Development — Practice

Question 1

What is the Brundtland definition of sustainable development?

Accepted Answer

✦ Answer: Sustainable development is 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.' (Brundtland Commission, World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987.)

Question 2

Compare the development of Kerala and Punjab using indicators other than per capita income.

Accepted Answer

✦ Answer:
  KERALA: Per capita income is MODERATE (lower than Punjab). BUT: IMR ≈ 10 (babies per 1,000 live births dying before age 1) — one of the BEST in India. Literacy ≈ 94%. Life expectancy HIGH. Net Attendance Ratio (children in school) HIGH.
  PUNJAB: Per capita income is HIGH — one of the richest states. BUT: IMR ≈ 21 (worse than Kerala). Literacy ≈ 76%. Human development indicators WORSE than Kerala.
  CONCLUSION: Kerala has invested heavily in PUBLIC HEALTH and EDUCATION. Punjab has higher income but has underinvested in these services. This proves that INCOME ALONE does not determine development. Public policy matters.

Question 3

Explain why different people have different development goals. What does this tell us about the meaning of development?

Accepted Answer

✦ Answer:
  Development MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE because people have different circumstances, needs, and aspirations.
  
  EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT GOALS:
  (1) Landless labourer: wants higher daily wages and more days of employment. For them, development = economic security.
  (2) Prosperous farmer: wants higher prices for crops, reliable irrigation, better roads to market. Development = productivity and profit.
  (3) A girl in rural India: wants safety, freedom, access to education, right to choose her own future. Development = freedom and equality.
  (4) Industrialist: wants cheap electricity, reliable infrastructure, skilled labour. Development = business-enabling environment.
  (5) Adivasi community: wants forest rights, protection from displacement, cultural preservation. Development = security and identity.
  
  WHAT THIS TELLS US:
  (1) Development is NOT a single thing — it has multiple DIMENSIONS: economic, social, cultural, political.
  (2) Different development goals can CONFLICT. Higher wages for workers = higher costs for employers. Industrialisation = displacement for communities.
  (3) We need to ask: Development for WHOM? At whose cost?
  (4) Per capita income captures only ONE dimension (material). Human development (HDI) captures more — but even HDI is incomplete.
  
  CONCLUSION: Development is a value-laden concept. We must always ask what kind of development, for whom, and at what cost.

Practice — Development

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