IX_Eco_Ch-2_People as Resource_Practice Set-1

Class IX
Economics
Chapter - 2
People as a Resource
Notes Q-A

Q.1: What is human capital?

Answer: Human capital is the stock of skills and productive knowledge embodied in human beings.

Q.2: What is 'People as Resource'?

Answer: 'People as Resource' is a way of referring a country’s working population in terms of their existing productive skills and abilities.

Q.3: Which aspect of a large population has often been ignored or overlooked?

Answer: The positive aspect of large population i.e. it can be considered as resource, that is an asset instead of a liability, is often overlooked.

Q.4. Differentiate between Primary, Secondary and Tertiary sectors.

Answer. Primary Sector

1. This sector is related to all such activities which get raw material from the nature.

2. The products produced in this sector are natural.

3. For example - agriculture, poultry, animal husbandry, fishery, forestry, bee-keeping, mining etc.

4. This activities in this sector are also known as Agriculture and related activities.

Secondary Sector

1. This sector relates to all such activities which involve production or manufacturing of goods.

2. The raw material is obtained mainly from the primary sector and is converted to finished goods in this sector.

3. For example - manufacturing, construction etc.

4. This sector is also called Industrial sector.

Tertiary Sector

1. In this sector, services are produced rather than the goods.

2. This sector provides facilities and support to the Primary and Secondary sector.

3. For example - trade and commerce, transportation, communication, insurance, education and health facilities etc.

4. This sector is also called service sector.

Q.5: How human capital contributes to Gross National Product by citing two examples?

Answer. Green Revolution in India proved that with increase in human capital led to improvement in production technology. Due to this the productivity of scarce land resources increased considerably.

The tremendous growth of Information technology industry proved the importance of human capital for the development of IT services.

Q.6: How is the investment in human resource is similar to any other type of investment?

Answer: Investment in human resource is very similar to other type of investments like investing in shares or properties.

A person expects handsome profits when he/she invests in lands, stocks and bonds. Similarly human resource trained in skills will earn more than a unskilled person.
An investment made in a person in terms of health, education will bring higher returns or earnings in future.

Q.7: When does population become asset rather a liability?

Answer: Population becomes an asset instead of a  liability when investments are made in the form of education, training and medical care.

Q.8: How is human resource different from other resources like land and physical capital?

Answer: Human resource is different from other resources like land and physical capital in the following ways:

1. From economic development perspective, human resources act both as producers as well as consumers.

2. Human resource makes use of other resources like land and physical capital to produce an output.

Q.9: What is the role of education in human capital formation?

Answer: Education plays an important role in human capital formation as listed below:

1. Education provides better knowledge and skills.

2. A person with more knowledge and skills is generally more productive.

3. An educated population is an asset, a resource. 

4. Education enhances the quantity and quality of individual productivity, which in turn adds to the growth of the economy.

5. Education enhances the cultural richness of a country and the efficiency of governance.

Thus, education plays the role of a catalyst in transforming a human being into a positive asset and a precious national resource.

Q.10: Name the economic activities covered in the primary sector.

Answer: Agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry, poultry farming, mining etc. are included in the primary sector.

Q.11: Define economic activities.

Answer: The activities which result in the production of goods and services and value to the national income are called economic activities.

Q.12: Name the factors on which quality of population depends.

Answer: Quality of population relies on the following factors:
1. Skills set.

2  Literacy rate.

3. Life expectancy as health indicator.

Q.13: List the two parts of economic activities.

Answer: Two parts of economic activities are:
1. Market activities

2. Non-Market Activities (i.e. for self consumption).

Q.14: What do you mean by market activities?

Answer: Market activities are those economic activities that performed to earn income or profit. These include production of goods and services.

Q.15: Define infant mortality rate (IMR)

Answer: Infant mortality rate is the death rate of a child under one year of age.

Q.16: What are non-economic activities?

Answer: Non-economic activities are the ones that do not add to the national income; for example, an individual performing domestic chores.

Q.17: What do you mean by the term unemployment?

Answer: Unemployment is a situation when people who are willing to work at the going wages cannot find jobs. Unemployment measures involuntary idleness.

Q.18: What do you mean by disguised unemployment? State an example.

Answer: It is the situation in which an individual appears to be employed, but he does not add to the productivity. That is, the productivity would remain the same even in his absence. e.g. A family has a farming land where the work requires service of  four persons but all the nine members of the family work there. Even if five persons are withdraw, there is no reduction in output. Thus these five persons are said to be disguised or hidden employed.

Q.19: What is seasonal unemployment?

Answer: It is the situation in which an individual is not able to find a job during certain months of the year. This situation is called seasonal unemployment. e.g. Agricultural labourers find work only during the busy seasons, i.e., sowing, harvesting, weeding and threshing. This is because of the seasonal character of agriculture in India.

Q.20. What is educated unemployment?

Answer. When educated people who are willing to work are unable to find a gainful employment, this situation is known as educated unemployment. This problem is peculiar in urban areas because the awareness for acquiring education for quality of life and also the access to education is much better there than in rural areas.

Reasons for educated unemployment are as follows :-

1. Lack of job opportunities i.e. the supply of educated labour force is more than its demand.

2. Lack of skills, vocational education, training and practical experience due to which the educated youth go jobless as their skill level does not match the requirement of the companies or different fields of work.

IX_Eco_Story of Village Palampur_Practice Set-2

Class IX

Chapter 1

The Story Of Village Palampur

Practice Set

Q1. What are the four requirements for the production of goods and services? (What are the factors of production?)

Ans. The aim of production is to produce the goods and services that we want. There are four requirements for production of goods and services.

i) The first requirement is land, and other natural resources such as water, forests
and minerals.

ii) The second requirement is labour, i.e. people who will do the work.

iii) The third requirement is physical capital, i.e. the variety of inputs required at every stage during production. e.g. Tools, machines, buildings etc.

iv) The fourth requirement is the knowledge and enterprise that is required to put together land, labour and physical capital and produce an output either to use yourself or to sell in the market. This these days is called human capital. ( or Organization)

Q2. Define the term capital.

Ans. The part of wealth or money which is used for further production is termed as capital. It is an important factor of production.

Q3. What are the items that come under physical capital?(Difference between Fixed & Working capital.) 

Ans. i) Tools, machines, buildings: Tools and machines range from very simple tools
such as a farmer’s plough to sophisticated machines such as generators, turbines, computers, etc. Tools, machines, buildings can be used in production over many years, and are called fixed capital.

ii) Raw materials and money in hand: Production requires a variety of raw materials such as the yarn used by the weaver and the clay used by the potter. Also, some money is always required during production to make payments and buy other necessary items. Raw materials and money in hand are called working capital. Unlike tools, machines and buildings, these are used up in production.

Q4 What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land?

Ans. i) One way of increasing production from the same land is by multiple cropping. To grow more than one crop on a piece of land during the year is known as multiple cropping. ii) The other way is to use modern farming methods for higher yield. Modern machineries, High Yielding Variety seeds, better irrigation, fertilizers and chemicals etc. are used in this method.

Q5. What are the disadvantages of Green Revolution?

Ans. i) Green Revolution is associated with the loss of soil fertility due to increased use of chemical fertilizers.

ii) Continuous use of groundwater for tube well irrigation has reduced the water-table below the ground.

iii) Environmental resources like soil fertility and groundwater are built up over many years. Once destroyed it is very difficult to restore them. We must take care of the environment to ensure future development of agriculture.

Q6. What are the disadvantages in using chemical fertilizers?

Ans. i) Chemical fertilizers provide minerals which dissolve in water and are immediately available to plants. But these may not be retained in the soil for long. They may escape from the soil and pollute groundwater, rivers and lakes. Chemical fertilizers can also kill bacteria and other micro-organisms in the soil. This means some time after their use, the soil will be less fertile than before.

ii) The consumption of chemical fertilizers in Punjab is highest in the country. The continuous use of chemical fertilizers has led to degradation of soil health. Punjab farmers are now forced to use more and more chemical fertilizers and other inputs to achieve the same production level. This means cost of cultivation is rising very fast.

Q7. How is the land distributed among the farmers in Palampur?

Ans. i) In Palampur, about one third of the 450 families are landless, i.e. 150 families, most of them are Dalits and have no land for cultivation.

ii) Of the remaining families who own land, 240 families cultivate small plots of land less than 2 hectares in size. Cultivation of such plots doesn’t bring adequate income to the farmer family.

iii) Large number of small plots scattered around the village are cultivated by the small farmers. On the other hand, more than half the area of the village is covered by plots that are quite large in size.

iv) In Palampur, there are 60 families of medium and large farmers who cultivate more than 2 hectares of land. A few of the large farmers have land extending over 10 hectares or more.

Q8. Who provide labour for farming activities in Palampur?

Ans. i) Small farmers along with their families cultivate their own fields. Thus, they provide the labour required for farming themselves.

ii) Medium and large farmers hire farm labourers to work on their fields. Farm labourers come either from landless families or families cultivating small plots of land.

Q9. How are farm labourers different from farmers?

Ans. i) Unlike farmers, farm labourers do not have a right over the crops grown on the land,. instead they are paid wages by the farmer for whom they work.

ii) Wages can be in cash or in kind e.g. crop. Sometimes labourers get meals too. Since farmers work for themselves wages are not given.

iii) Wages vary widely from region to region, from crop to crop, from one farm activity to another (like sowing and harvesting).

iv) There is also a wide variation in the duration of employment. A farm labourer might be employed on a daily basis, or for one particular farm activity like harvesting, or for the whole year. A farmer works on his land according to the requirement without considering day and time.

v) There is heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in Palampur, so people agree to work for lower wages.

Q10. How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different from the small farmers?

Ans. i) Most small farmers have to borrow money to arrange for the capital. They borrow from large farmers or the village moneylenders or the traders who supply various inputs for cultivation. The rate of interest on such loans is very high. They are put to great distress to repay the loan.

ii) In contrast to the small farmers, the medium and large farmers have their own savings from farming. They save money by the sale of surplus farm products. They are thus able to arrange for the capital needed.

Q11. How does the sale of surplus farm products help farmers?

Ans. i) It helps farmers to arrange working capital for the next season.

ii) It helps them to buy fixed capital like tools and implements.

iii) They can deposit the money in the bank or lend to the needy people who provide them interest.

Q12. What are the non farm activities in Palampur? Explain.

Ans. i) Dairy: Dairy is a common activity in many families of Palampur. People feed their buffalos on various kinds of grass and the jowar and bajra that grow during the rainy season. The milk is sold in Raiganj, the nearby large village.

ii) Small scale manufacturing: Unlike the manufacturing that takes place in the big factories in the towns and cities, manufacturing in Palampur involves very simple production methods and are done on a small scale. They are carried out mostly at home or in the fields with the help of family labour. Rarely are labourers hired.

iii) Shop-keeping: People involved in trade (exchange of goods) are not many in Palampur. The traders of Palampur are shopkeepers who buy various goods from wholesale markets in the cities and sell them in the village.

iv) Transport: There is variety of vehicles on the road connecting Palampur to Raiganj. Rickshawalas, tonga wallahs, jeep, tractor, truck drivers and people driving the traditional bullock cart and bogey are people in the transport services. They ferry people and goods from one place to another, and in return get paid for it. The number of people involved in transport has grown over the last several years.

Q13. What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in villages?

Ans. i) It is important that loan be available at low rate of interest so that even people without savings can start some non-farm activity.

ii) Another thing which is essential for expansion of non-farm activities is to have markets where the goods and services produced can be sold. In Palampur, we saw the neighbouring villages, towns and cities provide the markets for milk, jaggery, wheat, etc.

iii) As more villages get connected to towns and cities through good roads, transport and telephone, it is possible that the opportunities for non-farm activities production in the village would increase in the coming years.

Q14. Differentiate between traditional and modern methods of farming.

Ans. i) Traditional methods of farming is entirely depend on rainfall whereas modern methods of farming use irrigation facilities by constructing dams and canals.

ii) In traditional methods of farming ordinary seeds , manures and simple tools were used whereas in modern methods of farming HYV seeds, fertilizers and machineries are used.

iii) Agricultural productivity is very low in traditional methods whereas it is very high in modern methods of farming.

IX_Eco_Ch-1_Story of Village Palampur_Practice Set_1

M.L. Khanna DAV Public School

Sector-6, Dwarka

Economics Class IX

Chapter – 1 Story of Village Palampur

Practice Set

Question 1: Modern farming methods require more inputs which are manufactured in industry. Do you agree?

Answer: Yes. I agree with the statement. Modern farming methods require chemical fertilizers, pesticides and modern farm equipments. All of these are manufactured in industry.

Question 2: How did the spread of electricity help farmers in Palampur?

Answer: Electricity can help any village. Availability of electricity ensures better irrigation. Farmers will be able to make use of such different mechanized means of production on their farm land which require electricity. It also means that villagers can get engaged in some manufacturing activities; like flour mills, jaggery production, etc that is non-farming activities implying better opportunities to increase level of income.

Question 3: Is it important to increase the area under irrigation? Why?

Answer: As per estimates, 60% of the villages still need proper irrigation facility. Since land under cultivation cannot be increased, increasing the area under irrigation is a major way to improve farm productivity.

Question 4: Construct a table on the distribution of land among the 450 families of Palampur.

Answer:

No. of families	Land (hect)
40	160
240	80
150	Nil

Question 5: Why are the wages for farm labourers in Palampur less than minimum wages?

Answer: There is more supply of workers than the demand in village Palampur. Due to this, the workers are not in a position to bargain from their employers. Hence, the wages for farm labourers are less than minimum wages.

Question 6: In your region, talk to two labourers. Choose either farm labourers or labourers working at construction sites. What wages do they get? Are they paid in cash or kind? Do they get work regularly? Are they in debt?

Answer: People who work at construction site usually get the minimum wages. An unskilled worker gets around Rs. 250 per day. A skilled worker; such as a mason; get around Rs. 500 per day.

Question 7: What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land? Use examples to explain.

Answer: Production can be increased by using HYV seeds, fertilisers and proper irrigation. Mixed farming can also be used to improve farm production.

Question 8: Describe the work of a farmer with 1 hectare of land.

Answer: A farmer with 1 hectare of land shall put under the category of small farmer. Most of the work would be done by the farmer and his family members. The farmer will normally use a pair of bullocks to plough the field. His family members would assist him in sowing the seeds.

Question 9: How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different from the small farmers?

Answer: Medium and large farmers usually have surplus cash by selling their farm produce. Since they have land and house, they easily get loan from banks. Small farmers, on the other hand, may not be able to get bank loans. They have to depend on the local merchant and moneylender for loan.

Question 10: Talk to some old residents in your region and write a short report on the changes in irrigation and changes in production methods during the last 30 years.

Answer: During the early period, irrigation was done by Persian wheel. Diesel operated or electricity operated pumps have replaced the Persian wheels. Tractors have replaced bullocks for ploughing the large farms. Now more and more farmers are in a position to grow up to three crops in a year.

Question 11: What are the non-farm production activities taking place in your region? Make a short list.

Answer: Cycle repair shop, carpenter, ironsmith, general store, tea stall, stationary shop, computer training institute, etc.

Question 12: What can be done so that more non-farm production activities can be started in villages?

Answer: The government should improve electricity supply in the villages. It should open more schools so that children can grow to become educated adults. Moreover, government can also provide vocational training to the rural youths. These activities would help in increasing non-farm production activities in a village.

IX_Eco_Ch-2_People as Resource_Practice Set 2

M.L. Khanna DAV Public School

Sector – VI, Dwarka

Class – 9 Economics

Chapter – 2 People as Resource

Practice Test – 2

Q1 : What do you understand 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. The idea of people as a resource is linked to the concept of human capital - i.e., the stock of skill and productive knowledge embodied in a population.

Q2 : How is human resource different from other resources like land and physical capital?

Answer : Human resource makes use of other resources like land and physical capital to produce an output. The other resources cannot become useful on their own. This is the reason why human resource is considered to be superior to the other resources.

Q3 : What is the role of education in human capital formation?

Answer : Human capital refers to the stock of skill and productive knowledge embodied in a population.

1. Proper education and training enable the formation of this human capital. An educated population is an asset, a resource. In contrast to the uneducated and untrained, educated individuals make efficient use of the available resources and opportunities.

2. Education and skill are the major determinants of the earning of any individual in the market. Education enhances the quantity and quality of individual productivity, which in turn adds to the growth of the economy.

3. The advantages of an educated population spread to even those who themselves are not educated. Hence, educated people benefit the society as a whole.

     Thus, education plays the role of a catalyst in transforming a human being into a positive asset and a precious national resource.

Q4 : What is the role of health in human capital formation?

Answer : Human capital refers to the stock of skill and productive knowledge embodied in a population. This skill and productive knowledge is provided with the help of proper education and training. However, the benefits of education alone do not lead to the creation of human capital. A human population which is educated but unhealthy cannot realise its potential. An unhealthy population is a liability, and not an asset. Hence, health is an indispensable basis for realising one's well being.

Q5 : What part does health play in the individual's working life?

Answer : The health of an individual helps him to realise his potential and also gives him the ability to fight illness. An unhealthy individual is a liability to his place of work. The health of a person is directly related to his efficiency. As compared to an unhealthy individual, a healthy person can work more efficiently and with greater productivity.

Q6 : What are the various activities undertaken in the primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector?

Answer : Primary sector comprises activities related to the extraction and production of natural resources. Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry farming, mining and quarrying are the activities undertaken in this sector. Secondary sector comprises activities related to the processing of natural resources. Manufacturing is included in this sector. Tertiary sector comprises activities that provide support to the primary and secondary sectors through various services. Trade, transport, communication, banking, education, health, tourism, insurance, etc., are examples of tertiary activities.

Q7 : What is the difference between economic activities and non-economic activities?

Answer : Activities that add value to the national income are called economic activities. These have two parts - market activities (production for pay or profit) and non-market activities (production for self consumption). Non-economic activities are the ones that do not add to the national income; for example, an individual performing domestic chores.

Q8 : Why are women employed in low paid work?

Answer : Education and skill are the major determinants of the earning of any individual in the market. Due to gender discrimination, women are generally denied the education and the necessary skills to become worthy contributors to the national income. As a result, a majority of women have meagre education and low skill formation. So women get paid less than men. Also, the perpetuation of gender prejudices such as “a woman cannot do as much physical work as a man” put women at a disadvantage.

Q9 : How will you explain the term unemployment?

Answer : Unemployment is a situation in which people who are able and willing to work at the going wages cannot find jobs. Anindividual is termed as unemployed if he or she is part of the workforce of a country, and is capable and willing to work for payment, but is unable to do so.

Q10 : What is the difference between disguised unemployment and seasonal unemployment?

Answer : Disguised Unemployment

1. It is the situation in which an individual appears to be employed, but he does not add to the productivity. That is, the productivity would remain the same even in his absence.

2. Example: When a work that requires only three individuals for it s completion is being done by five persons, the two additional pe rsons are disguised unemployed.

Seasonal Unemployment

1. It is the situation in which an individual is not able to find a job duri ng certain months of the year.

2. Example: Agricultural labourers find work only during the busy sea sons, i.e., sowing, harvesting, weeding and threshing. This is because of the seasonal character of agriculture in India.

Q11 : Why are educated unemployed a peculiar problem of India?

Answer : If disguised unemployment characterises rural India, educated unemployment is a peculiar problem of urban India. This is the situation wherein a number of youth with matriculation, graduation and post graduation degrees are not able to find suitable jobs.

1. The education system is such that even after about 18 years of education, a person can well be termed as unskilled.

2. What this does is that a large number of unskilled educated youth get churned out of educational institutions year after year, but only a fraction of them are able to find suitable jobs.

3. Among the remaining, some remain unemployed while others get employed in activities that seem inadequate as per their potential.

     Thus Educated Unemployment, in turn, leads to the wastage of the huge amounts of resources that had been spent on educating them.

Q12 : Can you suggest some measures in the education system to mitigate the problem of the educated unemployed?

Answer : Measures in the education system to mitigate the problem of the educated unemployed:

(a) Make education at the secondary level more career-oriented, which would endow individuals with not only education but also the requisite skills for gaining successful employment.

(b) Create a sort of screening process whereby each individual chooses subjects that suit his or her abilities.

(c) The introduction of newer subjects and fields of study at the school level should be accompanied by a growth of job opportunities in the sectors that would employ the students electing to study such subjects.

Q13 : Which capital would you consider the best - land, labour, physical capital and human capital? Why?

Answer : Human capital makes use of the other resources like land, labour and physical capital to produce an output. The other resources cannot become useful on their own. Hence, human capital may well be considered the best among all the resources