Important Questions for Chapter 2 People a Resource Class 9 Economics
Important Questions1
What is meant by human capital formation?
Answer
Human capital formation is the process of transforming the people in a country into workers who are capable of producing goods and services.
VSAQ
2
What do you mean by 'People as a Resource’?
Answer
'People as a Resource’ is a way of referring to a country's working people in terms of their existing productive skills and abilities.
VSAQ
3
What do you mean by human resource?
Answer
Human resource refer to the working population of a country who are having skills and abilities to contribute to the Gross National Product of the country.
VSAQ
4
Name any two sources of human capital.
Answer
Two sources of human capital are Education and training.
VSAQ
5
What kind of investment can be made on a child?
Answer
Investments in the education and health can be made on a child which can yield high return in future in the form of higher earnings and greater contribution to society.
VSAQ
6
Which Asian country invested their most part of resources on people, especially in the field of education and health?
Answer
Japan.
VSAQ
7
Banking is which sector of the economy?
Answer
Tertiary sector of the economy.
VSAQ
8
In which sector are transport and communication included?
Answer
Tertiary sector.
VSAQ
9
What is the main aim of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan?
Answer
The main aim of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is to provide elementary education to the children in the age group 6-14 years.
VSAQ
10
What enhances the National Income, cultural richness and the efficiency of government?
Answer
Education.
VSAQ
11
Give examples of any two primary activities.
Answer
Agriculture and forestry.
VSAQ
12
What kind of people is liability for the economy?
Answer
Illiterate and unhealthy people are the liabilities for the economy.
VSAQ
13
What is the purpose of implementation of mid- day meal?
Answer
The main purpose of implementation of mid-day meal is to encourage attendance and retention of children.
VSAQ
14
What is the importance of health?
Answer
The health of a person gives him/her full potential to do work and provides him with the ability to fight illness.
VSAQ
15
Which age group forms the work force population?
Answer
The age group ranging from 15-59 usually forms the work force population.
VSAQ
16
What is disguised unemployment?
Answer
It is a state in which more than required numbers of people are employed in a particular field.
VSAQ
17
How will you explain the term unemployment?
Answer
It is a situation in which a person is willing to work at the prevailing wages, but he is unable to find any useful job.
VSAQ
18
What does the increase in unemployment indicate?
Answer
The increase in unemployment indicates slow economic growth of the country.
VSAQ
19
State two types of unemployment existing in India.
Answer
Seasonal and disguised unemployment.
VSAQ
20
Where can you find disguised unemployment?
Answer
Agriculture sector.
VSAQ
21
Who are the educated unemployed?
Answer
Many youths though having matriculation, graduation and post graduation degrees but are unable to find jobs. Such type of people falls in the category of the educated unemployed.
VSAQ
22
What do you mean by Migration?
Answer
Migration is shifting of labourers from a rural area to urban area in search of work.
VSAQ
1
Explain the importance of 'People as a Resource'.
Answer
Importance of People as Resource:
(i) People are best resource for a country as their skill and abilities can be used for productivity. Working population is an asset.
(ii) If human resource is developed with education and health, it becomes human capital that adds to the productive power.
(iii) It is superior to other resources as it can make use of other resources i.e. land and capital
SAQ
2
Explain any three ways through which a large population is considered as liability can be turned into productive asset.
Answer
Three ways to turn large population into productive asset :
(i) By investment in human capital, we can utilize them.
(ii) By spending resources on education and health for all.
(iii) By training of industrial and agricultural workers in the use of modern technology.
(iv) By useful scientific researches.
SAQ
3
What is meant by 'People as Resource'? Explain how human resource is different from other resources like land and physical capital?
Answer
People as resource is a way of referring to a country's working people in terms of their existing productive skills and abilities.
Human resource is different from land and physical
capital:
(i) They add to the productive power of the country by their skills and knowledge.
(ii) Land and capital cannot become useful on their own. Human Resource utilizes land and capital with their knowledge for productivity.
SAQ
4
Name the factors on which the quality of population depends. How does the quality of population decide the growth rate of the country? Explain.
Answer
The quality of population depends upon :
(i) Literacy rate.
(ii) Health of a person is indicated by life expectancy.
(iii) Skills acquired by the people of the country.
The quality of the population decides the growth rate of the country as the literate and healthy population are an asset to the country. They can utilize the natural resources available and contribute the national growth.
SAQ
5
Explain any three ways of investment of human resources that can give high returns in future.
Answer
Three ways of investment in the development of human resource are:
(i) Education: Providing education make the people literate and later they can contribute to the economy through their knowledge. This helps in utilizing the human resource more efficiently.
(ii) Medical care: Only a healthy person can utilise his/her full potential and fight illness. So, by providing medical care we can ensure that human resource are providing their best in the productivity and prove to be an asset.
(iii) Training to use new technology: Human Resource can be prove more useful if we train them to use new technology. By this, they can discover new methods of increasing production.
SAQ
6
Name the three sectors of economic activities with examples of each.
Answer
Main Sectors are Primary sector, Secondary sector and Tertiary sector.
(i) Primary Sector: It includes agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry farming and mining.
(ii) Secondary Sector: Quarrying and manufacturing of goods and construction activity.
(iii) Tertiary Sector: Trade, transport, banking, health, education and all types of services.
SAQ
7
Distinguish between market and non- market activities with three points of distinction.
Answer
Market Activities | Non-market Activities |
(i) It involves the remuneration paid to anyone who performs an activity for earning money. | (i) Production is for self- consumption. |
(ii) It gives profit. | (ii) It doesn't give any profit. |
(iii) Example : Government services. | (iii) Example: Processing of primary products for production of goods and one's own self-services. |
SAQ
8
Why are women employed in low paid work? State any three reasons.
Answer
Women are paid less as compared to men because:
(i) A majority of women have meagre education and low skill formation.
(ii) Most women work where job security is not present. Employment in this sector is characterized by irregular and low income.
(iii) The fields of the organized sector that attract them most are leaching and medical.
SAQ
9
Highlight the steps taken by the government to improve the literacy level in India.
Answer
Steps taken by the government to improve the literacy level:
(i) Navodaya Vidyalayas have been set up.
(ii) Vocational streams have been developed.
(iii) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has been launched.
(iv) Increase in enrollment at elementary level.
(v) Mid-day meal to encourage attendance.
SAQ
10
What is mid-day meal scheme? Explain any two of its purposes.
Answer
Mid-day meal scheme is the scheme started by the government to provide some nutritional food to students during the day.
Purposes of mid-day meal:
(i) To encourage attendance and retention of children and improve their nutritional status.
(ii) To add the literate population of India.
SAQ
11
Why is the improvement in health status of population considered as the priority of the country? What were the aims of our National Policy in terms of health?
Answer
The health of a person helps him to realize his potential and provides the ability to fight illness. An unhealthy person becomes a liability for an organization. Indeed, health is an indispensable basis for realizing one's well-being. Therefore, improvement in the health status of the population is considered the priority of the country.
Aims of National Policy in terms of health:
(i) Health care.
(ii) Family welfare.
(iii) Nutritional service.
(iv) Special focus on an underprivileged segment of the population.
SAQ
12
'Employment structure is characterized by self- employment in the primary sector.' Explain the statement.
Answer
Employment structure is characterized by self- employment in the primary sector as:
(i) The whole family contributes in a field even though it can be done by much less people. So, there is disguised unemployment in the agricultural sector.
(ii) The entire family shares what has been produced. However, this does not reduce the poverty of the family.
(iii) When the surplus labour does not get sufficient employment in the agriculture, they migrate to cities in search of jobs.
SAQ
13
"Unemployment gives birth to various solo economic problems." Give three arguments to support this statement.
Answer
Impact of unemployment on the society:
(i) Unemployment tends to increase economic overload.
(ii) Quality of life is adversely affected.
(iii) It leads in to decline of health status.
SAQ
14
What is meant by seasonal unemployment?
Answer
This type of unemployment occurs at a certain season of the year. It is a widespread phenomenon. For example: Agricultural practice is based on the
natural condition. This means that at a certain period of time, there is heavy work while in the rest period, there are no work. During sowing of seeds and harvesting of crops, the agriculturists engage themselves the whole day and night. But after harvesting and sowing of seeds, the workers become workless.
SAQ
1
How is an investment in human capital similar to an investment in the physical capital? Mention three similarities.
Answer
Human capital is the stock of skills and expertise of a nation at a point in time while, physical capital refers to the stock of man-made assets that are used in the production process such as buildings, machinery,etc. Human capital and physical capital are similar:
(i) Development of both human capital and physical capital require an initial amount of investment.
(ii) To acquire human capital we spend on education, training, etc. Similarly, we need to spend money in order to possess physical capital.
(iii) Both contribute to the growth and development of a country.
LAQ
2
Define human capital formation. Explain any four benefits of investment in human capital.
Answer
The existing human resource is further developed by becoming more educated and healthy; we call it human capital formation. It adds to the productive power of the country.
Importance of investment in human capital :
(i) Higher income earned by people.
(ii) Investment in human capital will lead to higher productivity of healthier people.
(iii) Education and skill are the major determinants of the earning of an individual in the market.
(iv) Large population becomes productive assets.
(v) People make efficient use of other resources.
LAQ
3
Explain the importance of human resource.
Answer
(i) Human resource is an indispensable factor of every economic activity.
(ii) Every productive activity needs land, labour capital, organization and enterprise as its factor of production. Human resource is not only an essential factor of production, but it also activates other factors of production.
(iv) The quality of human resource is the symbol of economic and social status of people. As such, human development requires improvement.
(v) The healthy, educated, efficient and skilled people are the asset of the nation, whereas, unhealthy, uneducated, inefficient and unskilled people are a burden.
LAQ
4
Describe how a large population can become an asset for economic growth.
Answer
(i) People are the greatest resource of a country. It depends on our attitude towards population whether we consider it as a problem or a solution for a country's economy.
(ii) A large population can transform into an asset if it is nurtured with education, medical care and training of industrial and agricultural workers in the use of modern technology, useful scientific researches and so on.
(iii) There are many instances where countries with no natural resources have become developed and rich due to proper investment in human resource building. China and Japan are fitting examples of such countries.
(iv) Governments of these countries import the necessary natural resources which their skilled and healthy population converts into goods and commodities ready to be exported.
LAQ
5
Describe five unfavourable effects of population growth in a country like India.
Answer
Unfavourable effects of population growth :
(i) As the population grows, more and more forests are cleared. This is done to make houses for increased number of people to live in and to use wood as a fuel for industries.
(ii) It also leads to unemployment and illiteracy. Lack of resources in turn leads to lack of educational resources. Due to the unavailability of resources, parents cannot afford to educate their children to higher levels. This can be considered as a vicious circle, where illiteracy further leads to poverty.
(iii) Food resources become scarce in highly populated countries like India. This further leads to several health problems.
(iv) High population can also lead to water pollution, since water is used for human consumption and industrial uses. The increased number of the population calls for an increased number of industries and factories. These factories lead to various kind of pollution, including water pollution.
(v) As the population increases, the waste also increases, which, if not disposed of in the correct manner, can pollute the environment. This can lead to a massive health problem.
LAQ
6
Female literacy in India is still far behind the men. What are the reasons for it? Explain.
Answer
The literacy rate in India is low for females due to the following reasons :
(i) India has traditionally been a male-dominated society. Due to historical and cultural reasons, a division of labour already exists between men and women in the family.
(ii) Education among girls is discouraged due to cultural reasons, it is generally considered that men would go out to work and women would look after the domestic works.
(iii) The gender disparity exists in most families and more preference is given to the boys of the family for education because they are considered the future of the family.
(iv) Poor families prefer to send only their sons to school and not their daughters due to economic and social reasons.
(v) Lower marriage-age for girls in general causes their drop out from school to a large extent.
LAQ
7
"Illiterate and unhealthy population is a liability for the economy" Justify the statement with suitable examples.
Answer
Illiterate and unhealthy population are a liability :
(i) The literacy rate.
(ii) Health of a person indicated by life expectancy and skill formation acquired by the people of a country.
(iii) The quality of population ultimately decides the growth rate of the country.
(iv) An illiterate and unhealthy population is a liability for the economy, whereas a literate and healthy population is an asset.
(v) The health of a person makes him realise his potential and the ability to fight illnesses.
(vi) An unhealthy person becomes a liability for an organisation and hence his country.
(vii) Health is an indispensable basis for realising one's own well-being.
LAQ
8
Describe the steps taken by the government of India to improve the health of the people.
Answer
Steps taken by the Government of India to improve the health :
(i) Improving the accessibility of health care.
(ii) Aimed to arrange family welfare programmes.
(iii) Nutritional services with special focus on under privileged segment of population.
(iv) Health awareness campaigns and medication programmes.
(v) Development of a vast health infrastructure.
LAQ
9
Describe the policy of government in the field of education.
Answer
According to National Education Policy, 1986, the government considers human resource, a positive asset which needs to be cherished, nurtured and developed. Following efforts are made for the same:
(i) Education contributes towards the growth of society. It enhances the national efficiency of governance.
(ii) There is a provision made for providing universal access, retention and quality in elementary education with special emphasis on girl-education.
(iii) There is also an establishment of pace setting of schools like Navodaya Vidyalaya in each district.
(iv) Vocational streams have been developed to equip large number of high school students with occupations related to knowledge and skills.
(v) The plan outlay on education has increased from Z 151 crore in the first plan to 43,825 crore in the tenth Plan. Literacy rate has increased from 18% in 1951 to 65% in 2001.
LAQ
10
Mention any five steps taken in the 10 Five Year Plan to increase enrolment in higher education.
Answer
Main features of the 10th Five Year Plan :
(i) It aims to increase the enrolment of students in the age group of 18- M years in higher education from 6% to 9% by the end of the plan period. It emphasized on the strategy which focuses on increasing access, quality, and adoption of states specific curriculum modification and vocational and networking on the use of IT. The strategy also focuses on distant, formal, non- formal and IT education.
(iv) There has been a significant increase in the number of such universities and institutions, over the last 5 years, which are specialising in different areas.
(v) It also focuses on vocational, networking and the use of information technology in distant education.
LAQ
11
During 1980s, 80% of Indian population was dependent on agriculture sector but gradually it decreased, analyse the reasons behind the newly developed trend.
Answer
(i) In recent years, there has been a decline in the dependence of population on agriculture partly because of the disadvantages caused by disguised
unemployment prevalent there.
(ii) Some of the surplus labour in agriculture has moved to either the secondary or the tertiary sector.
(iii) In the secondary sector, small-scale manufacturing is the most labour-absorbing.
(iv) In case of the tertiary sector, various new services are now appearing, like biotechnology, information technology and so on.
(v) With the increase in the number of jobs, dependence on agriculture has reduced to a great extent.
LAQ
12
Which age group is known as work force population? Explain the existing employment structure in the agricultural sector in India. Also explain major problems.
Answer
People from 15 to 59 years are included in the work force population. Existing employment structure in the agricultural sector:
(i) Employment structure is characterized by self- employment in the agricultural sector.
(ii) Whole family contributes in the field, even though everybody is really not needed.
Major problems :
(i) Nature of work is just for few hours in the morning as well as in the evening and in the entire day they do not have any job to do.
(ii) The disguised unemployment is found in the agricultural sector which is more harmful because people themselves are unaware of their unemployment.
LAQ
13
Can you imagine some village which initially had no job opportunities but later came up with many?
Answer
(i) Solanpur is a village in the western outskirts of Gurgaon, New Delhi. This place had mostly illiterate population who were heavily dependent on agriculture as their sole source of sustenance.
(ii) A few years back, electricity reached the place. This was coupled with the establishment of a big glass factory, which opened up new channels of employment and transport.
(iii) Slowly, schools came up in the vicinity and children started reaping the benefits of education.
(iv) The literacy rate of the place rose up, farmers were also given techno- training, so that they made double their production.
(v) Soon, the village became prosperous and soon had better health, education, transport and job facilities.
LAQ