Development · Class 10 Economics: quick revision, 57 bites

What Development Asks

Big questions, shared hopes.

Takeaway. Development is thinking about these and working towards them.

Labourer and Farmer

Same village, different dreams.

Takeaway. Life situations shape goals.

Life Situations Decide

Why goals differ.

People have different notions of development mainly because their **life situations are different** — not merely because people are different.

Takeaway. Where you stand shapes what you want.

Conflicting Goals

One person's gain, another's loss.

Industrialists may want **more dams** for electricity; the dams may **submerge land** and displace people such as **tribals**, who may prefer **small check dams or tanks**.

Takeaway. Development can conflict.

Different or Conflicting?

Not the same thing.

Takeaway. All conflicting goals are different; not all different goals conflict.

More Income

The goal almost everyone shares.

Across groups, people want **regular work, better wages** and a **decent price** for what they produce — in short, **more income**.

Takeaway. Income is a common goal.

Goals Beyond Income

Money isn't everything.

Takeaway. E-F-S-R.

Non-Material Things

Hard to measure, easy to ignore.

Friendship and many other things are **not easily measured** and are often **ignored**.

Takeaway. Measure what you can; value what you can't.

Choosing a Job

Pay is only one line.

Takeaway. A mix of goals decides.

Women, Work and Respect

Goals that feed each other.

**Paid work** raises a woman's **dignity**. **Respect** for women brings more sharing of housework and acceptance of women working outside.

Takeaway. Income, respect and safety reinforce each other.

The Girl and Her Brother

Equal at home first.

A girl wants **as much freedom as her brother** and expects him to share the housework. He **may not like this** — a conflict inside one family.

Takeaway. Conflicting goals can be close to home.

Why This Matters Nationally

From people to the nation.

If individuals seek different goals, their ideas of **national development** will also differ — which is why deciding a fair path for all is hard.

Takeaway. Individual goals shape national debates.

Questions of National Development

Whose development?

Takeaway. National development is a debate about fairness.

Toxic Waste in Abidjan

Profit for some, poison for others.

**500 tonnes** of toxic waste were dumped in and around **Abidjan, Ivory Coast**. **Seven** died and **twenty-six thousand** were treated for poisoning.

Takeaway. Development choices have winners and losers.

Choosing a Criterion

The purpose picks the yardstick.

We choose a sports team, a debate team and a picnic team by **different criteria**. For comparing countries, **income** is considered one of the most important attributes.

Takeaway. Criterion depends on purpose.

Per Capita Income

Divide by the people.

Takeaway. Compare averages, not totals.

The World Bank's Classification

Rich, poor and India.

Takeaway. Write the book's figures in the exam.

Who Is Called Developed?

Rich isn't always 'developed'.

Rich countries are generally called **developed countries** — **excluding** the countries of the **Middle East** and certain other small countries.

Takeaway. High income alone is not the label.

Country A and Country B

Same average, different worlds.

Takeaway. Averages hide disparities.

What Averages Cannot Show

Useful, but blind.

Average income is useful for comparison, but it **does not tell us how income is distributed**.

Takeaway. Always ask who gets the income.

The Fourth Family

Solve it in three lines.

Takeaway. Total = average × number.

Limits of the World Bank's Criterion

One number can't say it all.

Takeaway. Income is important but incomplete.

Per Capita Income, 2023–24

By income alone.

Takeaway. Haryana top, Bihar bottom.

Health and Education

Now look beyond income.

Takeaway. Kerala leads on every measure.

Infant Mortality Rate

Lower is better.

Takeaway. A key health indicator.

Literacy Rate and Net Attendance

Two education measures.

Takeaway. Know the age groups.

Bihar's Classrooms

A third of the class missing.

With attendance of **69 per 100**, about **one-third** of Bihar's children aged 15–17 are **not attending** secondary school.

Takeaway. Income gaps show up in classrooms.

Why Income Falls Short

Some things money can't buy.

Takeaway. Income is inadequate on its own.

Collective Provision

Better and cheaper together.

For many important things, the **best and cheapest** way is to provide them **collectively** — security for a whole locality, government schools, basic health care.

Takeaway. Public facilities are shared goods.

Why Kerala's IMR Is Low

The Kerala secret.

Kerala has **adequate provision of basic health and educational facilities**.

Takeaway. Facilities, not just income.

Ration Shops: Tamil Nadu and West Bengal

Same scheme, different reach.

**90%** of rural people in **Tamil Nadu** used a ration shop; only **35%** in **West Bengal**.

Takeaway. How well a facility works matters.

Rural Uttar Pradesh

Read the gaps.

Takeaway. Girls lag at every step.

Education up to 14

A promise still unkept.

Free and compulsory education for all children up to **14** was expected by **1960**. In many states, we are still far from it.

Takeaway. Access to school is still unequal.

Is Per Capita Income Useless?

Important, but not enough.

No. Income remains an important indicator — but it is **inadequate on its own** and should be read **together with** health and education data.

Takeaway. Use income, but not alone.

Why Look Beyond Income

A few key measures.

Income is **important but inadequate**. Instead of a long list, we need **a small number of the most important** indicators — **health and education** — used **along with income**.

Takeaway. Add health and education to income.

The Human Development Report

UNDP's yardstick.

Takeaway. E-H-I.

World Bank and UNDP

Money versus people.

Takeaway. A frequent exam comparison.

India in Table 1.6

India's own numbers.

Takeaway. Rank 130 of 193.

Sri Lanka Tops Every Column

Small country, big lead.

Income **12,616**, life expectancy **77.5**, schooling **10.8**, HDI rank **89** — ahead of India on **every** measure.

Takeaway. The neighbour with better human development.

Bangladesh

Poorer, yet living longer.

Lower income than India (**8,498** against 9,047) but **higher life expectancy** (**74.7** against 72). It **shares India's HDI rank** of 130.

Takeaway. Income does not decide health.

Reading Table 1.6

Top and bottom.

Takeaway. Exercise 12, answered.

PPP Dollars

A dollar that buys the same.

Takeaway. Makes incomes comparable.

Body Mass Index

Weight over height squared.

Takeaway. Convert centimetres to metres first.

Below-Normal BMI, 2019–21

One in five undernourished.

Takeaway. Madhya Pradesh fares far worse than Kerala.

Why Undernourishment Persists

Enough food, yet hungry.

Around **one-fifth** of adults are undernourished even though it is argued there is **enough food** in the country.

Takeaway. Availability is not access.

Reading HDI Ranks

Lower number, better rank.

Rank **1** is best. Sri Lanka's **89** is better than India's **130**; Pakistan's **168** is the lowest in the table.

Takeaway. Don't read ranks like scores.

What Sustainability Asks

Borrowed from our children.

Development should **rise, or at least be maintained, for future generations**.

Takeaway. Development must last.

Renewable and Non-Renewable

Refills or runs out.

Takeaway. Both can be used up if misused.

Groundwater in India

Water tables falling.

Takeaway. A renewable resource being overused.

Where Overuse Is Worst

Where the wells run deepest.

Takeaway. Prosperity itself can drive overuse.

Crude Oil Reserves (2017)

How long the oil will last.

Takeaway. A finite stock.

India and Oil

Importing a shrinking resource.

India **imports oil** because it lacks enough stocks. If prices rise, it becomes **a burden for everyone**.

Takeaway. Oil shapes economies and politics.

New Oil Finds

Discoveries don't make it renewable.

Exploration sometimes finds **new sources** of oil, which **add to the stock**. But the total is fixed, and **over time even this will get exhausted**.

Takeaway. Oil stays non-renewable.

No Boundaries

Pollution has no passport.

The consequences of **environmental degradation do not respect national or state boundaries**. **Our future is linked together.**

Takeaway. Sustainability is everyone's concern.

A New Area of Knowledge

Many disciplines, one question.

Sustainability is a comparatively **new area of knowledge** where **scientists, economists, philosophers and social scientists** work together.

Takeaway. Sustainability needs many minds.

Enough for Need, Not for Greed

Needs, not greed.

*There is enough on this earth to meet what everyone needs. There is not enough to satisfy what a single person wants without limit.*

Takeaway. Sustainability is about restraint.

A Perennial Question

The debate never ends.

At all times we must ask **where we are heading, what we hope to become and what we are aiming for**. The debate on development continues.

Takeaway. Development is always being rethought.