Chapter 1: Development (Economics)

(iv) all the above

Sri Lanka's HDI rank is 89, against India's 130 (Human Development Report 2025).

(ii) Sri Lanka

Total income $=4\times 5000=20000$. The three families together earn $4000+7000+3000=14000$.

Fourth family $=20000-14000=6000$.

(iv) Rs 6000

The World Bank uses per capita income (average income) as its main criterion. Countries with high per capita income are called rich (high-income) countries, and those with low per capita income are called low-income countries.

Limitations:

• An average hides the distribution of income: a country with a high average income may have a few very rich people and a large number of poor people.
• It does not show how income is actually used, or whether people have access to health care, education, clean water and safety.
• Money cannot buy all the goods and services needed to live well: a pollution-free environment, unadulterated medicines, protection from infectious diseases. These depend on public facilities.
• It does not reflect other important goals such as freedom, security, equal treatment and dignity.

Per capita income; it hides inequality in distribution and ignores non-income aspects like health, education, environment and security.

So the UNDP's measure is broader: it focuses on the well-being of people, not just their income.

The World Bank uses only per capita income, while the UNDP's Human Development Index combines income with health (life expectancy) and education (years of schooling).

Why: countries (or states) have different populations, so comparing total incomes does not tell us what an average person earns. Averages make comparison easy and give a single, simple figure. E.g. per capita income = total income ÷ population.

Limitations: averages hide disparities.

Example: suppose in two villages of five families each, the monthly incomes are:

Both villages have the same average income, but in village B four families are very poor and one is very rich. Village A is clearly better off. Similarly, a high average literacy rate of a state may hide very low literacy among girls or in some districts.

Averages make comparison easy, but they hide how income and facilities are distributed, as two villages with the same average but very different distributions show.

No, I do not fully agree. Per capita income is a useful indicator: it shows the general level of income and the economic progress of a state, and income is needed to buy many goods and services.

But it is not enough on its own. Kerala has a lower infant mortality rate, higher literacy and better health because it has adequate provision of basic health and educational facilities, and a good public distribution system. These public facilities improve people's lives even with lower incomes. So per capita income should be used along with other indicators such as literacy, health status, infant mortality and access to public facilities to compare states.

No; per capita income is useful but incomplete. Kerala shows that health, education and public facilities matter too, so income should be used together with these indicators.

Present sources:

• Coal (thermal power plants: the largest source of electricity), petroleum (transport, industry) and natural gas (CNG, PNG, fertiliser plants);
• Hydroelectricity, nuclear power;
• Firewood, cattle dung cakes and crop residue (still used for cooking in many villages), and LPG for cooking;
• Growing use of solar and wind energy.

Fifty years from now: coal and petroleum may run short or be phased out because of pollution and climate change. Possible sources:

• much greater use of solar (rooftop panels, solar parks), wind, tidal and geothermal energy;
• green hydrogen and biofuels (ethanol, biogas);
• electric vehicles run on renewable electricity;
• more nuclear power, and perhaps nuclear fusion.

Today India mainly uses coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydro and nuclear power, firewood and LPG; in fifty years we may depend mostly on solar, wind, tidal, hydrogen, biofuels and nuclear energy.

• Development should continue for future generations too. If we use up resources now, our children will not be able to develop.
• Many resources, such as groundwater, minerals and fossil fuels, are non-renewable or get exhausted if overused. For example, groundwater is being overused in many parts of India (about one-third of the country), and crude oil reserves will last only a limited number of years.
• Over-use and pollution cause environmental degradation (soil erosion, deforestation, climate change), whose consequences do not respect state or national boundaries.

So development must be sustainable: it should meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

Because resources are limited and many are non-renewable; if we overuse them now, future generations cannot develop and the environment will be damaged.

This statement by Mahatma Gandhi is very relevant:

• Development requires resources. If they are used only to meet needs, they are enough for everyone.
• But greed leads to over-consumption and over-exploitation of resources, such as cutting forests, over-drawing groundwater and burning fossil fuels for luxury. This causes depletion and environmental degradation.
• Greed also causes unequal distribution: a few use far more than their share, while many remain poor.
• So development must be sustainable and equitable: we should use resources wisely, avoid waste and keep them for future generations.

It means development is possible for all if resources are used for needs, not greed; over-consumption by a few causes depletion, inequality and environmental damage, so development must be sustainable.

• Air pollution from vehicles, factories, brick kilns and burning of crop residue and garbage
• Water pollution of rivers and ponds by sewage, industrial waste and plastics
• Falling groundwater levels because of over-use of tubewells
• Deforestation and cutting of trees for roads and buildings
• Soil degradation from overuse of chemical fertilisers and pesticides
• Garbage dumps and plastic waste choking drains
• Noise pollution in cities

Air and water pollution, falling groundwater, deforestation, soil degradation, plastic waste and noise pollution.

Table 1.6 (India and its neighbours, 2023, Human Development Report 2025):

Sri Lanka is at the top on every item; Nepal is lowest in GNI per capita, Myanmar in life expectancy, and Pakistan in years of schooling and HDI rank.

1. People in Kerala are much better nourished: only 8.5 per cent of men and 10 per cent of women are undernourished, against 28 per cent of both men and women in Madhya Pradesh. More than one in four adults in Madhya Pradesh is undernourished, almost three times the proportion in Kerala.
2. Having enough food in the country does not mean everyone gets it. Many people are too poor to buy enough nutritious food; the public distribution system does not work equally well everywhere; there is a lack of awareness about balanced diets; and poor health care, sanitation and safe drinking water cause diseases that prevent the body from absorbing food. Women often eat last and least in the family, which is why their figures are higher.

(i) Kerala's adults are far better nourished (8.5–10% undernourished) than Madhya Pradesh's (28%). (ii) Because of poverty, uneven public distribution of food, poor health and sanitation, and lack of awareness.

Plan:

• Invite, for example, a local representative (sarpanch, ward councillor), a farmer or businessperson, and a doctor, teacher or environmentalist, so that you hear different views of development.
• Prepare questions in advance: What are the main sources of income here? What facilities (schools, hospitals, roads, water, electricity) are missing? Has development harmed the environment? What should be the priorities for the next ten years?
• After the talks, discuss in groups and note the points on which the speakers agree or differ (for example, a factory may give jobs but also pollute the river).
• Make a wall chart with two columns, "Ideas we agree with" and "Ideas we disagree with", giving reasons for each.

Invite speakers with different viewpoints, ask prepared questions about income, facilities and the environment, and present the ideas you agree and disagree with, with reasons, on a wall chart.