NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Part B Chapter 8 Comparative Development Experiences of India and its Neighbours
1. Why are regional and economic groupings formed?
Ans. Different nations around the globe have decided to create regional and international economic groups like SAARC, European Union, ASEAN, etc. with the aim of learning various ways and strategies to improve the economies. The creation of such regional and economic organisations aids the member nations in understanding the development policies and strategies implemented by other members. By doing so, they can assess their strengths and weaknesses and create strategies to hasten societal advancement and cultural development among their member nations.
2. What are the various means by which countries are trying to strengthen their own domestic economies?
Ans. Countries are strengthening their own domestic economies by:
(i) Forming regional and global economic unions like SAARC, EU, ASEAN, G-8, G-20, etc.
(ii) By having economic reforms.
3. What similar development strategies have India and Pakistan followed for their respective developmental paths?
Ans. Similar developmental strategies of India and Pakistan are:
(i) India has the largest democracy of the world. Pakistan is dwelling over as authoritarian militarist political power structure.
(ii) Both India and Pakistan followed a mixed economy approach. Both the countries have created a large public sector and have planned to raise the public expenditure on social development.
4. Explain the Great Leap Forward campaign of China as initiated in 1958.
Ans. Communist China or the People’s Republic of China, as it is formally known, came into being in 1949. There is only one party, i.e., the Communist Party of China that holds all the power. All the sectors of economy consisting of various enterprises and all land owned by individuals was taken under governmental control. A programme was launched under the name ‘The Great Leap Forward’ in 1958. Its motto was to industrialise the country on a large scale and as early as possible. For this, people were encouraged to set up industries even in their backyards. In villages, village communes or cooperatives were set up. Communes refers to a collective cultivation of land. Around 26000 communes had covered almost all the farm population by 1958.
The Great Leap Forward programme faced many problems. These were:
(i) In the initial phase, a severe drought occurred in China which took almost 3 crore lives.
(ii) Soviet Russia was a comrade to communist China, but they had border dispute. Resulted to which Russia withdrew its professionals who had been helping China in its industrialisation bid.
5. China’s rapid industrial growth can be traced back to its reforms in 1978. Do you agree? Elucidate.
Ans. Starting in 1978, China introduced several reforms in phases . Initially, agriculture, foreign trade and investment sectors were taken up. Commune lands were divided into small plots. Those small plots were then allotted to individual households for cultivation purpose.
The reforms were then expanded to industrial sector. Private firms were also encouraged to set up manufacturing units. Also, local collectives or cooperatives were producing goods. This brought in a direct competition between the newly sanctioned private sector and the old state-owned enterprises.
This kind of reform in China brought in the necessity of dual pricing. This meant the farmers and industrial units were able to buy and sell only fixed quantities of raw material and products depending upon prices fixed by the government. As production increased, the material started getting transacted through the open market and also rose in quantity. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were set up in China to attract foreign investors.
6. Describe the path of developmental initiatives taken by Pakistan for its economic development.
Ans. The developmental initiatives taken by Pakistan were:
(i) By the end of 1950s and 1960s, Pakistan had introduced a variety of regulated policy framework (for import substitution industrialisation). The policy led to the combination tariff protection for manufacturing of consumer goods along with direct import controls on competing imports.
(ii) The introduction of Green Revolution led to mechanisation of agriculture. It evenutally led to a rise in the production of foodgrains. All of this changed the agrarian structure dramatically.
(iii) Nationalisation of capital good industries took place back in 1970s.
(iv) Structural reforms were introduced in the year 1988. The key areas were denationalisation and encouragement to private sector.
(v) Pakistan also happened to receive financial support from western nations and started receiving remittances from emigrants to the Middle East. It helped in raising economic growth of the country.
7. What is the important implication of ‘one child norm’ in China?
Ans. One-child norm which was introduced in China in the late 1970s later on became the major reason for low population growth. It is often claimed that it was this measure which had led to a decline in the sex ratio, that is, the proportion of females per 1000 males.
8. Mention the salient demographic indicators of China, Pakistan and India.
Ans. The salient demographic indicators of India, China and Pakistan are:
(i) The population of Pakistan is significantly very small and hence roughly accounts for only about one-tenth of China or India.
(ii) Although China happens to be the largest nation geographically among the three, its density is the lowest.
(iii) The population growth stands to be the highest in Pakistan followed by India and China. One-child norm introduced in China in the late 1970 became the major reason for its low population growth. They also state that this measure led to a decline in the sex ratio, that is, the proportion of females per 1000 males.
(iv) There is low sex ratio, which is biased against females in all the three countries.
(v) The fertility rate is recorded to be low in China and very high in Pakistan.
(vi) Urbanisation is high in both Pakistan and China with India having 28 per cent of its people living in urban areas.
9. Compare and contrast India and China’s sectoral contribution towards GVA/GDP. What does it indicate?
Ans. GVA is referred to as the contribution of different sectors to GDP.
In 2018-19 with 26% of the workforce is engaged in agriculture in China and 43% in India which contributes to 7% and 16% in GVA respectively. 28% of the workforce in China is engaged in the Industry while 25% of the working population in India is engaged in industries and their share in GVA is 41% and 30% respectively. 46.1% of the workforce in China is engaged in the service sector having a contribution of 52% in GVA while 32% of the population in India is engaged in the service sector having a contribution of 54% in GVA.
In China employment and output first shift from agriculture to Industry and then to the service sector while in the case of India, it has shifted from agriculture to the service sector. In both countries service sector contribution is highest in the GVA.
Thus we conclude that China’s growth is contributed mainly by the industrial sector and service sector while India’s growth is contributed by the service sector.
10. Mention the various indicators of human development.
Ans. Parameters of human development are:
(i) HDI— (a) Value—higher the better.
(b) Rank—lower the better.
(ii) Life expectancy—higher the better.
(iii) Adult literacy rate—higher the better.
(iv) GDP per capita (PPP US $)—higher the better.
(v) Percentage of population below poverty line (on $1 a day)—lower the better.
(vi) Infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births)—lower the better.
(vii) Maternal mortality rate (per 100,000 live births)—lower the better.
(viii) Percentage of population having access to improved sanitation—higher the better.
(ix) Percentage of population having access to improved water source—higher the better.
(x) Percentage of population which is undernourished (% of total) – lower the better.
11. Define the liberty indicator. Give some examples of liberty indicators.
Ans. Liberty indicator can be defined as a measure of ‘the extent of democratic participation in social and political decision-making’ but it has not been given any extra importance. Some of the examples of liberty indicators are : literacy rate, women participation in politics, etc.
12. Evaluate the various factors that led to the rapid growth in economic development in China.
Ans. China's quick economic growth is the result of the changes being implemented gradually since 1978.
The numerous causes that contributed to China's economy developing so quickly are as follows:
Reforms in the agricultural, international commerce, and investment sectors were started in the first phase. It was decided to use the communal agricultural method known as the Commune method. Land was split into tiny pieces and assigned to each family under this method. After paying the government's taxes, these households were permitted to keep the leftover revenue from their land.
Reforms in the industrial sector were started during the later era. During this time, State Owned Enterprises were put in competition with private businesses, village businesses, and township businesses.
Dual pricing was put into practise. This suggests that a set amount of inputs and outputs were mandated to be purchased and sold by farmers and industrial units at a set price set by the government, and the remainder amounts were exchanged at the market price. The amounts exchanged in the market gradually multiplied due to the latter years' fast development in aggregate output.
Special Economic Zones were also established as part of the changes in order to draw in international companies and boost exports. As a result, China's economy developed quickly due to the cumulative impact of all these economic changes.
13. Group the following features pertaining to the economies of India, China and Pakistan under three heads.
- One-child norm
- Low fertility rate
- High degree of urbanisation
- Mixed economy
- Very high fertility rate
- Large population
- High density of population
- Growth due to manufacturing sector
- Growth due to service sector
Ans.
| India | China | Pakistan |
| Mixed economy | One child norm | Mixed economy |
| High density of population | Low fertility rate | Very high fertility rate |
| Growth due to the service sector | High degree of urbanization | |
| Large population | Growth due to manufacturing sector | |
| Large population |
14. Give reasons for the slow growth and re-emergence of poverty in Pakistan.
Ans. Reasons for Pakistan's slow growth and emergence of poverty
(i) Political instability: According to scholars, political instability is one of the causes of Pakistan's poor economic development and the resurgence of poverty. Political instability also increases the cost of upholding law and order.
(ii) Foreign loan dependency: Foreign loan dependence is on the rise. It has a lot of difficulties repaying the loan and accrued interest.
(iii) Decline in foreign exchange profits: The majority of Pakistan's foreign exchange revenues come from remittances sent home by its employees in the Middle East and from the export of agricultural goods with significant volatility. Remittances of foreign currency had recently decreased.
(iv) Excessive defence spending: More public funds should be allocated to a nation's development in order to reduce poverty. However, Pakistan invests a substantial sum in its military
15. Compare and contrast the development of India, China and Pakistan with respect to some salient human development indicators.
Ans. The performance of India, China, and Pakistan with respect to some of the salient human development indicators are-
(i) China has 1.7% of people living below the poverty line, followed by 29.1% in India and 24.3% in Pakistan. China is ahead of India and Pakistan. The highest percentage population in Pakistan among the three countries lives below the poverty line.
(ii) The infant mortality rate in China for every 1000 birth is 7.4% followed by India with 29.9% and Pakistan 57.2%. Pakistan has the highest infant mortality rate.
(iii) 75% population in China uses at least the basic sanitation facilities followed by India and Pakistan which is 60% each. India and Pakistan are way behind China on this parameter.
(iv) China has 16057 as gross national income per capita income followed by India with 6681 and Pakistan with 5005. Pakistan has the least NPCI.
(v) In China % of undernourished children is 8.1% followed by Pakistan which is 37.6% and India with 37.9%. India is the worst performer on this parameter.
(vi) In China, the life expectancy is 76.9 Years followed by India which is 69.7 years, and Pakistan 67.3 years. China has the highest life expectancy among all three countries.
If we see the overall HDI which is 0.761 for China, 0.645 for India, and 0.557 for Pakistan. We can conclude that China is way ahead of India and Pakistan in terms of HDI indicators. Pakistan has the worst scenario as compared to both countries. India has to improve a lot to come closer to China.
16. Comment on the growth rate trends witnessed in China and India in the last two decades.
Ans. Growth of Gross Domestic Product (%), 1980-2009: In 1980s, China had remarkable growth rate of 10.3% when India was finding it difficult to maintain a growth rate of even 5%. After two decades, there was a marginal improvement in India’s and China’s growth rate.
17. Fill in the blanks:
- First Five Year Plan ______ commenced in the year 1956. (Pakistan/China).
- Maternal mortality rate is high _______. (China/Pakistan).
- Proportion of people below poverty line is more in________. (India/Pakistan)
- Reforms in ________ were introduced in 1978. (China/Pakistan).
Ans.
- Pakistan
- Pakistan
- India
- China
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