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

X_Eco_Ch-1_Development_Practice Set

Class – X

Economics

Chapter – 1

Development

Extra Questions

Q.1. The total income of a country divided by its total population is called :

a)    National Income

b)    Per Capita Income

c)    Total Income

d)    None of these

Ans. (b) Per Capita Income.

Q.2. Which organization publishes the Human Development Report?

a)    WHO

b)    UNDP

c)    WTO

d)    IMF

Ans. (b) UNDP.

Q.3. Development of a country generally is determined by :

a)    its per capita income

b)    its literacy level

c)    Health status of its people

d)    All of the above

Ans. (d) All of the above.

Q.4. As per Human Development Report 2006, which neighbouring  country has the highest income from following :

a)    Sri Lanka

b)    India

c)    Pakistan

d)    Nepal

Ans. (a) Sri Lanka.

Q.5. Why do different people have different goals for development?

Ans. Different people have different goals for development because :

Different people have different aspirations & desires. Some may like to have more income & better quality of education for their children, while others may require no social discrimination & high support price for their crops.

So according to the living conditions and the environment in which person stays, he or she pursue for goals. People seek things that are most important for them i.e. that which can fulfill their aspiration or desire.

Q.6. Why average income is taken into consideration instead of total income while making comparison between countries?

Ans. The total income of the country is the income of all the residents of the country. For comparison between countries, total income is not such a useful measure. Since countries have different population, comparing total income will not tell us what an average person is likely to earn. Hence, we compare the average income which is the total income divided by its total population.

Q.7. Write a paragraph on your nation that what should India do you become a developed country?

Ans. From my point of view, we should focus over following issues for making India a developed country:

a)    Control the increasing population.

b)    Make farmers familiar with the use of latest technology, chemical fertilizer and advanced seeds along with ensuring the accessibilities to all these inputs coupled with proper irrigation facilities.

c)    New economic policy, Liberalization and globalization should be adopted effectively.
Adequate facilities related with infrastructure, education, health, electricity, water, transportation, sanitation etc. should be provided to all people of all regions & areas.

(Note : Any other relevant point you can mention.)

Q.8. What is the main criteria used by the World Bank in classifying different countries? What are the limitations of this criterion, if any?

Ans. Per Capita income is the main criteria used by World Bank to classify different countries.

Though it indicates the average income of the people in a country, it has following limitations :-

1. It does not show exactly how the income is distributed among the people.

2. Cost of pollution caused by different developmental activities is not considered in average income.

3. Some other important aspects like Infant Mortality Rate, Literacy Rate, Net Attendance Ratio etc. are not considered while calculating per capita income.

Q.9. What is meant by Sustainable Economic Development? What are its main features?

Ans. Sustainable Development may be defined as development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Environment & economy are inter-dependent & complementary to each other. Hence the process of development should not ignore environmental issues.

The main features of sustainable development are as follows :

a)    It stresses meeting the needs of the present generation & future generations.

b)    There are restrains on wasteful luxurious consumption pattern.

c)    Effects are made to invent environment friendly technology.

d)    Fast growing population should be effectively checked.

(Note : Any other relevant point can be mentioned.)

Q.10. What is HDI? Who prepares it? Write about the basic components of Human Development measurement?

Ans. HDI is Human Development Index. It is the cumulative measurement of the overall development of the people of a country.

It was prepared by United Nations Development Organization and it is published by United Nations Development Program.

The basic components of HDI are as follows:-

a)    Life Expectancy at Birth :  It denotes average expenditure length of life of a person at the time of birth. It is measured in terms of life expectancy in years.

b)    Literacy Rate: The total percentage of the population of an area at a particular time aged seven years or above who can read and write with understanding. It is measured by gross enrolment ratio for three levels means enrolment ratio for Primary School, Secondary School & Higher education beyond secondary school.

c)    Per Capita Income :  It is the average income i.e. total income divided by total population of a country. It is calculated in terms of dollars for all countries in order to make comparisons. It indicated the standards of living of people in a country. It is also done in a way so that every dollar would buy same amount of goods & services in a country.

X_Eco_Ch-2_Sectors of Indian Economy_ Practice Set 1

Class - X
Economics
Chapter - 2
The Sectors of Indian Economy
Extra Questions

Q.1. Why is the primary sector called as such?

Ans. The primary sector is called as such because it produces goods exploiting natural recourses. Also, the product produced in this sector is a natural product. Some of the activities of this sector are agriculture, dairy, fishing and forestry.

Q.2. Mention a few activities under the secondary and tertiary sectors.

Ans. Some of the activities of the secondary sector are textile factories, sugar mills, brick kilns, industries manufacturing automobiles, electronics and electrical goods, and construction companies. Since this sector is associated with different kinds of industries it is also called the industrial sector.

Some activities of the tertiary sector are transport, storage, communication, banking, and trade. Since these activities generate services rather than goods, the tertiary sector is also called the service sector.

Q.3. What are  ‘final goods’?

Ans. The goods that reach consumers are called final goods. For example, the value of the biscuits at Rs. 20/- per packet includes the price of wheat, grinding charges, manufacturing charges, transportation, storage charges and selling charges. So only the value of the final goods (biscuits) should be taken into account for evaluation of country’s GDP.

Q.4. Expand the following:

(i) GDP

(ii) NREGA 2005.

Ans.
(i) GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product.

(ii) NREGA 2005 stands for National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005.

Q.5. What is GDP?

Ans. The value of final goods and services produced in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary sectors during a particular year in a country is called Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Q.6. Mention some of the Acts that Companies in the organized sector have to follow.

Ans. Some of the Acts that Companies in the Organized sector have to follow are :-

(i) Factories Act,

(ii) Minimum Wages Act,

(iii) Payment of Gratuity Act,

(iv) Shops and Establishments Act.

Q.7. Write a short note on the Planning commission.

Ans. The Planning Commission is a body set up by the Central government that chalks out programs to tackle unemployment and related problems in addition to its major task of planning the economy of the nation.

            The following are some of the findings of the Planning Commission:-

1. 20 lakh jobs can be created in the education sector alone, by starting more schools and colleges in rural and semi-rural areas. This in turn will educate a multitude of children, who will eventually become employable.

2. 35 lakh people could find employment if the tourism industry was developed in every state.

3. Rural craft industry could be boosted along with the tourism industry giving employment to thousands of rural unemployed citizens.

4. Development of the IT services could generate lakhs of jobs for the urban unemployed.

Q.8. The rising importance of the tertiary sector in production in the present times. Discuss.

Ans. Over the past 30 years, while production has increased in all the 3 sectors, it has increased the most in the tertiary sector.

The reasons for the fast development of the tertiary sector in India are as follows:-

1. The necessity for ‘basic services’ like hospitals, educational institutions, post and telegraph services, police stations, courts, administrative offices, defense, transport and banking services have increased with the increase in population.

2. The development in the Agricultural and Industrial sectors has increased the need for services such as transportation, storage and trade.

3. As the income of the people increased the demand for services in tourism, retailing, catering and elite education also increased.

4. With higher income people have started traveling long distances for work and education, resulting in the need for increased services in the transport and communication sector.

5. With the development of Information Technology and Communication, different new services based on these sectors have been rising rapidly.

Q.9. How do we create more employment in the agricultural sector?

Ans. More employment can be created in the Agricultural sector if the government takes the following steps.

1. Loans could be given to farmers to dig wells to irrigate their land.

2. Seeds and fertilizers could be subsidized.

3. Dams can be built to irrigate dry areas.

4. Transport & Storage facilities could be increased.

5. Industries and other service related companies could be relocated in rural areas so that the underemployed people of the agricultural sector could find work.

6. More schools could be started to educate the rural population to help them become employable, as underemployment is prevalent among farmers.

Q.10. What can be done to protect the interest of the workers in the unorganized sector?

Ans. The unorganized sector comprises mainly of workers in small scale industries, casual workers in the construction trade and transport sectors and those who work as street vendors, head-load workers, garment makers and rag pickers.

Protection and support for the unorganized sector workers is very necessary for both economic and social development.

The government laws protecting these workers should be strictly implemented and those who exploit these workers should be punished severely.

Q.11. Discuss the historical changes in the three economic sectors.

Ans. As we look through the pages of history we can see that a few hundred years ago the Primary sector (Agricultural sector) was most predominant in the world.
Slowly as methods of farming improved and surplus food was produced, man channelized his energy towards manufacturing of goods.

Industries flourished and soon the Secondary sector gained prominence. The Agricultural sector also flourished due to the invention and manufacture of modern agricultural tools.

In this present era with the rising world population and rising income, the Tertiary sector (Service Sector) is gaining prominence. This is already evident in the developed nations and the change will soon be seen in the developing nations also.