Page 1 :
(Economics) (Chapter - 1) (Development), (Understanding Economic Development), Question 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, CAnswer 1:, (iv) all the above, The report published by UNDP is on the basis of comparison of the educational level of the people, their, health status and per capita income., Question 2:, Which of the following neighboring countries has better performance in terms of, human development than India?, (i) Bangladesh, CAnswer 2:, (ii) Sri Lanka, (iii) Nepal, (iv) Pakistan, (ii) Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka has an HDI of 73 which is much higher than Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan which have, 139,145 and 147 respectively., Question 3:, Assume there are four families in a country. The average per capita income of these families is 5000., If the income of three families is 4000, 7000 and 33000 respectively, what is the income of the fourth, family?, (i) 37500, Answer 3:, (ii) 33000, (iii) 32000, (iv) 36000, (iv) 6000, Income of the fourth family, = Average per capita income x number of families Sum of income of three families., = {5000 x 4 – (24000 + 7000+3000), = 20000 - १14000 = 6000, Question 4:, What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different countries? What are the, limitations of this criterion, if any?, CAnswer 4:, The main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different countries Per Capita Income. The, limitations of this criterion are mentioned below:, > Per capita income can be a useful tool for comparison but it is not accurate enough to show the, distribution of income., > It also doesn't account for various other factors such as infant mortality rate, literacy level,, healthcare, etc., > Since the population is large, per capita income does not reveal true numbers as the population, which does not earn at all like children and the senior citizens are also included while calculating, per capita income. National income rises but its distribution makes the rich richer and the poor, poorer., 1
Page 2 :
(Economics) (Chapter - 1) (Development), (Understanding Economic Development), Question 5:, In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development different from the one, used by the World Bank?, CAnswer 5:, World bank only relies on single factor i.e. per capita income for measuring economic development, whereas UNDP takes into account many other factors like infant mortality, healthcare facility education, level which help aids in improving the quality of life and helps in making the citizens more productive., India was ranked 135 amongst other countries as per HDI - 2014. On the other hand, the World Bank, uses per capita income as the sole criterion for measuring development and classifying the countries as, rich and poor. Per capita income can be a useful tool for comparison but it is not accurate enough to, show the distribution of income., Question 6:, Why do we use averages? Are there any limitations to their use? Illustrate with your own examples, related to development., CAnswer 6:, Average is a useful tool for making comparison of different quantities of the same category., For example, we use averages to compute the per capita income of a country because of the there are, differences in the incomes of diverse people. However, there are limitations to the use of averages. This, does not show the distribution of thing between people. For an example, suppose in a country, the annual, income of a fruit vendor is 350,000 while an MNC employee earns an annual package of 36,00,000. The, average income of this country, therefore, will be 3,25,000. Both the individuals have a big difference, in income but the average gives a misleading picture. The actual income or status remains unknown., One can clearly consider this as a rich country thereby ignoring the income disparity between two, individuals. Averages are useful for comparison; they also hide disparities., Question 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., CAnswer 7:, No, I disagree 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 Maharashtra because human, development ranking is determined considering combinations of other important factors such as health,, cation and income. So, this does not imply, per capita income is not useful. Rather, per capita, income is one of the development factors amongst various other factors present and cannot be left out., Per capita income is used as the criterion by the World Bank but this criterion has certain limitations, due to which considering other factors like health, education and income becomes necessary. The rate, of population growth being higher than the rate of growth of national income will lead to decline in per, capita availability of goods and services and economic welfare., Question 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?, 2
Page 3 :
(Economics) (Chapter - 1) (Development), (Understanding Economic Development), LAnswer 8:, The present sources of energy utilised by the people of India are electricity, coal, crude oil, cow dung, and solar energy. Currently the consumption of energy in India is too high in comparison to its, production and reserves. India's known reserves of oil would last about 30-40 years only and it is, necessary to use them wisely. Therefore, other possibilities fifty years from now could include ethanol,, bio-diesel, nuclear energy and better utilisation of wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy., hydrogen energy, tidal energy, wave energy, hydroelectric energy and biomass energy especially with, the danger of oil resources running out., Question 9:, Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?, CAnswer 9:, Sustainable development means that the development at present should not come at a cost of depletion, of other resources and should not hamper the needs of the future generation of society. Development, should be done without damaging the environment. Sustainable development and future needs go hand, in hand. If natural resources are not reserved, then development will be constant or may even decline, after attaining a certain stage. Exploiting resources unethically will ultimately undo the development, that a country may have achieved. Hence in the future those resources will not be available for further, progress., Sustainable development is important because it saves national budget, fulfils the needs of the people,, conserves natural resources, helps in the coordination between the natural resources and people and, conserves natural resources for future generation., Question 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., LAnswer 10:, 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 as both resources and development, go hand in hand. Maintaining the resources for future need is the core essence for sustainability of, development. It is easy to fulfil basic needs whereas greed can never be satisfied and greed increases, with every want fulfilled. Even if the Earth has enough resources- renewable as well as non-renewable, to satisfy everyone's needs, the resources should be used keeping in mind a vision to secure the, environment and maintain a balance of production to avoid shortage or depletion of resources., Question 11:, List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have observed around you., CAnswer 11:, Few examples of environmental degradation:, > Soil erosion, > Deforestation, Decrease in levels of groundwater, > Depletion of the ozone layer and combustion from automobiles causing extreme air pollution, > Water Pollution, 3
Page 4 :
(Economics) (Chapter - 1) (Development), (Understanding Economic Development), Question 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., CAnswer 12:, TABLE 1.6 SOME DATA REGARDING INDIA AND ITS NEIGHBOURS FOR 2017:, Country, Gross, National Life Expectancy Mean Years of Schooling HDI Rank in the, of People aged 25 and world (2018), above (2017), Income (GNI) Per, at birth (2017), Сapita (2011 PPP $), Sri Lanka, 11,325, 75.5, 10.9, 76, In, 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, Source: Human Development Report, 2018, United Nations Development Programme, New York, NOTES:, 1. HDI stands for Human Development Indexr. HDI ranks in above table are out of 189 countries in all., 2. Life Expectancy at birth denotes, as the name suggests, average expected length of life of a person at the, time of birth., 3. Per Capita Income 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., > Per capita income: Top country- Sri Lanka, Bottom country- Myanmar, > Life Expectancy at birth: Top country- Sri Lanka, Bottom country- Myanmar, > Literacy rate for 15+ years population: Top Countries, Bangladesh., > Gross Enrolment Ratio for three levels: Top country- Sri Lanka, Bottom country- Pakistan, > HDI Rank in the world: Top country- Sri Lanka, Bottom Country – Nepal., Sri Lanka, Bottom countries-, Question 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, Karnataka, 17, 21, Madhya Pradesh, 28, 28, All states, 20, 23, (i) Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh., (ii) Can you guess why around 40 percent of people in the country are undernourished even though it, is argued country? Describe in your own words., Answer 13:, (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 i.e. more per, cent of males and females are undernourished in Madhya Pradesh., 4
Page 5 :
(Economics) (Chapter- 1) (Development), (Understanding Economic Development), (ii) There is enough food in the country, even then most 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 food items at cheaper rates., > There is a lack of educational and health facilities in many parts of the country.
