People As Resource- class 9 (economics)

CHAPTER-2

                     PEOPLE AS RESOURCE

Q1. Define the following:

(i) Human capital- Human capital is the stock of skill and productive knowledge embedded in them.

(ii) Human capital formation- When the existing ‘human resource’ is further developed by becoming more educated and healthy, we call it ‘human capital formation’.

Q2. What do you understand by ‘people as a resource’?

Ans. ‘People as resource’ is a way of referring to a country’s working people terms of their existing productive skills and abilities.

Q3. How do we make investments in human capital? What is its use?

Ans. Investment in human capital (through education, training, medical care) yields a return just like investment in physical capital. This can be seen directly in the form of higher incomes earned because of higher productivity of the move educated or the better trained persons, as well as higher productivity of healthier people.

Q4. How is human capital superior than other resources?

Ans. Human capital is in one way superior to other resources like land and physical capital. Haman resource can use of land and capital. Land and capital cannot become useful on its own.

Q5. Explain how can population in a country can be converted from our liability to an asset?

Ans. Liability can be turned into a productive asset by investment in human capital (for example, by spending resources on education and health for all, training of industrial and agricultural workers in the use of modern technology, useful scientific researches and so on.

Q6. How is the child of an educated parent different from that of an uneducated parents? Or

Why do educated parents invest more heavily on the education and medical care of their children?

Ans. 1) Educated parents are found to invest more heavily on the education of their child.

2) This is because they have realised the importance of education for themselves.

3) They are also conscious of proper nutrition and hygiene.

4) They accordingly look after their children’s needs for education at school and good health.

5) A virtuous cycle is thus created in this case. In contrast, the vicious cycle may be disadvantaged parents who, themselves uneducated and locking in hygiene.

 Keep their children in the similarly disadvantaged state.  

Q7. Justify with the example of Japan the importance of investment in human resource?

Ans. 1) Countries like Japan have invested in human resource. They did not have any natural resource.

2) These countries are developed/rich countries. They import the natural resource needed in their country.

3) They have invested on people especially in the field of education and health.

4) These people have made efficient use of other resource like land and capital.

5) Efficiency and the technology evolved by people have made these countries rich/developed.

Q8. Name the 3 factors into which all the activities are classified. Write examples of each. Or

Mention the 3 types of economic activities with 2-2 examples of each.

Ans. The various activities have been classified into 3 main sectors:

1) Primary

2) Secondary

3) Tertiary

2 examples of each:

1) Primary sector includes agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry farming, mining and quarrying.

2) Manufacturing is included in the secondary sector.

3) Trade, transport, communication, banking, education, health, tourism, services, insurance etc. are included in the tertiary services.

Q9. Explain the historical division of labour between men and women.

Ans. 1) Due to historical and cultural reasons there is a division of labour between men and women in the family.

2) Women generally look after domestic chores and men work in the fields.

3) Women are not paid for their service delivered in the family whereas men are paid for their work.

Q10. How is the condition of women working in an unorganised sector different from those working in organised sector?

Ans. Women working in an unorganised sector

Women are paid low compared to men. Most women work where job security is not there. Various activities relating to legal protection is meagre. Employment in this sector is characterised by irregular and low income. In this sector there is an absence of basic facilities like maternity leave, childcare and other social security systems.

Women working in an organised sector

Women with high education and skill formation are paid at par with the men. Among the organised sector, teaching and medicine attract them the most. Some women have entered administrative and other services including job, that need high levels of scientific and technological competence.

Q11. What are the 3 factors on which the quality of population depends? What is the main importance of finding the quality of population?

Ans. 1) 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.

2) Illiterate and unhealthy population are the liability for the economy. Literate and healthy people population are an asset.

Q12. What steps have been taken by the government to improve the education status of our country?

Ans. 1) There is a provision made for providing universal access, retention and quality in elementary education with a special emphasis on girls.

2) There is also an establishment of pace setting of schools like Navodaya Vidalia in each district.

3) Vocational streams have been developed to equip large number of high school students with occupations related to knowledge and skills.

4) The plan outlay on education has increased from Rs151 crore in the first plan to Rs3766.90 in the eleventh plan.

Q13. What are the results of the measures taken by the government to improve the level of people of India?

Ans. 1) The literacy rates have increased from 18% in 1951 to 74% in 2010-11.

2) Literacy among males in nearly 16.6% higher than females and it is about 16.1% higher in urban areas as compared to the rural areas.

3) Literacy rates vary from 93.9% in Kerala to 63% in Bihar.

4) The Primary school system has expanded to over 7.68 lakhs in 2004-05.

Q14. Write the short note on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Ans. 1) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a significant step towards providing elementary education to all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years by 2010.

2) It is the time bound initiator of the central government, in partnership with the states, the local government and the community for achieving the goal of universalisation of elementary education.

3) Along with it, bridge courses and back-to-school camps have been initiated to increase the enrolment in elementary education.

4) Mid-day meal scheme has been implemented to encourage attendance and retention of children and improve their nutritional status.

Q15. State the main features of eleventh year plan. Or

What provisions are given in the 11^th year plan for increasing the literacy rates of our country?

Ans. 1) The 11^th plan endeawared to increase the enrolment in higher education of 18-23 years age group to 15% by 2011-12.

2) The strategy focuses on increasing access, quality, adoption of states-specific curriculum modification and vocationalisation and networking on the use of information technology.

3) The plan also focuses distant education, convergence of formal, non-formal distant and IT education institutions.

Q16. Write a short note on national policy 2002.

Ans. 1) Our national policy, too aims at improving the accessibility of health care, family welfare and nutritional services with the special focus or the under privileged segment of population.

2) Over the last 5 decades India has built up a last health infrastructure and has developed man power required at primary, secondary and tertiary sector in government as well as in the private sector.

Q17. Examine the result of the measures taken by the government to improve the health status of the country?

Ans. 1) These measures adopted have increased the life expectancy to over 65 years in 2011.

2) Infant mortality rate (IMR) has come down from 147 in 1951 to 47 in 2010.

3) Crude birth rates have dropped to 22.1 and death rates to 7 within the same duration of time.

4) Increase in life expectancy and improvement in child care are useful in assessing the future progress of the country.

Q18. Define the following:

i) Infant Mortality rate- Infant mortality rate is the death of the child under 1 year of age.

ii) Birth rate- Birth rate is the no. of babies born there for every 1000 people during a particular period of time.

iii) Death rate- Death rate is the number of people per 1000 who die during a particular period of time.

Q19. Define unemployment.

Ans. Unemployment is said to exists when people who are willing to work at the going wages cannot find jobs.

Q20. Explain 2 types of employment in rural areas.

Ans. In cases of rural areas, there are 2 types of unemployment:

i) Seasonal unemployment

ii) Disguised unemployment

SEASONAL UNEMPLOYMENT

1) Seasonal unemployment happens when people are not able to find jobs during some months of the year.

2) People dependent upon agriculture usually face such kind of problem.

Disguised Unemployment

1) In case of disguised unemployment people appear to be employed.

2) They have agricultural plot where they find work.

3) This usually happens among family members engaged in agricultural society.

4) The work requires the service of 5 people but engages 8 people. 3 people are extra.

Q21. Write a note on educated unemployed in India. Or

What type of unemployment can be seen in urban areas in India?

Ans. 1) In case of urban areas educated unemployment has become a common phenomenon.

Many youth with matriculation, graduation and post-graduation degrees are not able to find job.

2) A paradoxical manpower situation is witnessed as surplus of manpower in certain categories coexist with shortage of manpower in others.

3) There is unemployment among technically qualified person on one hand, while there is a dearth of technical skills required for economic growth.

Q22. What are the ill-effects of unemployment on the individual as well as on the country as the whole? Or

What are the consequences of unemployment? Or

‘Hence unemployment has detrimental impact on the overall growth of an economy.’ Explain. Or

‘Increase in unemployment is an indicator of the depressed economy.’ Explain.

Ans. 1) Unemployment leads to wastage of manpower resource.

2) People who are an asset for the economy turn into the liability.

3) There is the feeling of hopelessness and despair among the youth.

4) People do not have enough money to support their family.

5) Unemployment tends to increase economic overload.

6) The dependence of the unemployed on the working population increase.

7) The quality of life of an individual as well as of society is adversely affected.

8) Hence, unemployment has detrimental impact on the overall growth of an economy.

9) Increase in unemployment is an indicator of a depressed economy.

Q23. Explain, ‘In case of India, the unemployment rate is low.’

Ans. 1) A large number of people represented with low income and productivity are counted as employed.

2) They appear to work throughout the year but in terms of their potential and income, it is not adequate for them.

3) The work that they are pursuing seems forced upon them.

4) They may therefore want other work of their choice.

Q24. What types of employment can be seen in primary sector in India and why?

Ans. 1) The employment structure is characterised by self-employment in the primary sector.

2) The whole family contributes in the field even though not everybody is really needed.

3) So, there is disguised unemployment in the agriculture sector.

4) This concept of sharing of work in the field and the produce raised reduces the hardship of unemployment in the rural sector.

5) But this does not reduce the poverty of the family.

Q25. Discuss the unemployment scenario in 3 sectors of Indian economy.

Ans. 1) 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.

2) Some of the surplus labour in agriculture has moved to either the secondary or the tertiary sector.

3) In the secondary sector, small scale manufacturing is the most labour absorbing.

4) In case of the tertiary sector, various new services are now appearing like biotechnology, information technology and so on.

Q26. What is the role of health in human capital formation?

Ans. 1) Healthier people have higher productivity because the health of the person helps in to realise his potential and the ability to fight illness.

2) An unhealthy person becomes a liability for an organisation.

3) Health improves the quality of life. A healthy person can do his work properly and efficiently.

4) Good health helps the individual to earn more because he can work regularly without any break or leave.

5) Healthy people are productive asset. Their productivity adds to the growth of the economy.

Q27. What is the role of education in human capital formation?

Ans. 1) Educated people earn more than the educated.

2) Literate population is an asset. It leads to higher productivity.

3) It opens new horizon for the person.

4) It provides new aspirations and develop values of life.

5) Education contributes towards the growth of society. It enhances the national income, cultural richness and increased the efficiency of governance.