Chapter-1 Development
Question Answers
Q.1 What do you mean by development?
Ans. Development refers to a process where there is increase in real per capita income along with
reduction in poverty, inequality and unemployment over a long period of time.
Q.2 Write features of Development.
Ans. The features of development are-
i) Developmental goals are different for different category of persons. For ex.- For an unemployed
person, better job opportunity is development where as for a well settled industrialist, rise in
prices for his products is development.
ii) Though developmental goals are different for different persons, sometimes a goal may be
development for one and destruction for others. For ex. - Better wages may be development for
farm labourers whereas destruction for farmers.
iii) An ideal developmental goal includes both incomes as well as non-income goals.
Q.3. Besides seeking more income, what other things, one desire for development.
Ans. One may desire various things besides more income like job security, self-respect, freedom,
reputation in society, equal treatment, good health, good education. All these goals are equally
important as income. In fact, in some cases these may be more important than income for an
individual.
Q.4 Differentiate between material goods and non-material goods.
Ans. Material goods are those goods which can be purchased by money or whose value can be
estimated. On contrary, non-material goods cannot be purchased by money in the market. For ex-
respect, freedom etc.
Q.5 Why income is considered an important attribute in comparing different countries or
states?
Ans. We compare different countries on the basis of their income levels. The reason being more of
a income means more of all things can be purchased that human beings desire.
Q.6 Why per capita income is preferred over Total income for comparing developmental
levels of a country?
Ans. Since, countries have different populations, so total income will not tell us what a single
person contributes in a country’s development. It would not be sensible to compare countries
having different population.
Q.7 Define National Income.
Ans. National Income refers to the sum total of all goods and services produced within a country
during a period of one year.
Q.8 How is the criteria used by World Bank for classifying countries is different from the one
used by UNDP?
Ans. The criteria used by World Bank is different from the one used by UNDP. The difference can
be explained in the following points-
i) World Bank uses the criteria of Per Capita Income while comparing developmental level of
different countries whereas UNDP uses the criteria of Health and Education along with the Per
capita Income.
ii) World Bank classifies the countries into two categories i.e. Rich Country and Poor country
where as UNDP assigns HDI ranks to the countries on the basis of their average of per capita
income, health and education.
iii) The criteria used by World Bank is narrower compared to the one used by UNDP as it cover
materialistic concept only which alone is incomplete.
Q.9 What shortcomings do averages have?
Ans. Averages, though useful for comparison, have some shortcomings in its use. They are-
i) When averages are used for comparing developmental levels, they hide inequality of income
among the population.
ii) The criteria of average income ignore the non-materialistic aspects of development, which are
equally important in the development of a country.
Q.10 Define the following-
i) Human Development Index- It refers to the composite of Per capita income, Health and education
indicators and is used to measure and rank different countries on the basis of their developmental levels.
ii) Infant Mortality Rate- It refers to the number of children that die before the age of one year as a
proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year.
iii) Gross Enrolment Ratio- It refers to a measure to determine the number of students enrolled in school
at several different grade levels.
iv) Net Attendance Ratio- It is defined as the ratio of the number of children in the official age-group
of attending any educational institution in a particular class-group to the total number persons in
the age-group.
iv) Life Expectancy- It refers to an average expected length of life of a person at the time of a birth.
v) Public Facilities- It refers to those facilities which are provided by the government to all the
people collectively for the development of the country.
Q.11 What is Human Development Report? On the basis of what criteria, it is prepared?
Ans. Human Development Report is a report published by UNDP annually in which different countries are
ranked according to their developmental levels judged on the basis of health, education and PCI.
The report is prepared on the basis of-
1.) Per Capita Income-It refers to the average income of a person in a country. It is one of the main basis
of judging developmental level of any country.
2.) Health Measures- The report uses the various health measures such as Life expectancy, Infant
mortality Rate to know the health status of the people living in that country.
3.) Education Measures- The report also uses various education measures like literacy rate and gross
enrolment ratios to know the literacy level of the people living in that country.
Composite average of these measures is calculated and is used in comparing development of different
countries.
