CBSE Class 10 Economics Chapter 1 Development Extra Questions and Answers is available here. Students can learn and download PDF of these questions for free. These extra questions and answers are prepared by our expert teachers as per the latest NCERT textbook and guidelines. Learning these questions will help you to score excellent marks in the board exams.

Development Class 10 Extra Questions Economics Chapter 1

Very Short Answer Type Questions (1 Mark)

1. What is development?

Answer: It is a comprehensive term which includes increase in real per capita income, improvement in living standard of people, reduction in poverty etc.

2. Mention any two developmental goals of a landless rural labourer.

Answer: (i) More days of work and better wages.
(ii) Quality education for his children.

3. Mention any two developmental goals of a girl.

Answer: (i) Gender equality
(ii) Girls empowerment

4. What may be development for one may not be development for the other. It may even be destructive for other. Give one example.

Answer: Construction of a dam may be good for an industrialist as he will get more electricity but construction of dam submerge the land and disrupt the lives of people who are displaced.

5. Mention any two developmental goals of people other than income.

Answer: (i) Equal treatment (ii) Respect of others

6. Mention any two developmental goals of a rural women.

Answer: (i) Dignity in the household.
(ii) A safe and secure environment.

7. What is national development? [CBSE 2014]

Answer: National development is a comprehensive term which includes improvement in living standard. of the people, increase in per capita income, providing social amenities like education, medical care, social services, etc. to the citizens of the country.

8. Mention any two national development goals of India.
Answer: (i) Corruption free society.
(ii) High per capita income.

9. Which is the most important attribute for national development?
Answer: National income or per capita income of the nation.

10. ‘For comparing countries, total income or national income is not a useful measure. Give reason.

Answer: Since countries have different population, comparing total income will not tell us what an average person is likely to earn.

11. What is average income or per capita income? [CBSE 2014]

Answer: When the total national income is divided by the total population, it is called the per capita income.
Per Capita Income = National Income / Population

12. What is the most important component for comparing different countries? [CBSE 2010, 12]
Answer: Per capita income.

13. Which criteria is used by the World Bank to classify different countries?
Answer: Per capita income.

Q.14. Which countries have been categorised as rich countries according to the World Development Report? [CBSE 2014]

Answer: Countries with per capita income of US $ 12276 per annum and above in 2010 are called rich countries.

15. Which countries have been categorised as low income countries according to World Development Report?

Answer: Countries with per capita income of US $ 1005 or less are called low income countries.

16. Under which category India has been placed by the World Bank Development Report?

Answer: Low middle income countries as India’s per capita income is less than JUS $ 1005. or less.

17. What are developed countries according to World Development Report ?

Answer: All the countries excluding countries of Middle East and certain other small countries which have per capita income of US $ 12276 per annum or above have been termed as developed countries.

18. What is Infant Mortality Rate? [CBSE 2009, 2013 (D)]

Answer: It indicates the number of children that die before the age of one year as a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year.

19. What is Literacy Rate? [CBSE 2009 (D)]

Answer: It measures the proportion of literate population in the seven and above age group.

20. What is Net Attendance ratio? [CBSE 2014]

Answer: It is the total number of children of the age group 6-10, attending school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group.

21. What is Gross Enrolment Ratio?

Answer: It is the enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and higher education.

22. Which Indian state has the lowest Infant Mortality Rate ?
Answer: Kerala.

23. Why Kerala has a low Infant Mortality Rate ? [CBSE 2008, 2013 (F)]

Answer: Kerala has low IMR because :
(i) It has very high literacy rate and literate people take care of their children better as compared to illiterate.
(ii) Literate people also have high earning capacity so they can afford basic necessities for their children.

24. Mention any two things which money cannot buy.
Answer: (i) Peace (ii) Freedom

25. What is Public Distribution System?

Answer: It is a food security programme under which government provide foodgrains and other essential items to the poor at an affordable price.

26. What is Human Development Index?

Answer: It is an index prepared by the World Bank Under which all the nations of the world are indexed or ranked according to their performance in various parameters like per ‘—’capita income, life expectancy, literacy rate etc.

27. What are the three components of human Development Index?
Answer: (i) Per Capita Income
(ii) Life Expectancy
(iii) Literacy Rate

28. What is India’s rank according to 2013 HDI ?
Answer: 136

29. Mention any two parameters where Sri Lanka has scored over India in HDI.
Answer: (i) Per capita income
(ii) Literacy rate

30. Define life expectancy. [CBSE 2013]
Answer: Average expected length of life of a person at the time of birth.

31. What is life expectancy in India?
Answer: 65.8 years

32. What is Sustainable Development?

Answer: Sustainable development is that process of economic development which aims at maintaining the quality of life of both the present and the future generations without harming the natural resources and environment.

33. What are non-renewable resources? Give one example.

Answer: “Non-renewable resources are the natural resources that cannot be replaced at all or within a reasonable time.” Fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal are examples of non-renewable resources. These resources accumulated over millions of years.

34. Name the region of world which has large crude oil reserves.
Answer: Middle East.

Short Answer Type Questions (3 Marks)

1. (i) What is development? Mention any two features of development.
(ii) What is national income? [CBSE 2009 (D)] 
(iii) What is per capita income? [CBSE Sept. 2011]
Or
Define the term, ‘average income.’ [CBSE 2008, 2009 (D)] 

Answer: (i) Development is a comprehensive term which include increase in real per capita income, improvement in living standard of people, reduction in poverty, illiteracy, crime rate, etc.
Features
(a) Different persons have different developmental goals.
(b) Income is a major component of development.
(ii) National income is defined as the total value of all the goods and services produced within a country plus net income coming from abroad.
(iii) When the total national income is divided by the total population, it is called the per capita income.
Per Capita Income = National Income / Population

2. (f) State the criteria used to compare the different countries by the Human Development Report published by the United National Development Programme (UNDP).
(ii) Which is the new area of knowledge in which scientists, economists, philosophers and other social scientists are working together?
(iii) What is meant by Human Development? [CBSE Sept. 2011, 2012]
(iv) What is Sustainable Development? [CBSE Comp. (D) 2008, 2009 (F), Sept. 2011]
(v) Which organisation measures HDR? Mention any three major indicators of / HDR. [CBSE Sept. 2012]

Answer: (i) Per capita income, life expectancy at birth, literacy rate and other basic necessities like clean drinking water, sanitation etc.
(ii) Sustainability of development.

(iii) It is the process of enlarging people’s choices as well as raising the level of wellbeing so that they can lead a purposeful and a creative life. Though the national income and the per capita income are the indicators of human development, but it includes many other elements like consumption, health, environment, education, freedom, security, non-violent atmosphere, etc.

(iv) Sustainable Development is that process of economic development which aims at maintaining the quality of life of both the present and the future generations without harming the natural resources and environment.

(v) UNDP :
(a) Educational level
(b) Health status
(c) Per capita income

3. (i) Mention any two important aspects of our lives other than income. [CBSE 2008 (D)]
(ii) How can we achieve our hopes and possibilities in the present world ? [CBSE Comp. (D) 2008]
(iii) What is ‘Public Distribution System ’ (PDS) ? [CBSE Sept. 2011] [CBSE2009 (F) Sept. 2010]
(iv) Mention two developmental goals of landless rural labourers. [CBSE Comp. (O) 2008]
(iv) Why has Kerala a higher Human Development Index than Punjab in spite of low per capita income? [CBSE 2009 (F) Sept. 2011] 

Answer: (i) Health and Education.
(ii) Through Democratic political process.
(iii) It is a system through which the Government distributes ration to the poor at a reasonable rate through the ration shops.
(iv) (a) More days of work and better wages.
(b) Quality education for the children.
(v) (a) Because it has low infant mortality rate, (b) It has higher literacy rate.

4. Mention any four characteristics of development. [CBSE Sept. 2010, 2011]

Answer: (i) Different people have different developmental goals.
(ii) What may be development for one may not be development for the other. It may be destructive for the other.
(iii) Income is the most important component of development, but along with income, people also seek equal treatment, good health, peace, literacy, etc.
(iu) For development, people look at mixed goals.

5. Describe any three features of developed country. [CBSE 2013, 14]

Answer: (i) As per the World Bank Report 2012 any country with per capita income of US$ 12,276 per annum and above is termed as rich or developed country. ‘
(ii) Such countries have high literacy rate.
(iii) Most of the people of these countries are engaged in service sector.

6. What is PCI? Where it is used?

Answer: PCI is Per Capita Income. It is calculated by dividing the National Income of the country by population.
Uses:
(i) It is used to compare different countries.
(ii) The World Bank has divided the countries into rich or low income countries on the basis of per Capita income.

7. What are the development goals of the following :
(i) Labourer (ii) Rich farmer (iii) Trader

Answer: 

• more days of work better wages
• low price food grains
• cheap labour
• less taxes
• cheap labour

8. ‘What may be development for one may not be development for the other.’ Explain by giving examples. [CBSE Sept. 2012]
Or
With the help of an example show two groups who may have different notions of development. [CBSE Sept. 2010]

Answer: It is true that development for one may not be development for the other.
(i) More wages means development for a worker, but it can go against the entrepreneur.
(ii) A rich farmer or trader wants to sell foodgrains at a higher price but a poor worker wants to purchase it for low prices.
(iii) Construction of a dam means more and cheap power, but people, who will lose their habitat will demonstrate.
(iu) To get more electricity, the industrialists may want more dams. But this may submerge the agricultural land, and disrupt the lives of the people.

9. What is national development? What are the aspects covered under the national development? [CBSE Sept. 2010]

Answer: National development is a comprehensive term which includes improvement in living standard of the people, increase in per capita income, providing social amenities like education, medical care, social services, etc. to the citizens of the country.
(i) Under national development, a country uses its resources in a fair and just way.
(ii) Under this only those programmes and policies are implemented which would benefit a large number of people.
(iii) Under national development, countries focus more on social infrastructure which includes education, health and other social services.

10. What contributes to the human development?

Answer: There are many economic as well as non-economic factors which contribute to the human development.
(i) Living a long and a healthy life.
(ii) To have education, information and knowledge.
(iii) Enjoying a decent standard of living.
(iv) Enjoying basic fundamental rights like freedom, security, education, etc.
(v) To have equality and enjoyment of human rights.

11. What is the significance of Human Development Index? [CBSE 2013]

Answer: (i) HDI is used to measure level of development of a country.
(ii) It has been published by UNDP and according to it countries has been ranked.
(iii) It is a comprehensive approach which cover all the major aspects of life.
(iv) Apart from income, education, health status, life expectancy, etc., are considered for measuring economic development of a nation.

12. ‘Human development is the essence of social development.’ Explain.

Answer: (i) Human development focuses on the people.
(ii) It is concerned with the well-being of the people, their needs, choices and aspirations. All these help in building a right kind of society.
(iii) It is all about the enlarging or widening the choices for the people. It is the building of human capabilities, such as to lead a long and a healthy life, to have education, information and knowledge, to have opportunities of livelihood, etc.
(iv) Human development focuses on the expansion of basic choices.

13. ‘Money cannot buy all the goods and services that one needs to live well.’ Explain. [CBSE 2010(0), Sept. 2013]

Answer: (i) Money or material things that one can buy with it is one factor on which our life depends. But the quality of our life also depends upon non-material things like equal treatment, freedom, security, respect of others, etc.
(ii) Money cannot buy us a pollution free environment, unadulterated medicines, peace, etc.
(iii) There are many facilities like schools, colleges, parks, hospitals which an individual cannot afford. All these are to be provided by the government/society.
(iv) Money possessed by an individual even can not provide us a type of government which take decisions for the welfare of the common people.

14. What are the limitations of the per capita income criteria of development ? [CBSE 2014]
Or
What is Per Capita Income? Can it be regarded as the sole indicator of economic development of a country? Give four valid arguments to support your answer. [CBSE 2012]

Answer: (i) Per capita income is the average income of a country.
(ii) Per capita income criteria takes into account only the economic aspect of life and ignores the social, aspect of life.
(iii) Per capita income criteria ignores education, health, life expectancy, sanitation etc.
(iv) Per capita income criteria also ignores non material things like peace, pollution free environment, democracy, etc.
(v) Though Punjab has higher per capita income as compared to Kerala but it has been ranked lower on Human Development Index because it is far behind than Kerala in literacy rate and has higher infant mortality rate than Kerala.

15. “Average income is an important criterion for development.” Explain.

Answer: (i) Average income gives us an idea what an average person is likely to get out of the total national income.
(ii) Average income is used to classify the countries into rich, poor or developing nations.
(iii) Average income is used to make economic policies.

16. Besides income, what can be the other attributes to compare economic development? [CBSE 2013, 14]

Answer: (1) Of course, for comparing economic development of countries, their income is considered to be one of the most important attributes. This is based on the understanding that more income means more of all things that human beings need. That is why, the World Bank uses Per Capita Income to compare economic development.

(2) Apart from income, educational levels of the people and their health status are considered as measures to compare economic development of a nation.
(i) Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) : This indicates the number of children that die before the age of one year as a proportion of 1,000 live children born in that particular year. ‘
(ii) Literacy Rate : This measures the proportion of literate population in the 7 years and above age group.
(iii) Net Attendance Ratio : This is the total number of children of age group 6-10 attending school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group.
(iv) Life Expectancy at birth : It denotes average expected length of life of a person at the time of birth.

17. What is infant mortality rate ? Suggest two measures to keep the infant mortality rate low. [CBSE 2013, 14]
Or
What is the meaning of ‘Infant Mortality Rate ’ (IMR) ? Give two main reasons for low IMR in Kerala. [CBSE 2010]

Answer: (1) The number of children that die before the age of one year per 1,000 children born alive in a particular year is called Infant Mortality Rate.
(2) Measures to keep Infant Mortality Rate low :
(i) Provision of basic health.
(ii) Provision of proper educational facility.
(iii) Proper functioning of Public Distribution System.

18. Define the following terms:
(i) IMR (ii) Literacy Rate (iii) NAR [CBSE Sept. 2010, 2011]

Answer: (i) Infant Mortality Rate (or IMR) indicates the number of children that die before the age of one year as a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year.
(ii) Literacy Rate measures the proportion of literate population in the 7 years and above age group.
(iii) Net Attendance Ratio is the total number of children of age group 6-10 years attending school as a percentage of the total number of children in the same age group.

Long Answer Type Questions (5 Marks)

1. What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different countries? What are the limitations of this criterion? [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Or
Explain the meaning of the term ‘Rich Countries’ and ‘Low Income Countries’ according to the World Development Report of 2006. What is India’s position in this respect? [CBSE 2013]

Answer: The World Development Report, 2012, brought out by the World Bank has given the following criteria in classifying countries :
(i) Rich or High income countries : Countries with the per capita income of US $12276 per annum and above in 2010, are called rich countries.
(ii) Poor or Low income countries: The countries with the per capita income of US $ 1005 or less, are called low income countries.
India comes in the category of low middle income countries because its per capita income in 2010 was just US $1340.4 per annum. The rich countries, excluding countries of Middle East and certain other small countries, are generally called the developed countries.

Limitations :
(i) It covers only the economic aspect ignoring peace, health, environment, education, longevity, etc.
(ii) The method does not provide us the distribution of income.

2. Compare India and Sri Lanka on the basis of any three indicators of the Human Development Index for 2004. [CBSE 2009 (O), Sept. 2012]

Answer: (1) Per capita income : The per capita income of Sri Lanka is higher than that of India. The per capita income of India is about $ 3285, whereas it is around $ 5170 for Sri Lanka.
(2) Life expectancy at birth : Life expectancy at birth in Sri Lanka is also higher as compared to India. In Sri Lanka, the life expectancy is around 75.1 whereas in India it is about 65.8.
(3) Literacy rate : Literacy rate in Sri Lanka is also higher than India. It is 90.6 in Sri Lanka whereas it is 62.8 in India.

3. Why are the countries of the Middle East not called ‘developed’ inspite of high per capita income ?[CBSE Sept. 2010]

Answer: (i) These are small countries.
(ii) The gap between rich and poor is very high,
(iii) Though per capita income in Middle East countries is very high but there is unequal distribution of wealth.
(iv) These countries have high per capita income due to oil production. So they have only one major source of income.
(v) The World Development Report brought out by the World Bank has excluded these countries from the list of developed countries.

4. Highlight any three advantages of public facilities. [CBSE Sept. 2010]

Answer: (i) Public facilities is the cheapest way to
provide basic services collectively.
(ii) Most of the poor people survive only because of public facilities.
(iii) There are many services like police, education, transportation, etc., which become affordable only if they are part of public facilities.

5. Why are public facilities needed for the development of the country ? Explain four public facilities. [CBSE Sept. 2010, 2012] 

Answer: Public facilities play very important role in the development of a country as these include education, health, transportation, banking which are the base for any kind of development.
(i) Education : Education is the most important public facility which is required both by the rich as well as the poor.
(ii) Public Distribution System (PDS) : Public distribution system is another important facility which plays an important role in providing food security to the people.
(iii) Transportation : Many transport facilities like railway, airways, waterways, banking become affordable only if they are provided collectively.

6. Explain common, different and conflicting goals by giving appropriate examples. [CBSE 2012]

Answer: Development goals may be common, different or conflicting.
(i) Common goals : There are some needs which are common to all like income, freedom, equality, security, respect, friendship, etc.
(ii) Different goals : Development or progress does not mean the same thing for every individual. Each individual has his own idea of development. For example, development for a farmer might be better irrigation facilities; for an unemployed youth it may mean better employment opportunities, etc.
(ii) Conflicting goals : What may be development for some, may become destruction for some others. For example, industrialists may want dams for electricity but such dams would displace the natives of the region.

7. Mention any four aspects of comparison notions of development between different countries. [CBSE 2010, 14]
Or
Explain three attributes for comparing nations development between different countries. [CBSE 2010]
Or
What are the two basic criteria used for comparing an underdeveloped country with developed one ? [CBSE 2010]
Or
Give examples to prove that there are other important developmental goals than income. [CBSE 2012]

Answer: Development of a country can generally be determined by: per capita income; average literacy level; and health status of its people.
(i) Per Capita Income means average income
generated by each person in a given group of people. Its limitation is that it does not show the disparities among the people of the group. ‘
(ii) Amount of literacy achieved is also a measure of development. Literacy rate measures the proportion of literate population in the 7 and above age group. The more the people are educated, the more developed the group is.
(iii) Health indicators are Infant Mortality Rate, Birth Rate, etc. Lower the amount of Infant Mortality Rate, higher is the rate of people being healthy. ,
(iv) Net Attendance Ratio is also the indicator of economic development of a nation. It is the total number of children of age group 6-10 attending school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group,
(v) Life Expectancy at birth denotes average expected length of life of a person at the time of birth. Higher the life expectancy at birth, higher is considered the development of a nation.

8. How is BMI used to determine the undernourishment of a person ? Explain. [CBSE 2013]

Answer: (i) One way to find out if adults are undernourished is to calculate what nutrition scientists call Body Mass Index or BMI.
(ii) In order to calculate, first of all the weight of the person in kg is taken. Then, the height in metres is measured. The weight is divided by the square of the height.
(ii) If this figure is less than 18.5, then the person would be considered undernourished. However, if this BMI is more than 25, then a person is overweight.

9. What is the criterion to determine if adults are undernourished? [CBSE 2013]

Answer: (i) The criterion to determine if adults are undernourished is Body Mass Index, popularly known as BMI.
(ii) In order to calculate it, first the weight of the person in kg is taken. Then, we take height in meters. The weight is divided by the square of the height.
(iii) If this figure is less than 18.5, then the person would be considered undernourished. However, if this BMI is more than 25, then a person is overweight.

10. What is meant by ‘Overusing a Resource’ ? Explain with examples. [CBSE 2013]

Answer: (i) ‘Overusing a Resource’ means more uses of the resource than it is replenished by the nature.
(ii) Let us consider groundwater. It is an example of renewable resources. These resources are replenished by nature. However, even these resources may be overused. In the case of groundwater, if we use more than what is being replenished by rain then we would be overusing this resource.
(iii) This is what Indian states have done. For example, farmers of Punjab have overused the groundwater. This has lead to lowering of the water table.

11. Explain the importance of sustainable development with reference to groundwater by giving example. [CBSE 2013]
Or
What is meant by sustainable development? Explain it by taking the case study of water. [CBSE 2011, 14] 

Answer: (i) Sustainable development is the development of a country or world not only at present, but the development which is to be continued and maintained for future generations.
(ii) For example, groundwater is a natural resource which is replenished by nature. People of a particular generation must use water in such a way that people of future generation may also be able to use groundwater. People should not overuse and degrade the quality of water so that water is exhausted or if it remains, it is contaminated to such an extent that it becomes unusable for people of future generations.

12. “Consequences of environmental degradation do not respect national or state boundaries.” Justify the statement. [CBSE 2012, 14] 

Answer: (i) Consequences of environmental degradation do not respect national or state
boundaries. This issue is no longer a regional or national issue.
(ii) Our future is linked together. Sustainability of development is essential for all the mankind and it is our common responsibility to save the environment.
(iii) These days it is a matter of discussion among different countries of the world.
(iv) Global warming, acid rain, etc., are not to be controlled by one nation. It is a global matter of thinking and finding the solutions.

13. Explain the term ‘Development’. How is it linked with sustainability ? Explain with example. [CBSE 2012, 14]

Answer: (i) Development is a process which has a notion of going further up and improving the quality of life.
(ii) It is linked to sustainability since it has to be maintained for future generations.
(iii) Resources need to be used wisely so that they can be replenished.
(iv) Overuse of resources exhaust them. For example, petroleum.
(v) If development is not sustainable, it will give rise to environmental degradation and become a global problem.

Value Based Questions

1.‘The development goals that people have me not only about better Income but also about other Important things in life.’ Explain. Mention any two goals of a student.
Or ‘
‘For development people look at a mix of goals’. Support the statement with suitable examples. [CBSE Sept. 2011] 
Or
Apart from income, which other six things people look for? [CBSE 2012]
Though income is one of the most important

Answer: components of development but there are
other important things, such as :
(i) People also seek things like equal treatment, freedom, security and respect.
(ii) Women need safe and secure environment to take up a variety of jobs or run a business.
(iii) People also need political rights.
(iv) People seek a pollution-free environment.
Students goal :
(i) Better Education.
(ii) Pollution free environment.

2. What do you mean by public facilities ? Why are they important ? Name two public facilities available in India.

Answer: Public facilities are the essential facilities for the community at large and are provided by the government.
Important :
They are important because there are many services like education, health, transportation etc., which have become cheap and affordable if provided, collectively.
Public facilities : Rail transport and – . government schools.

3. Why is literacy essential for the economic ‘ development ? Explain. [CBSE Sept. 2010] 

Answer: (i) Illiterate people are easily cheated and exploited by the traders, shopkeepers and employers.
(ii) There is shortage of skilled workers in India, this shortage can be reduced only through literacy.
(iii) Most of the illiterate people are engaged in primary and unorganised sector so their earning is very low.

4. ‘Money in your pocket cannot buy all the goods and services that one need’.
With reference to the given statement mention any four things which money can not buy for an individual.

Answer: (i) Peace
(ii) Pollution free environment
(iii) Good health (iu) Freedom

5. The annual Per Capita Incomes of three countries are given below. Based on the guidelines set by the World Bank Report (2012), classify these countries as high income, low income or developing.
• Country A : US $ 5,000
• Country B : US $ 15,580
• Country C : US $ 12,280 [CBSE 2013]

Answer: (i) Country A with Per Capita Income of US $ 5,000 comes under Low Income Countries.
(ii) Country B with Per Capita Income of US $ 15,580 lies in the category of High Income Countries.
(iii) Country C with Per Capita Income of US $ 12,280 falls in the category of Developing countries.

6. Think of any three developmental goals of a boy from a rich urban family. Describe them. [CBSE 2013]

Answer: (i) He may think to get quality education and pursue his studies abroad.
(ii) He may require the availability of vocational education and training.
(iii) He may require capital to start his own business.

7. Apart from salary, what other goals can you have in mind while taking up a new job? Explain. [CBSE 2013]

Answer: (i) Security
(ii) Working Environment
(iii) Opportunity to learn
(iv) Pollution from environment.

8. How do the women engaged in paid jobs fulfill mix of goals? Explain. [CBSE 2014]

Answer: (i) Economic independence: If a women is working she will get economic independency.
(ii) Equality: As per the law working women need to be treated equally.
(iii) Respected: A working women will get respect not only in the family but in the society also.