Class 10 Economics Chapter 1, Development, opens Understanding Economic Development (2026-27) by asking what development means to different people, comparing countries and states using Per Capita Income and the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI), and explaining sustainable development.
What Class 10 Social Science — Economics (Arthik Vikas Ki Samajh) Chapter 1 Covers
What Development Promises — Different People, Different Goals & Income and Other Goals shows why different persons (such as a landless rural labourer, a prosperous farmer from Punjab and an Adivasi from Narmada valley) have different and sometimes conflicting developmental goals, and why people seek non-material goals—equal treatment, freedom, security and respect—alongside regular income.
National Development, Per Capita Income & Public Facilities explains why total national income is not a useful comparison across countries with different populations, defines Per Capita Income (Average Income = Total Income / Total Population) used in the World Bank’s World Development Reports, shows why averages hide disparities in income distribution, and compares Haryana, Kerala and Bihar using Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Literacy Rate and Net Attendance Ratio alongside collective public facilities (PDS, schools, healthcare) and Body Mass Index (BMI) (= Weight in kg / (Height in m)2).
Human Development Report & Sustainability of Development contrasts the World Bank’s income criterion with the UNDP Human Development Report (comparing educational levels, health status / life expectancy at birth, and per capita income in PPP dollars), and uses groundwater depletion in India and global crude oil reserves to illustrate why sustainability is vital for development.
Exercises in Chapter 1
- Chapter Exercises (13 Questions) cover the World Bank vs UNDP criteria for measuring development, why we use averages and their limitations, why Kerala with lower per capita income has a better human development ranking than Haryana, and why the issue of sustainability is important for development.
Read Class 10 Social Science — Economics (Arthik Vikas Ki Samajh) Chapter 1 Online
More Chapters
- Next: Chapter 2: भारतीय अर्थव्यवस्था के क्षेत्रक (Sectors of the Indian Economy)
- English medium: Class 10 Economics Chapter 1 PDF in English (Understanding Economic Development)
- All Social Science — Economics (Arthik Vikas Ki Samajh) chapters and the other Class 10 books: Class 10 NCERT books 2026-27
- All Class 1 to 12 NCERT Textbooks: NCERT Books PDF (Class 1–12)
- Every book chapter by chapter: NCERT chapter wise PDF
FAQ
What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different countries, and what are its limitations?
The World Bank uses Per Capita Income (average income per person per year) in its World Development Reports to classify countries into high-income and low-income groups. Its main limitations are that it hides huge inequalities in how income is distributed among citizens and ignores crucial non-income indicators such as health, literacy, life expectancy and public facilities.
How does the UNDP criterion for measuring development differ from the World Bank’s?
While the World Bank relies solely on Per Capita Income, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its Human Development Report compares countries on three dimensions: (1) health status (Life Expectancy at birth), (2) educational attainment (Literacy Rate and Gross Enrolment Ratio), and (3) Per Capita Income.