be provided to all people of all regions and areas.  

Per capita income is the main criteria used by World Bank.
Limitations of per capita income:
o It enables to show how income is distributed among the people of the country.
o Cost of pollution is not considered in this average.
o Some other important aspects like infant mortality rate, literacy rate, net attendance ratio etc are not considered while calculating per capita income.

Sustainable development may be defined as development that meets the need of the present generation
without compromising the need of ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Environment
and economy are inter-dependent and complementary to each other. Hence the process of development
should not ignore environmental issues.
The main features of sustainable development are as follow:
(i) It stresses meeting the needs of the present generation and future generation.
(ii) There should be restraints on wasteful luxurious consumption pattern.
(iii) Efforts should be made to invent environment friendly technology.
(iv) Fast growing population should be effectively checked 

Human development index is the cumulative measurement of the overall development of the people
 of a country.
 It was prepared by United Nation Development Organization and it is published by UNDP.
 The basic components of human development index are as follow:
a. Life expectancy at birth- It denotes average expected length of life of a person at the time of
 birth. It is measured in terms of life expectancy in years.
b. Literacy- It is measured by gross enrolment ratio for three levels means enrolment ratio for
 primary school, secondary school and higher education beyond secondary school.

 Per capita income- It is calculated in dollars for all countries so that it can be compared. It is
 also done in a way so that every dollar would buy the same amount of goods and services in any
 country.