National Development
The notion of national development is different among different people. People could have different as well as conflicting notions of a country’s development.
National development means thinking about various questions about conflicting ideas, chalking out a common path for holistic development of all.
Comparison of Development Among Countries
Different criteria are used to compare different things. Between students, the primary basis of comparison
is upon their friendliness and spirit of cooperation, creativity or marks secured.
For comparing countries, their income is considered to be one of the most important attributes. Countries with higher income are more developed than those with less income. It is based on the assumption that more income means development and a better lifestyle. Greater income will help people buy more. Hence, greater income itself is considered to be one important goal.
Important
The income of the country is the income of all the residents of the country. This gives us the total income of the country.
Example 1.
Write a paragraph on your notion of what should India do, or achieve, to become a developed country. [NCERT]
Answer:
India has a huge demographic where more than 60% of our population belongs to the age group of 18-40 years. Thus to achieve development, Indian government should begin capacity building exercises for these young people and offer employment opportunities.
Education has to be more diverse and vocational. More workshops will have to be set up for industrial training. Capacity has to be built up for the agricultural sector.
However, for comparison between countries, total income is not such a useful measure. Comparing total income doesn’t tell us what a person is likely to earn since each country has a different population. Thus, it is wiser to compare the average income which is the total income of the country divided by its total population. The average income is also called per capita income. In World Development Reports, brought out by the World Bank, this criterion is used in classifying countries.
Example 2.
Suppose records show that the average income in a country has been increasing over a period of time. From this, can we conclude that all sections of the economy have become better? Illustrate your answer with an example.
Answer:
No, it does not guarantee that all the groups are progressing at the same pace. The average income of any country is an average of how all the sections are performing together not individually. Cumulative growth does not convey the performance of individual sections on the correct parameters of growth.
For example, despite growth, agriculture is still stagnant. Despite the growth, high-income inequality also does not talk about the pitiable condition of lower classes.
Important
Countries with per capita income of US$ 12,056 per annum and above in 2017, are called rich countries and those with per capita income of US$ 955 or less are called low-income countries. India comes in the category of low-middle-income countries because its per capita income in 2017 was just US$ 1820 per annum.