NCERT Solutions: Development | Social Studies (SST) Class 10

Exercise

Q1. Development of a country can generally be determined by:
(a) It's per capita income
(b) Its average literacy level
(c) Health status of its people
(d) All the above
Ans: (d) All of the above
Solution: The country’s development depends on the following factors

• In general, a country’s growth is decided by its per capita income, its average level of literacy as well as the health status of the people in the nation.
• A country’s growth is a general concept that improves people’s per capita income and living standards.
• It also lowers the poverty, the rate of crimes as well as the illiteracy of individuals. 
• Development not just depends on the economic factors of a country but are also dependent on resources that are available for the people of a country to use.
• Two aspects of development are
  • Economic growth or increase in people’s income.
  • Social progress includes literacy, health and the provision of public services.

Q2. Which of the following neighbouring countries has better performance in terms of human development than India?(a) Bangladesh
(b) Sri Lanka
(c) Nepal
(d) Pakistan
Ans: (b) Sri Lanka
Solution:

• As per data for 2013 for India and its neighbouring countries, Sri Lanka performs best with a HDI rank of 73.
• As per data for 2013, HDI rank of India was 135, HDI rank of Myanmar was 150, HDI rank of Bangladesh was 142, HDI rank of Nepal was 145, HDI rank of Pakistan was 146.
• The above rankings were concluded after comparing 177 countries.
• As per Human Development Report 2014, the Life expectancy at birth in India was very low at 66.4.
• The life expectancy of other neighboring countries of India are: Pakistan has life expectancy of 66.6, Myanmar has life expectancy of 65.2, Bangladesh has life expectancy of 70.7, and Sri Lanka is the best performer in life expectancy with 74.3. 
• The Literacy Rate for 15+ years population 2005-12, the best performer is Myanmar at 92.7, Sri Lanka is closely behind at 91.2. India lags far behind at 62.8. Pakistan has the lowest score of 54.9.
• When Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (2011 PPP $) is taken into consideration, Sri Lanka performs best at $ 9250, Nepal is the least at $ 2194.
• Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (2011 PPP $) for India was $ 5150.

Q3. 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?
(a) Rs 7500
(b) Rs 3000
(c) Rs 2000
(d) Rs 6000
Ans: (d)
Solution:
Total income of three families = 5000 + 4000 + 3000 = 14000
Total income of four families = 5000 × 4 = 20000
Income of the fourth family = 20000 - 14000 = 6000

Q4. 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 criterion used in classifying countries is the per capita income of a nation. This criterion is used by the World Bank in its World Development Reports.

• Countries with per capita income of US$ 1035 or less are called low-income countries. 
• As per 2012, rich countries are the countries with per capita income of US$ 12616 per annum and above.
• In 2012 per capita income of India was just US$ 1530 per annum, hence it was classified in the category of low middle income countries.
• Generally developed countries are the rich countries, excluding some small countries and countries of the Middle East.
• Per capita income is nothing but the average income.
• Average income is the total income of the country divided by its total population. Hence, the right measure used in comparing different nations is comparison of average incomes of nations.

Limitations

• Better income is the only goal for people. They have many other goals in life such as freedom, equal treatment, respect for other people, security etc. There are a whole gamut of things which are not included in the criterion used by the World Bank for comparing countries.
• For example, one cannot say everything is fine and developed by merely checking the per capita income, there are other factors like infant mortality rate which needs to be measured.
• Health, Nutrition, Education levels are other important metrics which are not measured through the development report given out by the World Bank.
• Unless the whole of your community takes preventive steps, money may not be able to protect a person from infectious diseases Money cannot ensure that you get unadulterated medicines.
• Money alone cannot buy you a pollution-free environment.
• Income by itself is not a completely adequate indicator of material services and goods that citizens are able to use.
  
  

Q5. In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development different from the one used by the World Bank?
Ans: 
UNDP publishes a Human Development Report which compares countries not only based on per capita income but also the health status and educational levels of the people.

• As per the World Bank in its World Development Reports, the criterion used in classifying countries is the per capita income of a nation.
• Money alone cannot ensure that people get unadulterated medicines.
• Money alone cannot buy people a pollution-free environment.
• Income by itself is not a completely adequate indicator of material services and goods that citizens are able to use.
• 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 
• Along with income, education and health have come to be widely used as a measure of development.
• As per data for 2013 for India and its neighbouring countries, Sri Lanka performs best with a HDI rank of 73. As per data for 2013, HDI rank of India was 135, HDI rank of Myanmar was 150, HDI rank of Bangladesh was 142, HDI rank of Nepal was 145, HDI rank of Pakistan was 146.
• Comparing the data of India and its neighbours, the Literacy Rate for 15+ years population 2005-12, the best performer is Myanmar at 92.7, Sri Lanka is closely behind at 91.2. India lags far behind at 62.8. Pakistan has the lowest score of 54.9.
• As per Human Development Report 2014, the Life expectancy at birth in India was very low at 66.4.
  
  

Q6. 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 different countries have different populations, so calculating the average helps in getting an estimated answer which can be used to compare different things at different levels. 

There are limitations to calculating averages because this does not give any information about the distribution of a thing between people.

Example: If we calculate the per capita income of two countries A and B with 5 people each, the salary of five people in country A is Rs.23,000, Rs.22,000, Rs.23,500, Rs.28,000 and Rs.25,000 and the income of people living in country B are Rs.1,50,000, Rs. 22,000, Rs.50,000, Rs.4000, Rs.2500.
The average income of country A will be Rs.24,300, and that of country B will be Rs.45,700. This proves that the average of country B is higher than that of country A, and yet there is a disparity in the income distribution of country B and the income is evenly distributed in country A.

Q7. Kerala, with a lower per capita income, has a better human development ranking than Punjab. Hence, per capita income is not a useful criterion at all and should not be used to compare states. Do you agree? Discuss.
Ans: Yes, Per capita income is not a useful criterion and should not be used to compare states for the reasons mentioned below:
(a) The literacy rate, infant mortality rate, healthcare facilities, etc. are better in Kerala in comparison to Haryana.
(b) The per capita income is only calculated by calculating the average income of the people of the state, irrespective of any other factor.
(c) Similarly in some states, the Public Distribution System functions well and the health and nutritional status of people of such states are certainly likely to be better.
(d) Money cannot buy all the goods and services that you need to live well. Income by itself is not a completely adequate indicator of material goods and services.
(e) The better Human Development Index of Kerala is due to adequate basic health and educational facilities. More average income doesn't mean all people have access to basic facilities. There can be a huge disparity in the distribution of income because of which Punjab has a lower ranking in Human Development.

Q8. 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 used by the people in India are coal, petroleum, natural gas, crude oil, firewood, etc. These are conventional sources of energy. They are limited in nature and if overused they can become exhausted.

People have started using non-conventional sources of energy. Fifty years from now there is a possibility that people will be making more use of non-conventional sources of energy like tidal energy, solar energy, wind energy, etc. This is because the current usage of sources of energy may result in the loss of these resources for future generations.

Q9. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?

Ans: Without sacrificing the quality of the environment for future generations, sustainable development can be described as an approach to the economic development of a nation.
The Sustainable Development Goals are

• To encourage the kind of growth that minimizes environmental issues.
• Without sacrificing the quality of the atmosphere for future generations, to address the needs of the current generation.

For growth, the problem of sustainability is relevant because It demands that resource reserves, including exhaustible natural and environmental resources, be maintained. Recent studies suggest that because of overuse, groundwater in India is exhausted. Its groundwater supplies are overused by 1/3 of the population.

Q10. "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: The statement, “The Earth has enough resources to meet the needs of all but not enough to satisfy the greed of even one person” is completely relevant in terms of the development of a country because both resources and development go hand in hand. 

For the sustainability of development, the maintenance of resources is very crucial. All the natural resources are non-renewable and will exhaust if not used cautiously. 

Therefore, it is the responsibility of the people to use them only to meet their needs and not to satisfy their greed. If natural resources are not used wisely now, future generations may not be able to use them to meet their needs that will ultimately result in the downfall of the development of a country.

Q11. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have observed around you.
Ans: Some of the examples of environmental degradation in the area are as follows:

• Air pollution has increased due to the emission of smoke from factories and vehicles.
• There is an increase in water pollution due to shops and small factories in the residential areas.
• There is noise pollution due to the use of loudspeakers at night and the blowing of horns unnecessarily on the roads by different vehicles.
• People throw garbage wherever they want. Perhaps there is no provision for dustbins in the streets or roadsides.
• Sometimes people urinate in the open on the roadside due to a lack of public conveniences.
  
  

Q12. 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:

Q13. 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.

(i) Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
(ii) 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: (i) The undernourished adults in Kerala are males 8.5% and females 10% only whereas in Madhya Pradesh, it is 28% males and 28% females. It is, thus clear that the number of undernourished adults in Madhya Pradesh is higher than in Kerala.
(ii) One-fifth of the population in the country are undernourished even though it is argued that there is enough food in the country because of the following reasons:

• The disparity in the distribution of food grains by the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• Nutritious food cannot be afforded by the poor population in the country.
• Educational backwardness of people results in unemployment because of which people cannot afford the basic necessity of food.
• There is no proper distribution of ration at the fixed price stores.