UNIT Term – 1 Subject – EconomicsClass - X Chapter – 1 Development

Q. 1 What is Per Capita Income? 1 Mark
Ans. It is obtained by diving national income by the population of a country i.e.
Per Capita Income = National Income / Mid Year Population
Q. 2 What is meant by ‘economic development’? Write the two basis of measuring economic development
of a country? 1 Mark
Ans. Economic development is a sustained increase in real per Capita income that promotes economic
welfare by reducing poverty, unemployment & inequalities in distribution of Income.
Two basis of measuring economic development are National Income & per Capita Income.
Q. 3 “What may be development for one may not be development for the other.” Explain with a suitable
example. 1 Mark
Ans. The establishment of a dam leads to infrastructural development but many people have shifted out of
the village, hence it may not be development for them. 1 Mark
Q. 4 Why is the total income of countries not used to make comparisons between them?
Ans. The total income of the countries is not used to make comparisons between them because the
population of different countries is different. 1 Mark
Q. 5 Why do you think average income is an important criterion for development? Explain.
Ans. It is an important criterion because it gives some idea about the rising standard of living.
Prosperity of a country depends not only on the size of the national income but also on the number of people
who would share it. 1 Mark
Q. 6 Besides the size of per capita income, which other property of income is important in comparing two or
more societies? 1 Mark
Ans. Per capita income is an important but not the only criterion for development. Along with average
income, equitable distribution of income in a country should also be considered.
Q. 7 Why is the issue of sustainability important for development? 1 Mark
Ans. Sustainability is important for development because it results in
( i ) protecting the people against pollution ensuring their quality of life & health.
( ii ) conserving the environment which is necessary for development.
Q. 8 What is human development index HDI? 1 Mark
Ans. HDI is a composite index of achievements of a nation in terms of three important variables that
determine the quality of life. These three variables are longevity, knowledge & standard of living.
It is prepared by United Nations Development program.
Q. 9 Among Punjab, Kerela & Bihar, which one has the lowest infant mortality rate? 1 Mark
Ans. Kerela has lowest infant mortality rate.
Q.10 How can development be sustained in an economy? Give an example with reference to use of
resources. 1 Mark
Ans. Development can be sustained in any economy by using renewable resources such as ground water,
wind energy & solar energy.
Q. 11 Why is per capita income of different countries calculated in dollars & not in their own currencies by
the World Bank? 1 Mark
Ans. It is done in order to make comparisons of per capita income of different countries possible.
Q. 12 Kerela, with low per capita has a better human development ranking than Punjab. Hence per capita
income is not useful criterion at all & should not be used to compare states. Do you agree? 3 Marks
Ans. It is true that per capita income is not the only criterion behind human development. Factors like infant
mortality rate, literacy rate & not attendance ratio are also very crucial for overall human development. In
these factors Kerela is better than Punjab. However if we are interested only in comparing two or more
states in terms of production and income generated then per capita income is an important criterion.
Q. 13 In what respects is the criterion used by UNDP for measuring development different from the one
used by the World Bank? 3 Marks
Ans. World Bank uses the criterion of per capita income (measured in dollar terms) to classify different
countries as high income or low income countries. Countries with per capita income of Rs 4,53,000 per
annum & above in 2004 are rich countries & countries which have per capita income of Rs. 37000 per
annum or less are low income countries (according to WDR 2006). But the limitation of this criterion is that
it doesn’t tell us anything about the distribution of income in a country.
UNDP uses a different criterion called human development index (HDI). HDI is a composite index on a
scale 0-1 measured on the basis of three indicators,
a) Longevity :- It is measured in terms of life expectancy
b) Knowledge :- It is measured by a combination of adult literacy & combined enrollment ratio
c) Standard of living :- It is measured by real per capita income in dollars
The country with 0 HDI will be at bottom & the one with 1 HDI will be at top. All other countries are in
between.
Q. 14 ‘While average income is useful for comparison but it may hide disparities’. Discuss.
Ans. Per capita income is an important criterion for development is considered to be one of the most
important attributes for comparing countries but is suffers from the following limitations:
( i ) Per capita income doesn’t tell us anything about the distribution of income. A poor country with a more
equal distribution of income would be better off than a richer country with unequal distribution of income.
( ii ) Per capita income doesn’t measure various facilities & services that influence quality of life e.g. health
facilities, education facilities, equal treatment etc.
( iii ) It is effected by size of population. Even with a large national income, per capita income will be
low if a country has large population.
Q. 15 Distinguish between economic development & human development. 4 Marks
Ans.
Human Development
1. It refers to human centered approach towards development. It focuses on people & qualitative
improvement in human life.
2. It is indicated by human development index.
3. It is a under term & includes economic development also.
4. It considers human welfare. Should be increased through investments in education & health.
Economic Development
1. It refers to sustained increase in real per capita income that promotes economic welfare by reducing
poverty, unemployment & inequalities in distribution of income.
2. It can be indicated by national income & per capita income.
3. It is narrower term as compared to economic development.
4. It considers people can be made better off by increasing their command over goods and services.
Q. 16 How does industrial pollution degrade the environment? Explain three measures to control
environmental degradation. 4 Marks
Ans. Industrial pollution degrades the environment in the following ways :
( i ) Air is polluted by the gases.
( ii ) Dust, fume, mist, spray and smoke contain particles.
( iii ) Industrial effluents pollute rivers.
( iv ) Paper pulp, textiles, chemicals etc. industries pollute land & soil due to toxic materials.
Steps to control environmental degradation are :
( i ) Careful planning & setting of industries.
( ii ) Better equipment
( iii ) Proper fuel selection & utilization.
( iv ) Treatment of industrial liquids.
Q. 17 Identify the different thrust areas of human development. Which one of them plays the most
significant role in the development? 4 Marks
Ans. Human development is a human centered approach towards development. It focuses on people.
It is concerned with them and their well being, their needs, choices & aspirations.
Human development is a wider term which not only includes economic development but also includes
development of one’s knowledge & educational capabilities as well as one’s health conditions so that one
may lead a healthy and long life. Human development aims at building of different human capabilities so
that one may make use of natural resource, have sustainable development have better personal & social
security & to ensure a decent standard of living.
Q.18 “Do the two terms –economic growth and economic development mean the same thing”.
Discuss. 3 Marks
Ans. No, they are different. Economic growth can be defined as a process whereby a country’s real national
income increases over a period of time. On the other hand economic development is a process of long-term
increase in income as well as with achieving a more equitable income distribution and poverty alleviation.
Thus economic development is a wider concept than economic growth.
Q.19 Describe briefly four steps taken by the Indian government for raising the status of women at par with
that of men. 4 Marks
Ans. (i) Women are given the equal right to vote like those of men
(ii) the government of India has declared dowry as illegal and now no one can force the other party to give
dowry.
(iii) To impart education to girls various schools and colleges have been opened.
(iv) Gender empowerment focusses on opportunities and participation in decision making process and
values.
(v) Women have been recognised as a separate target group in our development planning, for raising their
status at par with that of men. To achieve the above objective the National Commission for women was set
up in January 1992.
Q20 Explain two main reasons for the need of environment friendly economic growth and also explain two
suggestions to achieve them. 4 Marks
Ans. Reasons for need of environment friendly economic growth are:
(i) Present production technology has polluted atmosphere and water bodies with garbage, smoke
and poisnous gases.
(ii) Rapid economic growth and industrialisation have led to natural resources (like fossil fuels).
Suggestions to achieve it:
(i) Increased use of renewable and clean sources of energy, less use of fossil fuels, organic farming.
(ii) Measures to reduce global warming and global limits on carbon emissions etc.