Economics Development - NCERT Notes for UPSC

Development is Goal-Oriented

• Developmental goals vary from person to person and nation to nation.  
• At times developmental goals of people may even be conflicting. 
•  For example: Industrialists may want more dams to get electricity, but for the tribal population, it may mean destruction of their inhabited lands. 

National Development

A positive change in growth resulting into creation of tangible and intangible assets for the nation is called national development. 

Parameters for Comparison of Different Countries and States

• Income attributes: 
• While comparing countries, their income is considered to be one of the most important attributes. Countries with higher income are considered as more developed than others with less income.
• Per Capita Income:

• For comparison between countries, total income is not such a useful measure. Since, countries have different populations, comparing total income will not tell us what an average person is likely to earn. 
• Hence, the countries can be compared on the basis of their average income i.e., the total income of the country divided by its total population. The average income is also called per capita income.
• Other criteria:
• Other indicators like literacy rate, Infant mortality rate, attendance ratio etc. are equally important to assess the development of a state concerned. For example:  In Haryana, the per capita income is more than that in Kerala, however the Infant Mortality rate in Kerala is better than that of Haryana.

Some comparative data on Haryana, Kerala and Bihar

Also Read: Rural Development in India

India’s Performance in Human Development Report 2022

Public Facilities

• Income by itself is not a completely adequate indicator of material goods and services that citizens are able to use. Therefore, public facilities like a clean environment, schools, hospitals, etc. are crucial.
• For example, the health and nutritional status of people in some states is certainly better because of the well-functioning Public Distribution System (PDS).

Related: Determination of Income and Employment

Sustainability of Development

• It is important that the present development levels of a country are maintained for future generations as well, due to which development needs to be sustainable. 
• Alarming groundwater depletion, high extraction rate of crude oil etc. signify the need of sustainable development. 

Interesting Points

World Development Reports are brought out by the World Bank in which India is classified as a low middle-income country.

• The Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) compares countries based on the educational levels of the people, their health status and per capita income.

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