Development: 10th CBSE Economics

Question: ‘What may be development for one may not be development for the other.’ Explain by giving examples.
Or
With the help of an example show two groups who may have different notions of development.

Answer: It is true that development for one may not be development for the other.

1. More wages means development for a worker, but it can go against the entrepreneur.
2. A rich farmer or trader wants to sell food grains at a higher price but a poor worker wants to purchase it for low prices.
3. Construction of a dam means more and cheap power, but people, who will lose their habitat will demonstrate.
4. To get more electricity, the industrialists may want more dams. But this may submerge the agricultural land, and disrupt the lives of the people.

Question: What is national development? What are the aspects covered under the national development?

Answer: National development is a comprehensive term which includes improvement in living standard of the people, increase in per capita income, providing social amenities like education,medical care, social services, etc. to the citizens of the country.

1. Under national development, a country uses its resources in a fair and just way.
2. Under this only those programmes and policies are implemented which would benefit a large number of people.
3. Under national development, countries focus more on social infrastructure which includes education, health and other social services.

Question: What contributes to the human development?

Answer: There are many economic as well as non economic factors which contribute to the human development.

1. Living a long and a healthy life.
2. To have education, information and knowledge.
3. Enjoying a decent standard of living.
4. Enjoying basic fundamental rights like freedom, security, education, etc.
5. To have equality and enjoyment of human rights.

Question: What is the significance of Human Development Index?

Answer:

1. HDI is used to measure level of development of a country.
2. It has been published by UNDP and according to it countries has been ranked.
3. It is a comprehensive approach which cover all the major aspects of life.
4. Apart from income, education, health status, life expectancy, etc., are considered for measuring economic development of a nation.

Question: ‘Human development is the essence of social development.’ Explain.

Answer:

1. Human development focuses on the people.
2. It is concerned with the well-being of the people, their needs, choices and aspirations. All these help in building a right kind of society.
3. It is all about the enlarging or widening the choices for the people. It is the building of human capabilities, such as to lead a long and a healthy life, to have education, information and knowledge, to have opportunities of livelihood, etc.
4. Human development focuses on the expansion of basic choices.

Question: ‘Money cannot buy all the goods and services that one needs to live well.’ Explain.

Answer:

1. 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 upon non-material things like equal treatment, freedom, security, respect of others, etc.
2. Money cannot buy us a pollution free environment, unadulterated medicines, peace, etc.
3. There are many facilities like schools, colleges, parks, hospitals which an individual cannot afford. All these are to be provided by the government / society.
4. Money possessed by an individual even can not provide us a type of government which take decisions for the welfare of the common people.

Question: What are the limitations of the per capita income criteria of development?
Or
What is Per Capita Income? Can it be regarded as the sole indicator of economic development of a country? Give four valid arguments to support your answer.

Answer:

1. Per capita income is the average income of a country.
2. Per capita income criteria takes into account only the economic aspect of life and ignores the social, aspect of life.
3. Per capita income criteria ignores education, health, life expectancy, sanitation etc.
4. Per capita income criteria also ignores non material things like peace, pollution free environment, democracy, etc.
5. Though Punjab has higher per capita income as compared to Kerala but it has been ranked lower on Human Development Index because it is far behind than Kerala in literacy rate and has higher infant mortality rate than Kerala.