Answer The Following Questions.

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
Ans: (iv) all the above​
Explanation : UNDP publishes its human development report comparing the
countries on the basis of educational level of the people, their health status and per
capita income.
2. 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​
Explanation : HDI of Sri Lanka is 73 which is much higher than Bangladesh, Nepal
and Pakistan which have
3. 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​
Average per capita income=sum of income of all the family
4. 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 :
• Per capita income is useful for comparison but it doesn’t show the distribution of
income.
• It also ignores other factors such as infant mortality rate, literacy level, healthcare,
etc.
• Per capita income does not give the true picture as there is a huge population
which does not earn at all like children and the senior citizens but they are also
included while calculating per capita income. National income rises but its
distribution make the rich richer .
5. 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. As per HDI- 2014, India’s rank is 135. On the other hand, the World Bank
uses per capita income as the only criterion for measuring development and
classifying the countries as rich and poor. Per capita income is useful for
comparison, it does not tell us how income is distributed.
6. 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 the distribution of thing
between people. For an example, suppose in a country, the annual income of a
rickshaw puller is Rs 8,000 while an MNC employee earns an annual package of Rs
12,00,000. The average income of this country, therefore, will be Rs 6,05,000. Here
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.
7. Kerala, with lower per capita income, has a better human development
ranking than Maharashtra. 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 Maharashtra 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. If the rate of population growth, is
higher than the rate of growth of national income, this will lead to fall in per capita
availability of goods and services and economic welfare.
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?
Ans. : The present sources of energy that are used by the people of India are
electricity, coal, crude oil, cow dung and solar energy. At present, consumption of
energy in India is too high in comparison to its production and reserves. India’s
known reserves of oil are expected to last about 30-40 years only. So, 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 imminent danger of oil resources running out.
9. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?
Ans. : Sustainable development means that the development at present should not
hamper the needs of the future generation of society and it should take place without
damaging the environment. The issue of sustainability is the most important for
development because development must be in tandem with the future. If natural
resources are not sustained then development will stagnate after attaining a certain
point of time. 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.​
Consequences of environmental degradation do not respect national or state
boundaries; this issue is no longer region or nation specific.Our future is linked
together. Sustainability of development is comparatively a new area of knowledge in
which scientists, economists, philosophers and other social scientists work together.​
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.

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.
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 as both resources and development go hand in hand. For the
sustainability of development, the maintenance of resources is very crucial. Needs
can be fulfilled whereas greed can never be satisfied because greed increases with
every want to be fulfilled. As the statement claims, the Earth has enough resources-
renewable as well as non-renewable to satisfy everyone’s needs; however, these
need to be used with a view to keep the environment protected so that a balance of
production and use is maintained and shortages are avoided.
11. 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 groundwater
• Depletion of the ozone layer and combustion from automobiles causing extreme air
pollution
• Water Pollution
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.
Ans :
TABLE 1.6 SOME DATA REGARDING INDIA AND ITS NEIGHBORS FOR 2004
Country Per Capita Life Literacy Rate Gross HDI Rank in
Income in Expectancy for 15+ yrs Enrollment the world
US$ at birth population Ratio for
three levels
Sri Lanka 4390 74 91 69 93
India 3139 64 61 60 126
Myanmar 1027 61 90 48 130
Pakistan 2225 63 50 35 134
Nepal 1490 62 50 61 138
Bangladesh 1870 63 41 53 137
(i.) As per the Per Capita Income in US:Topcountry–SriLankawith4390 Bottom
country – Myanmar with 1027$.
(ii.) Considering the life Expectancy at birth: Top country – Sri Lanka has 74; Bottom
country – Myanmar has 61.
(iii.) Literacy Rate for 15+ yrs population: Top country – Sri Lanka has 91; Bottom
country – Bangladesh has 41.
(iv.) Gross Enrollment Ratio for three levels: Top country – Sri Lanka is 69; Bottom
country – Pakistan is 35.
(v.) According to the HDI Rank in the world: Top country – Sri Lanka ranks 93;
Bottom country – Nepal ranks 138.
13. 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 22 19
Karnataka 36 38
Madhya Pradesh 43 42
All Sates 37 46
(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.
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 i.e more per cent of males and females are
undernourished in 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 food items at cheaper rates.
• There is a 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.
14. What is environment degradation?
Ans. Environment degradation refers to the degradation of natural
resources and pollution.
15. Why do different people have different goals for development?
Ans. 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.
16. Why average income is taken into consideration instead of total
income while making comparison between countries?
Ans. 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.