Development: Goals, Criteria, and Sustainability
Development means different things to different people, involving not just income but also freedom, security, and respect; sustainable development ensures future generations can meet their needs.
Core Principles
- Development is subjective: Different individuals and groups have diverse and sometimes conflicting goals for development based on their life situations.
- Income is a key, but not sole, indicator: While higher income is a common goal, non-material aspects like equal treatment, freedom, and security are also crucial for quality of life.
- National development requires balancing diverse goals: Considering the needs of all citizens and ensuring a fair and just path is essential for national progress.
- Beyond income: Health and education indicators, such as life expectancy and literacy rates, are vital for measuring a country's development.
- Sustainability is critical: Development must meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.
- Resource management is key to sustainability: Overuse of both renewable (like groundwater) and non-renewable (like crude oil) resources threatens future development.
Action Steps
- Complete Table 1.1 by imagining developmental goals for various categories of persons.
- Discuss in groups what India should do for development, considering diverse and potentially conflicting ideas.
- Analyze data in Tables 1.3 and 1.4 to compare development indicators like per capita income, infant mortality, and literacy rates across states.
- Calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) for students to understand nourishment levels and discuss related habits.
- Examine data on crude oil reserves to understand the implications of non-renewable resource depletion for development.
Key Terms
- Development: The process of progress or aspirations for what an individual or country would like to achieve and how they would like to live.
- Per Capita Income: The total income of a country divided by its total population, used as an average measure of income per person.
- Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): The number of children dying before the age of one year per 1,000 live births.
- Literacy Rate: The proportion of the population above a certain age (e.g., 7 years) that can read and write.
- Net Attendance Ratio: The percentage of students in a specific age group attending school at a particular level (e.g., secondary stage).
- Sustainable Development: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- Renewable Resources: Resources that are replenished by nature over time, such as crops and plants, but can still be overused.
- Non-renewable Resources: Resources that exist in a fixed stock and will be exhausted after a few years of use, such as crude oil.
- Human Development Index (HDI): A composite index measuring development based on health (life expectancy), education (mean years of schooling), and income (GNI per capita).
Pro Tips
- Consider non-material aspects like freedom, security, and respect as equally or more important than income when evaluating development.
- Recognize that 'development' for one group can be 'destructive' for another, necessitating careful consideration of all stakeholders.
- When comparing countries, look beyond per capita income to indicators like life expectancy and literacy rates for a more holistic view.
- Understand that collective provision of goods and services (like public health and education) is often more efficient and equitable than individual provision.
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Assuming development is solely about higher income, ignoring crucial non-material aspects like freedom and security.
- Overlooking the potential for conflicting developmental goals between different individuals or groups.
- Using only per capita income to judge a country's development without considering health, education, and resource sustainability.
- Ignoring the long-term consequences of resource depletion, which can hinder future development.
Myth vs Reality
- Development is solely about economic growth and higher income.: Development encompasses broader goals such as freedom, security, equal treatment, and respect, which are often more important than material wealth.
- A country with high per capita income is always developed.: While per capita income is an indicator, factors like infant mortality rate, literacy rate, and life expectancy are also crucial measures of development, as seen in the comparison between Haryana and Kerala.
Real World Examples
- A girl expecting as much freedom and opportunity as her brother, and for him to share household work.: Illustrates that developmental goals extend beyond income to include equality and social respect.
- Industrialists wanting more dams for electricity versus tribals who may be displaced and prefer small check dams.: Demonstrates how development goals can be conflicting and destructive for certain groups.
- Comparing Haryana and Kerala: Haryana has higher per capita income, but Kerala has lower infant mortality and higher literacy.: Shows that per capita income alone is not a sufficient measure of development; health and education are critical.
- Groundwater overuse in agriculturally prosperous regions like Punjab and Western UP.: Highlights the issue of unsustainable use of renewable resources, threatening future development.
- Depletion of crude oil reserves, with world reserves lasting only 47 more years.: Illustrates the challenge of non-renewable resource exhaustion and its impact on development.
Statistics
- Per Capita Income of Haryana (2021-22): Rs 2,64,729
- Per Capita Income of Kerala (2021-22): Rs 2,34,405
- Per Capita Income of Bihar (2021-22): Rs 47,498
- Infant Mortality Rate in Haryana (2020): 28 per 1,000 live births
- Infant Mortality Rate in Kerala (2020): 6 per 1,000 live births
- Infant Mortality Rate in Bihar (2020): 27 per 1,000 live births
- Literacy Rate in Haryana (2017-18): 82%
- Literacy Rate in Kerala (2017-18): 94%
- Literacy Rate in Bihar (2017-18): 62%
- Net Attendance Ratio (Secondary Stage) in Haryana (2017-18): 73%
- Net Attendance Ratio (Secondary Stage) in Kerala (2017-18): 94%
- Net Attendance Ratio (Secondary Stage) in Bihar (2017-18): 69%
- Crude Oil Reserves (World) will last: 47 years (at 2017 rate)
- HDI Rank of India (2021-22): 134 out of 193 countries
- Life Expectancy at birth in India (2022): 67.7 years
- Mean Years of Schooling (India, aged 25+): 6.5 years
Quiz
- Which of the following is NOT a developmental goal for landless rural labourers?: Assured high family income through higher support prices for crops
- What is the main reason why comparing total income of countries is not a useful measure of development?: Countries have different populations.
- Which of the following is an example of a non-renewable resource?: Crude Oil
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