NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Economics Chapter 1 - Development

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Q1: Why do different persons have different notions of development? Which of the following explanations is more important and why? 

(a) Because people are different. (b) Because life situations of persons are different. 

Ans: (b) Because life situations of persons are different. 

People have different notions of development primarily because their life situations, needs, and priorities differ. For instance, a person in a rural area might prioritize access to clean water and electricity, while someone in an urban area might focus on better healthcare and educational opportunities. Thus, life situations play a crucial role in shaping what individuals consider important for their development.

Q2: Do the following two statements mean the same? Justify your answer. 

(a) People have different developmental goals. 

(b) People have conflicting developmental goals. 

Ans: No, they do not mean the same. 

(a) People have different developmental goals - This means that individuals or groups aim for various outcomes based on their unique needs and desires. 

(b) People have conflicting developmental goals - This implies that the goals of different individuals or groups are not only different but also incompatible or opposing, leading to potential conflicts or trade-offs. 

For example, a farmer might want to use a river for irrigation to increase crop yield, while an environmentalist might want to preserve the river's natural state to protect wildlife.

Q3: Give some examples where factors other than income are important aspects of our lives. 

Ans: Examples include:

1. Health: Access to quality healthcare is crucial for a good quality of life, irrespective of income.
2. Education: Educational opportunities enhance personal and professional growth and are vital for long-term development.
3. Environmental Quality: Clean air, water, and a healthy environment are essential for well-being.
4. Social Security: Safety and security from crime and violence are fundamental for a peaceful life.
5. Equality: Gender equality and social justice ensure that all individuals have fair opportunities.

Q4: Explain some of the important ideas of the above section in your own words. 

Ans:  

• The World Bank classifies countries based on per capita income, but this measure has limitations.
• It does not account for income inequality, non-monetary aspects of well-being like health and education.
• It overlooks environmental sustainability and differences in cost of living.
• It also ignores crucial social factors such as access to basic services.
• Hence, while per capita income provides some insight into economic development, a comprehensive assessment must also consider these other important dimensions.

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Q1: Give three examples where an average is used for comparing situations. 

Ans:

1. Average Temperature: Comparing the average temperatures of two cities to understand climate differences.
2. Average Marks: Comparing the average marks of students in different schools to assess academic performance.
3. Average Income: Comparing the average income of different countries to evaluate economic well-being.

Q2: Why do you think average income is an important criterion for development? Explain. 

Ans: Average income is an important criterion for development because it gives a general idea of the economic standard of living in a country. It helps in understanding the overall wealth of the population, enabling comparisons between different countries or regions. However, it should be considered along with other factors like income distribution, access to basic services, and quality of life for a comprehensive assessment of development.

Q3: Besides size of per capita income, what other property of income is important in comparing two or more societies? 

Ans: Income distribution is an important property to consider. It highlights how evenly or unevenly income is distributed across the population, indicating levels of inequality. A high average income with significant inequality may mean that a large portion of the population is still poor despite the overall wealth.

Q4: Suppose records show that the average income in a country has been increasing over a period of time. From this, can we conclude that all sections of the economy have become better? Illustrate your answer with an example. 

Ans: No, we cannot conclude that all sections of the economy have become better. For example, if the average income increases due to a rise in the incomes of the wealthiest individuals, while the incomes of the poorer sections remain stagnant or even decrease, then the economic improvement is not uniformly distributed. This could lead to greater income inequality and social disparity.

Q5: From the text, find out the per capita income level of about 10-15 low-income countries as per World Development Reports.

Ans: The text does not provide specific per capita income levels for low-income countries. However, according to recent World Development Reports, low-income countries typically have a per capita income of $1,085 or less (as of the most recent classification by the World Bank).

Q6: Write a paragraph on your notion of what should India do, or achieve, to become a developed country. 

Ans: For India to become a developed country, it needs to focus on growth that benefits everyone and is good for the environment. This means improving education and healthcare so people are healthy and skilled. Building better roads, electricity, and internet access will help the economy grow. Reducing poverty and income inequality with targeted social programs is also important. Promoting green practices, boosting technology, and ensuring good governance are key steps. By working on these areas, India can achieve long-term success and fair growth for all. 

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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 is 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

The HDI of Sri Lanka is 73 which is much higher than Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan which have 129, 143 & 161 respectively.

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)

To find the income of the fourth family:

• Total income of three known families: Rs 14000 (Rs 4000 + Rs 7000 + Rs 3000)
• Average per capita income for all four families: Rs 5000
• Total income of all four families: Rs 20000 (Rs 5000 * 4)

Income of the fourth family = Total income of all four families - Total income of three known families = Rs 20000 - Rs 14000 = Rs 6000

Therefore, the income of the fourth family is Rs 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: Countries are classified by per capita income, which is the average income. The World Bank uses this in its World Development Reports. Low-income countries have a per capita income of US$ 1035 or less, while rich countries have a per capita income of US$ 12616 or mor
Limitations
1. Per capita income is useful for comparison but it doesn’t show the distribution of income.
2. It also ignores other factors such as infant mortality rate, literacy level, healthcare, etc.
3. Per capita income does not give the true picture as there is a huge population which does not earn at all like children and the senior citizens but they are also included while calculating per capita income. National income rises but its distribution make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Q5: In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development different from the one used by the World Bank?
Ans: World bank only uses per capita income for measuring development while UNDP uses many other factors like infant mortality, healthcare facility education level which help in improving the quality of life and helps in making the citizens more productive. As per HDI- 2021-22, India’s rank is 132. On the other hand, the World Bank uses per capita income as the only criterion for measuring development and classifying the countries as rich and poor. Per capita income is useful for comparison, it does not tell us how income is distributed.

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 resources 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) 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 that are used by the people of India are electricity, coal, crude oil, cow dung and solar energy. At present, consumption of energy in India is too high in comparison to its production and reserves. India’s known reserves of oil are expected to last about 30-40 years only. So, therefore, other possibilities fifty years from now could include ethanol, bio-diesel, nuclear energy and better utilisation of wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, hydrogen energy, tidal energy, wave energy, hydroelectric energy and biomass energy especially with the imminent danger of oil resources running out.

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:  This statement is relevant to the discussion of development as both resources and development go hand in hand. For the sustainability of development, the maintenance of resources is very crucial. Needs can be fulfilled whereas greed can never be satisfied because greed increases with every want to be fulfilled. As the statement claims, the Earth has enough resources- renewable as well as non-renewable to satisfy everyone’s needs; however, these need to be used with a view to keep the environment protected so that a balance of production and use is maintained and shortages are avoided.

Q11: List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have observed around you.
Ans: Few examples of environmental degradation:

• Deforestation
• Soil erosion
• Falling levels of groundwater
• Depletion of the ozone layer and combustion from automobiles causing extreme air pollution
• Water Pollution

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:

• Gross National Income (GNI) per capita: Sri Lanka (top), Pakistan (bottom)
• Life Expectancy at birth: Sri Lanka (top), India (bottom)
• Mean Years of Schooling: Sri Lanka (top), Pakistan (bottom)
• HDI Rank in the world: Sri Lanka (top), Pakistan (bottom)

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 2019-21. Look at the table and answer the following questions. 

(i) Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

Ans: The nutritional level of people in Kerala is higher than that of people in Madhya Pradesh. The proportion of undernourished individuals (both males and females) is lower in Kerala compared to Madhya Pradesh, indicating better overall nutrition in Kerala.

(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: Despite having enough food in the country, around one-fifth of the population is undernourished due to several reasons:

• Poverty: A significant number of people are too poor to afford nutritious food.
• Ineffective Public Distribution System (PDS): In many states, the PDS does not function properly, preventing poor people from accessing food items at cheaper rates.
• Lack of Education and Health Facilities: Many parts of the country lack proper educational and health facilities, keeping people backward and poor. Consequently, they are unable to secure nutritious food.