Class 10 Economics


Development

The process, by which economic well being and quality of life are improved as per targeted goals and objectives, is called development.

Different Goals

Different persons can have different developmental goals. What may be development for one may not be development for the other. It may even be destructive for the other.

Meaning of Development for Rich

To understand this, let us take the example of a dam under construction. For an industrialist, the dam means development because it will ensure improved supply of electricity to the factory. But for people in nearby villages, it can be disaster because all of them will be evacuated to make way for catchment area of the dam.

Meaning of Development for Poor

Different people have different developmental needs. These needs are based on their particular life situations. Let us assume that there are two people, Lotan and Mohan. Lotan is living in a remote village which is not connected to a road, while Mohan is living in a big city where traffic bottleneck is a huge problem. Construction of even a kutcha (un-metalled) road will mean development for Lotan. On the other hand, construction of flyovers to facilitate smooth traffic movement will mean development for Mohan.

We can say that there can be hundreds of development goals, catering to different needs of different people. So, we need to focus on those goals which are more important than other goals. Following is a list of goals of development. It is important to remember that this list is not an all inclusive one.

Goals of Development

Per Capita Income

The total income of a country divided by the population is called the per capita income of that country. As per the 2013 World Development Report, the per capita income in India was USD 1570 per annum. As per this report, countries with per capita income above USD 12736 per annum are called rich countries, while those with per capita income USD 1045 per annum or less are called low-income countries.

Gross National Product

The total income generated in the country is called Gross National Product (GNP).

Gross Domestic Product

The total income generated minus the income generated by exports is called the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Infant Mortality Rate

The number of children who die before completing one year out of 1000 live births is called the infant mortality rate. The lesser figure is a better indicator of development. This is an important parameter as it shows the quality and extent of availability of healthcare in a country. As per 2011 census, the child mortality rate in India is 30.15.

Male to Female Ratio

Number of female per thousand male is called sex ratio or gender ratio. A lesser figure shows society's aversion to a girl child and worse condition of women in society. As per 2011 census, the sex ratio in India is 940 per thousand male.

Life expectancy

The maximum age up to which an adult lives is called the life expectancy rate. This also shows the overall quality of life in a country. As per 2011 census, the life expectancy in India for males is 67 years and for females it is 72 years.

Literacy Rate

The percentage of literate people is another important indicator of development. Education is a big leveler as it opens newer opportunities for the educated person. Especially in a country like India you can see many examples of a brilliant student coming from a lower class family cracking the IITs or UPSC. Once you are in the IIT or the IAS then you get a bright and secure future for you and your family. As per 2011 census, the literacy rate in India is 74%.

IIT: Indian Institute of Technology
UPSC: Union Public Service Commission
IAS: Indian Administrative Services

Infrastructure

Roads, railways, airports, ports and power generation are the lifelines of a nation's economy. A better infrastructure ensures a better economic activity leading to overall prosperity.

Combination of Goals Needed for Development:

The above mentioned list is not all inclusive but they are more important than other goals which are not mentioned here. To assess the development of a country or a state or a district, etc. we need to analyze a combination of development goals. Let us look at following table to understand the meaning of development.

StatePer capita income (2013-14)Infant mortality rate (2013) Literacy rate (2011)Net attendance ratio age 14 and 15 years (2010 - 11)
Maharashtra117091248264
Kerala103820129478
Bihar31199426235

The data given in this table shows some interesting aspects of development. It shows the interrelationship between different aspects of development. When per capita income is compared, Maharashtra comes as the richest state among the three and Bihar is at the bottom.

In spite of being the richest state, Maharashtra shows a very high child mortality rate compared to Kerala. The figure is double than that for Kerala. The net attendance ratio of children 14 and 15 age group and literacy rate are higher in Kerala; as compared to Maharashtra. This explains the significantly higher child mortality rate in Maharashtra. Bihar is fairing badly against all parameters which speaks about its poor record on Human Development Index.

Human Development Index

It is a composite index of life expectancy, education and per capita income. Education includes important parameters, like literacy rate, gross enrolment ratio and net attendance ratio. Percentage of children enrolled in school is called gross enrolment ratio.

The term Human Development Index got coined at the beginning of 1990s when some economists proposed the idea of measuring development on various key indicators instead of focusing on just monetary income. Based on this index, a Human Development Report is published which ranks various countries. The following table shows Human Development Report of India and its neighbors.

CountryGNI Per Capita 2014 PPP $Life Expectancy 2014 Literacy Rate 15+ Years 2005-2013)HDI Rank
Sri Lanka977974.991.273
India54976862.8130
Myanmar460865.992.6148
Pakistan486666.254.1147
Nepal231169.657.4145
Bangladesh319171.658.8142

In terms of per capita income, Sri Lanka is way ahead of us. It is also performing better than India on other parameters. This explains the 73rd rank of Sri Lanka as compared to 130th rank of India on Human Development Index.

Sustainable Development: You have read in your science and geography lessons that resources are limited and many resources are non-renewable in nature. Moreover, whenever we process a resource we end up polluting the environment. So, we need to follow a plan to ensure sustainable development. Sustainable development can ensure development without endangering our environment. It will also ensure that resources will be available for many generations to come.