Development

WHAT DEVELOPMENT PROMISES — DIFFERENT PEOPLE, DIFFERENT

GOALS

1. Different persons can have different developmental goals

2. What may be development for one may not be development for the other. It may
even be destructive for the other.
3. For development, people look at a mix of goals
4. Development goals can be conflicting

INCOME AND OTHER GOALS

A person has two types of development goals :-

1. Material Things - money, car, house etc
2. Non- material Things- freedom, friends, equality, respect
Both material and non-material things are equally important or we can say that
for development, people look at the mix of goals.

● Besides seeking more income, one way or the other, people also seek things like
equal treatment, freedom, security, and respect of others. They resent
discrimination. All these are important goals. In fact, in some cases, these may
be more important than more income or more consumption because material
goods are not all that you need to live.
● 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 on the non-material things
mentioned above.
● Similarly, many things are not easily measured but they mean a lot to our lives.
These are often ignored. However, it would be wrong to conclude that what
cannot be measured is not important.

Example 1: If you get a job in a far-off place, before accepting it you would try to
consider many factors, apart from income, such as facilities for your family, working
atmosphere, or opportunity to learn. In another case, a job may give you less pay but
may offer regular employment that enhances your sense of security. Another job,
however, may offer high pay but no job security and also leave no time for your family.
This will reduce your sense of security and freedom.

Example 2: It is true that if women are engaged in paid work, their dignity in the
household and society increases. However, it is also the case that if there is respect for
women there would be more sharing of housework and a greater acceptance of women
working outside. A safe and secure environment may allow more women to take up a
variety of jobs or run a business.

Similarly, for development, people look at a mix of goals.

Hence, the developmental goals that people have are not only about better
income but also about other important things in life.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

It is very important to keep in mind that different persons could have different as
well as conflicting notions of a country’s development.

HOW TO COMPARE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES OR STATES?

Usually, we take one or more important characteristics of persons and compare them
based on these characteristics.

For comparing countries, their income is considered to be one of the most important
attributes. Countries with higher income are more developed than others with less
income. This is based on the understanding that more income means more of all things
that human beings need. Whatever people like, and should have, they will be able to get
with greater income. So, greater income itself is considered to be one important goal.

Total Income of a country = The sum of income of all the residents of the country

However, for comparison between countries, total income is not such an useful
measure. Since, countries have different populations, comparing total income will not
tell us what an average person is likely to earn.

But we compare countries with average income (also known as per capita income) and
not total income because different countries have different populations.

Hence, we compare the average income which is the total income of the country divided
by its total population. The average income is also called per capita income.

Per capita Income or Average Income = Total Income of the Country

Total population of the Country
The World Bank compares countries on the basis of their Per capita Income :
● Countries with per capita income of US$ 49,300 per annum and above in 2019,
are called high-income or rich countries.
● Countries with per capita income of US$ 6,700 per annum and above are called
middle-income countries.
● Countries 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.

The rich countries, excluding countries of Middle East and certain other small countries,
are generally called developed countries.

Average Income

While ‘averages’ are useful for comparison, they also hide disparities. Comparison
through Per capita Income has its drawbacks as it hides disparities. For example, when
a small section of people has a very high income, the average income also gets high
and does not give a proper idea about the actual situation.

Example: Even though both countries have identical average incomes, country A is
preferred because it has more equitable distribution. In this country, people are neither
very rich nor extremely poor. On the other hand, most citizens in country B are poor and
one person is extremely rich. Hence, while average income is useful for comparison it
does not tell us how this income is distributed among people.
INCOME AND OTHER CRITERIA

● Infant Mortality Rate (or IMR) indicates the number of children that die before the
age of one year as a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year.

● Literacy Rate measures the proportion of literate population in the 7-and-above

age group.

● Net Attendance Ratio is the total number of children of age group 14 and 15
years attending school as a percentage of total number of children in the same
age group.

● Life Expectancy: Average expected length of life of a person at birth.

● Body Mass Index (BMI): Internationally, a standard known as Body Mass Index is
used to determine whether an adult person is undernourished or not.

PUBLIC FACILITIES

Money in your pocket cannot buy all the goods and services that you may need to
live well. So, income by itself is not a completely adequate indicator of material goods
and services that citizens are able to use.

For example, normally, your money cannot buy you a pollution-free environment or
ensure that you get unadulterated medicines unless you can afford to shift to a
community that already has all these things. Money may also not be able to protect you
from infectious diseases unless the whole of your community takes preventive steps.

Public facilities by the government are the cheapest and best way to provide these
goods and services collectively.
Kerala is a better place to live or Kerala has low a IMR because :
→ It has a better public distribution system (PDS) so everyone gets food and is healthy.
→ They have adequate provision of basic health and educational facilities.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT

Once it is realised that even though the level of income is important, yet it is an
inadequate measure of the level of development, we begin to think of other criterion.
What we need is a small number of the most important things. Health and education
indicators, such as the ones we used in comparison of Kerala and Haryana, are among
them.

For instance, Human Development Report published by UNDP compares countries

based on the educational levels of the people, their health status and per capita income.

● HDI stands for Human Development Index. HDI ranks in above table are out of
189 countries in all.

● Life Expectancy at birth denotes, as the name suggests, average expected

length of life of a person at the time of birth.

● Per Capita Income is calculated in dollars for all countries so that it can be
compared. It is also done in a way so that every dollar would buy the same
amount of goods and services in any country.

Many improvements have been suggested in calculating HDI and many new
components have been added to the Human Development Report but, by pre-fixing
Human to Development, it has made it very clear that what is important in development
is what is happening to citizens of a country. It is people, their health, their well being,
that is most important.

SUSTAINABILITY OF DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the

present without compromising the ability of future generations. Scientists have been
warning that the present type and levels of development are not sustainable.
Some of the examples are:

1. Overuse of groundwater
(a) Why groundwater is overused?
(b) Can there be development without overuse?

Groundwater is an example of a renewable resource. These resources are replenished

by nature as in the case of crops and plants. However, even these resources may be
overused. For example, in the case of groundwater, if we use more than what is being
replenished by rain then we would be overusing this resource.

Non-renewable resources are those which will get exhausted after a few years of use.
We have a fixed stock on earth which cannot be replenished. We do discover new
resources that we did not know of earlier. New sources in this way add to the stock.
However, over time, even this will get exhausted.

2. Exhaustion of Natural Resources

(a) Is crude oil essential for the development process in a country? Discuss.
(b) India has to import crude oil. What problems do you anticipate for the country
looking at the above situation?

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 are working
together.

In general, the question of development or progress is perennial. At all times as a

member of society and as individuals we need to ask where we want to go, what we
wish to become, and what our goals are. So the debate on development continues.

● Excessive mining of iron, gold, silver, or coal and extraction of crude oil lead to
the depletion of the stock of these resources. Smoke and other poisonous gases
being released from factories lead to environmental pollution.
● Problems of water and air pollution are affecting the lives of people and will affect
the lives of future generations also.