Chapter 1-The Story Of Village Palampur

1. Describe the infrastructure development of village Palampur.

Ans. The infrastructure of village Palampur is as follows:-
i) Palampur is well-connected with neighbouring villages and towns. Raiganj, a big village, is 3 kms away from
Palampur.
ii) An all weather road connects the village to Raiganj and further on to the nearest small town of Shahpur.
iii) Many kinds of transport are visible on this road starting from bullock carts, tongas, bogeys (wooden cart drawn
by buffalos) loaded with jaggery (gur) and other commodities to motor vehicles like motorcycles, jeeps, tractors
and trucks.
iv) The houses of the upper classes, some of them quite large, are made of brick with cement plastering. The SCs
(Dalits) live in one corner of the village and in much smaller houses, some of which are made of mud and straw.
v) Most of the houses have electric connections. Electricity powers all the tube-wells in the fields and is used in
various types of small business.
vi) Palampur has two primary schools and one high school. There is a primary health centre run by the
government and one private dispensary where the sick are treated.
Q2. How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?
Electricity powers all the tube wells in the fields and is used in various types of small business. It is also
used in domestic purposes like lighting.
Q3. What are farm and non-farm activities? Give examples.
i) In villages across India, farming is the main production activity. It includes cultivation of rice, wheat etc.
ii) The other production activities, referred to as non-farm activities include small manufacturing, transport, shop-
keeping, etc.
Q4. Define the term capital.
Ans. The part of wealth or money which is used for further production is termed as capital. It is an important factor
of production.
Q5. What are the four requirements for the production of goods and services? ( What are the factors of
production?)
Ans. The aim of production is to produce the goods and services that we want. There are four requirements for
production of goods and services.
i) The first requirement is land, and other natural resources such as water, forests and minerals.
ii) The second requirement is labour, i.e. people who will do the work. Each worker is providing the labour
necessary for production.
iii) The third requirement is physical capital, i.e. the variety of inputs required at every stage during production. e.g.
Tools, machines, buildings etc.
iv) The fourth requirement is the knowledge and enterprise that is required to put together land, labour and
physical capital and produce an output either to use yourself or to sell in the market. This these days is called
human capital. ( or Organization)
Q6. What are the items that come under physical capital?( Distinguish between Fixed and Working capital)
i) Tools, machines, buildings: Tools and machines range from very simple tools such as a farmer’s plough to
sophisticated machines such as generators, turbines, computers, etc. Tools, machines, buildings can be used
in production over many years, and are called fixed capital.
ii) Raw materials and money in hand: Production requires a variety of raw materials such as the yarn used by the
weaver and the clay used by the potter. Also, some money is always required during production to make
payments and buy other necessary items. Raw materials and money in hand are called working capital.
Unlike tools, machines and buildings, these are used up in production.
Q7. Describe the multiple cropping pattern of the village Palampur.
i) During the rainy season (kharif) farmers grow jowar and bajra. These plants are used as cattle feed.
ii) It is followed by cultivation of potato between October and December.
iii) In the winter season (rabi), fields are sown with wheat. From the wheat produced, farmers keep enough
wheat for the family’s consumption and sell the surplus wheat at the market at Raiganj.
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 iv) A part of the land area is also devoted to sugarcane which is harvested once every year. Sugarcane, in its raw
form, or as jaggery, is sold to traders in Shahpur.
Q8. What is meant by multiple cropping?
To grow more than one crop on a piece of land during the year is known as multiple cropping. It is the most
common way of increasing production on a given piece of land. All farmers in Palampur grow at least two main
crops, Jowar & Bajra and Wheat. Many are growing potato as the third crop in the past fifteen to twenty years.
Q.9 What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land?
i) One way of increasing production from the same land is by multiple cropping. To grow more than one crop on a
piece of land during the year is known as multiple cropping.
ii) The other way is to use modern farming methods for higher yield. Modern machineries, High Yielding Variety
seeds, better irrigation, fertilizers and chemicals etc. are used in this method.
Q10. What are the disadvantages of Green Revolution?
i) Green Revolution is associated with the loss of soil fertility due to increased use of chemical fertilizers.
ii) Continuous use of groundwater for tube well irrigation has reduced the water-table below the ground.
iii) Environmental resources like soil fertility and groundwater are built up over many years. Once destroyed it is
very difficult to restore them. We must take care of the environment to ensure future development of
agriculture. Continue..
Q11. What are the disadvantages in using chemical fertilizers?
i) Chemical fertilizers provide minerals which dissolve in water and are immediately available to plants. But
these may not be retained in the soil for long. They may escape from the soil and pollute groundwater, rivers
and lakes. Chemical fertilizers can also kill bacteria and other micro-organisms in the soil. This means some
time after their use, the soil will be less fertile than before.
ii) The consumption of chemical fertilizers in Punjab is highest in the country. The continuous use of chemical
fertilizers has led to degradation of soil health. Punjab farmers are now forced to use more and more
chemical fertilizers and other inputs to achieve the same production level. This means cost of cultivation is
rising very fast.
Q12. How is the land distributed among the farmers in Palampur?
i) In Palampur, about one third of the 450 families are landless, i.e. 150 families, most of them are Dalits and
have no land for cultivation.
ii) Of the remaining families who own land, 240 families cultivate small plots of land less than 2 hectares in size.
Cultivation of such plots doesn’t bring adequate income to the farmer family.
iii) Large number of small plots scattered around the village are cultivated by the small farmers. On the other
hand, more than half the area of the village is covered by plots that are quite large in size.
iv) In Palampur, there are 60 families of medium and large farmers who cultivate more than 2 hectares of land. A
few of the large farmers have land extending over 10 hectares or more.
Q13. Who provide labour for farming activities in Palampur?
i) Small farmers along with their families cultivate their own fields. Thus, they provide the labour required for
farming themselves.
ii) Medium and large farmers hire farm labourers to work on their fields. Farm labourers come either from
landless families or families cultivating small plots of land.
Q14. How are farm labours different from farmers?
i) Unlike farmers, farm labourers do not have a right over the crops grown on the land,. instead they are paid
wages by the farmer for whom they work.
ii) Wages can be in cash or in kind e.g. crop. Sometimes labourers get meals too. Since farmers work for
themselves wages are not given.
iii) Wages vary widely from region to region, from crop to crop, from one farm activity to another (like sowing
and harvesting).
iv) There is also a wide variation in the duration of employment. A farm labourer might be employed on a daily
basis, or for one particular farm activity like harvesting, or for the whole year. A farmer works on his land

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 according to the requirement with out considering day and time.
v) There is heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in Palampur, so people agree to work for lower
wages.
Q15. How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different from the small
farmers?
i) Most small farmers have to borrow money to arrange for the capital. They borrow from large farmers or the
village moneylenders or the traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. The rate of interest on such loans
is very high. They are put to great distress to repay the loan.
ii) In contrast to the small farmers, the medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming. They save
money by the sale of surplus farm products. They are thus able to arrange for the capital needed.
Q16. How does the sale of surplus farm products help farmers?
i) It helps farmers to arrange working capital for the next season.
ii) It helps them to buy fixed capital like tools and implements.
iii) They can deposit the money in the bank or lend to the needy people who provide them interest.
Q17. What are the non farm activities in Palampur? Explain.
i) Dairy: Dairy is a common activity in many families of Palampur. People feed their buffalos on various kinds of
grass and the jowar and bajra that grow during the rainy season. The milk is sold in Raiganj, the nearby large
village.
ii) Small scale manufacturing: Unlike the manufacturing that takes place in the big factories in the towns and cities,
manufacturing in Palampur involves very simple production methods and are done on a small scale. They are
carried out mostly at home or in the fields with the help of family labour. Rarely are labourers hired.
iii) Shop-keeping: People involved in trade (exchange of goods) are not many in Palampur. The traders of Palampur
are shopkeepers who buy various goods from wholesale markets in the cities and sell them in the village.
iv) Transport: There is variety of vehicles on the road connecting Palampur to Raiganj. Rickshawallahs,
tongawallahs, jeep, tractor, truck drivers and people driving the traditional bullock cart and bogey are people in
the transport services. They ferry people and goods from one place to another, and in return get paid for it. The
number of people involved in transport has grown over the last several years.
Q17. What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in villages?
i) It is important that loan be available at low rate of interest so that even people without savings can start some
non-farm activity.
ii) Another thing which is essential for expansion of non-farm activities is to have markets where the goods and
services produced can be sold. In Palampur, we saw the neighbouring villages, towns and cities provide the
markets for milk, jaggery, wheat, etc.
iii) As more villages get connected to towns and cities through good roads, transport and telephone, it is possible
that the opportunities for non-farm activities production in the village would increase in the coming years.
Q18. Why is the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?
There is a heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in Palampur, so people agree to work for
lower wages. Therefore the wages for farm labourers in Palampur is less than minimum wages.
Q19. Differentiate between traditional and modern methods of farming.
i) Traditional methods of farming is entirely depend on rainfall where as modern methods of farming use irrigation
facilities by constructing dams and canals.
ii) In traditional methods of farming ordinary seeds , manures and simple tools were used where as in modern
methods of farming HYV seeds, fertilizers and machineries are used.
iii) Agricultural productivity is very low in traditional methods where as it is very high in modern methods of
farming.
Chapter 2 People as Resource

1. What is meant by human capital? When does population become human capital?
Human capital is the stock of skill and productive knowledge embodied in people of a country. Population becomes
human capital when there is investment made in the form of education, training and medical care. When the
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 existing 'human resource' is further developed by becoming more educated and healthy, we call it 'human capital
formation' that adds to the productive power of the country just like 'physical capital formation'.
2. What do you understand by 'people as a resource'?
i) i)'People as Resource' is a way of referring to a country’s working people in terms of their existing productive
skills and abilities. Looking at the population from this productive aspect emphasizes its ability to contribute to
the creation of the Gross National Product.
ii) Like other resources population also is a resource — a 'human resource'. This is the positive side of a large
population that is often overlooked when we look only at the negative side, considering only the problems of
providing the population with food, education and access to health facilities.
iii) When the existing 'human resource' is further developed by becoming more educated and healthy, we call it
'human capital formation' that adds to the productive power of the country just like 'physical capital formation'.
3. Give two examples to prove that investment in human capital yields a rich return.
Investment in human capital (through education, training, medical care) yields a return just like investment in
physical capital. This can be seen directly in the form of higher incomes earned because of higher productivity of the
more educated or the better trained persons, as well as the higher productivity of healthier people.
4 . How is human resource different from other resources like land and physical capital?
Human capital is in one way superior to other resources like land and physical capital: human resource can make use
of land and capital. Land and capital cannot become useful on its own!
5. Prove by giving example that population is an asset for the economy rather than a liability.
A large population need not be a liability. It can be turned into a productive asset by investment in human capital
(for example, by spending resources on education and health for all, training of industrial and agricultural workers in
the use of modern technology, useful scientific researches and so on).
6. What is the role of education in human capital formation?
i) Education adds to the quality of labour. This enhances total productivity. Total productivity adds to the growth
of the economy.

ii) Investment in human resource (via education and medical care) can give high rates of return in the future. This
investment on people is the same as investment in land and capital.
iii) A large population need not be a liability. It can be turned into a productive asset by investment in education
and health for all, training of industrial and agricultural workers in the use of modern technology, useful
scientific researches and so on.
iv) Education helps individual to make better use of the economic opportunities available before him. Education
and skill are the major determinants of the earning of any individual in the market.
7. What is the role of health in human capital formation?
i) Health adds to the quality of labour. This enhances total productivity. Total productivity adds to the growth of
the economy.
ii) Investment in medical care can give high rates of return in the future. This investment on people is the same as
investment in land and capital.
iii) A large population need not be a liability. It can be turned into a productive asset by investment in health for all,
training of industrial and agricultural workers in the use of modern technology, useful scientific researches and
so on.
8. How does education create a virtuous cycle and a vicious cycle of development?

Virtuous cycle: Educated parents are found to invest more heavily on the education of their child. This is because
they have realised the importance of education for themselves. They are also conscious of proper nutrition and
hygiene. They accordingly look after their children’s needs for education at school and good health. A virtuous cycle
is thus created in this case.
Vicious cycle: In contrast, a vicious cycle may be created by disadvantaged parents who, themselves uneducated
and lacking in hygiene, keep their children in a similarly disadvantaged state.
9. How did Japan become a rich country in spite of shortage of natural resources?
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 Countries like Japan have invested in human resource. They did not have much natural resource. They import the
natural resource needed in their country. They have invested on people especially in the field of education and
health. These people have made efficient use of other resource like land and capital. Efficiency and the technology
evolved by people have made these countries rich/developed.
10. What are the various activities undertaken in the primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector?
Primary sector includes agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry farming.
Mining. Quarrying and manufacturing is included in the secondary sector. Textile industry is an example of
secondary sector.
Trade, transport, communication, banking, education, health, tourism, services, insurance etc. are included in the
tertiary sector. The activities in this sector result in the production of goods and services.
11. What are the two parts of economic activities? Or Distinguish between marketed and non marketed activities.
Economic activities have two parts — market activities and non-market activities. Market activities involve
remuneration to any one who performs i.e., activity performed for pay or profit. These include production of goods
or services including government service. Non-market activities are the production for self-consumption. These can
be consumption and processing of primary product and own account production of fixed assets.
12. What is the difference between economic activities and non-economic activities?
All activities that generate income are called economic activities. All activities in primary, secondary and tertiary
activities are economic activities. These are normally paid. Carpenters work, farmers work, teacher’s job etc are
economic activities. Non-economic activities are those activities that do not generate any income. Helping the poor
people, charity activities, doing work freely are non economic activities.
13. Describe the division of labour between men and women in the family.
Due to historical and cultural reasons there is a division of labour between men and women in the family. Women
generally look after domestic chores and. cooks food, cleans utensils, washes clothes, cleans the house and looks
after her children. Men work in the fields, sell the produce in the market or engage in any work outside and earns
money for the family.
14. Why are women employed in low paid work?
A majority of the women have meager education and low skill formation. Women are paid low compared to men.
15. How are women exploited in unorganized sector? Or What are the problems faced by women in employment
sector?
A majority of the women have meager education and low skill formation. Women are paid low compared to men.
Most women work where job security is not there. Various activities relating to legal protection is meager.
Employment in unorganized sector is characterized by irregular and low income. In this sector there is an absence of
basic facilities like maternity leave, childcare and other social security systems..
16. What determine the quality of population?
The quality of population depends upon the literacy rate, health of a person indicated by life expectancy and skill
formation acquired by the people of the country. The quality of population ultimately decides the growth rate of the
country. Illiterate and unhealthy population is a liability for the economy. Literate and healthy population is an asset.
17. What are the various measures taken by the government to spread education in India?
i) There is a provision made for providing universal access, retention and quality in elementary education with a
special emphasis on girls.
ii) There is also an establishment of pace setting of schools like Navodaya Vidyalaya in each district. Vocational
streams have been developed to equip large number of high school students with occupations related to
knowledge and skills.
iii) The plan outlay on education has increased from Rs 151 crore in the first five year plan to Rs 43,825 crore in the
tenth plan. The expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP rose from 0.64% in 1951–52 to 3.98% in 2002–
03.
iv) The primary school system has expanded to over 5,00,000 villages in India. Unfortunately, this huge expansion
of schools has been diluted by the poor quality of schooling and high dropout rates.
v) ‘Sarva Siksha Abhiyan’ is a significant step towards providing elementary education to all children in the age

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 group of six to fourteen years by 2010.
vi) Bridge courses and back-to-school camps have been initiated to increase the enrollment in elementary
education.
vii) Mid-day meal scheme has been implemented to encourage attendance and retention of children and improve
their nutritional status. These policies could add to the literate population of India.
18. What is the target of tenth five year plan in the field of education?
The tenth plan endeavoured to increase the enrollment in higher education of the 18 to 23 years age group from the
present 6% to 9% by the end of the plan period. The strategy focuses on increasing access, quality, and adoption of
states-specific curriculum modification, vocationalisation and networking on the use of information technology. The
plan also focuses on distant education, convergence of formal, non-formal, distant and IT education institutions.
19. What part does health play in the individual’s working life?
The health of a person helps him to realize his potential and the ability to fight illness. It increases the longevity of
life and increases self confidence. It also reduces infant mortality rate. An unhealthy person becomes a liability for
an organization indeed; health is an indispensable basis for realizing one’s well being. Henceforth, improvement in
the health status of the population has been the priority of the country. Add answer 7
20. What is the aim of India’s national health policy?
Our national policy, aimed at improving the accessibility of health care, family welfare and nutritional service with
special focus on underprivileged segment of population. Over the last five decades India has built up a vast health
infrastructure and man power required at primary secondary and tertiary care in Government as well as in the
private sector.
21. How will you explain the term unemployment?
Unemployment is said to exist when people who are willing to work at the going wages cannot find jobs.
22. What is the difference between disguised unemployment and seasonal unemployment?
i) Seasonal unemployment happens when people are not able to find jobs during some months of the year. People
dependant upon agriculture usually face such kind of problem. There are certain busy seasons when sowing,
harvesting, weeding, threshing is done. Certain months do not provide much work to the people dependant on
agriculture.
ii)In case of disguised unemployment people appear to be employed. They have agricultural plot where they find
work. This usually happens among family members engaged in agricultural activity. The work requires the service
of five people but
engages eight people. Three people are extra. These three people also work in the same plot as five people. The
contribution made by the three extra people does not add to the contribution made by the five people. If three
people are removed the productivity of the field will not decline.
23. Why is educated unemployed, a peculiar problem of India?
In case of urban areas educated unemployment has become a common phenomenon. Literacy rate in India has
increased. Many youth with matriculation, graduation and post graduation degrees are not able to find job. A study
showed that unemployment of graduate and post-graduate has increased faster than among matriculates.
24. What is the paradoxical manpower situation in India?
A surplus of manpower in certain categories coexist with shortage of manpower in others.
There is unemployment among technically qualified person on one hand, while there is a shortage of technical skills
required for economic growth.
25. What are the consequences ( effects) of unemployment?
i) Unemployment leads to wastage of manpower resource. People who are an asset for the economy turn into a
liability.
ii) There is a feeling of hopelessness and despair among the youth. People do not have enough money to support
their family.
iii) Inability of educated people who are willing to work to find gainful employment implies a great social waste.
iv) Unemployment tends to increase economic overload. The dependence of the unemployed on the working
population increases. The quality of life of an individual as well as of society is adversely affected.

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 v) When a family has to live on a bare subsistence level there is a general decline in its health status and rising
withdrawal from the school system. Hence, unemployment has detrimental impact on the overall growth of an
economy.
vi) Increase in unemployment is an indicator of a depressed economy. It also wastes the resource, which could have
been gainfully employed. If people cannot be used as a resource, they naturally appear as a liability to the
economy.
26. Why is the unemployment rate in India lower than the actual situation?
In case of India, statistically, the unemployment rate is low. A large number of people represented with low income
and productivity are counted as employed. They appear to work throughout the year but in terms of their potential
and income, it is not adequate
for them. The work that they are pursuing seems forced upon them. They may therefore want other work of their
choice.
27. How is the hardship of unemployment in rural sector reduced?
i) Poor people cannot afford to sit idle. They tend to engage in any activity irrespective of its earning potential.
Their earning keeps them on a bare subsistence level.
ii) Moreover, the employment structure is characterized by self-employment in the primary sector. The whole
family contributes in the field even though not everybody
is really needed. So there is disguised unemployment in the agriculture sector. But all the family also have a share in
what has been produced. This concept of sharing of work in the field and the produce raised reduces the hardship of
unemployment in the rural sector.
Assess any five main features of ‘Sarva Siksha Abhiyan.’

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