Development NCERT In Text Questions
Question 1: Why do different persons have different notions of development? Which of the following explanations is more important and why?
- Because people are different.
- Because life situations of persons are different.
Answer: The second explanation is more important about different notions of development for different people. A person’s development needs depend on the situation around him.
This can be illustrated with a simple example which is as follows. If a person is living in a remote village which is not accessible by road, then construction of an all weather road would be the developmental need for that person. On the other hand, if a person is living in a metro city and finds it difficult to commute to his workplace, construction of rapid transit system would be the developmental need for that person.
Answer the following questions:
Question 2: Do the following two statements mean the same? Justify your answer.
- People have different developmental goals.
- People have conflicting developmental goals.
Answer: Both the statements are true but their meanings are different. Two people may have different developmental goals buy they need not always be conflicting. For example; construction of a flyover to reduce waiting time at a railway crossing can be the developmental goal for an office worker. But if the construction of the flyover necessitates demolition of slums, it can be contradictory for the slum dwellers. But on the other hand, 24 hour electricity supply would be developmental goal for almost each and every person.
Question 3: Give some examples where factors other than income are important aspects of our lives.
Answer: Good income is important for a comfortable life, but it is not the only important factor. A good income would be useless if a person does not have access to quality health services. If good schools are not available in the neighbourhood, it can be difficult to provide proper education to the children. These are some examples which show factors; other than income; which affect our life.
Answer the following questions:
Question 4: Explain some of the important ideas of the above section in your own words.
Answer: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. For example; a dam may be developmental goal for an industrialist, but the same dam can create havoc with the life of people who need to be evacuated in the catchment area.
Different people have different developmental needs. These needs are based on their particular life situations. For example; for a person in a remote village, access to an all weather road can be the developmental goal. On the other hand, for a person living in Delhi or Mumbai; construction of a rapid mass transit system may be the developmental goal.
Question 5: Give three examples where an average is used for comparing situations.
Answer: Height of students in a class with a large number of students, income of people of a state, forest cover in a country, etc. are some examples where averages are used for comparing situations.
Question 6: Why do you think average income is an important criterion for development? Explain.
Answer: Income can enable people to at least make provision for basic necessities of life. If the average income of a country is on a higher side, its chances of faring better on development index are better. Hence, average income can be an important criterion for development.
Question 7: Besides size of per capita income, what other property of income is important in comparing two or more societies?
Answer: Purchasing power parity is another important property of income; while comparing two or more societies. Purchasing power parity shows the ability of people to purchase some items which are taken for comparison.
Question 8: Suppose records show that the average income in a country has been increasing over a period of time. From this, can we conclude that all sections of the economy have become better? Illustrate your answer with an example.
Answer: Increase in average income cannot be a guarantee of overall progress of the economy. As the data of Punjab and Kerala; in this chapter; show, there are other factors which also need to be analysed before arriving at a conclusion. Some of those factors are; infant mortality rate, literacy rate, etc.
Question 9: From the text, find out the per capita income level of middle-income countries as per World Development Reports.
Answer: Sri Lanka: $ 9779, India: $ 5497, Pakistan: $ 4866
Question 10: Write a paragraph on your notion of what should India do, or achieve, to become a developed country.
Answer: When we look at the figures related to Human Development Index, India lags behind on several parameters. Although the life expectancy, infant mortality, and literacy rate have shown improvement in 2011 census, much more needs to be done. Given the vast population of India, the absolute number of infants how die before completing one year is very high. This can be attributed to lack of proper healthcare, drinking water, sanitation and nutrition; especially in rural areas. India needs to develop facilities to improve on these parameters to become a developed country.