Class 12 Geography Short Questions with Answers - Human Development

Q. 1. Define poverty.
Ans. Poverty is the state of deprivation. In absolute terms, it reflects the inability of an individual to satisfy certain basic needs for a sustained, healthy and reasonably productive living.

Q. 2. Which is the most significant aspect of human development?
Ans. Enlarging the range of people’s choice is the most significant aspect of human development.

Q. 3. Which state of India has the highest rank in Human Development Index (HDI) value?
OR
Which state of India has highest HDI?
Ans. Kerala.

Q. 4. Mention any two pillars of human development.
Ans. Equality, sustainability, productivity and empowerment.

Q. 5. Mention any two-key areas of measuring ‘human development.’
OR
Which is the most significant aspect of human development?
Ans. (i) Health
         (ii) Education  

Q. 6. How is the favourable balance of trade an indicator of economic development of a country?
Ans. If the value of export is more than the value of import than the country has positive or favourable balance of trade. Favourable balance of trade is the indicator of economic development of the country.

Q. 7. Name the state of India that has the highest poverty incidence ratio.
Ans. Odisha and Bihar.

Q. 8. “The poor are subjected to three inter-related processes of declining capabilities.” Name the three capabilities.
Ans. The poor are being subjected to three inter-related processes of declining capabilities.
(i) Social capabilities : Due to displacement and weakening social ties (social capital).
(ii) Environmental capabilities : Due to pollution.
(iii) Personal capabilities : Due to increasing incidence of diseases and accidents. This, in turn, has adverse effects on their quality of life and human development.

Q. 9. Explain the concept of productivity and empowerment as the pillars of human development.
Ans. The idea of human development is supported by the concepts of equality, sustainability, productivity and empowerment. Productivity here means human labour is productivity or productivity in terms of human work. Such productivity must be constantly enriched by building capabilities in people. This is because it is people who are the real wealth of nations. Therefore, efforts to increase their knowledge, provide better health facilities, balanced diet and high literacy rates ultimately leads to better work efficiency. Empowerment means to have the power to make choices. Such power comes from increasing freedom and capability. Good governance and people oriented policies are required to empower people. The empowerment of socially and economically disadvantaged groups is of special importance. Enhancement of human development should result to creation of capabilities through improved health, knowledge and skill.

Q. 10. Explain the concepts of ‘Equality’ and ‘Sustainability’ as the pillars of human development.
Ans. Equality and sustainability are the basic pillars of human development. Equality is the idea of fairness for every person, between men and women; we each have the right to education and health care. Sustainability is the view that we all have the right to earn a living that can sustain our lives and have access to a more even distribution of goods.

Q. 11. Explain with example, how ‘stage of economic development’ and ‘foreign investment‘ become the basis of international trade.
Ans. Stage of economic development : The nature of items traded undergoes changes as the different stages of economic development of countries passes. In agro-based countries, agro-products are exchanged for manufactured goods whereas industrialised nations export machinery and finished products and import food grains and other raw materials. The study of economic development mainly focused entirely on national products, or the aggregate output of goods and services. Foreign investment: Foreign direct investment (FDI) has proved to be resilient during financial crisis. It boosts up the trade where the capital is limited. By developing such capital-intensive industries, the industrial nations ensure import of food stuffs, minerals and create markets for their finished products. (CBSE Marking Scheme, 2013)

 Q. 12. Give two reasons for low levels of human development in most of the northern states of India.
Ans. The reasons for low levels of human development in most of the northern states of India are given below :
(i) These states are less developed as most of the states are dependent on agriculture. (ii) These states are plagued with problems like poverty, unemployment and illiteracy.

Q. 13. Explain various indicators of human development.
Ans. United Nations Development Programme has suggested the following indicators of human development:
(i) Health : Good health is the indicator of living long and healthy life.
(ii) Education : Education is the beginning of access to such a world of knowledge and freedom.
(iii) Access to resources : Access to resources is needed for a decent standard of living including political freedom, guaranteed human rights and personal self-respect, etc.

Q. 14. Explain the reasons for low Human Development Index in few states of India.
Ans. Reasons :
(i) Low rate of literacy in the states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.
(ii) Low economic development in the states like Odisha, Assam, Bihar, etc.
(iii) Lack of effective implementations of government policies in these states.

Q. 15. “Leading a long and healthy life is an important aspect of human development.” Give an argument to support the statement.
Ans. Living a long and healthy life indicates access to resources, health facilities and improved levels of nutrition intake. Hence, it is an important aspect of human development.

Q. 16. Name the state of India with the highest literacy rate as per 2011 Census.
Ans. Kerala.


Q. 17. Which state of India has the lowest female literacy rate?
Ans. Bihar.

Q. 18. Explain why Kerala records the highest HDI in India.
Ans. Kerala records the highest HDI in India:
(i) Due to its impressive performance in achieving nearly hundred percent literacy . (ii) Favourable sex ratio.

 Q. 19. Give two reasons for declining child sex ratio in India.
Ans. The reasons for declining child sex ratio in India are :
(i) Feudal mindset of the people who still consider women to be a curse.
(ii) Lack of punitive measures from the government against the sex determination centres.

Q. 20. “Equality is one of the most important pillars of human development.” Explain any three human values required to give equal access of opportunities to everybody.
Ans. There is a growing recognition of the importance of equality to development and many development agencies recognise equality as a central goal for their programming. However, while equity is used intuitively in development debates and programming, it seems that its meaning is not clearly understood. This is reflected in often shallow analysis about what is and what should be done to achieve it. Some human values are :
(i) Equal life chances : There should be no differences in outcomes based on factors for which people cannot be held responsible.
(ii) Equal concern for people’s needs : Some goods and services are necessities and should be distributed solely according to the level of need.
(iii) Meritocracy : Positions in society and rewards should reflect differences in effort and ability based on fair competition.

Q. 21. Explain any three features of ‘Welfare Approach’ to human development.
Ans. (i) This approach looks humans as beneficiaries and targets overall development of humans.
(ii) This approach argues for higher government expenditure.
(iii) People are not participants, they act as passive recipients.

Q. 22. “Development is a qualitative change, which is always value positive.” Support this statement with any three suitable arguments.
Ans. Development cannot take place unless there is an increment or addition to the existing conditions. Development occurs when positive growth takes place. Yet, positive growth does not always lead to development. Development occurs when there is a positive growth in quality. The basic goal of development is to create conditions where people can live meaningful lives. A meaningful life is not just a long one. It must be a life having some purpose. This means that people must be healthy, be able to develop their talents, participate in society and to be free to achieve their goals.

Q. 23. Differentiate between ‘growth and development’ with an example.
Ans. Growth is a narrow concept than development. Development is an increase in a country’s real level of national output which can be caused by an increase in the quality of resources (by education, etc.), increase in the quality of resources and improvements in technology or in another way an increase in the value of goods and services produced by every sector of the economy. On the other hand, growth can be measured by an increase in a country’s GDP. Growth is necessary but not sufficient condition of development.