NCERT 9th Class (CBSE) Social Science: Population

Question: What is the relation between occupational structure and development?

Answer: The percentage of population that is economically active is an important index of development. The distribution of the population according to different types of occupation is referred to as the occupational structure.

An enormous variety of occupations are found in any country The proportion of people working in different activities varies in developed and developing countries. Developed nations have a high proportion of people in secondary, and tertiary activities. Developing countries tend to have a higher proportion of their workforce engaged in primary activities. In India, about 64 per cent of the population is engaged only in agriculture. The proportion of population dependent on secondary and tertiary sectors is about 13 and 20 per cent respectively. There has been an occupational shift in favor of secondary and tertiary sectors because of growing industrialization and urbanization in recent times.

Question: What are the advantages of having a healthy population?

Answer: Health is an important component of population composition, which affects the process of development. Sustained efforts of government programmes have registered significant improvements in the health conditions of the Indian population. Death rates have declined from 25 per 1000 population in 1951 to 8.1 per 1000 in 2001 and life expectancy at birth has increased from 36.7 years in 1951 to 64.6 years in 2001. The substantial improvement is the result of many factors including improvement in public health, prevention of infectious diseases and application of modern medical practices in diagnosis and treatment of ailments. Despite considerable achievements, the health situation is a matter of major concern for India. The per capital calorie consumption is much below the recommended levels and malnutrition afflicts a large percentage of our population. Safe drinking water and basic sanitation amenities are available to only one third of the rural population. These problems need to be tackled through an appropriate population policy.

Question: What are the significant features of the National Population Policy 2000?

Answer: The significant features of the National Population Policy 2000 are:

1. NPP 2000 identified adolescents as one of the major sections of the population that need greater attention.
2. Besides nutritional requirements, the policy put greater emphasis on other important needs of adolescents including protection from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STD).
3. It called for programmes that aim towards encouraging delayed marriage and child-bearing, education of adolescents about the risks of unprotected sex, making contraceptive services accessible and affordable, providing food supplements, nutritional services, strengthening legal measures to prevent child marriage.

Question: Why has Kerala a batter sex ration than the rest of the country?

Answer: Kerala and Pondicherry have a sex ratio of more than 1000 females per 1000 males while Delhi has 821 females per 1000 males and Haryana just 861 females because

1. Kerala and Pondicherry have good health facilities, which reduces infant mortality
2. These states have higher literacy rates. Due to higher literacy of women, they understand the advantages of small families.
3. In Delhi, there is a heavy migration of males who get jobs in the metropolis. Generally, their families stay back in their villages or home towns. This leads to a very high number of, males in Delhi.
4. In Haryana, female feticide is rampant because of people’s desire to have a male heir, due to a patriarchal family system. This has led to the skewed sex ratio in Haryana.