Development: India And Its Neighbours

NCERT Solution

Fill in the blanks

1. First Five Year Plan of ________________ commenced in the year 1956. (Pakistan/China)
2. Maternal mortality rate is high in _____________. (China/Pakistan)
3. Proportion of people below poverty line is more in __________(India/Pakistan)
4. Reforms in ______________ were introduced in 1978. (China/Pakistan)

Answer:(a) Pakistan, (b) Pakistan, (c) India, (d) China

Question 1: Why are regional and economic groupings formed?

Answer: Regional and economic groupings are formed by nations to strengthen their economies by close cooperation and by knowledge sharing.

Question 2: What are the various means by which countries are trying to strengthen their own domestic economies?

Answer: As the examples of India, China and Pakistan show; countries are trying various means to strengthen their own domestic economies. Reforms in agriculture, improvement in industrial production and promoting privatization are the major means to attain this.

Question 3: What similar developmental strategies have India and Pakistan followed for their respective developmental paths?

Answer: Both India and Pakistan began with greater focus on public sector during the first phase of economic development. After that, both the countries followed the path of privatization so that productivity could be improved. In the agricultural sector, both the countries implemented Green Revolution.

Question 4: Explain the Great Leap Forward campaign of China as initiated in 1958.

Answer: The Great Leap Forward campaign of China began in 1958. It was aimed at industrializing the country in a big way. People were encouraged to set up industries in their backyards. Communes were started in rural areas so that farming could be collectively done.

Question 5: China’s rapid industrial growth can be traced back to its reforms in 1978. Do you agree? Elucidate.

Answer: China’s rapid industrial growth can be traced back to its reforms in 1978. Reforms were introduced in phases in China. In the first phase, reforms were initiated in agriculture, foreign trade and investment sector. Reforms in the industrial sector were initiated in the second phase. Private sector was encouraged to improve production. Village and township enterprises which were owned by the local government were also encouraged to improve production. The State Owned Enterprises (SEOs) were made to face competition with the private sector. A policy of dual pricing was followed to improve industrial productivity. Special economic zones were also created to motivate industrialists.

Question 6: Describe the path of developmental initiatives taken by Pakistan for its economic development.

Answer: In the 1950s and 1960s Pakistan introduced many policies for import substitution in order to protect its domestic industry. During this period, Green Revolution was initiated to improve agricultural output. In 1970s the capital goods industry was nationalized. Pakistan then dramatically changed its economic policy in the late 1970s and 1980s. The new policies were aimed at greater privatization. In addition to changes in policies, inflow of foreign loans and remittances helped in creating a conducive environment of growth in Pakistan.

Question 7: What is the important implication of the ‘one child norm’ in China?

Answer: While the ‘one child norm’ helped in arresting the growth of population in China, it has a severe drawback. After some years from now, there will more elderly people in China than young people. The cost of social security will increase while number of workers will decline significantly in China. This will result in huge economic burden on China.

Question 8: Mention the salient demographic indicators of China, Pakistan and India.

Answer: The population of China is 1.35 billion, that of India is 1.2 billion and that of Pakistan is 179 million. The annual growth rate of population is highest in Pakistan (1.68) followed by India (1.26) and China comes a distant third at 0.49. Sex ratio is almost equal in these countries with about 48% of the population comprised of females. The fertility rate is highest in Pakistan at 3.3%; followed by India (2.6) and China (1.6). The level of urbanization is highest in China at 57%; followed by Pakistan (37) and India (32).

Question 9: Mention the various indicators of human development.

Answer: Various indicators of human development are as follows:

• Life expectancy at birth
• Adult literacy rate
• GDP per capita
• People below poverty line
• Infant mortality rate
• Maternal mortality rate
• Population with improved access to sanitation and drinking water

Question 10: Define the liberty indicator. Give some examples of liberty indicators.

Answer: Parameters which show relative democratic liberty and freedom enjoyed by citizens in a country can be termed as liberty indicator. The extent of democratic participation in social and political decision making is an example of liberty indicator. Extent of constitutional protection to rights of citizens is another example.

Question 11: Evaluate the various factors that led to the rapid growth in economic development in China.

Answer: There are many factors which led to the rapid growth in economic development in China. Unlike India and Pakistan; Chinese reforms were not initiated under compulsion from IMF and World Bank, rather they were the results of an innate desire by the political establishment. Establishment of infrastructure in the areas of health and education, long existence of decentralized planning and existence of small enterprises helped in ensuring the success of the reforms. Provision of education and healthcare in rural areas helped in developing human capital. The commune system helped in equitable distribution of food grains among the people. Each reform measure was first implemented at small level and then replicated at bigger level. Decentralization helped in proper analysis of successes and failures of various reform measures.

Question 12: Group the following features pertaining to the economies of India, China and Pakistan under three heads:
One-child norm, Low fertility rate, High degree of urbanization, Mixed economy, Very high fertility rate, Large population, High density of population, Growth due to manufacturing sector, Growth due to service sector.

Answer: India: Mixed economy, very high fertility rate, large population, high density of population, growth due to service sector
China: One-child norm, low fertility rate, high degree of urbanization, mixed economy, large population, growth due to manufacturing sector
Pakistan: Mixed economy, very high fertility rate, growth due to service sector

Question 13: Give reasons for the slow growth and re-emergence of poverty in Pakistan.

Answer: Experts believe that growth in Pakistan was mainly caused by years of good harvest. Moreover, growth was fueled by finance from external borrowings and remittances from the Middle East. When the crops failed the economy suffered. This also resulted in greater inability in paying back loans. These factors led to slow growth and re-emergence of poverty in Pakistan.

Question 14: Compare and contrast the development of India, China and Pakistan with respect to some salient human development indicators.

Answer: China is way ahead of India and Pakistan at most of the human development indicators. Pakistan is ahead of India in terms of reducing the number of people below poverty line and in providing better sanitation and drinking water. But both the countries perform equally badly in terms of infant mortality and maternal mortality rates. All the three countries perform badly in sex ratio. However, in assessing human development we should not ignore various liberty indicators which include extent of democratization and protection of various fundamental rights.

Question 15: Comment on the growth rate trends witnessed in China and India in the last two decades.

Answer: In the last two decades, China has been able to maintain double digit growth rate. India began with a low growth rate of 5.7% in the first decade and has fared somewhat better in the second decade with 7.4% growth rate.

Question 16: Compare and contrast India and China’s sectoral contribution towards GDP in 2003. What does it indicate?

Answer: The following table shows sectoral contribution in GDP in 2003 in India, China and Pakistan.

It is clear from the above table that agriculture is the lowest contributor to GDP in all the three countries. In case of China, industry is the largest contributor to GDP and service sector is slightly behind it. But in case of Pakistan and India, the service sector is the largest contributor to the GDP and is way ahead of the other two sectors.

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