Chapter 1 Development

Development: It is a situation that can fulfill the aspiration or desires of

people. It is the progress or improvement in the lifestyle of the people.
Two aspects of development are:

Different people can have different development goals.

What may be development for one may not be development
for others.
Different people can have different development goals
It is because the life situations of people are different. People see things
that are most important for them or that can fulfill their aspirations or
desires. For example, the development goal of a boy from a rich urban
family would be to get admission to a reputed college whereas the
development goal of a girl from a rich urban family would be to get as
much freedom as her brother.

What may be development for one may not be development for

others (i.e., Development Goals can be conflicting):
 At times two people or groups of people may seek things that
are conflicting. A girl expects as much freedom and
opportunity as her brother and he also shares in the
household work. Her brother may not like this.
 Similarly, to get more electricity, industrialists may want more
dams but this may submerge the land and disturb the lives of
people who are displaced, such as tribals.

Development Goals of Different Categories of Persons:

Categories of Person Development Goals

Assured a high family income

i. More days of work and better wages
through higher support prices for
ii. local school is able to provide quality education
their crops and through hardworking
iii. for their children
and cheap laborers; they
iv. there is no social discrimination
should be able to settle their children
v. they too can become leaders in the village
abroad.

i. Assured a high family income through higher support prices for

Prosperous farmers from Punjab their crops and through hardworking and cheap laborers
ii. they should be able to settle their children abroad.

i. To have irrigational facilities

Farmers who depend only on rain for
ii. crop insurance at less premium,
growing crops
iii. water facilities of life for them as well as their children

i. They would like to have more days of work and better wages.
ii. local schools to provide quality education to their children
Landless rural laborers
iii. there should not be any social discrimination so that they too can
become leaders in the village.
 i. Opportunity for higher education
Urban unemployed youth ii. availability of an office job
iii. a self-owned house

i. Education and Skill Development to enhance future employability

and economic prospects.
ii. Entrepreneurship and Innovation to create new business ventures
A boy from a rich urban family
and contribute to economic growth.
iii. Financial Literacy to ensure long-term financial stability and
growth.

i. She gets as much freedom as her brother and is able to decide what
A rural woman from a land-owning
she wants to do in life.
family
ii. She is able to pursue her studies abroad

i. No social discrimination
ii. year-round employment
An adivasi from Narmada valley
iii. school education for children
iv. PDS shop in his village.
Goals of Development:
 Income
 Equal treatment
 Freedom,
 Security
 Respect for others.
 Discrimination free society
For development, people look at a mix of goals: It is true that if
women are engaged in paid work, their dignity in the household and
society increases. However, it is also the case that if there is respect for
women there would be more sharing of housework and a greater
acceptance of women working outside. A safe and secure environment
may allow more women to take up a variety of jobs or run a business.
How to Compare Different Countries or States?
For comparing countries, their income is considered to be one of the most
important attributes. This is based on the understanding that more
income means more of all things that human beings need. Whatever
people like, and should have, they will be able to get with greater income.
So, the greater income itself is considered to be one important goal.
However, for comparison between countries, total income is not such a
useful measure. Since, countries have different populations, comparing
total income will not tell us what an average person is likely to earn.

Average Income/Per Capita Income: The average income is the total

income of the country divided by its total population. The average income
is also called per capita income.
 In World Development Reports, brought out by the World
Bank, Per Capita Income is used in classifying countries.
 Countries with a per capita income of US$ 49,300 per annum
and above in 2019, are called high-income or rich countries.
 Countries with a per capita income of US$ 2500 per annum or
less are called low-income countries.
 India comes in the category of low-middle-income countries
because its per capita income in 2019 was just US$ 6700 per
annum.
Disadvantages of using Average Income as a criterion to compare
countries:
 Average income hides the disparity.
 Average income does not tell us the distribution of income
among people.
 It is just a material criterion for the comparison.
Comparison of Haryana, Kerala, and Bihar (on the basis of
average income/per capita income):
State Per Capita Income for 2018–19 (in ₹)

Haryana 2,36,147

Kerala 2,04,105

Bihar 40,982
We find that of the three, Haryana has the highest per capita
income and Bihar is at the bottom.
 So, if per capita income were to be used as the measure of
development, Haryana will be considered the most developed
and Bihar the least developed state of the three.
Comparison of Haryana, Kerala, and Bihar (on the basis of other
criteria):
Net Attendance Ratio (per
Infant Mortality
Literacy Rate % 2017–18
State Rate per 1,000
2017–18 100 persons) secondary stage
live births (2018)
(age 14 and 15 years) 2017–18

Haryana 30 82 61

Kerala 7 94 83

Bihar 32 62 43
1. Infant Mortality Rate (or IMR) indicates the number of
children that die before the age of one year
as a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular
year.
2. Literacy Rate measures the proportion of the literate
population in the 7-and-above age group.
3. Net Attendance Ratio is the total number of children of age
group 14 and 15 years attending school as a percentage of
total number of children in the same age group.
 The first column of the table shows that in Kerala, out of 1000
children born, 7 died before completing one year of age but in
 Haryana, the proportion of children dying within one year of
birth was 30, which is nearly three times more than that of
Kerala. On the other hand, the per capita income of Haryana is
more than that of Kerala.
 The last column of the table shows that about half of the
children aged 14-15 in Bihar are not attending school beyond
Class 8. This means that if you went to school in Bihar nearly
half of your elementary class friends would be missing.
Public Facilities:
Public facilities are those provided by the government instead of
individuals or private sources. For this reason, they may be either highly
subsidized or totally free of cost. They are important because many
persons do not have enough income to be able to avail of facilities
provided by the private sector resulting in difficulties faced like
inadequate healthcare, poor nutrition, lack of education, etc. The utility of
two public facilities available in India are:

 The public distribution system (PDS) provides fair average

quality food grains and other essential items to the weaker
section of the population at subsidized prices.
 Health care in government hospitals and dispensaries is
provided to all at a subsidized rate. This includes outpatient as
well as hospitalization facilities.
Money in our pockets cannot buy all the goods and services that
we may need to live well.
 Money cannot buy us a pollution-free environment.
 Money cannot buy us a disease-free life and might not be able
to get protection from infectious diseases.
 Besides money, people also like to have equal treatment in
society, freedom, dignity, and honor in their lives, which
money cannot buy them.
Body Mass Index (BMI): Body mass index (BMI) is a person's weight in
kilograms divided by the square of height in meters.

Human Development Index (HDI):

United Nations Development Programme has used the criterion of the
Human Development Index to measure the development of countries. The
human development index is a composite index of the achievements of a
nation in terms of three important variables (longevity, knowledge, and
standard of living, quality of life).

HDI is calculated on the basis of:

 Per capita income: It is calculated by dividing the total

national income of a country by the total population.
 Life expectancy: It is the average expected length of life of a

person at the time of birth in a country.
 Gross enrolment ratio for three levels: It means the enrolment
ratio for primary schools, secondary schools, and higher
education beyond the secondary level.
Human Development Report Vs World Development Report:
World Bank's method of measuring
UNDP's method of measuring development
development

i. UNDP compares on the basis of literacy rate, gross enrolment i. World Bank compares on the basis of
ratio, and health status of people. per capita income.

ii. It divides the countries according to

ii. It gives ranks to the countries according to their level of - rich or high-income countries
development. - middle-income or developing countries
- poor or low-income countries

iii. It is a wider concept as it includes other things besides income. iii. It is a narrow concept.
Comparison of India with its Neighbors:
Gross National Income HDI Rank in
Life Expectancy Mean Years of Schooling of
Country (GNI) per capita (2011 the world
at Birth People aged 25 and above
PPP $) (2018)

Sri Lanka 12,707 77 10.6 73

India 6,681 69.7 6.5 130

Myanmar 4,961 67.1 5.0 148

Pakistan 5,005 67.3 5.2 154

Nepal 3,457 70.8 5.0 143

Bangladesh 4,976 72.6 6.2 134

Note:

1. HDI stands for Human Development Index. HDI ranks in the

above table are out of 189 countries in all.
2. Life Expectancy at birth denotes the average expected
length of life of a person at the time of birth.
3. Per Capita Income is calculated in dollars for all countries so
that it can be compared. It is also done in a way so that every
dollar would buy the same amount of goods and services in
any country.
4. Sri Lanka is much ahead of India in every respect.
5. Nepal and Bangladesh have low per capita income than that
of India, yet they are better than India in life expectancy.
Sustainable Development:
Development, at present, without harming the environment and also
keeping it safe for future generations is termed sustainable development.

 Groundwater, which is a renewable resource, is getting

depleted because of its overuse. People are facing the
problem of a water crisis due to its indiscriminate use.
 The development that emerged from the fast industrialization
leads to the cutting of forests and its result is a polluted-
environment for the present as well as for future generations.
 Crude oil which is a non-renewable resource with limited stock
is depleting gradually. So we need to use it wisely.
The present sources of energy that are used by the people of India are:

 Electricity
 Coal
 Crude oil
 Cow dung
 Solar energy