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Practice each question, then open the answer or worked solution.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.