1. Define the term National Income?

Answer: National income is defined as the total value of all final goods and services produced
with a country plus net income from transactions like (export and import) with other countries.

2. Define GDP. (2012)

Answer: GDP or Gross Domestic Product is the total value of all final goods and services
produced during a particular year in a country.

3. What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different countries? (2012)

Answer: The World Bank uses average income or per capita income as a criterion for
classifying different countries.

4. Why is the total income of countries not used to make comparisons between them? (2012)

Answer: The total income of countries is not used to make comparisons between them,
because the population of different countries is different and does not give a clear picture if
comparisons are made on this basis.

5. Literacy rate measures the proportion of literate population in which age group? (2012)

Answer: The age group of 7 years and above.

6. Which state of India has the lowest infant mortality rate? (2013)

Answer: Kerala

7. What is Human Development Index? (2013)

Answer: Human Development Index is a composite index of achievements of a nation in terms

of three important variables, namely—longevity, knowledge and standard of living, that
determine the quality of life.

8. Name the report published by UNDP which compares countries based on the educational levels
of the people, their health status and per capita income. (2013)

Answer: Human Development Report

9. What term is used to describe the ‘average number of years a person is expected to live at
birth’? (2013)

Answer: Life Expectancy

10. What is the advantage of per capita income? Mention any one. (2014)
Answer: It helps to compare the development of countries as per capita income tells us
whether people in one country are better off than others in a different country.

11. What do final goods and services mean? (2014)

Answer: The various production activities in the primary, secondary and tertiary sector produce
large number of goods and services for consumption and investment are final goods and
services.

12. Why is sustainable development essential? Give one reason. (2015)

Answer: Sustained development aims at economic development without damaging the

environment and at the same time conserving for the future. Resources are to be used in such
a way that they are not overexploited.

13. Why is per capita income of different countries calculated in dollars and not in their own
currencies by the World Bank? (Board Question)

Answer: Per capita income of different countries is calculated in dollars and not in their own
currencies because the dollar has been the strongest currency since the end of the 2nd World
War and it becomes easy to compare the per capita incomes of various countries when these
are converted into a common currency, i.e., US dollar ($).

14. “What may be development for one may not be development for the other.” Explain with a
suitable example. (Board Question)

Answer: Different persons have different notions of development because life situations of
persons are different. For example, Construction of dams leads to generation of
hydroelectricity, thus development. However many people have to be displaced from their
villages, hence it may not be development for them.

15. What is meant by sustainability of development? (Board Question)

Answer: This signifies that the level of economic development of a country should be
maintained or sustained in all the years. Development in the present should not compromise
with the needs of the future generations.

16. Define:

1. Infant mortality rate

2. Literacy rate
3. Net attendance ratio
4. BMI

Answer: (1) Infant mortality rate. It indicates the number of children that die before the age of
1 year as a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year.

(2) Literacy rate. It measures the proportion of literate population in the 7 and above age
group.

(3) Net Attendance ratio. It is the total number of children of age group 6 to 10 attending
school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group.

(4) BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is calculated by dividing the weight of a person in
kilograms (kgs) by the square of his/her height in metres. It is an indicator of the level of
nourishment in adults.

17. Literacy rate measures the proportion of literate population in which age group? (2017 D)

Answer: The age group of 7 years and above.

18. Why do we use averages? Are there any limitations to their use? Illustrate with your own
examples related to development. (NCERT Question)

Answer:

1. Total income is not a useful measure for comparison between countries. Since countries
have different populations, comparing total income does not tell what an average person is
likely to earn. Hence, we use average income which is total income of the country divided by
total population.
2. The defect of average as a measure is that it does not show the distribution (dispersion) of
income between the rich and the poor.
3. Two countries may have the same average income but in one country almost every family
may enjoy more or less the same kind of income, whereas in the other, some may be very
rich and others very poor. The disparity between rich and poor is an important feature that
the average measure (per capita income) does not consider.
Example: In terms of development, we can take the example of India, where the metro towns
are full of high-rise buildings and shopping malls while some villages have not yet been
provided with a basic necessity like electricity.

19. What is per capita income? Mention any two limitations of per capita income as an indicator of
development. (2012)
Answer: The total income of a country divided by its total population gives the Per Capita
Income.
Money cannot buy all the goods and services that are needed to live well. So income by itself is
not a completely adequate indicator of material goods and services that citizens are able to
use. For example, money cannot buy a pollution-free environment or ensure that one gets
unadulterated medicines, unless one can afford to shift to a community that already has all
these things.

20. Kerala, with 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. (NCERT Question)

Answer: Per capita income is not a useful criterion at all to measure the human development
ranking of a state. High per capita income is not the only attribute to a good quality life. Money
cannot buy all the essential things required for a good life. Pollution-free atmosphere to ensure
good health, protection from infectious diseases, lowering of mortality rate, promotion of
literacy, etc. are essential for a good standard of living. In order to achieve these, joint efforts
have to be made by all members of a community, be it rich or poor.
Kerala ranks higher compared to Punjab even with a lower per capita income because-

1. mortality rate is lower

2. literacy rate is higher and
3. total number of children attending school (Classes I-V) is higher.

21. On the basis of which three indicators of HDI 2004 Sri Lanka has better rank than India? (2014)

Answer: Three indicators of HDI 2004 in which Sri Lanka has better rank than India:

1. Per capita income—The per capita income of Sri Lanka in US dollars was 4,390 US dollars
while that of India was 3,139 US dollars.
2. Life expectancy at birth—The life expectancy at birth for Sri Lanka was 74, higher than that
of India at 64.
3. Gross enrolment ratio for three levels—Sri Lanka had Gross Enrolment ratio of 69 while that
of India was 60.

22. ‘Conflicting goals can also be developmental goals’. Elaborate with examples. (2014)

Answer: All persons do not have the same notion of development or progress. Each one of
them seeks different things. The seek things that are most important for them, i.e., that which
can fulfil their aspirations or desires. In fact at times two persons or groups of persons may
seek things which are conflicting.

A girl expects as much freedom and opportunity as her brother and that he also shares in the
household work. Her brother may not like this.

To get more electricity, industrialists may want more dams. But this may submerge the land
and disrupt the lives of people who are displaced, such as tribals. They might resent this and
may prefer small check dams or tanks to irrigate their land.
23. What are common developmental goals? Give any two suitable examples of common
developmental goals. (2015)

Answer: There are certain goals which are the same or common for all. These are common
developmental goals. The developmental goals that people have are not only about better
income but also about other important things in life. More income or more material goods do
not always give us a good quality life.

There are other aspects such as equal treatment, freedom, security, opportunity to learn, good
working conditions, pollution-free atmosphere, job security and good social life which are very
important for a good quality life. Money or material things that one can buy with it, is one
factor on which our life depends. But quality of our life also depends on non-material things,
for example, the role of our friends in our life which cannot be measured but mean a lot to us.

24. “Money cannot buy all the goods and services that one needs to live well” Do you agree with
this statement? Justify your answer with any three suitable arguments. (2015)

Answer: Yes, I agree with the statement because money income and material goods alone are
not an adequate indicator of a good quality of life. Money cannot buy all the goods and
services one needs to live well.

Money cannot buy a pollution free and dean environment with fresh air.
It cannot protect us from infectious diseases and guarantee good health for us.
Money cannot assure that medicines available in the market are not adulterated.
To live well one needs non-material factors such as equal treatment, freedom, security,
equal opportunity to learn, a pollution free environment, good and safe working conditions
etc.

25. Apart from income, which other six things people look for as important aspects of our lives?
(2014, 2012)

Answer: High per capita income is not the only attribute to a good quality life. Money cannot
buy all the essential things required for a good life. Pollution-free atmosphere to ensure good
health, protection from infectious diseases, lowering of mortality rate, promotion of literacy, job
security, good working conditions, etc. are essential for a good standard of living.

26. One what basis the rich and low income countries have been categorized in the world? What
are the limitations of this approach? According to the World Development Report, 2006, India
comes in which category? Give reason for the same. (2015, 2014)

Answer: The World Bank uses average income or per capita income as a criterion for
classifying different countries. Countries with per capita income of ?4,53,000 per annum and
above (in the year 2004) are called rich countries and those with per capita income of 37,000
or less are called low income countries (India comes under low income countries; the per
capita income in India is ?28,000 per annum). Those falling in between ₹37,000 – ₹4,53,000
are placed in the middle category.

Limitations of this criterion.

1. While averages are useful for comparison, they also hide disparities. Two countries may
have identical average income, but one country may have equitable distribution where
people are neither very rich nor very poor, while in the other country most citizens are very
poor and very few are extremely rich,
2. Better income cannot ensure a good quality life. Criterion set by the World Bank has ignored
certain attributes of a good life which do not depend on income or cannot be . bought with
money.
Example, freedom, equal treatment, equal opportunities, free atmosphere, provision of
unadulterated medicines, etc.

27. Why do people look at a mix of goals for development? Explain.

Answer: Though income is one of the most important components of development, but there
are other important goals which people look at for development—

1. People also seek things like equal treatment, freedom, security and respect.
2. Women need a safe and secure environment to take up a variety of jobs or to run
businesses as entrepreneurs.
3. People seek a pollution free environment.
4. Students seek better education and equal opportunities to learn.

28. What does HDI stand for? Explain the main criteria of measuring HDI according to UNDP
Report of 1990. (2015)

Answer: HDI Stand for Human Development Index.

Main criteria of measuring HDI:

1. HDI published by UNDP compares countries based on the educational levels of the people,
their health status and per capita income.
2. HDI determines the rank of a country by its overall achievement in three areas, i.e., life
expectancy, educational level and per capita income.
3. Many improvements have been suggested in calculating HDI and many new components
have been added to Human Development Report.
4. Pre-fixing Human to Development, it has made it clear that what is important in development
is what is happening to citizens of a country, i.e., the health and well being of the people is
most important.

29. Explain with examples that there are other important development goals also besides income.
(2014)

Answer: More income or more material goods do not always give us a good quality life. There
are other aspects such as equal treatment, freedom, security, opportunity to learn, good
working conditions, pollution-free atmosphere, job security and good social life which are very
important for a good quality life.

Money or material things that one can buy with it, is one factor on which our life depends. But
quality of our life also depends on non-material things, for example, the role of our friends in
our life which cannot be measured but mean a lot to us. Another example, if we get a job in a
far off place, before accepting it we would try consider many factors apart from income such
as facilities for our family, working atmosphere, or opportunity to learn. Similarly, for
development, people look at a mix of goals. It is true that if women are engaged in paid work,
their dignity increases. However, it is also the case that if there is respect for women there
would be more sharing of house work and greater acceptance of women.

The developmental goals that people have are not only about better income but also about
other important things in life.

30. Explain any five fields other than income where development is needed. (2012)

Answer:
Fields other than income where development is needed:

1. Education. The government must provide adequate education facilities in all rural and urban
areas. The government must necessarily focus on education for girls so that all girls are
able to acquire atleast secondary level schooling. Running proper schools and providing
quality education, particularly elementary education, is the duty of the Government.
2. Health. Basic health care facilities are a must for all. Establishment of government
hospitals, clinics and dispensaries, especially in rural areas, to provide subsidized and
unadulterated medicines to the poorer sections of society.
3. Nutrition. An effective Public Distribution System—proper functioning of ration shops and
equitable distribution of foodgrains is very essential.
4. Transportation. A well developed public transport system to make it easy for general public
to commute.
5. Electricity. It is the duty of the government to provide electricity and water at reasonable
rates to the common man and prevent him from exploitation by private companies.

31. Explain with reasons why state of Punjab with a very high per capita income has a low literacy
rate. (2016, 2017 D)

Answer: Per capita income is not a useful criterion at all to measure the human development
ranking of a state. High per capita income is not the only attribute to a good quality life. Money
cannot buy all the essential things required for a good life.

This can be seen in the case of Punjab which has a very high per capita income but a low
literacy rate. Having money in one’s pocket cannot buy all the goods and services that we need
to live well. Money cannot ensure education and literacy. Another reason for low literacy rate in
Punjab could be the lack of free and compulsory educational facilities. The government needs
to open more schools and provide other facilities so that all children have a chance to study.

Pollution-free atmosphere to ensure good health, protection from infectious diseases, lowering
of mortality rate, promotion of literacy, etc. are essential for a good standard of living. In order
to achieve these, joint efforts have to be made by all members of a community, be it rich or
poor.