Chapter 1 - Development

Development is generally defined as growth. Some of the important goals are – seeking more income, equal treatment,
freedom, security, and respect from others.

What Development Promises - Different Peoples, Different Goals (2. What may be development for one may not be
development for the other person. It may even be destructive for the other.)

1. Different people has different notion for development because :-

2. It is because the life situations of persons are different.
3. People seek things that are most important for them or that which can fulfill their aspirations or desire.
4. What may be development for one may not be for the other. It may even be destructive for the other.
5. For example: The developmental goals of a boy from a rich urban family would be to get admission in a
reputed college, whereas the developmental goals of a girl from a rich urban family would be to get as much
freedom as her brother.

Income and Other Goals

 Income is considered as the most important component of development as it can be material goods and
services.
 Earning high income is a goal for development. But it is not the only goal.
 Apart from income, people also consider other goals for development like equal treatment, freedom, security
and respect of others. Thus, for development they look at a mix of goals.
 People want more income. Money, or material things that one can buy with it, is one factor on which our life
depends.
 However, the quality of our life also depends on non-material things such as equal treatment, freedom,
security, and respect for others. For development, people look at a mix of goals.
 The developmental goals are not only about better income but also about other important things in life.
National Development

National development refers to the ability of a nation to improve the lives of its citizens. Measures of improvement
may be material, such as availability of healthcare etc.

Different persons could have different as well as conflicting notions of a country’s development.

How to Compare Different Countries or States?

 For comparing countries, their income is considered to be one of the most important attributes.
 Countries with higher income are more developed than others with less income. As different countries have
different populations, comparing total income will not tell us what an average person earns. So, we compare the
average income of countries.
 Average income is the total income of the country divided by its total population. It is also called per capita
income.
 Average Income = Total Income of Country / Total Population of Country
 In World Development Reports, per capita income is used in classifying countries.
 Countries with per capita income of US$ 12,056 per annum and above in 2017, are called rich countries.
 Countries with per capita income of US$ 955 or less are called low-income countries. Eg: India.

Income and Other Criteria

When we think of a nation or a region, besides average income, public facilities are equally significant attributes.
Public Facilities: These are the services provided by the government to its citizens. Some of the important public
facilities include infrastructure, sanitation, public transport, health care, water, etc.

Sustainability of Development

Sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations. Scientists have been warning that the present type, and levels, of development are not
sustainable. Some of the examples are:

 Overuse of ground water

 Exhaustion of natural resource

To compare two different countries or states, National Income and Per Capital Income are two important pillars. These
are as follows:

1. Comparison through National Income

2. Comparison through Per Capita Income

Comparison through National Income:-

 National Income refers to the income earned by the residents of that particular country over a period of time.
 Countries with higher national income are considered as developed countries for e.g. USA, Germany and
France. However, national income may not be a true indicator to compare different countries because of
population factor.
 To overcome this drawback, per capita income is a better indicator to compare different nations.

Comparison through Per Capita Income:-

 Average or per capita income is obtained by dividing the total income by the population of the country to
compare different countries.
 World Bank Publishes World Development Report (WDR) every year to compare the nations and the basis of
per capita income.
 World Bank classifies countries on the basis of per capita income:-
• Rich countries except Middle East countries are called developed countries.
• India is in category of low middle income country.

Classifying countries (per capita income criteria of World Bank)

 Rich countries: - Countries with per capita income of US$ 49,300 per annum and above in 2019, are called high
income or rich countries
 Low income countries: - Countries with per capita income of US$ 2500 or less are called low-income countries.
 Low middle income countries: - India comes in the category of low middle income countries because its per
capita income in 2019 was just US$ 6700 per annum.

Income and other criteria:-

The development level should not be judged only on the income level, other criteria should also be taken into
consideration. E.g. three states, Haryana, Kerala and Bihar are compared as follows:
From this table, various aspects of the development can be judged as:-

• Per Capita Income is highest in Haryana and lowest in Bihar which simply indicates that earning
opportunities are quite less in Bihar.
• Infant mortality rate is lowest in Kerala which shows that better medical facilities are present in Kerala in
comparison to other two states.
• Literacy rate is highest in Kerala and lowest in Bihar which shows that better education opportunities are
available in Kerala.
• Net attendance ratio is also highest in Kerala and lowest in Bihar.

Infant Mortality Rate:-

Infant Mortality Rate can be defined as total number of children that die before the age of one year out of 1000 live
children born in that particular year.

Literacy rate:-

Literacy rate can be defined as proportion of literate population in the age group of 7 years & above.

Net attendance Ratio:-

Net attendance Ratio can be defined as the total number of children of 6-10 years age group attending school out of
total no. of children in the same age group.

Public Facilities:-

 Income is a good tool of development but it is not everything. E.g., more income may not give a pollution free
area or protection from total diseases etc. So public facilities like primary and secondary education, health
facilities, cleanliness and pollution free area also important to sustain life.
 Money in your pocket why cannot buy all the goods and services that you may need to live well?
 Money cannot buy all the goods and services that you may need to live well.
• Money cannot buy us pollution-free environment.
• Money cannot buy us a disease-free life and might not be able to get protection from infectious
disease.
• Beside money, people also like to have equal treatment in the society, freedom, dignity and honor
in their lives, which money cannot buy them.

Public Distribution System:-

 Public Distribution System (PDS) is a system in which the poor people are provided or supplied food grains at
lower price compared to market price.
 Some areas like Tamil Nadu has well-functioning PDS while some states like Jharkhand and Bihar don’t have
efficient Public Distribution System.
Best method to measure Development (Human Development Report) :-

 Human Development Index or Human Development Report published by UNDP is one of the best methods to
measure the development of a nation.
 The Human Development report is based on three pillars and these pillars are as follows :-
• Living Standard (Per Capita Income)
• Health Status (Life Expectancy)
• Educational levels of the people (Literacy rate and Enrolment Ratio)

Human Development Index (HDI):-

 Human Development Index is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education and per capita income
indicators, which are used to rank countries in four tires of human development.
 HDI (Human Development Index) Rank of India in the World is 136.

Body Mass Index (BMI):-

 BMI can be calculated by taping the weight of a person (kgs) & height (mtr) then divide the weight by the
square of the height of a person. If the result is less than 18.5 then person in under nourished & if more than
25, then person is over weight.
 In what respect is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development different from the one used by
the World Bank?

Sustainable Development:-

Sustainable Development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.

Environment Degradation and Sustainable Development:-

 Environmental degradation refers to the destruction of natural environment by human activities to fulfil the
greediness of the human.
 The mismanagement of natural resources has resulted into the environmental degradation in the form of air
pollution, water pollution, depletion of natural resources etc.
 It has also threatened the dream of the sustainable development because it has created such type of
environment which is harmful for the existence of future generations.