The Indian School, Kingdom Of Bahrain

Class- 10 SOCIAL SCIENCE

ECONOMICS CHAPTER-1 DEVELOPMENT
1. Give three examples where an average is used for comparing situations.
Ans: Height of students in a class with a large number of students, income of the people of a
state, marks obtained by the students in a subject etc. are some examples where averages are
used for comparing.
2. Why do you think average income is an important criterion for development? Explain
Ans. Average income is an important criterion for development because average income is the
total income of the country divided by the total population of the country. It tells about the actual
earnings of an individual and the increase in the standard of living. If the average of a country is
on a higher side, its chances of faring better on development index are more. Hence average can
be a better criterion for development.
3. Besides sizes of per capita income, what other property of income is important in
comparing two or more societies?
Ans: Equitable distribution of income and the purchasing power parity which is the ability of the
people to purchase things are the other property of income taken into consideration while
comparing two or more societies.
4. What is the main criteria used by the World Bank in classifying
different countries? What are the limitations of the criterion, if any?
Ans: Per capita income is the main criteria used by the World Bank in classifying different
countries. The limitations of the criterion are
 It does not show distribution of income.
 It does not include factors such as infant mortality rate, literacy, health care etc.
5. In what respect is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development different
from the one used by the World Bank?
Ans: World Bank uses per capita income for measuring development while UNDP uses factors
like literacy rate, health status and per capita income which helps in improving the quality of life
and productive capacity of the people.
6.Why do we use averages? Are there any limitations to their use? Illustrate with your
examples related to development.
Ans: We use averages because it helps in comparing different quantities of the same category. It
reveals the general performance level. For example to understand the economic development of a
country we calculate the average income of a country.
There are limitations for calculating averages because according to this criterion it is difficult to
understand the distribution of income of the people of the country. Few people may be very rich
whereas majority are poor.
It hides disparities and does not show the actual performance.
7. Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human development ranking than
Maharashtra. Hence the per capita income is not a useful criterion at all and should not be
considered for calculating states. Do you agree? Discuss.
Ans: No, Per capita income is considered as a useful criterion for comparing development.
Kerala with a lower per capita income has a better human development ranking than Maharashtra
/Haryana because human development ranking uses factors such as health, education and income
to measure development. Hence average income cannot be neglected. it is considered as a
development factor . To measure development and comparing countries World Bank uses per
capita income. Human Development Index uses development factors like health, education,
income etc.
8. Find out the present sources of energy that are used by the people in India. What could
be the other possibilities fifty years from now on?
Ans: The present sources of energy used by the people of India includes coal, petroleum, natural
gas etc. These are non-renewable in nature. The other possibilities fifty years from now can be
using solar energy, wind energy, bio-diesel, and nuclear energy as a source energy. These are
renewable sources of energy.
9. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?
Ans: Sustainable development refers to the judicious utilization of natural resources without
compromising the needs of the future generations.
The issue of sustainability is important for development because if the resources are not used
carefully utilized, development may become stagnant after a point of time due to the
unavailability of resources. This will affect development.
It also prevents environmental damage and promotes the use of renewable resources.
10. “The earth has enough resources to meet the needs of all but not enough to satisfy the
greed of even one person”. How is this statement relevant to the discussion of development?
Discuss.
Ans: This statement warns against the use of modern technology in production which leads to
over exploitation of resources and causes damage to the environment.
Human greed has resulted in irrational use of resources, resource depletion and degradation.
So it is the responsibility of the people to use them wisely without wastage or causing
environmental degradation and respecting the needs of the future generations.
11. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have observed around
you.
Ans: i) Soil erosion ii) Depletion of ground water iii) Deforestation iv) Ozone layer depletion
v) Water pollution, Air pollution, Land pollution.
12. What should India do to achieve and become a developed country?
Ans: i) India should improve the per capita income by achieving rapid industrial development
and promotion of tertiary services.
ii) Life expectancy of the people should be increased by improving the health status through
awareness and immunization, Providing maternal and child health care and improving the
nutritional status of the people.
iii) Literacy rate and Gross Enrolment Ratio should be improved by effectively implementing the
constitutional provision of providing free and compulsory education upto the age of 14years.