Ch 1 Development
Q1 What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different countries? What are the
limitations of this criterion, if any?
Ans. 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.
Q2.In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development different from the
one used by the World Bank?
Ans. 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.
Q3. Why do we use averages? Are there any limitations to their use? Illustrate with your own
examples related to development.
Ans. 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.
Q4. Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human development ranking than Punjab.
Hence, per capita income is not a useful criterion at all and should not be used to compare states. Do
you agree? Discuss.
Ans. 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 cannot 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.
Q5. 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?
Ans. The present sources of energy that are used by the people of India are electricity, coal, crude oil,
cow dung 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.
Q6. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?
Ans. 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.
Q7. "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.
Ans. "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.
Q8. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have observed around you.
Ans. 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
Q9. For each of the items given in Table 1.6, find out which country is at the top and which is at the
bottom.
TABLE 1.6 SOME DATA REGARDING INDIA AND ITS NEIGHBOURS FOR 2017
Gross National Mean Years of HDI Rank
income (GNI) Life Schooling of in the
per capita (2011 Expectancy at People aged 25 World
Country PPP US$) birth (2017) and above (2017) (2018)
Sri Lanka 11,326 75.5 10.9 76
6,353 68.8 6.4 130
India
5,567 66.7 4.9 148
Myanmar
5,331 66.6 5.2 150
Pakistan
2,471 70.6 4.9 149
Nepal
Bangladesh 3,677 72.8 5.8 136
Answer
(i) Per Capita Income in US$: 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
Q10. 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.
State Male (%) Female (%)
Kerala 8.5 10
Karnataka 17 21
Madhya Pradesh 28 28
All Sates 20 23
(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.
Ans. (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.
