Question 1.
Development of a country can generally be determined by its:
(i) per capita income
(ii) its average
literacy level
(iii) health status of its
people
(iv) All the above
Answer:
(iv) All the above
Question 2.
Which of the following
neighbouring countries has better performance in terms of human development
than India ?
(i) Bangladesh
(ii) Sri Lanks
(iii) Nepal
(iv) Pakistan
Answer:
(ii) Sri Lanks, 93 HDI Rank,
Question 3.
Assume there are four families
in a country. The per capita income of these families is ? 5000. If the income
of three families are ? 4,000, ? 7,000 and 7 3,000 respectively, what is the
income of the fourth family?
(i) 7 7,500
(ii) ? 3,000
(iii) ? 2,000
(iv) ? 6,000
Answer:
(iv) ? 6,000
Question 4.
What is the main criterion used
by the World Bank in classifying different countries? What is the limitation
of this criterion, if any?
Answer:
The World Bank classifies different countries on the basis of per capita
income. The limitation of this criterion is that it does not take into account
other indicators such as education and health levels of the people.
Question 5.
In what respects is the
criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development different from the one
used by the World Bank?
Answer:
The World Bank uses the criterion of per capita income while classifying the
different countries. The UNDP uses the criteria of people’s level of
education, people’s level of health and per capita income in the
classification of different countries.
Question 6.
Why do we use averages? Are
there are limitations to their use? Illustrate with your own examples related
to development?
Answer:
We use averages for comparing the incomes of different countries. It is the
total income of the country divided by the total population. This is also
called the per capita income. The limitations are that this criterion does not
take into account the levels of say education or health. For the purposes of
overall development, one has to take into account total literacy rate as well
as the life expectancy rate for comparing different countries.
Question 7.
Kerala with lower per capita
income has a better human development ranking than Punjab. Hence, per capita
is not a useful criterion at all and should not be used to compare states. Do
you agree ? Discuss.
Answer:
Indeed per capita income in Punjab (? 26,000 in 2002-2003) is higher than
what it is in Kerala (? 22,800 in 2002-2003), though punjab rates lower than
kerala in literacy rate and in infant morality rate, We must remember that
money cannot buy all the goods and services which we need. Thus income is not
the only indicator of material goods and services. A pollution-free
environment, and educational facilities help to attain developement.
Question 8.
Find out present sources of
energy used by the people in India. What could be possibilities fifty years
form now?
Answer:
In India, we use numerous sources of energy. These include sources such as
coal, natural gases, water, petroleum. But fifty years from now, we may use
sources such as solar, tidal, wind power. The conventional sources of energy
are drying up.
Question 9.
Why is the isue of
sustainability important for development.
Answer:
Sustainability is development with
a view to make sure about the development of future. Nobody regulates the idea
of development, but one has to maintain resources for the future generation.
We have to leave things for others, and in good conditions. This is why that
idea of sustainability is important.
Question 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.
Answer:
Greed has no limits. It can eat away everything the earth has. Our earth has
a lot of it for everyone. Its resources are enough to meet the needs for the
whole world, but it does not have enough for the greed of even one person. The
earth is like a hen which gives eggs daily, everyday, and thus satisfies the
need for everyone. But if we kill the hen, i.e., exploit the resources of the
earth for our greed, we would have nothing left, for anyone.
Question 11.
List a few examples of
environmental degradation that you have observed around you.
Answer:
There can be a long list stating
examples of environmental degradation. Some of these are:
(i) cutting trees; (ii) exploiting resources through mechanised means; (iv)
making nuclear experiments; (v) expansion of dirt.
Question 12.
For each of the term given in
table 1.6, find out which country is at the top and which is at the bottom.
Answer:
A glance at the table 1.6 shows
the following results
- Per capita income—The top country in the list is Sri Lanka (US 4390), the bottom country is Myanmar (US 1027).
- Life expectancy at birth-The top country is Sri Lanka (74 years), the bottom country is Myanmar (61 years).
- Literacy rate for 15 + years population-Sri Lanka (91), the bottom country is Bangladesh (41).
- Gross enrolment ratio for three levels-The top country is sri Lanka (69), the bottom country is Pakistan (35).
- HDI rank in the world-The top country is Sri Lanka (93 the bottom country is Nepal (138).
Question 13.
The following table below shows
the proportion of undernourished adults in India. It is based on a survey of
various states in the country for the year 2001. Look at the table and answer
the following questions
| State | Males (%) | Females (%) |
| Kerala | 22 | 19 |
| Karnataka | 36 | 38 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 43 | 42 |
| AH States | 37 | 36 |
(i) Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
(ii) Can you guess why around 40 per cent 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.
Answer:
(i) The undernourished adults
among men in kerala (22%) are less than what they are in Karnataka (36%) and
Madhya Pradesh (43%). Among the females, the situation is almost the same in
Kerala 19%, Karnataka 38% and in Madhya Pradesh(42%)
(ii) Indeed, the undernourished in India constitutes around 40%. It is claimed that there is enough food in the country, and yet so much undernourishment. The possible reasons are hoarding, black-marketing, faulty public distribution systems, poverty, and unemployment.