Class 12 Geography Chapter 3 Human Development Question Answer NCERT Textbook Questions Solved
Chapter 3 Human Development Part B Geography- India People and Economy NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography
CBSE Class 12 Geography Chapter 3 Human Development Question Answer
1. Choose the right answer of the following from the given options.
(i) Which one of the following is India’s rank in terms of Human Development Index among the countries of the world in 2012?
- 126
- 127
- 134
- 129
Ans. (3) 134
(ii) Which one of the following states of India has the highest rank in the Human Development Index?
- Tamil Nadu
- Punjab
- Kerala
- Haryana
Ans. (3) Kerala
(iii) Which one of the following states of India has the lowest female literacy?
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Jharkhand
- Bihar
Ans. (d) Bihar
(iv) Which one of the following states of India has the lowest female child sex ratio 0-6 years?
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Punjab
- Himachal pradesh
Ans. (2) Haryana
(v) Which one of the following Union Territories of India has the highest literacy rate?
- Lakshadweep
- Chandigarh
- Daman and Diu
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Ans. (1) Lakshadweep
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Define Human Development.
Ans. Human development is a concept within the field of international development. It involves studies of the human condition with its core being the capability approach.
The term human development may be defined as an expansion of human capabilities, a widening of choices, ‘ an enhancement of freedom, and a fulfilment of human rights.
Development concerns expanding the choices people have, to lead lives that they value and improving the human condition so that people have the chance to lead full lives. Thus, human development is all about much more than economic growth, which is only a means of enlarging people’s choices. The most basic capabilities for human development are: to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable (i.e , educated) to have access to resources and social services needed for a decent standard of living, and to be able to participate in the life of the community.
(ii) Give two reasons for low levels of Human Development in most of the Northern States of India.
Ans. The two reasons for low level of Human Development in most of the Northern states of India are-
1. These states are lack in economic development and low level in social development.
2. These states have some severe problems like poverty, unemployment and illiteracy.
(iii) Give two reasons for declining child sex ratio in India.
Ans. The two reasons for declining child sex ratio in India are-
(a) Sex selection and medical technology is misused in India for determining the sex of unborn child and ultimately for the sex selection, female foetuses, thus identified and aborted.
(b) Besides the misuse of the technology, the patriarchal societies in many parts of India have translated their prejudice and bigotry into a compliance preference for boys and discrimination against the girl child.
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Discuss the spatial patterns of female literacy in India in 2001 and bring out the reasons responsible for it.
Ans. Overall literacy in India is approx. 65.4% while female literacy is 54.16%.Female literacy rates at the state level, were recorded highest in the western coastal regions of Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. In the North Eastern region,Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Sikkim, Meghalaya and Manipur also recorded high female literacy.
Amongst Northern states, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Punjab and Haryana also noted higher female literacy. On the other hand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Bihar were distinguished for lower female literacy rate, below the national average (65.46 %). Rajasthan and Bihar recorded little more than 50 percent female literacy rate.
Around two third districts of the country registered female literacy rate above 50 percent. All such districts are clustered in the coastal belt, Northwestern parts and Northeastern India, besides the large urban concentrations along Mumbai-Kolkata Corridor. Million Cities and the union territories are noted for relatively greater levels of female literacy. Majority of districts located along the western coast, in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa,Maharashtra and Gujarat and its extension in state of Tamil Nadu carve a cluster of higher female literacy levels. Such areas were noted for early improvement in female education in India.Amongst the North Indian states, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Western Uttar Pradesh region and Uttarakhand presents another clustered zone of higher female literacy rates.
Higher literacy rates amongst the women are also witnessed in the Christian dominated states of Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland in the North-Eastern India. Except few districts of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, all districts noted above 50 percent female literacy rates. Kolkata conurbation in the east, and the coastal plains of Odisha also show high female literacy rates. Mumbai-Kolkata corridor also depicts similar higher female literacy along with the major urban centres
The main reason behind this spatial difference are-
(a) Social factors-
– migration for work in seasonal periods.
– early marriages as per their social custom.
– girl children are not allowed to go outside the house and village because it is a social taboo.
– parents go to their workplaces and household activities are undertaken by the young female children.
– caring of younger ones at home.
– gender disparity at home, in society and earlier marriages in this region.
(b) Apathy of government officials-
– ineffective linkage between economic developmental programmes and literacy.
– inadequate training on the part of functionaries concerning retention of students/ learners in the learning environment (dropouts).
(c) Lack of educational facilities-
– schools are located at long distance from home.
– inadequate teaching staff, classrooms, teaching- learning materials, games and recreational provision.
– lack of textbooks/notebooks/pencils and not able to afford to purchase.
(d) Economic factors-
– most families cannot afford to educate girls.
– because of poverty, girls will be sent to work with landlords or to nearby cities.
– helping parents in their daily professional (caste) occupational
(e) Perceptions-
– people believe that education is not of much use for their daily life
– general feeling among people living on or below the poverty line
that it is difficult, and not useful, to spend money for children’s
education
– fear of ridicule from friends, neighbours and others
– afraid to send a girl alone to school / college
– lack of awareness about education, and
– education not being seen as essential in advanced age.
(ii) Which factors have caused spatial variations in the levels of Human Development among the 15 major states in India?
Ans. There are wide spatial variations in the levels of Human Development among the 15 major states in India. Some of the factors are-
(a) Literacy : Kerala is able to record the highest value in the HDI largely due to its impressive performance in achieving near hundred per cent literacy (90.92 per cent) in 2001. In a different scenario the states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Assam and Uttar Pradesh have very low literacy. For example, total literacy rate for Bihar was as low as 60.32 percent during the same year. States showing higher total literacy rates have less gaps between the male and female literacy rates. For Kerala, it is 6.34 per cent, while it is 26.75 percent in Bihar and 25.95 per cent in Madhya Pradesh. : The levels of
(b) Economic development: Economic development too play significant impacts on HDI. Economically developed states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Punjab and Haryana have higher value of HDI as compared to states like Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh etc.
(c) Regional distortions and social disparities which developed during the colonial period continue to play an important role in the Indian economy, polity and society. The Government of India has made concerted efforts to institutionalise the balanced development with its main focus on social distributive justice through planned development. It has made significant achievements in most of the fields but, these are still below the desired level.
NCERT Solutions Class 12th Geography Question Answer Free Download
CBSE Class 12th Geography Question Answer: Fundamentals of Human Geography
NCERT Books Solutions for Class 12 Geography Question and Answer: Fundamentals of Human Geography
- Chapter 1 Human Geography (Nature and Scope)
- Chapter 2 The World Population (Distribution, Density, and Growth)
- Chapter 3 Population Composition
- Chapter 4 Human Development
- Chapter 5 Primary Activities
- Chapter 6 Secondary Activities
- Chapter 7 Tertiary and Quaternary Activities
- Chapter 8 Transport and Communication
- Chapter 9 International Trade
- Chapter 10 Human Settlements
CBSE Class 12 Geography Question Answer: India People and Economy
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography: India People and Economy
- Chapter 1 Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, and Composition
- Chapter 2 Migration: Types, Causes, and Consequences
- Chapter 3 Human Development
- Chapter 4 Human Settlements
- Chapter 5 Land Resources and Agriculture
- Chapter 6 Water Resources
- Chapter 7 Mineral and Energy Resources
- Chapter 8 Manufacturing Industries
- Chapter 9 Planning and Sustainable Development in the Indian Context
- Chapter 10 Transport And Communication
- Chapter 11 International Trade
- Chapter 12 Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems
Human Development Important Extra Questions Very Short Answer Type
Question 1.
When did United Nations published its first human development report ?
Answer:
In 1990.
Question 2.
Where does India rank in the world human development index ?
Answer:
135th.
Question 3.
What is the infant mortality rate in India ?
Answer:
47 per thousand.
Question 4.
What is the average life expectancy in India ?
Answer:
66.8 years.
Question 5.
What is the literacy rate in India ?
Answer:
74.04% (2011).
Question 6.
Which state has the higghest and lowest literacy rate in India ? Mention literacy rate. (C.B.S.E. 2009, 2013)
Answer:
Bihar—63.82% (2011 census).
Keral (95%)
Question 7.
Which state has the highest Human Development Index in India ?
Answer:
Kerala—0.921.
Question 8.
Name the four aspects of human development.
Answer:
Economic, social, cultural and political development.
Question 9.
What is poverty ratio in India ?
Answer:
26%.
Question 10.
State three indicators of HDI.
Answer:
(i) Longevity of life
(ii) Knowledge
(iii) High standard of living.
Question 11.
What is the female and male literacy rate. Total number of literates in India Total 77.84 crores (2011 census).
Answer:
Female—65.46% (2011 census).
Male—82.14% (2011 census).
Question 12.
What is the total number of literates in India ?
Answer:
77.84 crores (2011 census).
Question 13.
Which state has the lowest HDI value ?
Or
Which state of India has the highest percentage of population below poverty line? (C.B.S.E. Delhi 2017)
Answer:
Bihar 0.367.
Question 14.
Define the term poverty. (C.B.S.E. 2013)
Answer:
A state of deprivation.
Human Development Important Extra Questions Short Answer Type
Question 1.
What is the goal of Human Development ? Give its three aspects.
Answer:
The well being of the people is the main goal of human development. Money alone cannot bring about well being. The three main aspects are :
- Economic development
- Social development
- Cultural development.
Question 2.
Define Human Development. State its important elements.
Answer:
Human development is a process of widening people’s choices as well as raising the level of well being. Its important elements are—long and healthy life, education and decent standard of living. Additional elements include political freedom, guaranted human rights, self reliance and self esteem.
Question 3.
‘Human Development Index (HDI) is a core set of composite index’. Explain.
Answer:
It is difficult to measure quantitatively the quality of life and level of human well being. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has developed a composite index known as the HDI. It measures the various dimensions of human development. It includes—
(i) Longevity of life
(ii) Knowledge base
(iii) Decent standard of living.
The variables included are life expectancy, poverty, adult literacy, purchasing power and per capita GNP. For this aim only one index, a composite index is used rather than several indices.
Question 4.
“Life expectancy has increased remarkably’”. Give reasons
Answer:
(i) This increase is due to increasing food security.
(ii) Expansion of medical and health facilities.
(iii) Per capita availability of pulses and cereals increased from 394.9 gms. in 1951 to 417 gms. in 2001.
(iv) The number of hospitals and dispensaries has increased 10 times.
(v) The number of doctors and nurses has increased 10 times.
Question 5.
The literacy rate is higher in southern states than that in northern states. Give reasons,
Answer:
High literacy rate is found in southern states. Kerala has the highest literacy rate of 93.91 per cent while Bihar has the lowest literacy rate (63.82%). Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and southern states have high literacy rate but the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya which lie in the northern and north¬eastern parts, have low literacy rates.
Reasons :
(i) The southern states are more urbanised.
(ii) The Christian Missionaries have done a lot of work to spread education.
(iii) Many social and religious organisations have contributed towards education.
(iv) Enlightened administration and high proportion of non-agricultural workers.
Question 6.
Describe the paradoxes faced by development of towns.
Answer:
Many paradoxes are found in towns alongwith buildings, roads and other facilities such as :
(i) Jhuggi and Slums
(ii) Traffic Jam and Rush
(iii) Crime and Poverty
(iv) Begging, polluted water and air.
Question 7.
Define Poverty.
Answer:
Poverty is a state of deprivation. In absolute terms it reflects the inability of an individual to satisfy certain basic needs for a sustained, healthy and reasonably productive living.
Question 8.
Assess the Global position of India in respect of Human Development.
Answer:
HDI of India. As compared to the pre-independence days India has done well in development in general but it ranks 136th among 172 countries in terms of the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) and is placed in the group of countries with ‘Medium Human Development’ (HDI of 0.571 in 2011).
Question 9.
Enumerate the Indicators used for measuring the level of Human Development.
Answer:
The quality of life and the level of Human well-being are difficult to measure quantitatively. But UNDP has developed a composite index (HDI). It includes three sets of indicators
(i) Health indicators
(ii) social indicators
(iii) economic indicators.
Several variables have gradually been added to the above sets of indicators.
1. Health indicators. These are related to longevity, birth rate and death rate with special reference to infant mortality, nutrition and life expectancy at birth.
2. Social indicators. These include literacy particularly female literacy, enrolment of school-going children, drop out ratio and pupil-teacher ratio.
3. Economic indicators. These are related to wages, income, and employment. Per capita Gross Domestic Product, incidences of poverty and employment opportunity are also favoured indicators in this group.
Question 10.
Describe the trend of fertility and mortality rates in India since 1951.
Answer:
Fertility and Mortality rates
(1) Death rate. The crude death rate (number of deaths per thousand of population in a particular year) in India has declined rapidly from 27.1 in 1951 to 7.48 per thousand in 2011.
(2) Decline in infant mortality rate (number of deaths of children under one year of age per thousand live births) has decreased from 148 to 47.5 per thousand.
(3) Child (0-4 years) mortality rate declined from 51.9 per thousand to 22.5. It means risk of death has declined at each stage of life. Certainly it is a definite improvement in health.
(4) The birth rates have also declined but at a slower rate. It came down from 40.8 per thousand to 26.1
(5) Simultaneously, total fertility rate also registered decline from 6 children per woman of child¬bearing age to 2.9.
Question 11.
Examine the causes of comparatively low literacy rates in the country.
Answer:
In India, the literacy rate, according to 2011 census, is 74.04 per cent. The male literacy rate is 82.14 per cent while female literacy rate is 65.46 per cent. Thus there is a gap of 16.68 per cent in male and female literacy rate. Several social and economic factors are responsible for low literacy rate in India.
- General poverty of people.
- Low status of women.
- High ratio of drop-outs from schools.
- Low female literacy rate.
- Farm based economy.
- Prejudices against female education.
- Fast growing population.
But due to changing socio-economic conditions, the literacy rate is steadily increasing.
Question 12.
Identify the area of high and low literacy in the country.
Answer:
There are wide regional disparities in literacy rate. It varies from 63.82 per cent in Bihar to 93.91 per cent in Kerala (2011).
(1) Kerala maintains its top position closely followed by Lakshadweep (92.28 per cent) and Mizoram (91.58 per cent).
(2) Bihar ranks last in literacy among the states and union territories of India.
(3) Total 22 states and union territories are above the national average while 13 are below it.
(4) Literacy is very high (above 72 per cent) in 17 states and 7 union territories viz., Kerala, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Maharastra, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Goa, Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Daman and Diu.
Reasons :
(i) These are most urbanised states union territories
(ii) some of them are highly influenced by social and religious organisations.
(iii) Highest level of literacy in Kerala may be attributed to the states’ long tradition of education due to enlightened administration and high proportion of non-agricultural workers.
Question 13.
Why Human Development is necessary? Explain.
Answer:
According to Paul Streeten, human development is necessary on account of the following reasons :
1. The ultimate purpose of the entire exercise of development is to improve the human conditions and enlarge people’s choices.
2. Human development is a means to higher productivity. A well-nourished, healthy, educated, skilled, alert labour force is the most productive asset. Therefore, investments on these sectors are justified on grounds of productivity too.
3. It helps in reducing the rate of growth of population.
4. Human development is friendly to the physical environment also. Deforestation, desertification and soil erosion declines when poverty declines.
5. Improved living conditions and reduced poverty contributes to a healthy civil society, enhanced democracy and greater social stability.
6. Human development also helps in reducing civil disturbances in the society and in increasing political stability.
Question 14.
Distinguish between Economic development and Human development.
Answer:
The basic difference between the concepts of economic development and the human development is :
(i) The first focuses exclusively on the increase in income, while the second embraces the widening of all aspects of human life—economic, social, cultural or political.
(ii) Economic development is essential but in a different perspective. The basic tenet behind this is that it is the use of income and not income itself that is decisive in expanding human choices. Since the real wealth of nations is their people, the goal of development should be the enrichment of human life.
Question 15.
Write a note on indicators of Human development used in India.
Answer:
Indicators of Human Development. The quality of life and the level of human well-being are difficult to measure quantitatively. However, in search of a comprehensive measure that could capture the various dimensions of human development, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has developed composite index, now known as the Human Development Index (HDI).
It includes
(i) longevity of life
(ii) knowledge base, and
(iii) a decent material standard of living. Initially, life expectancy was chosen as an index of longevity, adult literacy as an index of knowledge and per capita Gross National Product adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) as an index of decent life. Therefore, a methodolgy was evolved to construct a composite index rather than several indices.
Question 16.
‘Development is freedom. Discuss.
Or
Explain the Western Euro-Centric view of development.
Answer:
According to Euro-centric Western view, development is freedom. It is believed that “Development is freedom” which is often associated with modernisation, leisure, comfort and affluence.
The present day symbols of develpment are :
- Computerisation
- Industrialisation
- Efficient transport
- Communication network
- Larger education development
- Advanced medical facilities
- Safety and security of individual.
Every individual, community and government measures its performance or levels of development in relation to the availability and access to some of these things. But, this may be partial and one-sided view of development. It is often called the western or euro¬centric view of development. For a postcolonial country like India, colonisation, marginalisation, social discrimination and regional disparity, etc. show the other face of development.
So, it is said, ‘Development and Environmental degradation are two faces of the same coin.
Question 17.
Which factors determine the nature of human development ?
Answer:
Low scores in the HDI is a matter of serious concern but, some reservations have been expressed about the approach as well as indicators selected to calculate the index values and ranking of the states/ countries.
(1) Lack of sensitivity to the historical factors like colonisation, imperialism and neo-imperialism
(2) Socio-cultural factors like human rights violation, social discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender and caste.
(3) Social problems like crimes terrorism and war
(4) Political factors like nature of the state, forms of the government (democracy or dictatorship) level of empowerment are some factors that are very crucial in determining the nature of human development. These aspects have special significance in case of India and many other developing countries.
Question 18.
Describe the indicators of a healthy life. Describe the progress made in India in these.
Answer:
Indicators of a Healthy Life. Life free from illness and ailment and living a reasonably long life span 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 and
- safety of individual are some important measures of a healthy and reasonably long life progress in India.
1. Death Rate. India has done reasonably well in some of the health indicators like decline in death rate from 25.1 per thousand in 1951 to 8.1 per thousand in 1999.
2. Decline in Infant Mortality Rate. Infant mortality from 148 per thousand to 70 during the same period.
3. Life expectancy. Similarly, it also succeeded in increasing life expectancy at birth from 37.1 years to 62.3 years for males and 36.2 to 65.3 years for females from 1951 to 1999. Though, these are great achievements, a lot needs to be done.
4. Birth rate. Similarly, it has also done reasonably well in bringing down birth rate from 40.8 to 26.1 during the same years, but it still is much higher than many developed countries.
Human Development Important Extra Questions Long Answer Type
Question 1.
Explain the relation between Environ¬ment, Resources and Development. State the views of different writers.
Or
“The prime task before any development activity in India is to maintain parity between population and resources.” Justify the statement. (Delhi 2019)
Or
“Development is a substantive concept once it is achieved it will address all the socio¬cultural and environmental ills of the society.” Analyse the statement. (Outside Delhi 2019)
Answer:
Population, Environment and Development. Development in general and human development in particular is a complex concept used in social sciences. It is complex because for ages it was thought that development is a substantive concept and once it is achieved it will address all the socio-cultural and environmental ills of the society.
Though, development has brought in significant improvement in the quality of’ life in more than one way but increasing regional disparities, social inequalities, discriminations, deprivations, displacement of people, abuse of human rights and undermining human values and environmental degradation have also increased.
Population and Resources. At the other extreme of this approach lie the views expressed by the Neo-Malthusians, environmentalists and radical ecologists. They believe that for a happy and peaceful social life proper balance between population and resources is a necessary condition. According to these thinkers, the gap between the resources and population has widened after eighteenth century.
There have been marginal expansion in the resources of the world in the last three hundred years but there has been phenomenal growth in the human population. Development has only contributed in increasing the multiple uses of the limited resources of the world while there has been enormous increase in the demand for these resources. Therefore, the prime task before any development activity is to maintain parity between population and resources.
It is not the availability of resources that is as important as their social distribution. Resources everywhere are unevenly distributed. Rich countries and people have access to large resource baskets while the poor find their resources shrinking. Moreover, unending pursuit for the control of more and more resources by the powerful and use of the same for exhibiting ones prowess is the prime cause of conflicts as well as the apparent contradictions between population resource and development.
Indian culture and civilisation have been very sensitive to the issues of population, resource and development for a long time. It would not be incorrect to say that the ancient scriptures were essentially concerned about the balance and harmony among the elements of nature.
Mahatma Gandhi in the recent times advocated the reinforcement of the harmony and balance between the two. He was quite apprehensive about the on-going development particularly the way industrialisation has institutionalised the loss of morality, spirituality, self-reliance, non-violence and mutual co-operation and environment.
In his opinion, 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. His views were also re-echoed in the Club of Rome Report “Limits to Growth” (1972), Schumacher’s book “Small is Beautiful” (1974), Brundtland Commission’s Report “Our Common Future” (1987) and finally in the “Agenda-21 Report of the Rio Conference” (1993).