NCERT Solutions Class 10 Social Science Understanding Economic Development Chapter 1

Q.1 Development of a country can generally be determined by

1. Its per capita income
2. Its average literacy level
3. Health status of its people
4. All of the above

Ans-

iv. All of the above

Explanation: Economic development or development of a country takes into account economic growth as well as social welfare. It includes important things required in life such as, health care facilities, education facilities etc.

Q.2 Which of the following neighbouring countries has better performance in terms of human development than India?

1. Bangladesh
2. Sri Lanka
3. Nepal
4. Pakistan

Ans-

ii. Sri Lanka

Explanation: Sri Lanka has performed better than India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan in human development according to the data of 2013. As per Human Development Report, 2014 Sri Lanka is much ahead of India in every aspect such as per capita income, life expectancy at birth and literacy rate. Sri Lanka’s HDI rank in the world is 73 whereas India’s HDI rank in the world is 135.

Q.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?

1. Rs 7500
2. Rs 3000
3. Rs 2000
4. Rs.6000

Ans-

iv. Rs. 6000

Explanation: The average per capita income is the total income of the country divided by its total population.

Mathematical Solution:

Let income of the fourth family is X

Average Per Capita = X + 4000 + 7000 + 3000

4

⇒ 5000 x 4 = X + 14000 ⇒ 20000 – 14000 = X

⇒ X = 6000

Thus, income of fourth family is 6000

Q.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-

The main criterion used by the World Bank for classifying different countries is the “Per Capita Income”.

The limitations of Per capita income as a criterion for classifying different countries are as follows:

1. It hides disparities: Per capita income is the average income which is the total income of the country divided by its total population. It does not show distribution of income.
2. It ignores important factors: Factors like literacy level, infant mortality rate, etc. are ignored.
3. A rise in per capita income only explains the rise of monetary value. It fails in explaining the rise in real output.
4. It excludes non-marketed activities which are performed for happiness and satisfaction.
5. There can be fall in per capita income due to rise in population. Simply by studying the per capita income one may fail to incorporate the reason of fall.
6. The per capita income measure is failed to incorporate overall development of the economy. It may be the case a country with low per capita income is happier than the country with high per capita income.

Q.5 In what respect is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development different from the one used by the World Bank?

Ans-

The World Bank report considers only per capita income as the indicator of the development; On the other hand the report published by UNDP i.e. Human Development Report considers health status, educational levels of the people and the per capita income of the citizens of the country as the indicator of the development.

Q.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 comparison of different quantities or numbers of same category. For example comparison between different countries having different population, total income is not a useful measure, it will not tell us what an average person is likely to earn, hence we compare the average income i.e., total income of the country divided by its total population.

While ‘averages’ are useful for comparison, they also hide disparities.

For an example, if a country has very high per capita income then we cannot say that all of its citizens are very rich because we do not know about the distribution of income in that country. Some people might be very rich while other people may be very poor in that country.

Q.7 Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human development ranking than Haryana. Hence, per capita 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 and should not be used to compare states. Besides per capita income is only one of the criterion used to compare states. Kerala, with low per capita income has a better human development ranking than Haryana because it has better provisions of basic health and educational facilities.

Human development ranking is computed by using a combination of factors such as health, education and income. So this does not mean that per capita income is not useful. Rather per capita income is one of the important development factor and thus should not be ignored.

The per capita income as a criterion for comparing states and measuring development had certain limitations to overcome while determination of human development Index is computed using this criterion along with some other development criterion like health, education etc.

Q.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, crude oil, LPG, firewood, coal, cow dung and solar energy. The other possibilities fifty years from now given the present rate of extraction of crude oil and other natural resources would be nuclear energy, better utilisation solar energy and wind energy.

Q.9 Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?

Ans-

Sustainable development means a continuous process of development is being maintained keeping in mind the welfare of the future generations. The issue of sustainability is important for development because if natural resources are not sustained then development will stagnate after a period of time.

It is true that the resources that we have inherited from nature are free and available in abundance. But if we do not use them prudently, they will destroy or deplete. As a consequence, our future generation would be left with no resources. This will ultimately undo the development that we may have achieved. Thus, we should use natural resources in such a manner that the needs of future generations can be fulfilled.

Q.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-

This statement is relevant to the discussion of development since both natural resources (both renewable and non-renewable) and development go hand in hand. For the sustainability of development, the maintenance of resources is also crucial.

Human beings are over using the environment and natural resources in the name of development. For their progress, people resort to activities like deforestation, excessive use of fuel wood, shifting cultivation, encroachment in the forest lands and indiscriminate use of chemicals, etc. This cannot be sustained by our Earth and thus the resources are being depleted beyond re-production.

Judicious use of natural resources can satisfy all our desires and the resources would last for a long time. As the statement asserts, the Earth has enough resources to satisfy everyone’s needs; however, these resources need to be used with a view to keep the environment protected so that a balance between development and use of resources is maintained.

Q.11 List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have observed around you.

Ans-

The few examples of environmental degradation are:

• Deforestation
• Soil erosion
• Air and water pollution
• Depleting groundwater levels
• Depleting fossil fuel or crude oil reserves
• Global warming
• Ozone layer depletion

Q.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-

Table1.6 SOME DATA REGARDING INDIA AND ITS NEIGHBOURS FOR 2013

1. Gross National Income(GNI) Per capita (2011 PPP $) – Top Country- Sri Lanka, Bottom Country – Nepal
2. Life Expectancy at Birth – Top Country- Sri Lanka, Bottom Country – Myanmar
3. Literacy Rate for 15+years Population 2005-2012- Top Country- Myanmar, Bottom Country – Pakistan
4. HDI Rank in the World- Top Country- Sri Lanka, Bottom Country – Bangladesh

Q.13 The following table shows the proportion of adults (aged 15-49 years) whose BMI is below normal (BMI <18.5 kg/m2)in India. It is based on a survey of various states for the year 2015-16. Look at the table and answer the following questions.

1. Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
2. Can you guess why around one-fifth 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-

1. In Kerala the proportion of undernourished adult males and females is 8.5% and 10% respectively, which is much less than that of the proportion of undernourished adult males and females in Madhya Pradesh i.e. 17% and 21% respectively. This clearly shows that the nutritional level of people of Kerala is much better than that of the people of Madhya Pradesh.
2. Even though it was argued that there is enough food in the country, around one-fifth of people in the country are undernourished because of following reasons:

• Poverty: A large section of our country is so poor that it cannot afford nutritious food.
• Poor and inadequate coverage of Public distribution System (PDS): In many states of our country PDS does not work properly as a result many poor people could not get cheap nutritious food items.
• Inadequate Healthcare and Educational facilities: One of the biggest reason behind poor nutritional levels in India is lack of proper health care and educational facilities, which traps poor people in vicious cycle of poverty and hinders their ability to afford nutritious food.