Development Class 10 Notes – Chapter 1

Social Science Economics

Development Class 10 Notes
• Development is the sum total of income plus quality of life. Besides seeking more income
one way or another, people also seek things like equal treatment, freedom, security, respect
of others etc.
• Different people have different goals in their life. What may be development for one
may not be development for another. This can be understood by the following example :
To get more electricity, an industrialist may want more dams. But this may submerge the
land and disrupt the lives of people who are displaced, such as tribes.
• One common thing among all people is the desire for more income. With this income
they buy goods and services for their daily needs. Quality of life depends on non-
material things also. Example – A job may give you less pay but may offer regular
employment that enhances your sense of security.
• Ideas of development differ at individual and nation l level. For example, a landless rural
labourer may desire more days of work and better wages at individual level; but at
national level he may want good educational and health facilities in local area.
• The average income can be calculated by dividing national income by the population. It
is also called per capita income.
• Standard of living of people in a coun ry depends on their per capita income. Countries
with higher per capita income are m re developed than others with less per capita
income.
• Education and health also play an important role in the country’s development.

Other Terms
1. Infant Mortality Rate (IMF) : It indicates the number of children who die before the
age of one ye r, s a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year.
2. Literacy Rate : It measures the proportion of literate population in the 7 and above age
group.
3. Net Attendance Ratio : It is the total number of children of age group 6-10 attending
school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group.

Human development index

indicators
1. Life Expectany at Birth : It denotes average expected length of life of a person at the
time of birth.
2. Gross Enrolment Ratio : It shows enrolment ratio in primary schools, secondary
schools and in higher education.
3. Per Capita Income : It is calculated in dollars for all countries so that it can be adding
all the three indicators and dividing by 3, gives the human development index.
Important Questions
Q.1. Do the following statements mean the same? Justify your answer.
• People have different development goals.
• People have conflicting development goals.
Ans. Both the statements mean the same thing because people may have different development
goals which can be conflicting in nature, depending upon their occupation, location and their
aspirations.

Q.2. Why do different people have different notions of development? Which of the
following explanation is more important and why?
• Because people are different.
• Because life situations of people are different.
Ans. The concept of development essentially depends upon individual perspective.
A person from a rural background would want the focus on latest technique in farming,
availability of the state of the art technology, agricultural infrastructure and lesser dependence
on monsoon for irrigating his farmland.

Development Class 10 Notes

Q.3. For each of the items given in the following table find out which country is at the top
and which is at the bottom.
Table : Some Data Regarding India and Its Neighbours for 2004

Country Per capita ($) Life expectancy at birth Literacy rate for 15+

Shi Lanka 4390 74 91

India 3139 64 61

Myammar 1027 61 90

Pakistan 2225 63 50

Nepal 1490 62 50

Bangladesh 1879 63 41
Ans.
• In case of capita income, Sri Lanka is at the top and Myanm is at the bottom.
• Under the item of life expectancy at birth, Sri Lanka is at the top and Myanmar is at the
bottom.
• Under the item of gross enrolment ratio Sri Lanka is t the top and Pakistan is at the bottom.
• Under the item of literacy rate, Sri Lanka is at the top and Bangladesh is at the bottom.
• Under the item of HDI rank in the world, Sri Lanka is at the top and Nepal is at the bottom.
Q.4. Suppose a record shows 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.
Ans. Rising average income in a country over a period of time may not necessarily mean that
all sections of the economy have bec me better because average income fails to explain the
criterion of distribution among masses.This can be explained with the help of an example.
In a birthday party if we distribute equal pieces of cake to all children, they will all be happy
whereas if we give large proportion of cake to only a few children and leave many of the
children with much smaller sizes or no cake at all, most of the children will be unhappy in such
a party. Therefore equitable distribution of anything will ensure better satisfaction of all
sections of society.

Q.6. Kerala with lower per capital income has a better human development ranking than
Punjab. Hence per c pita income in not a useful criterion at all and should not be used to
compare states. Do you agree? Discuss.
Ans. Per capital income is an important criterion of development. Countries with higher per
capital income are more developed than others. Higher per capital income means better
availability of goods and services that everyone requires.
However, per capital income is not the only criterion for development. Other factors like infant
mortality rate (IMF) and literacy rate are equally important. Therefore, per capital income along
with other development indicators as in human development index, listed above, are used to
calculate the overall development of a particular state.

Q.7. “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 the
topic? Discuss.
Ans. The concept of sustainability explains the capacity to use the resources judiciously and
maintain their balance. Thus, sustainability is a matter of sharing development opportunity and
not the poverty and human deprivation. If the present is miserable and unacceptable to
the majority of the world’s people, it must be changed before it is sustained.
Every generation wants to get the maximum benefits from the available resources but it would
be disastrous because the available resources will be exhausted at a rapid speed and in such
circumstance the future generation will be deprived of such resources. Resources such as
mineral wealth, iron, gold, copper, silver etc. are exhaustable; hence we should use them
judiciously.

Q.8. Find out present sources of energy used by people in India. What could be
possibilities fifty years from now?
Ans. Coal, petroleum products, electricity are some of the present sources of energy used by
people in India. Petroleum products and coal are non-renewable sources of energy. These
natural resources would be exhausted after a few years if they are not used judiciously.
Possibilities for energy sources after fifty years can be nuclear energy from radio-active
elements, solar energy, wind energy etc. Wind, sunlight are non-ex austive resources which
may be utilized without interruption for years and years.
Q.9. Why is the issue of sustainability important?
Ans. The issue of sustainability is important because it is desire able to raise the level of
development but not at the cost of quality of life of the future generations.
The concept of sustainability explains the rationalisation of the use of natural resources in such
a manner that what we achieve today should not be at the cost of what ought to be achieved
tomorrow.

Sustainable development lays special emphasis on environmental protection.Sustainable

development is used for both developed and underdeveloped economy.

Q. 10 ‘While average income is useful for comparison but it may hide

disparities'. Discuss.

Ans. Per capita income is an important criterion for development. It is considered to

be one of the most important attributes for comparing countries but is suffers from
the following limitations:

( i ) Per capita income doesn't tell us anything about the distribution of income. A
poor country with a more equal distribution of income would be better off than a
richer country with unequal distribution of income.

( ii ) Per capita income doesn't include the non monetary indicators like various
facilities & services that influence quality of life e.g. health facilities, education
facilities, equal treatment etc.

Q. 11 Distinguish between economic development & human development.

Ans. Human Development

1. It refers to human centered approach towards development. It focuses on

people & qualitative improvement in human life.

2. It is indicated by human development index.

3. It is a term that includes economic development also.

4. It considers human welfare. Should be increased through investments in

education & health.

Economic Development

1. It refers to sustained increase in per capita income that promotes economic

welfare by reducing poverty, unemployment & inequalities in distribution of income.

2. It can be indicated by national income & per capita income.

3. It is narrower term as compared to human development.

4. It considers people can be made better off by increasing their command over
goods and services.
Q. 12. How does industrial pollution degrade the environment? Explain three
measures to control environmental degradation.

Ans. Industrial pollution degrades the environment in the following ways :

( i ) Air is polluted by the gases.

( ii ) Dust, fume, mist, spray and smoke contain particles.

( iii ) Industrial effluents pollute rivers.

( iv ) Paper pulp, textiles, chemicals etc. industries pollute land & soil due to toxic
materials.

Steps to control environmental degradation are :

( i ) Careful planning & setting of industries.

( ii ) Better equipment

( iii ) Proper fuel selection & utilization.

( iv ) Treatment of industrial liquids.

Q13.What is sustainable development ? why it is needed ? how can it be

ensured ?

Sustainable Development

It is the development of the present without compromising on the needs of future

generations and without harming the environment

Why is it needed?

It is needed because:

• Resources are limited and should be used judiciously.

• Resources have to be saved for the future generation.

Ways to ensure sustainable development:

• By judiciously using the limited resources

• By using alternate sources of energy like wind energy, solar energy etc.
Q. 14. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?

Ans. Development does not only mean securing a better present, but it also means
securing a better future for the generations to come.

Sustainable development is the development which can be sustained for many

years without overusing our resources. Hence, sustainability is an important aspect
of development.

Sustainability is important for development because it results in:

( i ) Judicious use of limited resources

( ii ) conserving the environment which is necessary for development