Feeling lost in the mountains of Chapter 3: Human Development in "Fundamentals of Human Geography"? No worries, Class 12 explorers! This guide will map your way to success
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| Class | 12 |
| Board | CBSE & State Boards |
| Subject | Geography |
| Book | Fundamentals of Human Geography |
| Chapter No. | 3 |
| Chapter Name | Human Development |
| Content Type | Important Questions and Answers |
Human Development Class 12 Geography Important Questions Answers
Q. No. 1) Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
i. Which 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 quality
Ans. Option (c)
ii. Who among the following developed the concept of ‘human development’?
a) Ellen C. Semple
b) Dr Mahbub-ul-haq
c) Kanwar Sen
d) Griffith Tailor
Ans. Option (b)
iii. There are two statements given below, marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Read the statements and choose the correct option.
- Assertion (A): There is a positive correlation between per capita income and human development.
- Reason (R): Higher-income individuals are comparatively more motivated, which leads to better life choices.
(a) A is true but R is false.
(b) A is false but R is true.
(c) Both A and R are true and R explains A.
(d) Both A and R are true but R does not explain A.
Ans. Option (a)
iv. Given below is a list of pillars of human development and its indicators. Which of the following pair is NOT correctly matched?
a. Equity -Making equal access to opportunities available to everybody
b. Sustainability - Continuity in the availability of opportunities
c. Productivity - Resources must be used keeping in mind the future
d. Empowerment- To have the power to make choices
Ans. Option (c)
v. Which of the following statements is misleading?
a. A large proportion of the small countries that have been going through political turmoil report low levels of human development.
b. A country has lower human development because its people follow a particular culture.
c. Social instability due of civil war is another cause for low levels of human development.
d. Famine or a high incidence of diseases is a cause for low level of development.
Ans. Option (b)
vi. Who among the following is related to ‘capability approach’?
a) Dr Mahbub-ul-haq
b) Prof Amartya Sen
c) Malthus
d) Ratzel
Ans. Option (b)
vii. Choose the correct option:
| Column A | Column B |
| 1. Income Approach | A. Emphasis was on the provision of the needs only. |
| 2. Welfare Approach | B. The areas of health, education and access to resources is the key to human development |
| 3. Basic Needs Approach | C. Level of income reflects level of freedom. |
| 4. Capability Approach | D. Human beings are beneficiaries of all development activities. |
a. 1C, 2D, 3A, 4B
b. 1A, 2B, 3C, 4D
c. 1D, 2C, 3B, 4A
d. 1D, 2C, 3B, 4A
Ans. Option (a)
viii. There are two statements marked as Assertion(A) and Reason(R). Mark your answer as per the codes provided below.
- Assertion: High level of human development group has 53 countries.
- Reason: A higher investment in people and good governance has set this group apart from others.
Options:
a. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
b. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
c. Both (A) and (R) are incorrect.
d. (A) is correct but (R) is incorrect.
Ans. Option (b)
ix. The countries that have been going through political turmoil and social instability in the form of civil war, famine, or a high incidence of diseases record _____________ levels of human development.
a. Very High
b. High
c. Medium
d. Low
Ans. Option (d)
x. Which of the following organizations proposed the Basic Needs Approach?
a. WHO
b. IMF
c. UNDP
d. ILO
Ans. Option (d)
xi. Given below are some indicators of the Human Development Index (HDI).
Which of these indicators are matched with their correct meanings on the right?
(a) P and Q
(b) Q and R
(c) R and S
(d) S and P
Ans. Option (c)
xii. Consider the following statement and choose the correct option.
'Equity, Sustainability, Productivity and Empowerment support the idea of Human Development.’
a. Among the four concepts, Equity is the most important.
b. Among the four concepts, Productivity is least important.
c. All the four concepts are of equal importance.
d. All the four concepts may not be present always.
Ans. Option (c)
xiii. Given below are some important approaches to human development. Match column A with column B and choose the correct option:
| 1. Income Approach | A. Proposed by International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the emphasis is on the provision of basic needs of defined sections. |
| 2. Basic Need Approach | B. Building human capabilities in the areas of health, education and access to resources is the key to increasing human development. |
| 3. Capability Approach | C. The approach argues for higher government expenditure on education, health, social secondary and amenities. |
| 4. Welfare Approach | D. Higher the level of income, the higher is the level of human development. |
Options
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| a. | D | A | B | C |
| b. | A | B | D | C |
| c. | C | D | B | A |
| d. | B | A | C | D |
Ans. Option (a)
xiv. Which one of the following options does not describe development?
a. The population of a town has grown from one lakh to two lakhs over a period of time
b. The medical facilities in the town have improved.
c. The number of schools have increased in the town.
d. The rate of crime in the town has decreased
Ans. Option (a)
xv. Which of the following approaches to human development consider the provision of health, education, food, water, supply, sanitation and housing?
a. income
b. welfare
c. capability
d. basic needs
Ans. Option (d)
Q. No. 2) 'Human growth and human development are two terms which are often used interchangeably to express progress. However, the truth is that there is an enormous difference...’
Source (edited): tribuneindia
Explain two key differences between the terms mentioned above and justify the difference with a practical example.
Ans.
| Growth | Development |
| 1. Growth is quantitative and value-neutral in nature. | 1. Development is qualitative and positive in nature. |
| 2. Growth is a narrower concept which comprises a singular variable. | 2. Development is a comprehensive and wider concept which comprises multiple variables. |
Eg. If a country experiences a significant increase in its GDP, it indicates economic growth. However, if the majority of the population continues to face poverty, lack of quality education, inadequate healthcare, etc., then this growth is not accompanied by development.
Q. No. 3) “The basic goal of development is to create conditions where the people can live a meaningful life” – What do you mean by meaningful life?
Ans. A meaningful life is not just a long life; it also includes –
- Healthy life
- Purposeful life
- Free to achieve their goal
- Able to develop their talent.
Q. No. 4) Bhutan, despite its smaller size and national income compared to India, ranks higher on the Human Development Index. Explain the possible reason behind this.
Ans.
- Territory size and per capita income do not alone determine human development levels in nations.
- Smaller countries often outperform larger ones in terms of human development such as in the case of Bhutan performing better than its much larger neighbour, India.
- It is possible that Bhutan does better than India when it comes to income equality, quality of education and healthcare, environmental sustainability, gender equality, etc. which gets it a better rank.
Q. No. 5) 'Bhutan is the only country in the world to officially proclaim the Gross National Happiness as the measure of the country’s progress.' State the reasons behind adopting this approach.
Ans.
- Bhutan is the only country in the world to officially proclaim the Gross National Happiness (GNH) as the measure of the country’s progress.
- Material progress and technological developments are approached more cautiously taking into consideration the possible harm they might bring to the environment or the other aspects of cultural and spiritual life of the Bhutanese.
- This simply means material progress cannot come at the cost of happiness.
- GNH encourages us to think of the spiritual, non-material and qualitative aspects of development.
Q. No. 6) How do people’s choices get affected in different aspects of life due to lack of human development?
Ans. Building people’s capabilities in the areas of health, education and resources is important in enlarging their choices. If people do not have capabilities in these areas, their choices also get limited.
For example, an uneducated child cannot make the choice to be a doctor because her choice has got limited by her lack of education. Similarly, very often poor people cannot choose to take medical treatment for disease because their choice is limited by their lack of resources (money).
Q. No. 7) Explain three indicators used by the UNDP to measure human development.
Ans. Indicators of Human development
- The access to resources, health and education are the key areas in human development. Suitable indicators have been developed to measure each of these aspects.
- The indicator chosen to assess health is the life expectancy at birth. A higher life expectancy means that people have a greater chance of living longer and healthier lives.
- The adult literacy rate and the gross enrolment ratio represent access to knowledge. The number of adults who are able to read and write and the number of children enrolled in schools show how easy or difficult it is to access knowledge in a particular country.
- Access to resources is measured in terms of purchasing power (in U.S. dollars).
Q. No. 8) ‘Some countries of the world have a high Human Development Index’. Try to find out reasons for such a scenario.
Ans. The reasons why some countries of the world have a high Human Development Index are:
- Pattern of government expenditure on the social sector, that is, how much is being spent on the welfare of the people in the society than on defence sector. Mostly these countries represent the industrialised western world.
- Political environment of the country, that is, the stability of the government or the form of government, freedom of the people, rights of the people including the right to vote, Equitable distribution of resources among the people.
- Many of these countries have been the former imperial powers. The degree of social diversity in these countries is not very high. Providing education and healthcare is an important government priority.
Q. No. 9) How have good governance and people-oriented policies with reference to the pillars of human development, increased the values of freedom and capabilities?
Ans. 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.
FOUR PILLARS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Just as any building is supported by pillars, the idea of human development is supported by the concepts of equity, sustainability, productivity, and empowerment.
- 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. Yet this is very often not the case and happens in almost every society. 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 behaviour. In India, a large number of women and persons belonging to socially and economically backward groups dropout of school. This shows how the choices of these groups get limited by not having access to knowledge.
- Sustainability means 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. A good example is about the importance of sending girls to school. If a community does not stress the importance of sending its girl children to school, many opportunities will be lost to these young women when they grow up. Their career choices will be severely curtailed and this would affect other aspects of their lives. So each generation must ensure the availability of choices and opportunities to its future generations.
- Productivity here means human labour productivity or productivity in terms of human work. Such productivity must be constantly enriched by building capabilities in people. Ultimately, it is people who are the real wealth of nations. Therefore, efforts to increase their knowledge, or provide better health facilities ultimately leads to better work efficiency.
- Empowerment means to have the power to make choices. Such power comes from increasing freedom and capability. Good governance and people-oriented policies are required to empower people. The empowerment of socially and economically disadvantaged groups is of special importance.
Q. No. 10) What is the score in the Human Development Index for countries that belong to the high index value? Discuss the factors that have allowed some countries to achieve a high human development index.
Ans. Countries with high human development index are those which have a score of over 0.8.
- Providing education and healthcare is an important government priority.
- Countries with higher human development are those where a lot of investment in the social sector has taken place.
- Altogether, a higher investment in people and good governance has set this group of countries apart from the others.
- Many of these countries have been the former imperial powers.
- The degree of social diversity in these countries is not very high.
- Many of the countries with a high human development score are located in Europe and represent the industrialized western world.
Q. No. 11) 'If development is not engendered, it is endangered.’
Source: HDR UNDP 1995
Explain this quote in the context of the Government of India's initiative 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Andolan’.
Ans.
- The quote means that if development does not include the empowerment of women, it is not sustainable. This is because women play a vital role in society, and their contributions are essential for economic growth and social progress.
- The Government of India's initiative 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Andolan' is a campaign to promote the education and well-being of girls. The campaign aims to address the declining sex ratio at birth in India, which is a result of the preference for sons over daughters.
- It is an important initiative as it addresses the root cause of gender inequality in India. By promoting the education and well-being of girls, the campaign is helping to ensure that women have the opportunity to contribute to society and that the resultant development is sustainable.
Q. No. 12) ‘Development has direct bearings on the deteriorating human conditions’. How poor people are more affected in this process?
Ans. The development has direct bearing on the deteriorating human conditions due to environmental degradation and ecological crisis. Air, soil, water and noise pollution have threatened our existence. Consequently, the poor are subjected to three interrelated processes of declining capabilities as given below
- Social capabilities due to displacement and weakening social ties.
- Environmental capabilities due to pollution.
- Personal capabilities due to increasing incidence of diseases and accidents.
This has adverse effects on their quality of life and human development
Q. No. 13) Explain three characteristics of welfare approach of human development.
Ans.
- Welfare approach considers human beings as beneficiaries or targets of all developmental activities.
- The Govt. must spend more money on providing education and health facilities for all. These activities are the primary responsibilities of the govt.
- People are not participants in development but only passive recipients.
Q. No. 14) Explain any three approaches to study Human Development in the world.
Ans. There are many ways of looking at the problem of human development:
- Income approach – Oldest approach; Human Development is seen as being linked to income. The idea is that the level of income reflects the level of freedom an individual enjoys. Higher the level of income, the higher is the level of human development
- Welfare Approach – This approach looks at human beings as beneficiaries of all development activities. The approach argues for higher govt. expenditure on education, health, social secondary and amenities. People are not participants in development but only passive recipients. The govt. is responsible for increasing levels of human development by maximizing expenditure on welfare.
- Basic Needs Approach – Proposed by ILO; Six basic needs i.e health, education, food, water supply, sanitation, and housing were identified. The question of human choices is ignored and the emphasis is on the provision of basic needs of defined section.
- Capability Approach – This approach is associated with Prof. Amartya Sen. Building human capabilities in the areas of health, education, and access to resources is the key to increasing human development.
Q. No. 15) Describe the concept of Human Development as defined by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Ans. As per the World Human Development Report, Human Development is a process of enlarging the range of people’s choices, increasing their opportunities for education, health care, income and empowerment, and covering the full range of human choices from a sound environment to economic, social and political freedom.
Thus enlarging the range of people’s choices is the most significant aspect of human development. It is just opposite the western or euro-centric view of development. People should be able to live a long and healthy life. They should be educated and have access to resources needed for a decent standard of living. These are necessary and non-negotiable aspects of the human development.
Q. No. 16) What does the 'Human Poverty Index' Measure? What are the various components used to measure it?
Ans. The Human Poverty Index measures the shortfall in human development.
The various components are:
- The probability of not surviving till the age of 40
- The adult illiteracy rate
- The number of people who do not have access to clean water
- And the number of small children who are underweight.
Q. No. 17) “The ways to measure human development are constantly being redefined”. Evaluate this statement keeping in mind the attainments and shortfall in human development.
Ans. The ways to measure human development are constantly being refined and newer ways of capturing different elements of human development are being researched. Researchers have found links between the level of corruption or political freedom in a particular region. There is also a discussion regarding a political freedom index and a listing of the most corrupt countries.
The human development index measures attainments in human development. It reflects what has been achieved in the key areas of human development. Yet it is not the most reliable measure. This is because it does not say anything about the distribution. The human poverty index is related to the human development index. This index measures the shortfall in human development. It is a non-income measure.
The probability of not surviving till the age of 40, the adult illiteracy rate, the number of people who do not have access to clean water, and the number of small children who are underweight are all taken into account to show the shortfall in human development in any region. Often the human poverty index is more revealing than the human development index. Looking at both these measures of human development together gives an accurate picture of the human development situation in a country.
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