Chapter 01 Development

The idea of development or progress has always been part of human thinking. We all have
dreams and goals about how we want to live and what we want our lives to be like. In the
same way, we also have ideas about what kind of country we want to live in. What basic
needs must be met? Can everyone live a better life? How can people live together peacefully
and equally? Development means thinking about these questions and finding ways to make
such hopes a reality.

This is not a simple task. In this chapter, we will begin to understand what development
means. You will explore these topics in more detail in higher classes. Answers to these
questions can be found not only in economics but also in subjects like history and political
science. This is because the way we live today has been shaped by past events. To bring
about change, we need to understand that past. And most importantly, such changes and
hopes can only be fulfilled through a democratic process, where everyone has a voice and a
role in shaping the future.

WHAT DEVELOPMENT PROMISES - DIFFERENT PEOPLE, DIFFERENT

GOALS

Let us try to imagine what development or progress is likely to mean to different persons
listed in Table 1.1. What are their aspirations? You will find that some columns are partially
filled. Try to complete the table. You can also add any other category of persons.
TABLE 1.1 DEVELOPMENTAL GOALS OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF
PERSONS

Category of Person Developmental Goals / Aspirations

More days of work and better wages; local school is able to
Landless rural labourers provide quality education for their children; there is no social
discrimination and they too can become leaders in the village.
Assured a high family income through higher support prices for
Prosperous farmers from Punjab their crops and through hardworking and cheap labourers; they
should be able to settle their children abroad.
Farmers who depend only on
rain for growing crops
A rural woman from a land
owning family
Urban unemployed youth
A boy from a rich urban family
She gets as much freedom as her brother and is able to
A girl from a rich urban family decide what she wants to do in life. She is able to pursue her
studies abroad.
An adivasi from Narmada valley

Having filled Table 1.1, let us now examine it. Do all of these persons have the same notion
of development or progress? Most likely not. Each one of them seeks different things. They
seek things that are most important for them, i.e., that which can fulfil their aspirations or
desires. In fact, at times, two persons or groups of persons may seek things which are
conflicting. A girl expects as much freedom and opportunity as her brother, and that he also
shares in the household work. Her brother may not like this. Similarly, to get more electricity,
industrialists may want more dams. But this may submerge the land and disrupt the lives of
people who are displaced - such as tribals. They might resent this and may prefer small check
dams or tanks to irrigate their land. So, two things are quite clear: one, different persons can
have different developmental goals and two, what may be development for one may not be
development for the other. It may even be destructive for the other.
INCOME AND OTHER GOALS

If you look at Table 1.1 again, you’ll notice a common trend: people want steady jobs, better
wages, and fair prices for the crops or goods they produce. In short, they are looking for more
income.

People not only seek better income but also value dignity, equality, freedom, and safety.
These non-material aspects—like friendships or a secure environment—are vital for a good
life. Often, they matter more than money. For example, protests against raising the Sardar
Sarovar Dam’s height show that people care deeply about their homes, land, and
environment, not just financial compensation.

Development is not just about income—it includes many non-material factors like job
security, family time, learning opportunities, dignity, and respect. For example, a lower-
paying job with stability may be preferred over a high-paying one with no security. Similarly,
women’s development goals include not only paid work but also social respect and safety.
Thus, people seek a balanced mix of goals for a better life.

LET’S WORK THESE OUT

1. Why do different persons have different notions of development? Which of the following
explanations is more important and why?
(a) Because people are different.
(b) Because life situations of persons are different.
2. Do the following two statements mean the same? Justify your answer.
(a) People have different developmental goals.
(b) People have conflicting developmental goals.
3. Give some examples where factors other than income are important aspects of our lives.
4. Explain some of the important ideas of the above section in your own words.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

National development means progress for the entire country, but people may have different
and even conflicting views on what that progress should look like. Some may prioritize
economic growth, while others may value equality, education, or environmental protection.
It’s important to ask: Is the idea fair? Does it benefit many or just a few? National
development involves finding just and inclusive ways to meet diverse goals.

LET’S WORK THESE OUT

Discuss the following situations:
1. Look at the picture on the right. What should be the developmental goals for such an area?
2. Read this newspaper report and answer the questions that follow:

A vessel dumped 500 tonnes of liquid toxic wastes into open-air dumps in a city and in the
surrounding sea. This happened in a city called Abidjan in Ivory Coast, a country in Africa.
The fumes from the highly toxic waste caused nausea, skin rashes, fainting, diarrhoea etc.
After a month seven persons were dead, twenty in hospital and twenty six thousand treated
for symptoms of poisoning.
A multinational company dealing in petroleum and metals had contracted a local company of
the Ivory Coast to dispose the toxic waste from its ship.

(i) Who are the people who benefited and who did not?
(ii) What should be the developmental goal for this country?
3. What can be some of the developmental goals for your village, town or locality?
ACTIVITY 1
If even the idea of what constitutes development can be varied and conflicting, then certainly
there can be differences about ways of developing. If you know of any such controversy, try
to find out arguments advanced by different people. You may do so by talking to different
persons or you may find it from newspapers and television.

How Do We Compare Different Countries or States?

You might wonder — if development means different things to different people, then how are
some countries called developed while others are labelled underdeveloped? Let’s understand
this with a simple example.

When we compare things or people, we look at both similarities and differences. Think about
students in a class — they may vary in height, health, talents, or interests. One student may
be very healthy but not the best in studies, while another may be highly intelligent but not
very social. So, how do we compare them? It depends on what we’re comparing for —
sports, academics, music, or leadership. If we need to assess overall progress, we must select
certain key characteristics. But even then, people might differ on what matters more —
marks, creativity, or cooperation?

The same idea applies when comparing countries. For measuring development, income is
often used as the main indicator. The basic assumption is that a higher income means people
have better access to the goods and services they need. So, income becomes a key factor
when evaluating a country’s progress.

But how do we measure this? The total income of all people in a country gives us the
national income. However, this doesn’t help in comparing countries with different population
sizes. A better way is to calculate the average income — the total income divided by the total
population. This is called per capita income.

The World Bank uses per capita income to classify countries in its World Development
Reports. In 2019, countries with per capita income of US $49,300 or more were considered
high-income (or rich) countries. Those with US $2,500 or less were classified as low-income
countries. India, with a per capita income of about US $6,700, fell into the lower-middle
income group.

In general, countries with higher per capita income — excluding oil-rich Middle Eastern
nations and some small economies — are often referred to as developed countries.

Average Income

While ‘averages’ are useful for comparison, they also hide disparities

For example, let us consider two countries, A and B. For the sake of simplicity, we have
assumed that they have only five citizens each. Based on data given in Table 1.2, calculate
the average income for both the countries.
TABLE 1.2 COMPARISON OF TWO COUNTRIES

Country Monthly incomes of citizens

(in Rupees)
I II III IV V Average
Country A 9500 10500 9800 10000 10200
Country B 500 500 500 500 48000
Will you be equally happy to live in both these countries? Are both equally developed?
Perhaps some of us may like to live in country B if we are assured of being its fifth citizen
but if it is a lottery that decides our citizenship number then perhaps most of us will prefer to
live in country A. Even though both the countries have identical average income,
country A is preferred because it has more equitable distribution. In this country people are
neither very rich nor extremely poor. On the other hand most citizens in country B are poor
and one person is extremely rich. Hence, while average income is useful for comparison it
does not tell us how this income is distributed among people.

LET’S WORK THESE OUT

1. Give three examples where an average is used for comparing situations.

2. Why do you think average income is an important criterion for development? Explain.

3. Besides size of per capita income, what other property of income is important in
comparing two or more societies?

4. Suppose records show that the average income in a country has been increasing over a
period of time. From this, can we conclude that all sections of the economy have become
better? Illustrate your answer with an example.

5. From the text, find out the per capita income level of about 10-15 low-income countries as
per World Development Reports.

6. Write a paragraph on your notion of what should India do, or achieve, to become a
developed country.
INCOME AND OTHER CRITERIA

When we looked at individual aspirations and goals, we found that people not only think of
better income but also have goals such as security, respect for others, equal treatment,
freedom, etc. in mind. Similarly, when we think of a nation or a region, we may, besides
average income, think of other equally important attributes.

TABLE 1.3 PER CAPITA INCOME

Per Capita Income

State
for 2018-19 (in Rs)
Haryana 2,36,147
Kerala 2,04,105
Bihar 40,982
Source : Economic Survey 2020-21, P.A 29.

What Other Attributes Matter? Let’s Look at an Example

To understand this better, let’s take an example. Table 1.3 shows the per capita income of
three states — Haryana, Kerala, and Bihar. These are actually figures of Per Capita Net State
Domestic Product at Current Prices for 2018–19. Don’t worry about the technical term —
you can simply think of it as the average income of a person in each state.

Among the three, Haryana has the highest per capita income, while Bihar has the lowest. On
average, a person in Haryana earned about ₹2,36,147 in one year, compared to just ₹40,982
in Bihar. So, if we judge development solely by income, Haryana would be the most
developed and Bihar the least developed of the three.

However, development is not just about income. Let’s now consider some other important
indicators of development — shown in Table 1.4 — to see if this ranking still holds.

TABLE 1.4 SOME COMPARATIVE DATA ON HARYANA, KERALA AND BIHAR

Infant Mortality Net Attendance Ratio (per

Literacy Rate %
State Rate per 1,000 100 persons) secondary stage
2017−18
live births (2018) (age 14 and 15 years) 2017-18
Haryana 30 82 61
Kerala 7 94 83
Bihar 32 62 43
Sources : Economic Survey 2020-21, P.A 157, National Sample Survey Organisation (Report
No. 585), National statistical office, Government of India.

Explanation of some of the terms used in this table:

Infant Mortality Rate (or IMR) indicates the number of children that die before the age of
one year as a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year.

Literacy Rate measures the proportion of literate population in the 7-and-above age group.
Net Attendance Ratio is the total number of children of age group 14 and 15 years attending
school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group.

What Does This Table Tell Us?

The first column shows that Kerala has a very low Infant Mortality Rate — only 7 out of
1000 children die before turning one, compared to 30 in Haryana, which is over three
times higher. This is despite Haryana having a higher per capita income than Kerala.

Think about it — how heartbreaking it must be for parents to lose a child before their first
birthday. And this is not data from the past — it’s from 2018, decades after India’s
independence.

The last column tells us that in Bihar, nearly half of the children aged 14–15 don’t continue
school beyond Class 8. Imagine being in a classroom where half your friends are missing
because they had to drop out. That’s how serious the issue is.

Clearly, income alone does not define development — health and education matter just as
much, if not more.

Public Facilities

Why does Haryana, with higher income than Kerala, still lag in areas like health and
education? Because money alone can’t buy everything needed for a good life.

For example, clean air, safe drinking water, unadulterated medicines, or protection from
diseases require collective efforts — not just individual wealth. These essential services
come through public facilities that benefit everyone, not just the rich.

For many essential things in life, providing them collectively is not only better but also
more affordable. For example, having one system of security for the entire area is cheaper
than every house hiring its own guard. Similarly, children can study only when schools,
teachers, and facilities are provided for all. Many children, especially girls, still miss
school because such public facilities are lacking in their areas.

Kerala has a low Infant Mortality Rate because it has adequate provision of basic health and
educational facilities. Similarly, in some states, the Public Distribution System (PDS)
functions well. Health and nutritional status of people of such states is certainly likely to be
better.

LET’S WORK THESE OUT

1. Look at data in Tables 1.3 and 1.4. Is Haryana ahead of Kerala in literacy rate etc., as it is
in terms of per capita income?
2. Think of other examples where collective provision of goods and services is cheaper than
individual provision.
3. Does availability of good health and educational facilities depend only on amount of
money spent by the government on these facilities? What other factors could be relevant?
4. In Tamil Nadu, 90 per cent of the people living in rural areas use a ration shop, whereas in
West Bengal only 35 per cent of rural people do so. Where would people be better off and
why?

ACTIVITY 2

Study Table 1.5 carefully and fill in the blanks in the following paragraphs. For this, you may
need to make calculations based on the table.

TABLE 1.5 EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT OF RURAL POPULATION OF UTTAR

PRADESH

Category Male Female

Literacy rate for rural population 76 54
Literacy rate for rural children in age group 10-14 years 90 87
Percentage of rural children aged 10-14 attending school 85 82
(a) The literacy rate for all age groups, including young and old, is _________ for rural males
______ and rural females. However, it is not just that these many adults could not attend
school but that there are _____ who are currently not in school.

(b) It is clear from the table that _____ % of rural girls and _____% of rural boys are not
attending school. Therefore, illiteracy among children in the age group 10- 14 is as high as
_____% for rural females and _____% for rural males.

(c) This high level of illiteracy among __________ age group, even after more than 70 years
of our independence, is most disturbing. In many other states also we are nowhere near
realisation of the constitutional goal of free and compulsory education for all children up to
the age of 14, which was expected to be achieved by 1960.

ACTIVITY 3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT
Once it is realised that even though the level of income is important, yet it is an inadequate
measure of the level of development, we begin to think of other criterion. There could be a
long list of such criterion but then it would not be so useful. What we need is a small number
of the most important things. Health and education indicators, such as the ones we used in
comparison of Kerala and Haryana, are among them. Over the past decade or so, health and
education indicators have come to be widely used along with income as a measure of
development. For instance, Human Development Report published by UNDP compares
countries based on the educational levels of the people, their health status and per capita
income. It would be interesting to look at certain relevant data regarding India and its
neighbours from Human Development Report 2020.

TABLE 1.6 SOME DATA REGARDING INDIA AND ITS NEIGHBOURS FOR 2019

Gross National Mean Years of

Life HDI Rank in
Income (GNI) Schooling of
Country Expectancy the world
per capita People aged 25
at birth (2018)
(2011 PPP $) and above
Sri Lanka 12,707 77 10.6 73
India 6,681 69.7 6.5 130
Myanmar 4,961 67.1 5.0 148
Pakistan 5,005 67.3 5.2 154
Nepal 3,457 70.8 5.0 143
Bangladesh 4,976 72.6 6.2 134
Source : Human Development Report, 2020, United Nations Development Programme, New
York.

NOTES

1. HDI stands for Human Development Index. HDI ranks in above table are out of 189
countries in all.

2. Life Expectancy at birth denotes, as the name suggests, average expected length of life of a
person at the time of birth.
3. Per Capita Income is calculated in dollars for all countries so that it can be compared. It is
also done in a way so that every dollar would buy the same amount of goods and services in
any country.

It’s striking that a small country like Sri Lanka ranks higher than India on many development
indicators, and even nations with lower income like Nepal and Bangladesh perform better in
life expectancy. This shows that development is not just about income but also about
people’s well-being, health, and education. Human Development Reports emphasize that
real progress is about improving the quality of life.

Sustainability of Development

Even if a country is developed today, it’s important to ensure that this growth continues for
future generations. Scientists warn that current development patterns may harm the
environment and deplete resources. As the saying goes, “We have not inherited the world
from our forefathers — we have borrowed it from our children.” Sustainable development
means meeting today’s needs without compromising the future.

Example 1: Groundwater in India

“Recent evidence suggests that the groundwater is under serious threat of overuse in many
parts of the country. About 300 districts have reported a water level decline of over 4 metres
during the past 20 years. Nearly one-third of the country is overusing their groundwater
reserves. In another 25 years, 60 per cent of the country would be doing the same if the
present way of using this resource continues. Groundwater overuse is particularly found in
the agriculturally prosperous regions of Punjab and Western U.P., hard rock plateau areas of
central and south India, some coastal areas and the rapidly growing urban settlements.”
(a) Why groundwater is overused?
(b) Can there be development without overuse?

Groundwater is an example of renewable resources. These resources are replenished by

nature as in the case of crops and plants. However, even these resources may be overused.
For example, in the case of groundwater, if we use more than what is being replenished by
rain then we would be overusing this resource. Non-renewable resources are those which will
get exhausted after a few years of use. We have a fixed stock on earth which cannot be
replenished. We do discover new resources that we did not know of earlier. New sources in
this way add to the stock. However, over time, even this will get exhausted.
For Example, Crude Oil That We Extract From The Earth Is A Nonrenewable Resource.
However We May Find A Source Of Oil That We Did Not Know Of Earlier. Explorations
Are Being Undertaken All The Time.

Example 2: Exhaustion of Naturat Resources

Look at the following data for crude oil

TABLE 1.7 CRUDE OIL RESERVES

Reserves (2017) Number of Years
Region/Country
(Thousand Million Barrels) Reserves will last
Middle East 808 70
United States of America 50 10.5
World 1697 50.2
Source : BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2018, P. 12.

The table gives an estimate of reserves of crude oil (column1). More important, it also tells us
for how many years the stock of crude oil will last if people continue to extract it at the
present rate. The reserves would last only 50 years more. This is for the world as a whole.
However, different countries face different situations. Countries like India depend on
importing oil from abroad because they do not have enough stocks of their own. If prices of
oil increase this becomes a burden for everyone. There are countries like USA which have
low reserves and hence want to secure oil through military or economic power.
The question of sustainability of development raises many fundamentally new issues about
the nature and process of development.
(a) Is crude oil essential for the development process in a country? Discuss.
(b) India has to import crude oil. What problems do you anticipate for the country looking at
the above situation?

Environmental degradation affects everyone—it doesn’t stop at borders. That’s why

sustainable development has become a global concern, bringing together scientists,
economists, and thinkers from various fields.

Development is a continuous journey. As individuals and as a society, we must keep asking:

What kind of future do we want? This ongoing debate helps shape our goals and guide our
progress.