Class 10 Economics Chapter - 1 Development

1. Development of a country can generally be determined by

(i) its per capita income
(ii) its average literacy level
(iii) health status of its people
(iv) all the above
Ans: (iv) all the above
2. Which of the following neighbouring countries has better performance in
terms of human development than India?
(i) Bangladesh
(ii) Sri Lanka
(iii) Nepal
(iv) Pakistan
Ans: (ii) Sri Lanka
3. Assume there are four families in a country. The average per capita income
of these families is Rs 5000. If the income of three families is Rs 4000, Rs 7000
and Rs 3000 respectively, what is the income of the fourth family?
(i) Rs 7500
(ii) Rs 3000
(iii) Rs 2000
(iv) Rs 6000
Ans: (iv) Rs 6000
4. What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different
countries? What are the limitations of this criterion, if any?
Ans: Per Capita Income is the main criterion used by the World Bank in
classifying different countries. The limitations of this criterion are:
 It doesn’t show the distribution of income.
  It also ignores other factors such as infant mortality rate, literacy level,
healthcare, etc.
5. In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring
development different from the one used by the World Bank?
Ans: The World Bank only uses per capita income for measuring development
while UNDP uses many other factors like infant mortality and healthcare
facility education level which help in improving the quality of life and in making
the citizens more productive.
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 they are useful for comparing differing
quantities of the same category. For example, to compute the per capita
income of a country, averages have to be used because there are differences in
the incomes of diverse people. However, there are limitations to the use of
averages. This does not show the distribution of things between people. For
example, if a country has a very high per capita income then we can’t say that
citizens living in that country are very rich because we do not know about the
distribution of wealth in that country. Some people might be richer while other
people are very poor in that country.
7. Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human development
ranking than Punjab. Hence, per capita income is not a useful criterion at all
and should not be used to compare states. Do you agree? Discuss.
Ans: No, I do not agree with the statement that per capita income is not a
useful criterion at all. Kerala, with lower per capita income, has a better human
development ranking than Punjab because, human development ranking is
determined using a combination of factors such as health, education, and
income. So, this does not imply that per capita income is not useful. Rather,
per capita income is one of the development factors and can not be neglected.
The World Bank uses per capita income as the criterion for measuring
development and comparing states. However, this criterion has certain
limitations because the determination of the Human Development Index (HDI)
is done using this criterion along with some other development factors like
health, education, 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?
Ans: The present sources of energy that are used by the people of India are
electricity, coal, crude oil, cow dung, and solar energy. Other possibilities fifty
years from now, could include ethanol, bio-diesel, nuclear energy, and better
utilisation of wind energy, especially with the imminent danger of oil resources
running out.
9. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?
Ans: The issue of sustainability is important for development because
development must be in tandem with the future. If natural resources are not
sustained, then development will stagnate after a point of time. Exploiting
resources unethically will ultimately undo the development that a country may
have achieved. This is because, in the future, those resources will not be
available for further progress.
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: “The Earth has enough resources to meet the needs of all but not enough
to satisfy the greed of even one person”. This statement is relevant to the
discussion of development since both resources and development go hand in
hand. For the sustainability of development, the maintenance of resources is
also crucial. As the statement claims, the Earth has enough resources-
renewable and non-renewable to satisfy everyone’s needs; however, these
need to be used to keep the environment protected and clean so that a
balance of production and use is maintained, and shortages are avoided.
11. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have
observed around you.
Ans: A few examples of environmental degradation:
 Deforestation
 Soil erosion
 Falling levels of groundwater
 Depletion of the ozone layer and combustion from automobiles causing
extreme
  air pollution
 Water Pollution
12. The following table shows the proportion of adults (aged 15-49 years)
whose BMI is below normal (BMI <18.5 kg/m2) in India. It is based on a
survey of various states for the year 2015-16. Look at the table and answer
the following questions.

State Male Female

Kerala
8.5 10
Karnataka
17 21
Madhya
28 28
Pradesh

All States 20 23

a. Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

Ans: The nutritional status of the populace of Kerala is superior to that of
Madhya Pradesh.
b. Can you guess why around one-fifth of people in the country are
undernourished even though it is argued that there is enough food in the
country? Describe in your own words.
Ans: Despite claims that there is enough food in the nation, one-fifth of the
population suffers from undernourishment for the following reasons:
 The difference in food grain distribution through the Public Distribution
System (PDS).
 The impoverished people in the nation cannot afford wholesome meals.
 People with lower levels of education experience unemployment, which
makes it difficult for them to pay for food, which is a basic need.
 At the fixed-price stores, the ration is not distributed properly.