Chapter 4
Human Development
1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below:
Question 1.(i)
Which one of the following best describes development?
(a) an increase in size
(b) a constant in size
(c) a positive change in quality
(d) a simple change in the quality
Answer:
(c) a positive change in quality
Question 1.(ii)
Which one of the following scholars introduced the concept of Human
Development?
(a) Prof. Amartya Sen
(b) Ellen C Semple
(c) Dr. Mahabub-ul-Haq
(d) Ratzel
Answer:
(c) Dr. Mahabub-ul-Haq
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words:
Question 2.(i)
What are the three basic areas of Human development?
Answer:
● Access to resources: It is taken as an indicator of economic
condition and ability of individuals to purchase goods of their
demands. The indicator used to determine this is per capital
income, which shows purchasing power of individuals in
terms of dollars.
● Health: Longevity of people of the country indicates the
availability of health care services and facilities in the country.
Country with higher life expectancy tends to have higher HDI.
● Education: The adult literacy rate and gross enrollment ratio
represents access to knowledge.
Question 2.(ii)
Name the four main components of human development.
Answer:
The four main pillars of human development are the concepts of equity,
sustainability, productivity and empowerment.
Question 2.(iii)
How are countries classified on the basis of human development index?
Answer:
Countries can be classified into four categories on the basis of human
development index as:
HDI Number of Score in
countries Development
Index
Very High Human 49 > 0.808
Development
High Human Development 53 0.700 up to 0.807
Medium human 42 0.556 up to 0.699
development
Low human development 43 < 0.555
3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words:
Question 3.(i)
What do you understand by the term Human development?
Answer:
Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq introduced the concept of human development. He
described human development as a development that enlarges people’s
choices and improves their lives. People are central to all development
under this concept. These choices are not fixed but keep on changing.
The basic goal of human development is to create conditions where
people can live meaningful lives.
A meaningful life is not just a long one. It must be a life with some
purpose. This means that people must be healthy, be able to develop
their talents, participate in society and be free to achieve their goals by
full access to resources, education and health facilities. There should be
no hindrance to a person’s progress due to deprivation of life chances.
Leading a long and healthy life, being able to gain knowledge and having
enough means to be able to live a decent life are the most important
aspects of human development. Building people’s capabilities in areas of
health, education and access to resources is therefore, important in
enlarging their choices. If people do not have capabilities in these areas,
their choices also get limited.
Question 3.(ii)
What do equity and sustainability refer to within the concept of human
development?
Answer:
Equity refers to making equal access to opportunities available to
everybody. The opportunities available to people must be equal
irrespective of their gender, race, income and in the Indian case, caste. It
aims at providing equal opportunities to all with no special privileges or
restriction to any person or group of persons. It is essential for human
development to ensure access to resources in order to fulfill choices and
lead a meaningful life.
For example, in any country, it is interesting to see which group the most
of the school dropouts belong to. This should then lead to an
understanding of the reasons for such behavior. In India, a large number
of women and persons belonging to socially and economically backward
groups drop out of school. This shows how the choices of these groups
get limited by not having access to knowledge. Sustainability can be
defined as “using resources in a way that fulfill the needs of present
generation without compromising on their availability for future
generations.” Sustainability refers to continuity in the availability of
opportunities. To have sustainable human development, each generation
must have the same opportunities. All environmental, financial and
human resources must be used keeping in mind the future. Misuse of
any of these resources will lead to fewer opportunities for future
generations.
Example; If the key resource of coal is being overused by the present
generation, it will lead to its paucity in future. When adequate coal will
not be available to future generation, the power generation capability wifi
be hindered which in turn will affect several infrastructural, industrial and
other activities, which in turn will negatively affect the available choices
and quality of life of future generations.
