CBSE Class 10 Social Science Development Notes Set 05

Development goals differ

Different people have different ideas of development because their situations differ. A landless rural labourer may want more days of work, better wages and a school for her children, while a prosperous farmer may want assured high prices for crops. Girls may want freedom and equal opportunity. What is development for one person may not be development for another, and it may even harm someone else. For example, a dam that supplies electricity to a city may drown the land of people in the valley. People therefore look at a mix of goals, and when goals conflict, a decision must be based on what is fair and just for all.

Income is an important part of development, but people also seek equal treatment, freedom, security and respect. These are non-material goals, and they do not always rise with income.

How can development be measured?

The simplest measure is income. National income is the money value of all final goods and services produced by a country in a year. Per capita income (average income) is national income divided by the population. The World Bank, in its World Development Report, uses per capita income to classify countries: countries with higher average income are called rich countries and those with low income are low-income countries.

Averages are useful for comparison, but they hide differences. Two countries may have the same average income, yet in one the income is shared fairly, while in the other a few people are very rich and many are poor. Averages also do not show non-economic things such as health, safety, freedom and a clean environment, nor do they tell us how much is produced without being sold in markets.

Income and other criteria

Money cannot buy everything. It cannot buy a pollution-free environment, protection from infectious diseases or peace, unless the whole community works for it. That is why public facilities such as schools, hospitals, clean water and a public distribution system matter. A state with a lower per capita income, such as Kerala, can do better than a richer state like Haryana in literacy, infant mortality and access to basic facilities, because it has spent more on these services.

Important indicators: 1. Literacy rate: the proportion of the population aged 7 years and above who are literate. 2. Infant mortality rate: the number of children who die before the age of one year per 1,000 live births. 3. Net attendance ratio: the number of children in the age group 6 to 14 attending school as a percentage of all children in that age group. 4. Body Mass Index: weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres; a person with BMI below 18.5 is considered undernourished, and one above 25 is overweight.

Human Development Report

The United Nations Development Programme publishes the Human Development Report every year. It ranks countries using the Human Development Index (HDI), which combines health (life expectancy at birth), education (literacy and years of schooling) and income (per capita income, compared in dollars). Countries are then grouped as having very high, high, medium or low human development. India's rank is much lower than its income might suggest, which shows the importance of health and education.

Sustainability of development

Development that satisfies present needs without damaging the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is called sustainable development. Resources such as groundwater, forests and fossil fuels are being used faster than they renew themselves. If they are exhausted, development will come to a halt. Therefore, the environment and resources must be protected while pursuing growth.

Worked examples

Example 1. Four citizens of a country earn ₹ 5,000 each per month and a fifth earns ₹ 80,000. Find the average income and comment.
Answer: Total income = 4 × 5,000 + 80,000 = ₹ 1,00,000, so average = 1,00,000 ÷ 5 = ₹ 20,000. This is four times what most people earn, so the average hides the inequality.

Example 2. A person weighs 45 kg and is 1.6 m tall. Find the BMI and state whether the person is undernourished.
Answer: BMI = 45 ÷ (1.6)² = 45 ÷ 2.56 ≈ 17.6. As this is below 18.5, the person is undernourished.

Example 3. Why is a high per capita income not enough to show development?
Answer: It ignores distribution of income, health, education, freedom and the state of the environment. A country can be rich on average and still have many poor and undernourished people.

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