People as Resource

I. SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
RBQuestions Within The Lesson
GOYAL
A. NCERT TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS
Q.1. Looking at the photograph (as given in the textbook) can you explain how a doctor,
a teacher, a engineer and a tailor are an asset to the economy?
Ans. Doctors, teachers, engineers and tailors are assets to the economy because of their existing
skills and abilities.
Q.2.Do you notice any difference between the two friends? What are those?
Ans. Difference between two friends —
(i) Sakal’s parents wanted him to study, while Vilas’s mother cannot afford to send him to
school. Moreover, Vilas was a patient of arthritis.
Sakal and Vilas

(ii) Sakal was meritorious and interested in studies, while Vilas wasn’t.
(iii) Sakal completed his vocational course in computer and got a well paid job, while Vilas
was faced to sell fish like his mother.
(iv) Sakal earns a good amount of money, while Vilas earns only a meagre income.
Q.3. Say whether these activities are economic or non-economic activities : Vilas sells fish in
the village market. Vilas cooks food for his family. Sakal works in a private firm. Sakal
looks after his younger brother and sister.
Ans. See S.A.Qs. No. 3.
2


Q.4. (a) Has the literacy rate of the population increased since 1951?
(b) In which year India had the highest literacy rates?
(c) Why literacy rate is high among the males of India?
(d) Why are women less educated than men?
(e) How would you calculate literacy rate in India?
(f) What is your projection about India’s literacy rate in 2010?
Ans. (a) Yes. (b) In 2001.
(c) Males in India are provided better educational opportunities.
(d) Because of sex discrimination, females are not treated at par with males. Females are not
provided equal educational opportunities.
Total literate people in the age group of 17 years and above
Total number of people in the age group of 17 years and above

(f) India’s literacy rate may rise to nearly 75 percent.
Table 2.1 : Number of institutions of higher education, enrolment and facility

(e) Literacy Rate =
Year Number of
Colleges
Number of
Universities
Students Teachers
1950–51
1990–91
1996–97
1998–99
750
7,345
9,703
11,089
H
30
177
214
238
2,63,000
49,25,000
67,55,000
74,17,000
24,000
2,72,000
3,21,000
3,42,000

Q.5. Discuss this table in the classroom and answer the following questions.
1.
Is the increase in number of colleges adequate to admit the increasing number of students?
Do you think we should have more number of universities?
What is the increase noticed among the teachers in the year 1998-99.
What is your idea about future colleges and universities?
1. Yes. 2. No.
3.
The number of teachers in 1998-99 increased by 21,000m when compared with that in
1996–97.
4.
The number of colleges and universities in future will increase.
Table 2.2 : Health infrastructure over the years.

2.
3.
4.
Ans.

Q.6.
1951
1981
2001
SC/PHC/CHC
Dispensaries and Hospitals
Beds
Doctors (Allopathy)
Nursing Personnel
725
9,209
1,17,198
61,800
18,054
57,363
23,555
5,69,495
2,68,700
1,43,887
1,63,181
43,322
8,70,161
5,03,900
7,37,000

3


Study the Table 2.2 and answer the following questions.

1.
What is the percentage increase in dispensaries from 1951 to 2001?
2.
What is the percentage increase in doctors and nursing personnel from 1951 to 2001?
3.
Do you think the increase in the number of doctors and nurses adequate for India?
If not, why?
4.
What other facilities would you like to provide in a hospital?
5.
Discuss about the hospital you have visited?
6. Can you draw a graph using this table?
Ans. 1. 370 per cent

2. 715 per cent increase in case of doctors and 3982 per cent in case of nursing personnel.
3. No, because the number of doctors and nurses per thousand of population is very low
compared to advanced countries.

4. There should be sufficient number of doctors, nurses and beds in a hospital. Besides, a
hospital must be equipped with all modern facilities.
5. I have visited a MCD hospital in Delhi. The hospital had all basic facilities.
PRAGraph showing health infrastructure over the years.
QUESTIONS IN THE EXERCISE

Q.1. What do you understand by 'people as a resource’?
Ans. People as a resource is a way of referring to the country’s working population in terms of their
existing productive skills and abilities.

Q.2. How is human resource different from other resources like land and physical capital?
Ans. Human resource is different from other resources like land and physical capital. Human
4


resource refers to human capital which can make use of land and capital. Land and capital


cannot become useful on their own.
Population becomes a human resource when there is investment made in form of education,
training and medical care. On the other hand, land is a natural resource. And physical capital
includes tools, machines, buildings, raw materials, etc. Land and physical capital, therefore, are
tangible.


Q.3. What is the role of education in human capital formation?
Ans. Education is the most important component of human resource development. The role of
education in human capital formation can be judged from the following facts :

(i) Education increases labour productivity.
(ii) Education modifies /improves human behaviour.
(iii) It develops personality and sense of national consciousness among the people which are
important for rapid economc growth.
(iv) It promotes science and technology.
Q.4. What is the role of health in human capital formation?
Ans. Role of Health in Human Capital Formation.
Unhealthy persons become a liability and healthy persons prove an asset for the economy.
Therefore, improvement in the health status of the population is regarded very essential.
Improved health contributes to economic growth in the following ways :

(i) It reduces production loss caused by worker’s illness.
(ii) It increases the efficiency of workers.
(iii) It permits the use of natural and other resources.
(iv) It increases the enrolment of children in schools and makes them better able to learn.
Q.5. What part does health play in an individual’s working life?
Ans. Role of health in an individual’s working life.

Health is a yardstick of one’s well-being. Efficiency of a person largely depends on his health.
If a person falls sick quite often, he will not be able to do his job/work efficiently. Therefore,
his income will be low. Because of low level of income, he will not be able to get proper food
and proper education for his children. This will further reduce his efficiency of work and
thereby income. In fact, good health improves the quality of life.

Q.6. What are the various activities undertaken in the primary sector, secondary sector and
tertiary sector?
Ans. Classification of Economic Activities.

The economic activities of an economy can broadly be classified into three main producing

sectors. These are :
Primary sector. Primary sector produces goods by exploiting natural resources. Therefore, the
activities of this sector include agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry and
mining.
Secondary sector. It converts raw materials into finished goods. It includes all manufacturing
and construction activities.
Tertiary sector. This sector includes trade, transport, communication, banking, education,
health, tourism, insurance etc. i.e. all those producing services.


5


Q.7. What is the difference between economic activities and non-economic activities?
Ans. Difference between Economic and Non-Economic Activities.
Economic Activities Non-Economic Activities
1. Economic activities bring income
to their performers.
1. Non-economic activities do not bring
income to their performers.
2. Income accruing from economic
activities is included in the country’s
national income.
2. These activities are not accounted in the
national income.

Q.8. Why are women employed in low-paid work?
Ans. Women in India are generally employed in low-paid work. This is because of the reason that
most women have meagre education and low skill formation as compared to men. They work
under insecure working conditions. Besides, Indian women prefer to work at nearby places
only. Also, they have to go on frequent maternity leave. All these factors force them to work
at low wages. However, women with higher education and skill formation are paid at par with

Q.9. How will you explain the term unemployment?
Ans. Unemployment is said to exist when people who are willing to work at the current prevailing
wages cannot find work/job. If some one is not interested in doing work at the ongoing wage
rate or outside his/her domestic domain he/she will not be counted as unemployed.

Q.10. What is the difference between disguised unemployment and seasonal unemployment?
When more persons are working in a job than actually required, the situation is termed as
disguised unemployment. For example, if in an agricultural activity eight people are engaged

men.

Ans. Disguised Unemployment.

but this work/activity actually requires the services of five people, then three persons are extra.
If these three people out of eight are withdrawn, total production will remain unaffected.

Seasonal Unemployment.

Seasonal unemployment occurs when people are able to find jobs only during some months of
the year. This kind of unemployment is generally found in the agricultural sector.

Q.11. Why is educated unemployment a peculiar problem of India?
Ans. Problem of Educated unemployment. The joblessness among the educated, i.e. matriculates
and above, is called educated unemployment. Unemployment problem signifies the wastage of
human resources. If unemployment is high among the educated persons the quantum of
wastage of resources will be greater. This is due to investments in education and skill

formation. There is a feeling of hopelessness among the educated youth. India has to spend a
lot of money on education every year. People who should have been assets for the economy
have turned into a liability. In this way educated unemployment is one of the big problems for
India.

Q.12. In which field do you think India can build the maximum employment opportunity?
Ans. India can build the maximum employment opportunity in the agricultural sector. Agriculture
is the most labour absorbing sector of the economy. Multiple cropping may help a lot in this
regard.

6


Q.13. Can you suggest some measures in the education system to mitigate the problem of the
educated unemployed?
Ans. Measures
to Reduce Educated Unemployment. The education system in India is not
employment oriented. There is too much emphasis on general education rather than vocational
education. More employment exchange offices may be opened in the country. Though these
employment exchanges do not directly provide employment, they are of great assistance in
directing the educated job seekers to the possible areas of employment.

Q.14. Can you imagine some village which initially had no job opportunity but later came up
with many?

Ans. There was a village inhabited by several families, Initially the village was self-reliant in the
sense that each family produced all goods to meet the needs of its members. But later, it came
up with many job opportunities. One of the families decided to send one of its sons to an
agriculture college. After completing his education, he became an agro-engineer in the village.
Inspired by this, all the families of the village requested the panchayat to open a school in the
village. The panchayat opened a school with the help of the government and a teacher was
recruited for the school. After some time, one of the families sent its daughter for training in
tailoring. After getting necessary training, she started stitching clothes for the villagers. Thus,

 that of a tailor in the village. In this way, many jobs were created in

B. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (1 MARK)
Q.1. Why is literacy rate low among the females?
(a) lack of equal education opportunities (b) lack of transport facilities
(d) lack of income
there was another job

–


the village.

(c) lack of infrastructure
Ans. (a)

Q.2. In which state was the literacy rate highest as per 2001 study?
(a) Kerala (b) Madhya Pradesh
Q.3. Which of the following is a significant step towards providing elementary education to
all the children in the age group of 6-14 years?
(a) Sarva Siksha Abhiyan
(c) Mid-day meal
Q.4. Market activity refers to production for
(c) Bihar (d) Orissa
Ans. (a)

[CBSE 2010]


(b) Adult Education Programme
(d) None of the above
Ans. (a)

(a) exchange (b) earning income (c) earning profit (d) all the above
Ans. (d)
Q.5. Increase in longevity of life is an indicator of
(a) good quality of life
(b) improvement in health sector
(c) better HDI (Human Development Index) (d) all the above
Ans. (a)
Q.6. Self-consumption is
(a) non-production activity
(b) non-market activity
7


(c) non-economic activity (d) none of the above
Ans. (b)
Q.7. Secondary sector includes
(a) trade (b) marketing (c) manufacturing (d) education
Ans. (c)
Q.8. One who can read and write in any language with understanding is termed as
(a) student (b) adult (c) child (d) literate
Ans. (d)
Q.9. What is India’s position in scientific and technical manpower in the world?
(b) second (a) first
Ans. (c)
(c) third (d) fourth
Q.10. Investment in human capital is expenditure on
(b) training (a) education (c) medical care (d) all the above

Q.11. The scheme for the establishment of residential schools to impart education to talented
(b) Navodaya Vidyalayas
(d) None of the aboves
Q.12. Services of housewives are included in
(b) domestic income (c) household income (d) none of the above
Q.13. Infant mortality rate refers to the death of a child under the age of
Ans. (d)

children from rural areas is

(a) Kendriya Vidyalayas
(c) Sarvodaya Vidyalayas
Ans. (b)

(a) national income
Ans. (d)

(b) 2 years
(a) 1 year
Q.14. Choose the non-market activities
(i) Vilas sells fish in the village market
(iii) Sakal works in a private firm
(iv) Sakal looks after his younger brother and sister
(a) (i) & (ii) (b) (iii) & (iv)
Q.15. Choose the primary sector activities
(i) Forestry
(c) 3 years (d) 4 years
Ans. (a)

(ii) Vilas cooks food for his family
(c) (i) & (iii) (d) (ii) & (iv)
Ans. (d)

(ii) Poultry farming
(iii) Animal husbandry
(a) (i)
Ans. (b)
(b) (i), (ii), (iii)
(iv) Manufacturing
(c) (ii), (iii), (iv) (d) All the above
Q.16. Tertiary sector provides
(a) services
(c) both goods and services
Ans. (a)
(b) goods
(d) none of the above
8


Q.17. Quality of population depends upon
(a) literacy rate (b) health
Ans. (d)
(c) skill
[CBSE 2010]
(d) all the above
Q.18. People as a resource refers to their
(a) educational skills (b) productive skills
Ans. (b)
(c) health skills (d) none of the above
Q.19. Seasonal unemployement is found in
(a) urban areas (b) rural areas

(d) both in rural and urban areas
(b) marketing activity
(d) none of the above
Q.21. The persons who are not working by choice are covered under
(b) disguised unemployment
(d) none of the above
Q.22. Disguised unemployment occurs when the number of persons working on a farm is
(b) more than required
(d) None of the above
Q.23. If a person in rural areas cannot find jobs during some months of the year, which type
of employment is this called?
(c) in remote areas
Ans. (b)

Q.20. Bribe taking is an
(a) economic activity
(c) non-economic activity
Ans. (c)

(a) seasonal unemployment
(c) educated unemployment
Ans. (d)

(a) only what is required
(c) less than required
Ans. (b)

[CBSE 2010]


(a) Structural unemployment
(c) Seasonal unemployment
Q.24. What is the literacy rate of India as per 2001 census?
(a) 60% (b) 62%
Q.25. According to 2001 census, sex-ratio of India is :
(a) 921 females per 1000
(c) 928 females per 1000
(b) Cyclical unemployment
(d) None of these
Ans. (c)

[CBSE 2010]


(c) 65% (d) 70%
Ans. (c)

[CBSE 2010]


(b) 930 females per 1000
(d) 933 females per 1000
Ans. (b)

Q.26. Which of the following sectors is related to agriculture, forestry and dairy?
[CBSE 2010]
(a) Primary Sector (b) Tertiary Sector (c) Secondary Sector (d) None of the above
Ans. (a)
Q.27. PHC stands for [CBSE 2010]
(a) Public Health Club (b) Private Health Club
(c) Primary Health Centre (d) None of these
Ans. (c)
9


Q.28. In which of the following fields is disguised unemployment found? [2010 (T-1)]
(a) Industries (b) Agriculture (c) Mining (d) Fisherise
Ans. (b)
Q.29. What is the major aim of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan? [2010 (T-1)]
(a) To provide elementary education to women
(b) To provide elementary education to the rural poor
(c) To provide elementary education to all children in the age group 6-14 years
(d) To provide elementary education to the urban poor
Q.30. Which one of the following is related to the tertiary sector?
(b) Forestry (c) Mining (d) Communication
Q.31. Which one among the following is the most labour absorbing sector?
(b) Fisheries (c) Poultry farming (d) Mining
Q.32. Which is an economic activity in the following?
(b) Work of Doctor at their home
(c) Work of Teacher in the school (d) None of the above
Q.33. Which one of the following is considered important to create a 'virtuous cycle' by the
(a) To sand their children to the school
(b) To provide goods food to their children
Ans. (c)

[2010 (T-1)]


(a) Agriculture
Ans. (d)

[2010 (T-1)]


(a) Agriculture
Ans. (a)

[2010 (T-1)]


(a) Work of Nurse at her home
Ans. (c)

parents?

[2010 (T-1)]


(c) To join their children in corporate schools
(d) To take care of the health and education of their children
Q.34. Infant mortality rate in 2000 was :
(a) 85 (b) 70
Q.35. What is the life expectancy in India according to the census of 2000?
(a) 72 years (b) 53 years
Q.36. Tenth Plan endeavoured to increase enrolment in higher education from 6% to :
Ans. (d)

[2010 (T-1)]


(c) 75 (d) 35
Ans. (c)

[2010 (T-1)]


(c) 64 years (d) 80 years
Ans. (c)

[2010 (T-1)]

(a) 7% (b) 9% (c) 10% (d) 12%
Ans. (b)
Q.37. Decrease in IMR (Infant Mortality Rate) of a country signifies : [2010 (T-1)]
(a) Increase in life expectancy (b) Increase in GNP
(c) Economic development of a country (d) Increase in number of colleges in a country
Ans. (a)
10


Q.38. Strike the odd one out (with reference to population) :
(a) Education (b) Medical Care (c) Training
Ans. (d)
[2010 (T-1)]
(d) Computers
Q.39. The number of females per thousand males refers to :
(a) Sex Ratio (b) Literacy Rate
(c) Infant Mortality Rate (d) Birth Rate
Ans. (a)
[2010 (T-1)]

Q.40. At Rampur village, in an agricultural field 6 men are required for weeding, but 10 people
are doing the work. This kind of employment is known as :
(b) Seasonal unemployment
(d) All of these
Q.41. Which one of the following is not a cause of urban unemployment?
(a) Mass migration from rural to urban areas
(b) Slow rate of economic development
(c) Maladjustment between the demand and supply of labour
(b) Official counting of population done after every then years
(c) Total no. of infants that are vaccinated
(d) Recording of Births and Deaths every year
[2010 (T-1)]


(a) Disguised unemployment
(c) Rural unemployment
Ans. (a)

[2010 (T-1)]


(d) Caste system
Ans. (d)
Q.42. Census refers to :
[2010 (T-1)]


(a) Total no. of babies born
Q.43. Which one of the following statements is correct with reference to tertiary sector?
(a) In these activities goods are either grown on the earth or dug out from the earth
(b) These activities transform primary goods into some commodities with the help of manual
labour or machines
(c) These activities generate services rather than goods
(d) This sector is primarily known as service sector
Ans. (b)

[2010 (T-1)]


Ans. (d)

Q.44. When there is investment made in the form of education, training and medical care, the
population becomes : [2010 (T-1)]
(a) Working capital (b) Human capital (c) Fixed capital (d) Capital growth
Ans. (b)
Q.45. Education contributes towards the growth of a society. It also enhances the : [2010 (T-1)]
(a) National income (b) Cultural richness
(c) Efficiency of governance (d) All of the above
Ans. (d)
11


Q.46. Educated unemployment is partly because of : [2010 (T-1)]
(a) slower rate of industrial expansion (b) improper educational system
(c) both a and b (d) none of these
Ans. (c)
Q.47. The workforce population of India includes people from the age group of : [2010 (T-1)]
(a) 10-59 years (b) 15-59 years (c) 20-59 years (d) 25-59 years
Ans. (b)
Q.48. Activities like trade, transport, health, banking, insurance etc. are included in the
(b) Primary
(d) Tertiary
Q.49. In rural India, two types of unemployment exist :
(b) Seasonal and undisguised
(d) Seasonal and disguised
Q.50. Number of babies born for every 1000 people during a year is called
(b) Birth rate
(d) Population increase
Q.51. In the secondary sector, which is the most labour absorbing unit?
(a) Small scale manufacturing
(b) Medium scale manufacturing
(c) Large scale manufacturing
________ sector.

(a) Secondary
[2010 (T-1)]


[2010 (T-1)]


[2010 (T-1)]


[2010 (T-1)]


(c) Manufacturing
Ans. (d)

(a) Disguised and optional
(c) Seasonal and optional
Ans. (d)

(a) Death rate
(c) Growth rate
Ans. (b)

(d) None of these
Q.52. Which one of the following cannot be regarded as building of the human capital in a
country?
(a) Spending resources on education
(c) Increasing salary of workers
Q.53. Government has set schools in each district called
(a) Army Schools
(b) Navodaya Vidyalayas
Ans. (a)

[2010 (T-1)]


(b) Providing training of industrial workers
(d) Providing health to all
Ans. (c)

[2010 (T-1)]


(c) Sainik Schools
(d) Missionary Schools
Ans. (b)
Q.54. Number of deaths for every 1000 people in a year is called [2010 (T-1)]
(a) Death Rate (b) Birth Rate
(c) Decrease Rate (d) Population Decrease
Ans. (a)
12


C. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (3 MARKS)
Q.1. Is begging an economic activity?
Ans. No. Begging is a non-economic activity. Two reasons can be given in support of it. One, the
beggar receives money without doing anything. Second, begging is an unlawful activity and
cannot become an economic activity.

Q.2. Why are domestic services performed by women not treated as economic activities?
Ans. Domestic Services by Women.
In India, most women generally look after domestic affairs like cooking of food, washing of
clothes, cleaning of utensils, looking after children, etc. They are noteconomic / productive activities. This is mainly because of two reasons :

(i) Such activities are performed out of love and affection and hence their valuation is not
(ii) They do not add to the flow of goods and services in the economy.
Q.3. Are the following activities economic or non-economic activities? Give reasons.
(a) Vilas sells fish in the village market.
(b) Vilas cooks food for his family.
(c) Sakal works in a private firm.
(d) Sakal looks after his younger brother and sister.
Ans. (a) It is an economic activity, as it involves remuneration.
(b) It is a non-economic activity, as it is a domestic service.
(c) It is an economic activity, as it is done in expectation of monetary reward.
(d) It is a non-economic activity, as it is done out of love and affection.
Q.4. Differentiate between Market Activities and Non-Market Activities.
Ans. Difference between Market Activities and Non-Market Activities.
treated

as

possible.

Economic activities can be classified into market activities and non-market activities. Market
activities involve remuneration to anyone who performs the activity. These include production
of goods and services for sale in the market. On the other hand, non-market activities are the
production activities performed for self-consumption. These include consumption and
processing of primary products and own account production of fixed assets.

Q.5. Differentiate between voluntary and involuntary unemployment. Give an example.
Ans. A person is said to be unemployed when he is able and willing to work at the prevailing wage
rate but does not find work. This is involuntary unemployment. If some persons are voluntarily
unemployed (i.e., they prefer to remain out of work at prevailing wage rates) they will not be
treated as unemployed. This is voluntary unemployment.

Q.6. Distinguish between labour force and work force.
Ans. Labour force of a country includes all those persons in the age group of 15-60, who are
actually working or willing to work. Workforce, on the other hand, consists of persons who are
actually engaged in some kind of work and excludes those who are willing to work but do not
find work. Thus, the difference between the two (i.e. labour force and workforce) is the number
of persons unemployed.

Q.7. What is the nature of unemployment as found in India?
Ans. Nature of unemployment in India.
13


In India, unemployment is widespread. Unemployment is found both in its rural and urban
areas. There is seasonal and disguised unemployment in its rural areas. People here are
dependent on agriculture. Certain months do not provide much work to the people depending
upon agriculture.

In urban areas, educated unemployment has become a serious problem. Many educated youths
are not able to find jobs. Unemployment among graduates and post-graduates has increased
faster than among the matriculates.

Q.8. ‘Unemployment is an economic as well as a social evil.’ Explain the statement.
A Serious Problem

Today, unemployment is considered one of the most threatening problems before the country.
The society is deprived of the goods and services that the unemployed people could have
produced. Unemployment among the educated persons is more serious. This is due to

Unemployment is not only an economic evil, it is a social problem too. Unemployment spreads
social unrest and tension as unemployed people are a frustrated class of the society.

Q.9. Discuss the factors responsible for the distribution of population in India.
[CBSE 2010]
Ans. Physical factors like shape and height of land, resources, climate etc. that affect distribution

Resources : Areas rich in resources (e.g., coal, oil, wood etc.) tend to be densely populated


Shape and height of land : Low land which is flat, e.g., Ganges valley in India.
Climate : Areas with moderate temperature climates tend to be densely populated as there is
enough rain and heat to grow crops like U.K.


Ans. Unemployment

 —


investments made in them.

of population in India like;

like western Europe.

Human factors : Political, social and economic factors also affect distribution of population
in India like good job opportunities encourage high population densities, particularly in large
cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad having dense population.

•
Countries with stable governments tend to have high population density.
Q.10. Why is
human resource the most important resource? What steps can be taken to
improve the quality of human resource? How does an improved quality of human
resource help in establishing a virtuous cycle?
Existing 'human resource' is further developed by becoming more educated and healthy,
which adds to the productive power of the country just like
human resource is the most important resource.


[CBSE 2010]


Ans. •


'physical capital formation'. So

•
Steps to be taken to improve quality of human resource :
Quality of human resource can be improved through better education, food and health
facilities. The quality of population depends upon the literacy rate, health of a person
indicated by life expectancy and skill formation acquired by the people of the country.

Role of improved quality of human resource in establishing a virtuous cycle :

•
Better contribution to productive power of country : Existing human resource with
good educational background can acquire specific skills in a better way and can contribute
to national productivity more efficiently.
14


•
Higher earnings and greater contributions to society :
Improved quality of human resources can give higher rates of return in future in the form
of higher earnings and greater contributions to society.

Q.11. How does unemployment have a detrimental impact on the overall growth of an
economy? [CBSE 2010]
Ans. •
Wastage of manpower resource : In case of unemployment, manpower who is an asset for
an economy turns into liability because utilisation of manpower becomes nil.

•
Economic overload : Unemployment tends to increase economic overload because
dependence of unemployed on the working population increases. So the quality of life is

•
Unemployement leads to social waste : Inability of educated people who are willing to
work to find gainful employment implies a great social waste. Increase in employment in
an indicator of a depressed economy.
Q.12. What is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan? What are its objectives?
OR
Write a short note on sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
Ans. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan' is a significant step towards providing elementary education to all the
children of the age group 6-14 years by the year 2010. It is a time bound initiative of central
government, in partnership with the states, the local government and the community for
achieving the goal of universalisation of elementary education. They also took an initiative to
increase the enrollment of students in elementary education by introducing the schemes like

Q.13. Define human resource. When does a human resource become human capital?
adversely affected.

[2010 (T-1)]


mid-day meal.

[2010 (T-1)]


Ans. The population of a country available for the production activities is called human resource.
Human resource becomes human capital when there is investment made in the form of
education, training and medical care. When the existing
by becoming more educated and healthy, we call itadds to the productive power of the country. It is the stock of skills and productive knowledge
embodied in them.

How will you explain the term unemployment?

'human resource' is further developed

'human capital formation'. Human capital

Q.14. What is unemployment? How many types it is? Explain. [2010 (T-1)]
OR
OR


What is meant by unemployment? Name the types of unemployment that exist in rural
as well as urban areas.
OR
Define unemployment and explain its any two types.

Ans. Unemployment is said to exist when people who are willing to work at the prevailing wages
rates cannot find jobs. When we talk of unemployed people, we refer to those in the age group
of 15-59 years. Children below 15 years of age and the old people above 60 are not considered
while counting the number of unemployed.

15


In India, unemployment is found both in rural and urban areas. In rural areas there is seasonal
and disguised unemployment. In urban areas there is educated unemployment.

Unemployment in rural areas :

(i)
Disguised unemployment : When more persons are working in a job than actually
required, the situation is termed as disguised unemployment. For example, if in an
agricultural activity eight people are engaged but this work activity actually requires the
services of five people, then three persons are extra. It these three people out of eight are
withdrawn, total production will remain unaffected.
(ii)
Seasonal Unemployment : Seasonal unemployment occurs when people are able to find
jobs only during some months of the year. This kind of unemployment is generally found
Umemployment in urban sector :
Educated unemployment : Many people who are unable to get employment even after
having academic and professional qualification are called educated unemployed.

Q.15. What is Infant Mortality Rate? Why infant mortality rate is decreasing?
Ans. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is the total number of children dying under one year of age in a
Infant Mortality Rate is decreasing due to following reasons :

(i) Increase in life expectancy due to improved medical facilities.
(ii) Better protection of children from infection, ensuring nutrition along with mother and
Q.16. Why is human capital significant? Mention three points.
OR
Why is the human resource important for development?

in agricultural sector.

[2010 (T-1)]


particular period of time.

child care.

[2010 (T-1)]


People are the greatest resource that a country has. Explain.
Ans. Human resource is a positive asset and a precious national resource which needs to be

cherished, nurtured and developed with tenderness and care, coupled with dynamism.
Contribution to national income : Skilled, educated and healthy population work for
contribution in production activities. Better specialised labour
Therefore, investment in human capital yields a return just like investment in physical capital.
Investment in human resource can give high rates of return in the future. This investment on
people is the same as investment in land and capital. A child with proper education and health
can yield a high return in the future in the form of higher earnings and greater contribution
to society.

OR


can be easily adapted.

Q.17. What does IMR stand for? Write its functions.
[2010 (T-1)]
Ans. Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of children who die under one year of age in a year.
IMR has come down form 147 in 1951 to 75 in 2000.
Functions of IMR is that it indicates the increase in life expectancy and improvement in child
care which is useful in assessing the future progress of the country. Reduction in infant
mortality involves the protection of children from infection, ensuring nutrition along with
mother and child care.

16


Q.18. Explain in detail the disadvantages of unemployment.
[2010 (T-1)]
Ans. Disadvantages of unemployment are :
(i) It leads to wastage of man power resources.
It turns the population into liability for
economy instead of asset. It even fills the country's youth with the feeling of hopelessness
and despair.
(ii) It increases the economic load. The dependence of unemployed on the working population
increases. Due to unemployment which adversely affects the quality of life of an
individual as well as society.
(iii) It affects the overall growth of an economy. It indicates a depressed economy and wastage
of resources which could have been gainfaully employed.
Q.19. Give three measures taken by government to improve literacy condition in India.
(i)
Opening of Navodaya Vidyalayas : Government has started to estabish Navodaya
Vidyalayas in each district vocational streams have been developed to equip large number
of high school students with occupations related to knowledge and skills.
(ii)
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan : It is a significant step towards providing elementary education
to all the children of age group 6-14 years. It is an initiative of the central government in
partnership with states, local government and the community for achieving the goal of
universalisation of elementary education.
(iii)
Mid-day Meal Scheme : It is a programme aimed to encourage attendance and retention
of children in schools and improve their nutritional status.
Q.20. Suggest any three ways to transform population load into an asset.
Ans. The three ways to transform population load into an asset are :
(i)
To improve literacy rate : Education provides new aspirations and developed values of
[2010 (T-1)]


Ans.

[2010 (T-1)]


life. Education helps in enhancing the national income, cultural richness nad increases the
efficiency of governance.

(ii)
Health : The health of a person helps him to realise his potential and the ability to fight
illness. Increase in longevity of life in an indicator of good quality of life marked by self
confidence. It involves protection of children from infection, ensuring nutrition and along
with mother and child care.
(iii)
Formation of skills : Providing vocational and skilled based education helps the people
to get employment and therefore they contribute to the national income later on.
Q.21. What are the two types of economic activity? State two characteristics of each.
[2010 (T-1)]


Ans. Economic activities are those activities which add value to the national income. Economic
activities have two parts :

(i) Market activities.
(ii) Non-market activities.
Market activities : (i) These are the activities performed for payment or profit. (ii) They
include production of goods and services.
Non-market activities : (i) These involve production for self-consumption. (ii) It includes
consumption of primary production and production of fixed assets.
17


Q.22. How are children of educated parents different from those of uneducated parents? Give
three points of difference. [2010 (T-1)]
Ans. (i) Children of educated parents get better opportunity and support in their education.

(ii) Their nutritional values are taken more care by the educated parents in comparison to
uneducated parents.
(iii) They do not lack in hygiene as the educated parents are conscious about it.
D. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (4 MARKS)
Q.1. Describe in brief the role of human resources in economic development.
(i)
Higher Productivity. Investment in human capital yields a return just like investment in
physical capital. This can be seen directly in form of higher incomes earned because of
higher productivity of the more educated or the better trained persons as well as the higher
productivity of healthier people. India’s Green Revolution and IT Revolution are good
examples of human resources development.
(ii)
Better Utilisation of Resources. Countries like Japan have invested in human resource.
They did not have any natural resource. They could become rich/developed because of
investments in people specially in the fields of education and health. These people have
made efficient use of other resources like land and capital. Efficient technology developed
by people have made these countries developed.
(iii)
Source of Demand. Human beings make demand for the output of goods and services
produced in the country. Expansion of market for various types of foods and services
further leads to increase in production.
Q.2. Is it necessary to check population growth?
Ans. Role of Human Resource.

Ans. India has vast manpower. But she could not utilise this manpower for country’s economic
development. Rather, population growth has posed a big threat for the country. It needs to be
controlled without further delay. It has become a big hurdle in the way of country’s economic
development in the following ways :

(i) Despite considerable growth in national income, per
capita income could not increase
much due to fast population growth.
(ii) Fast population growth is considered as one of the major
causes of unemployment in
India.
(iii) Heavy pressure of population has led to the problem of overcrowding in cities, unplanned
urbanisation, emergence of slums etc.
All these factors lead us to believe that rapidly growing population has become a big
challenge before the Indian economy. It is the biggest roadblock in the path of its
economic development. Indian poverty is deeply rooted in population growth. It, therefore,
becomes highly necessary to check population growth in India.

Q.3.
What are the strategies that the government has undertaken to reduce unemployment?
[CBSE 2010]
Ans. Strategies undertaken by the government to reduce unemployment.

(i)
Rural Self-Employment Scheme : Our government has introduced various schemes for
18


creating self-employment opportunities in rural areas. In April 1999, Swarna Jayanti
Gram-Sewa Rozgar Yojana (SGSY) was introduced whose main aim was to improve
opportunities of self-development in rural areas.

(ii)
Wage-employment Schemes : Main objective of this scheme was to provide
opportunities for wage earning to rural people. Since June 23, 1999, all these schemes
were merged with Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY).
(iii)
Various schemes for providing employment to educated in urban areas : Various
schemes (like Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana PMRY), Swarn Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana
(SJSRY) has been started by the government for providing employment to the educated

Q.4. What is
an economic activity? What are various activities undertaken in the primary
sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector?
Ans. Economic activities :
All such activities which give us some income are called economic
activities. Pulling cycle-rickshaw, cleaning houses, selling vegetables and working in schools,

Activities undertaken in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary sectors :

(i)
Primary Sector : Activities concerned with collecting or making available material
provided by nature are included in primary sector like agriculture, poultry farming,
(ii)
Secondary Sector : The activities which are associated with transforming raw material or
youth in urban area.

[CBSE 2010]


factories, banks etc. are economic activities.

mining, fishing etc.

primary products into commodities useful to man such as manufacturing etc.

(iii)
Tertiary Sector : The activities which are essential for running modern factories in a big
way are termed as tertiary sector. Activities like trading, banking, health, education,
Rinsurance etc. are included in tertiary sector.
Q.5. Study the graph and answer the following questions :
[CBSE 2010]


(a) By how much have literacy rates of the population gone up since 1951? 1
(b) Why is the literacy rate lower among women?
1
(c) Explain two measures introduced by the government to improve enrolment in elementary
education in the country. 2
Ans. (a) Literacy rate of population in 1951 was 19%, while in 2001 the rate shot up to 65%.
So there is an increase of 46% in 50 years.

19


(b) Literacy rate is
low among women because of sex-discrimination. Females are not
provided equal opportunities of education in rural areas as of male members of family.
(c)
Sarva Siksha Abhiyan : Main objective of this initiative introduced by Central
government was to provide elementary education to all children in the age group of 6-14
years by 2010.
Mid-day Meal Scheme : This scheme was introduced to encourage attendance and
retention of children and improve their nutritional status.
Q.6. Why did Japan emerge as a developed country inspite of its poor natural resource?
[2010 (T-1)]


Ans. Japan emerged as a developed country inspite of its poor natural resource because :
they did not have any other resource they invested in the development of human
resource and import other required resources.

(ii) they invested in better health and education facilities for people to make them efficient so
that they can efficiently use resources like land and capital.
(iii)
efficiency and the technology evolved by the educated and literate people have made it
(iv) they provide skill based education to the population so that they largely supported in the
Q.7. Discuss about the employment scenario in the three sectors in India.
Ans. Primary Sector : Agriculture is the most labour absorbing sector of the economy. In recent
years, there has been a decline in the dependence of population on agriculture partly because
of disguised unemployment. Some of the surplus is moving from primary to secondary or

Secondary Sector : Small scale manufacturing units absorb most of the labour in secondary

(i)
as

rich and developed.

national income.

[2010 (T-1)]


tertiary sectors.

sector.

Tertiary Sector : Various new services have started employing labour in tertiary sector like
biotechnology, information technology and so on.

Q.8. "In the past and present migration of the people from rural to urban areas has shown
an upward trend." What factors compel the rural people to migrate to cities?
Ans. People have started moving from rural to urban areas because of the following factors :

(i)
Education facilities : Urban areas have more organised and better quality education
facilities opportunities vocational education and education in specialisedincreased in urban areas. In urban
vocationalisation and networking on the use of information technology.
[2010 (T-1)]


 areas has

focus is on increasing access, quality,

areas

(ii)
Health facilities : Availability of better hospitals and medical facilities make people move
from rural to urban areas. States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has poor health indices.
Therefore, in search of proper medical assistance people often move from rural to urban
sectors.
(iii)
Employment facilities : Disguised unemployment in primary sector and rise of
employment opportunities in secondary and tertiary sector has given rise to migration of
people from rural areas to urban areas. In order to increase the income of family, people
move from one occupation to another and one area to another.
20


Q.9. How does Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan help in improving elementary education in India?
[2010 (T-1)]
Ans. 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan' aims at providing elementary education to all children in the age group
of 6-14 years of age by the year 2010. It is the initiative of central government in partnership
with the states, the local government and the community for achieving the goal of
universalisation of elementary education.

As a result of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan there has been a significant growth in literacy rate from
18% in 1951 to 65% in 2001. The primary school system has expanded to over 5,00,000

villages in India. Mid day meal scheme has also started by government to ensure attendence
and improve nutritional states of the children. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has added to the literate

Q.10. Explain some strategies made by Government to solve the problem of unemployment in
(i)
Opening schools in villages : Opening vocational and elementary schools in villages
create employment opportunities for people living these. Earlier people were involved in
primary sector only but now they have better employment opportunities in other sectors
(ii)
Small scale manufacturing : Opening opportunities of self-employment in the form of
small scale manufacturing units like basket weaving etc adds to the employment
opportunities in removes disguised and seasonal unemployment away people.
(iii)
Introduction to modern farming methods : Use of modern farming methods gave the
surplus members of family to get involved in other employment opportunities.
(iv)
Proper health facilities : Improvement in health facilities in urban and rural areas
improved in quality of human resource which in turn work more efficiently and
contributed to national income.
population of India.

India.

[2010 (T-1)]


Ans.

also.

Q.11. How the investment in Human Capital can be of immense importance for a society as a
whole? State any four advantages.
Ans. Human Capital can be defined as the knowledge, ability, skill and physical capactity of the
people which help them to produce more.
Human beings can be turned into resources only if their qualitative aspects are developed.
Education and health are the major human resource inputs of a country. Human capital is
beneficial both individually as well as socially.


(i) Human capital contributes to the social development of the country.
(ii) Human capital contributes to the economic development of the country.
(iii) Human capital helps in proper utilisation of resources available or imported in the country.
[2010 (T-1)]


(iv) Human capital also contributes in the race of development from an underdeveloped to a
developed nation.
Q.12. Explain difference between vicious and virtuous cycle of life with reference to human
resource. [2010 (T-1)]
Ans. Quality of present human resource affects the quality of human resource for the coming
generation. For example, educated parents are found to invest more heavily on the education,
health and nutrition of their child. They are more conscious about the qualtiy upbringing of
their child. Thus, they create a virtuous cycle of life.

21


On the other hand, uneducated parents who are themselves lacking in education, health,
nutrition and hygiene and are not conscious of the importance of these in the lives of their
children. They are unable to provide quality upbringing of their children. Thus, they create a
vicious cycle of life.

II. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
A. ASSIGNMENT
Step 1 : Meet at least 10 persons in your area, discuss their employment situation and

•
How many of them are employed and how many of them are unemployed? Calculate their
•
Out of the persons unemployed, how many are educated unemployed?
•
How many of them belong to the rural background and how many belong to the urban
•
How many of them are suffering from seasonal unemployment?
•
What were the various reasons that matriculates, graduates and postgraduates among them
•
What alternatives have the unemployed persons found to earn their living?
•
How many of them are self-employed?
Step 2 : Draw conclusions on the main factors responsible for unemployment. State your
views on how to overcome this problem.
Topic Covered : Unemployment

study the following points :

percentages also.

background?

could not get employment?

B. QUIZ
Give one word for the following :

(a) The death of children under one year of age
(b) Seasonal unemployement is most prevalent in _________ area.
(c) The number of deaths per thousand persons in a year is called _______.
(d) It refers to the sum
total of money value of all the final goods and services produced by
the nationals of a country in a particular year. __________.
(e) Production for self-consumption is ________.
C. PROJECT WORK
Topic Covered : Literacy rate among men and women
Objective : To make the pupils understand education awareness among men and women and
its benefits

Skills Developed :

•
To develop broad perspective for education
•
to understand the role of education in problem solving
22


Time Required : 5 days
Method : Divide the class into four groups and send the groups in 4 different areas of your
city and conduct a survey. Ask each group to collect information on the following points :

•
What percentage of men and women are literate and what percentage is illetrate?
•
How many literate men and women are undergraduates, matriculates or postgraduates?
•
How many literate men and women are employed? How many women are housewives?
•
Suggest the educated men and women to promote elementary education in their locality.
For this, suggest them to undertake at least 2 children or persons under their guidance to
•
How does education help them to manage daily household activities in a systematic
•
How have the various policies and programmes helped in the promotion of child
Ask them to give suggestions to improve child education and adult education in India.

D. GROUP DISCUSSION
Topic : ‘Is an increase in the number of colleges adequate to admit the increasing number of

Guidelines : Following points should be discussed by the teams :

•
Existing number of colleges and institutions to impart higher education.
•
Do you think we should have more number of universities?
•
What is your idea about future colleges and universities?
•
What is the increase noticed in the number of teachers in the last 10 years?
whom they can educate?

manner?

education?

•


students?’

23