NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography Ch 3 Human Development
Short Answer Type Questions
- Overall literacy in India is approximately 65.4 per cent (2001). While female literacy is 54.16 per cent.
- Total literacy as well as female literacy is higher than the national average in most of the states from south India.
- There are wide regional disparities in literacy rate across the states of India. There is a state like Bihar which has very low (47.53 per cent) literacy and there are states like Kerala and Mizoram which have literacy rates of 90.92 and 88.49 per cent respectively.
Regional distortions and social disparities play an important role in the Indian economy, polity and society. The Government of India has made concerted efforts to institutionalize the balanced development with its main focus on social distributive justice through planned development.
- social capabilities – due to displacement and weakening social ties (social capital),
- environmental capabilities – due to pollution and,
- personal capabilities – due to increasing incidence of diseases and accidents.
This, in turn, has adverse effects on their quality of life and human development. So, developmental activities are considered as a main source of social distributive injustice, deterioration in the quality of life, ecological crises and social unrest.
- Life free from illness and ailment and living a reasonably long lifespan are indicative of a healthy life.
- Availability of pre and post-natal health care facilities in order to reduce infant mortality and post delivery deaths among mothers.
- Old age health care.
- Adequate nutrition.
- Safety of individuals.
- People’s participation and their security
- Democratization
- Increasing empowerment of people
- Bringing about peace and human development
- Reduction in the military expenditure, ’ demobilization of armed forces, transition from defense to production of basic goods and services and particularly disarmament and reduction in countries.
- Peace and well-being are major global concerns.
- Total literacy as well as female literacy is higher than the national average in most of the states from South India.
- There are wide regional disparities in literacy rate across the states of India.
- States like Bihar has a very low (47.53%) literacy whereas states like Kerala and Mizoram have literacy rates of 90.92 and 88.49% respectively.
- Percentage of literate in the rural areas and among the marginalized sections of our society such as females, SC’s, ST’s and agricultural labourers is very low.
- Mahatma Gandhi in recent time advocated for the reinforcement of harmony and balance between the two, that is population resource and development.
- He was quite apprehensive about the ongoing development particularly the way industrialization has institutionalized the loss of morality, spirituality, selfreliance, non-violence, and mutual cooperation and environment.
- Austerity for individuals, trusteeship of social wealth and non-violence are the key to attain higher goals in the life of an individual as well as that of a nation.
Long Answer Type Questions
Indicators of Economic Attainments: A rich resource base and access to these resources by all, particularly the poor, downtrodden and the marginalized is the key to productivity, well-being and human development. Gross National Product (GNP) and its per capita availability are taken as measures to assess the resource base/endowment of any country. Prevalence of poverty, illiteracy, deprivation and injustice in social distribution system and regional disparities belie all the economic achievements in India. Developed states like Maharasthra, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat have high per capita income. The poorer states of U.P., Bihar, Odisha, M.P., Assam have less per capita income. In states like Odisha and Bihar more than 40% population live below poverty line.
Indicators of Healthy Life: A disease free and a relatively long life is indicator of healthy life. Some of the measures of healthy life are availability of pre and post natal healthcare system facilities, old age health care, adequate nutrition and safety of individuals. Over the years the death rate has come down from 25.1 per thousand in 1951 to 8.1 per thousand in 1999. Birth rate has gone down from 40.8 to 26.1 during the same time period. The life expectancy has increased from 37.1 years to 62.3 years for males and 36.2 to 65.3 years for females from 1951 to 1999. India has recorded a declining sex ratio except in the state of Kerala.
Social Empowerment: Freedom in real sense of the term is possible only with the empowerment and participation of the people in the exercise of their capabilities and choices in the society. Access to knowledge about the society and environment are fundamental to freedom. Literacy is the beginning of access to such a world of knowledge and freedom. In India the overall literacy rate is 65.4% (2001) and female literacy is 54.1%, ranging from 47% in Bihar to 91% in Kerala. It has been observed that literacy rate is more in southern states than the national average. Apart from the spatial variation, literacy rate is lower in rural areas and marginalized sections of the society. Though the literacy rate has increased among the marginalized section, yet the gap has increased between them and the rich.
UNDP in its human development report 1993 laid emphasis on progressive democratization and increasing empowerment of people. It recognized the constructive role of civil society in bringing peace and human development for reduction in military expenditure, demobilization of armed forces and transition from defence to production of basic goods and services.
The neo-Malthusian environmentalists believe that proper balance between population and resources is necessary for happy and peaceful social life. Developmental activities have increased the multiple uses of the limited available resources in order to cater to the growing demand, but since resources are unevenly distributed so there is injustice in social distribution. The richer countries have more access while the resources are shrinking in poorer countries, thereby leading to conflict as well as apparent contradiction between population, resource and development.
Indian culture is concerned about the balance and harmony among the elements of nature. According to Gandhiji austerity for individual, trusteeship of social wealth and non- violence are the key to attain higher goals in the life of an individual as well as that of a nation.
It is a well established fact that majority of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, landless agricultural labourers, poor farmers and slums dwellers, etc. are the most marginalized lot. A large segment of female population is the worst sufferers among all. It is also equally true that the relative as well as absolute conditions of the majority of these marginalized sections have worsened with the development happening over the years. Consequently, vast majority of people are compelled to live under abject poverty and subhuman conditions. There is yet another inter-related aspect of development that has direct bearings on the deteriorating human conditions. It pertains to the environmental pollution leading to ecological crisis.
- Gross National Product (GNP) and per capita availability are taken as measures to access the resource base of any country. GDP was ? 3200 thousand crores and according to per capita income it was ? 20,813.
- Prevalence of poverty, deprivation, malnutrition, illiteracy various types of prejudice and above all social distributive injustices and large scale regional disparities.
- Few developed states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi that have per capita income more than ? 4,000 per year and a large number of poorer states like U.P. Bihar, Odisha, M.P., Assam, J&K have recorded per capita income less than ? 2,000.
- The developed states have higher per capita income consumption expenditure as compared to the poorer states.
- These variations are indicative of deep- seated problems of poverty, unemployment and under-employment.
- States like Bihar and Odisha have recorded more than 40 per cent population living below poverty line.
- Employment rate for educated is 25%. Jobless growth and rampant unemploy¬ment are some of the important reasons for higher incidences of poverty in India.
