Development

1. What this chapter is about

The idea of development or progress has always been with us. Each of us has aspirations and desires about how we would like to live, and we also have ideas about what a country should be like. Development asks the big questions: What are the essential things we require? Can life be better for all? Can there be more equality?

This chapter makes a beginning at understanding development. Two ideas run through the whole chapter:

• People view development differently — there is no single, fixed meaning.
• To measure and compare development we need indicators, and income alone is not enough; we must add health, education and sustainability.

2. Different people, different goals

The very first table of the chapter (Table 1.1) lists different categories of people and their developmental goals / aspirations. The point is striking: each person seeks the things that fulfil their own aspirations, and these can conflict.

3. Income and other goals

Looking at Table 1.1 again, one common thread appears: regular work, better wages, a decent price for produce — in short, people want more income. Money, and the material goods it buys, is one factor on which our life depends.

But the quality of life also depends on non-material things. Besides income people seek:

• Equal treatment and freedom from discrimination,
• Freedom to make choices,
• Security (a safe environment, regular employment),
• Respect of others, and friendship.

Some of these may matter more than income. A job in a far-off place may pay well but leave no time for family and reduce your sense of security; a lower-paid job near home may give regular employment and dignity. For women, respect and a safe, secure environment at work may matter as much as the pay, because it lets them take up a variety of jobs. So people look at a mix of goals — better income plus other important things in life.

4. National development

If individuals seek different goals, then their idea of national development — what the whole country should do — will also differ. Different people can have different as well as conflicting notions of a country's development.

So the question becomes: can all ideas be treated as equally important? If they conflict, how do we decide? National development means asking — What would be a fair and just path for all? Would a step benefit a large number of people or only a small group? The toxic-waste example in the textbook (a ship dumped 500 tonnes of toxic waste in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, killing seven people) shows that what brings profit to a few (the company) can devastate many — so national development must weigh who benefits and who pays the cost.

5. How to compare countries — per capita (average) income

Why are some countries called developed and others under-developed? When we compare things we pick one or more important characteristics. For countries, income is considered one of the most important attributes, because more income means more of the things people need.

But comparing total income is misleading, since countries have very different populations. So we compare the average income:

This average income is also called per capita income. It tells us what an average person is likely to earn.

6. The World Bank criterion

In its World Development Reports, the World Bank classifies countries mainly by per capita income (criterion for 2024 data):

Rich countries — excluding the small oil-rich Middle East nations and a few others — are generally called developed countries.

7. Income and other criteria — why income alone is not enough

Just as individuals want more than income, a nation must look beyond average income to other attributes. The textbook compares three states (Table 1.3 & Table 1.4):

The puzzle: Haryana has the highest per capita income, yet Kerala is far ahead on health and education — its IMR is only 6 (against Haryana's 28), literacy 94%, attendance 94%. So money in your pocket cannot buy all the goods and services you need to live well; income by itself is an inadequate indicator of development.

8. Public facilities

Why is the average Haryanvi richer but worse off than the average Keralite on health and education? Because many vital things are best provided collectively, not bought individually.

• Money cannot buy you a pollution-free environment, unadulterated medicines, or protection from infectious diseases — unless the whole community takes those steps.
• Collective provision is cheaper too — collective security for a whole locality, or a public school, costs less per person than each family hiring its own.
• You can study only because many others want to study and the government/society opens schools and provides facilities. Where the state has not provided enough schools, children (especially girls) are left out.

9. Human Development Index (HDI)

Once we accept that income alone is inadequate, we need a small set of the most important indicators. The UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) publishes the Human Development Report, which compares countries using the Human Development Index (HDI) built on three things:

• Income — Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, measured in PPP dollars (so a dollar buys the same amount of goods in every country);
• Education — mean years of schooling of people aged 25 and above;
• Health — life expectancy at birth (average expected length of life).

What this shows: a small neighbour, Sri Lanka, ranks well ahead of India (89 vs 130) even though India is a much bigger economy; Nepal and Bangladesh have lower per capita income than India yet better life expectancy. By prefixing "Human" to development, the report makes clear that what is important in development is what is happening to the citizens — their health, education and well-being.

10. Sustainability of development

Suppose a country becomes quite developed. We would want that level to continue and rise for future generations. But since the second half of the 20th century, scientists warn that present types and levels of development are not sustainable.

Sustainable development means development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs — captured in the saying, "We have not inherited the world from our forefathers — we have borrowed it from our children."

Consequences of environmental degradation do not respect national boundaries — this is no longer a region- or nation-specific issue, so scientists, economists and philosophers across the world work together on it.

11. NCERT "Let's Work These Out" — answered

Different people, different goals:

• Why do people have different notions of development? Because their life situations are different (option b is more important than "people are different"). A landless labourer, a big farmer and a tribal face different realities, so they want different things.
• "Different goals" vs "conflicting goals" — same? No. Different goals simply means people want different things; conflicting goals means one person's goal harms another's (a dam helps the industrialist but submerges the tribal's land).
• Non-income factors: freedom, security, respect, equal treatment, a pollution-free environment, time for family.

Average income:

• Why average income? Total income is not comparable because populations differ; the average tells us what a typical person earns.
• Other property of income besides size? Its distribution — how equally it is shared (Country A vs Country B).
• Rising average income → everyone better off? Not necessarily — the rise may go only to a few rich people (Country B), so distribution matters.

Public facilities: good health and education depend not only on government spending but on whether facilities are actually accessible, well-run and reach the poor (e.g. Tamil Nadu's 90% ration-shop use vs West Bengal's 35% shows people are better off where the PDS works).

12. NCERT Exercises — fully answered

Q1. Development of a country can generally be determined by: (iv) all the above — per capita income, average literacy level, and health status of its people together.

Q2. Which neighbour has better human development than India? (ii) Sri Lanka (HDI rank 89 vs India's 130).

Q3. Four families, average per capita income ₹5000; three families earn ₹4000, ₹7000, ₹3000. Income of the fourth? Total = 4 × 5000 = ₹20000; known three = 4000 + 7000 + 3000 = ₹14000; fourth = 20000 − 14000 = (iv) ₹6000.

Q4. Main criterion of the World Bank and its limitations? Criterion = per capita (average) income. Limitations: (a) being an average, it hides the distribution / rich-poor gap; (b) it ignores non-income aspects — health, education, clean environment, freedom.

Q5. How is the UNDP criterion different from the World Bank's? The World Bank uses only per capita income. The UNDP's HDI is broader — it combines income (GNI per capita in PPP$) with education (years of schooling) and health (life expectancy). So UNDP measures the well-being of people, not just money.

Q6. Why use averages? Limitations? Averages let us compare groups of different sizes (e.g. compare two countries' incomes). Limitation: they hide differences within the group — Country A and Country B both average ₹10,000 but are very unequal. Always check distribution.

Q7. "Kerala has better HDI despite lower income, so per capita income should not be used at all." Discuss. Partly agree. Kerala's example proves income alone is inadequate. But per capita income is still useful as one indicator — it is not useless. The right approach is to combine income with health and education indicators (as HDI does), not to discard income entirely.

Q8. Present sources of energy in India; possibilities 50 years from now? Now: firewood, cow-dung cakes, coal, crude oil/petrol/diesel, natural gas, electricity, some solar/wind. Future: greater reliance on renewables — solar, wind, hydro, biogas, tidal, nuclear and possibly hydrogen — as fossil fuels run out.

Q9. Why is sustainability important for development? Resources like groundwater and crude oil are limited; if we exhaust or degrade them, future generations will have nothing to develop with. Sustainable development ensures progress continues over time and the environment is preserved for our children.

Q10. "The Earth has enough for everyone's need but not for anyone's greed" — relevance? (Gandhiji.) It means resources can satisfy everyone's basic needs if used wisely and shared, but not the greed of a few. Over-consumption and unequal use lead to resource depletion and environmental crises — so development must be equitable and sustainable.

Q11. Examples of environmental degradation you may have observed: falling groundwater, air pollution from vehicles and factories, plastic and garbage in water bodies, deforestation, soil erosion, ozone depletion, rivers polluted by industrial effluents.

Q12. For each item in Table 1.6, which country is top and which bottom? GNI per capita: top = Sri Lanka (12,616), bottom = Nepal (4,726). Life expectancy: top = Sri Lanka (77.5), bottom = Myanmar (66.9). Mean years of schooling: top = Sri Lanka (10.8), bottom = Pakistan (4.3). HDI rank (lower number = better): best = Sri Lanka (89), worst = Pakistan (168).

Q13. BMI table (adults with BMI below normal):

• (i) Compare Kerala and Madhya Pradesh: Kerala has far fewer undernourished adults (Male 8.5%, Female 10%) than Madhya Pradesh (Male 28%, Female 28%). So nutrition in Kerala is much better than in MP — Kerala has good public health and food provision.
• (ii) Why ~one-fifth undernourished despite enough food? Because food is unequally distributed — the poor cannot afford or access it; failures in the PDS, poverty, low incomes and poor health facilities leave many hungry even when total food is sufficient.

13. Common confusions

• Total income vs per capita income — comparison between countries uses per capita (average), not total, because populations differ.
• Average income vs distribution — equal averages can hide huge inequality (Country A vs B). Average ≠ everyone is equally well-off.
• IMR is per 1000, not per 100, and counts deaths before one year of age — not all child deaths.
• HDI rank: a LOWER number is BETTER (rank 1 is best). India at 130 is worse than Sri Lanka at 89.
• "Development for one = development for all" is wrong — it can be destructive for another group (dam vs displaced tribals).
• Renewable ≠ inexhaustible — groundwater is renewable but can still be overused; crude oil is non-renewable.
• World Bank uses income only; UNDP/HDI uses income + education + health — don't mix them up.

14. Quick revision checklist

• Development = different goals for different people; can be conflicting/destructive for others.
• People seek income plus equal treatment, freedom, security, respect, clean environment.
• Per capita income = total income ÷ total population; the World Bank classifies by it.
• Income hides distribution and ignores health/education/environment.
• Indicators: IMR (per 1000, under 1 yr), literacy rate (7+), net attendance ratio.
• Public facilities (schools, health, PDS, clean air) explain why Kerala beats Haryana.
• HDI (UNDP) = income (GNI PPP$) + education (schooling) + health (life expectancy).
• Sustainable development: meet present needs without harming future generations; conserve groundwater & non-renewables.