Chapter 2
People As Resource
Economic Activities by Men and Women
• Economic activities are development and wealth producing activities. It creates economic
and financial gain by producing goods and services and adds value to the national income.
Sectors under economic activities
(i) Primary Sector
(ii) Secondary Sector
(iii) Tertiary Sector
(i) Primary Sector
It is also known as agriculture sector. This sector considers directly using of natural
resources. This sector includes agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry
farming, mining, and quarrying.
(ii) Secondary Sector
It is also known as manufacturing sector. This sector considers manufacturing of goods.
(iii) Tertiary sector
This sector provides service. This sector includes trade, transport, communication, banking,
education, health, tourism, services, insurance.
Two parts of Economic activities
(i) Market activities
(ii) Non-market activities
(i) Market activities
Market activities consider production of goods or services including government service for
remuneration.
(ii) Non-market activities
Non-market activities consider production of goods or services for self-consumption.
Works Performed under Economic activities
• There are huge difference between economic activity performed by men and economic
activity performed by women.
• Women look after domestic affairs like cooking of food, washing of clothes, cleaning of
utensils, housekeeping and looking after children. Men work in the field.
• Men are paid for their work on the contrary women are not paid for their performances in
the house.
• The work done by men is recognized in the National Income whereas the household work
done by women is not recognized in the National Income.
Quality of Population
Quality of population is mainly in literacy rate and health of the population. Literate and
healthy populations are asset for a country.
(i) Education
• Education is the process of learning for acquisition of knowledge. It is an important input
for growth of a person.
• Development of a country is basically depended on literacy rate. When a person is
educated, then a family can be educated. After that, society can be educated and hence
literacy rate of the country can increase.
• An educated person can earn more income compared than an uneducated person because
of their skill. For this term, National income of a country can increase.
• Governance efficiency can also be enhanced through learning process.
(ii) Health
• An unhealthy person is burden for a country in terms of economics. A healthy mind create
healthy environment. For development of a country, healthy environment is compulsory.
• In India, states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have few medical colleges. These states have
poor health conditions.
• On the other hand, four states Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra
have majority in number of medical colleges with 81 medical colleges out of 181.
• In India, infant mortality rate has come down from 147 in 1951 to 34 in 2016.
• Crude birth rates have dropped to 20.4 and death rates to 6.4 in 2016.
• Crude birth rate is the number of living births occuring in a given geographical area per
1,000.
Unemployment
• Unemployment is a phenomenon that occurs when a person want to do work but unable
to find work.
• Unemployment is liability to the nation. It leads to wastage of manpower resource.
Two types of unemployment found in rural areas:
(i) Seasonal unemployment
(ii) Disguised unemployment
(i) Seasonal unemployment
• In case of Seasonal unemployment, people are not able to find jobs during some
months of the year.
• Generally, in agriculture sector this kind of problem is visible. In agriculture sector,
some seasonal foodgrains are produced. So, the farmers are employed only in that
particular season.
(ii) Disguised unemployment
• Disguised unemployment happens when people appear to be employed.
• For example, in agriculture sector the field requires the service of six people and nine
people are worked in the same field then, three extra people are come under the
category of disguised unemployed. Production will not decrease when three people are
removed.
Urban areas unemployment
• In urban areas educated unemployment are seen. This problem occurs when an
educated person is willing to work but, he/she unable to find work.
• Number of graduated and post-graduated unemployed has increased faster than
among matriculates unemployed.
Infant mortality rate (IMR): Infant mortality rate is the death of a child who is come
under one year of age. It is measured by number of death of children under one year of
age per 1000 live births.
Birth rates: It is the number of babies born there for every 1,000 people during a
particular period of time.
Death rate: It is the number of people per 1,000 who die during a particular period of
time.
Gross National Product: Gross national product is the estimation of the value of the final
goods and services by the residents of the country in a given time period.
National Income: National Income is the estimation of the value of the final goods and
services produced by a country in a given time period.
Human capital: Human capital is the stock of skill and productive knowledge embodied
in human beings.
Human capital formation: Human capital formation includes the process of training,
medical care etc. Education and health are the source for the human capital formation.
People as resources: It is a way of referring to a country’s workforce in terms of existing
skills and abilities.
