ECONOMICS

CHAPTER - 1
Development
Page 6

1. Why do different persons have different notions of development? Which of the

following explanations is more important and why?

(a) Because people are different.

(b) Because life situations of persons are different.

Answer:

(b) Different persons have different notions of development because life

situations of persons are different.

Development goals of a girl from a rich urban family will be surely different from
a farmer in Rajasthan. It is because their situations, lifestyle and status are very
different from each other.

A goal which a person has entirely depends on his or her present life situation.
Over a period of time if the situation changes, automatically goals of a person will
also change.

1. Do the following two statements mean the same? Justify your answer.
(a) People have different developmental goals.
(b) People have conflicting developmental goals.

Answer:

Yes, these two statements mean almost the same, as different persons could have
different as well as conflicting developmental goals, e.g., in Gujarat, the government is in
favor of the Narmada Project, while the people who are adversely affected by the
project/dam are opposing this.

3. Give some examples where factors other than income are important aspects of our
lives.

Answer:

Though income is one of the most important aspects of our lives, there are other important
things, such as
(a) People also seek things like equal treatment, freedom, security and respect.

(b) Women need a safe and secure environment to take up a variety of Jobs or run a business.
(c) People also need political rights.

(d) People seek a pollution-free environment.

4. Explain some of the important ideas of the above section (income and other goals) in your
own words.

Answer:

The above section is based on the income and the goals of the people. Here, besides seeking
more income, people sometimes seek things like equal treatment, freedom, respect and
security.

People have important goals as above. The factor on which life depends is money or income but
the quality of our life depends on non-material things also.

Page 7

1. Look at the picture given below. What should be the developmental goals for such an
area?

Answer:

The developmental goals of this area should include

(a) Availability of loans for making pucca houses with their own toilets.

(b) Ownership of land on which they live.

(c) Availability of municipal services like electricity, water and sanitation.

(d) Regular employment.

(e) Medical facilities in the locality like a dispensary.

2. Read this newspaper report and answer the questions that follow:

A vessel dumped 500 tonnes of liquid toxic wastes into open-air dumps in a city and in
the surrounding sea. This happened in a city called Abidjan in Ivory Coast, a country in
Africa. The fumes from the highly toxic waste caused nausea,skin rashes, fainting,
diarrhea etc. After a month seven persons were dead, twenty in hospital and twenty six
thousand treated for symptoms of poisoning. A multinational company dealing in
petroleum and metals has contracted a local company of the Ivory Coast to dispose of
the toxic waste from its ship.

(i) Who are the people who benefited and who did not?

(ii) What should be the developmental goal for this country?

Answer:

(i) Those who dumped the toxic waste have benefited while the people of Abidjan in Ivory Coast
were not benefited.

(ii) Pollution awareness.

3. What can be some of the developmental goals for your village, town or locality?

Answer:

Sanitation, security, per capita income etc are developmental goals for our locality.

Page 9

1. Give three examples where an average is used for comparing situations.

Answer: Average income of two countries, average speed of two vehicles over a distance,
average height of the students in two different classes of a school.
​
2. Why do you think average income is an important criterion for development? Explain.
Answer: It is an important criterion because it tells us what an average person is likely to earn
and also gives some idea about the rising standard of living. Prosperity of a country depends
not only on its national income but also on the number of people who would share it. In case the
number of people is large, the average income will be less. This is the case in India.

3. Besides size of per capita income, what other property of income is important in comparing
two or more societies?
Answer: Average income, i.e., per capita income is important but not the only criterion for
development. Along with average income, equitable distribution of income in a country should
also be considered.

4. Suppose records show that the average income in a country has been increasing over a
period of time.
Answer: All sections of the economy have become better cannot be concluded because
different sections of the economy may have become better or worse. An example is the current
situation in India, where the average income has increased every year; the services sector has
increased very much, but agriculture is having virtually no growth.

5. From the text, find out the per capita income level of middle-income countries as per World
Development Reports in 2019.
Answer: In World Development Reports, brought out by the World Bank, this criterion is used in
classifying countries. Countries with per capita income of US$ 49,300 per annum and above in
2019, are called rich countries and those with per capita income of US$ 2500 or less are called
low-income countries. India comes in the category of low middle income countries because its
per capita income in 2019 was just US$ 6700 per annum.

6. Write a paragraph on your notion of what should India do, or achieve, to become a developed
country.
Answer:
To become a developed sovereign state, India should achieve the following—
(a) A highly developed economy.
(b) Have advanced infrastructure facilities like better roads, better telecom networks, better
transportation facilities, etc.
(c) Higher per capita income, matching that of other developed countries.
(d) A higher general standard of living with enough food to feed the poorest people adequately.
(e) The service sector should provide more wealth / income than the industrial or agricultural
sector.

Page 12

1. Look at data in Tables 1.3 and 1.4. Is Haryana ahead of Kerala in literacy rate etc., as it
is in terms of per capita income?

TABLE 1.3 PER CAPITA INCOME OF SELECT STATES

State Per Capita Income for 2018–19 (in Rs)

Haryana 2,36,147
 Kerala 2,04,105

Bihar 40,982

TABLE 1.4 SOME COMPARATIVE DATA ON HARYANA, KERALA AND BIHAR

State Infant Mortality Rate Literacy Rate % Net Attendance Ratio

per 1,000 live births 2017–18 (per 100 persons)
(2018) secondary stage (age 14
and 15 years) 2017–18

Haryana 30 82 61

Kerala 7 94 83

Bihar 32 62 43

Answer:
Yes, Haryana is ahead of Kerala in literacy rate.

2.Think of other examples where collective provision of goods and services is cheaper than
individual provision.

Answer: In factories, in mining, in manufacturing etc, where an activity is carried out on a mass
scale.

3.Does availability of good health & educational facilities depend only on the amount of money
spent by the government on these facilities? What other factors could be relevant?

Answer: No, It does not only depend on the amount of money spent. It also depends on the
capabilities of the doctors and quality of the medicines in the case of health facilities. In
education, the quality of the teachers is important. In Tamil Nadu, 90% of the people living in
rural areas use a ration shop, whereas in West Bengal only 35% of rural people do so. Where
would people be better off and why?

Answer: Health and nutritional status of people depends on availability of cheap and reasonable
quality food grains, sugar and other items from the PDS system. So, in Tamil Nadu, the people
will be better off, since more people there unite the facilities provided by the PDS system.