Chapter – 10

Comparative Development Experiences of India and Its Neighbours

In this post, we have given the Important Questions of Class 12 Economics Chapter 10 (Comparative Development Experiences of India and Its Neighbours) in English. These Important Questions are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

Board	CBSE Board, UP Board, JAC Board, Bihar Board, HBSE Board, UBSE Board, PSEB Board, RBSE Board
Textbook	NCERT
Class	Class 12
Subject	Economics
Chapter no.	Chapter 10
Chapter Name	(Comparative Development Experiences of India and Its Neighbours)
Category	Class 12 Economics Important Questions in English
Medium	English

Chapter 10 Comparative Development Experiences of India and Its Neighbours

Short Answer Type Questions :- (3 Marks Each)

Q.1) What is the important implication of the ‘one child norm’ in China?

Ans:- The one child norm introduced in China in the late 1970s has been the major reason for low population growth. This measure led to a decline in the sex ratio defined as the proportion of females per 1000 males. The important implications of the ‘one child norm’ are:

• Low population growth.
• Decline in the sex ratio.
• After a few decades, there will be more elderly people in proportion to young people.
• In the long run, China will have to provide more social security measures with fewer workers.

Q.2) Mention some examples of regional and economic groupings.

Answer. Every country aims to strengthen its own domestic territory. The nations are forming regional and global economic groupings such as:

• It has 8 countries of South Asia.
• EU has 25 independent states based on European Communities.
• It has 5 countries of South East Asia.
• G-8 (Group of Eight). It has 8 countries.
• G-20 (Group of Twenty). It consists of 19 world’s largest economies.

Q.3) Compare and contrast India and China’s sectoral contribution towards GDP. What does it indicate?

Answer. Sectoral Distribution of Output and Employment:

• Agriculture Sector. China has more proportion of urban people than India. In China in the year 2009, with 54 per cent of its workforce engaged in agriculture, its contribution to GDP is 10 per cent. In India’s contribution of agriculture to GDP is at 17 per cent.
• Industry and Service Sectors. In both India and China, the industry and service sectors have less proportion of workforce but contribute more in terms of output. In China, manufacturing contributes the highest to GDP at 46 per cent whereas in India it is the service sector which contributes the highest. Thus, China’s growth is mainly contributed by the manufacturing sector and India’s growth by service sector.

Q.4) Define the liberty indicator. Give some examples of liberty indicators.

Answer. Liberty indicator has actually been added as a measure of ‘the extent of democratic participationin social and political decision-making’ but it has not been given any extra weight. Some of theexamples of liberty indicators are : literacy rate, women participation in politics, etc.

Q.5) Explain the Great Leap Forward campaign of China as initiated in 1958.

Ans: – The Great Leap Forward (GLF) was a campaign initiated in 1958 in China. The aims of this campaign are as follows:

• The aim of the campaign was to initiate large-scale industrialisation in the country concentrating not only in the urban areas but also in the rural ones.
• The people in the urban areas were motivated to set up industries in their backyards.
• In the rural areas, Commune System was implemented. Under this system, people were engaged in collective farming.

Q.6) Mention the various indicators of human development.

Ans: The indicators of human development are:

• Life Expectancy.
• Adult Literacy Rate.
• Infant Mortality Rate.
• Percentage of the population below poverty line.
• GDP per capita
• Percentage of the population having access to improved sanitation
• Percentage of the population having access to improved water sources.

Q.7) Define liberty indicator. Give some examples of liberty indicators.

Ans:– Liberty Indicator may be defined as the measure of the extent of demographic participation in the social and political decision making. In other words, it is an index used to measure the participation of the people in taking decisions. Some examples of liberty indicators are the measures of the extent of the Constitutional Protection Rights given to the citizens and the extent of the Constitutional Protection of the independence of the Judiciary and Rule of Law.

Q.8) Group the following features pertaining to the economies of India, China and Pakistan under three heads

Ans.

• 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

India	China	Pakistan
Mixed economy	One-child norm	Mixed economy
High density of population	Low fertility rate	Very high fertility rate
Growth due to service sector	High degree of urbanisation Growth due to manufacturing sector	Large population

 

Q.9) Explain how China has an edge over India.

Ans:– China has an edge over India in several ways, as under:

• Its growth story reflects an historically correct process of transformation from the predominance of agriculture sector (in GDP growth) to the predominance of the industrial sector. In India, the industrial sector. In India, the industrial sector has not grown as much as in China.
• China is far ahead of India in terms of HDI(Human Development Index)

Q.10) Discuss the concept of dual pricing in the reform process of China.

Ans:– The reform process in China involved dual pricing that means fixing prices in two ways.

• Farmers and industrial units required to buy and sell fixed quantity of input and output on the basis of prices fixed by the government.
• For other transactions, the inputs and outputs were purchased and sold at market prices.

Short Answer Type Questions:- (4 Marks each)

Q.1) What are the common success story of India and Pakistan?

Ans:

• India and Pakistan has succeeded in more than doubling their per capita income considering the fact that population has increased four-folds in Pakistan and three-folds in India.
• Food production has successfully kept face with the rising population. Both countries are selfsufficient in food production.
• Food self-sufficiency has been accompanied with improved nutritional status.
• The incidence of absolute poverty has reduced significantly.
• A well-developed modern sector has found global recognition in both the countries.

Q.2) Give an account of common failures of India and Pakistan.

Ans: Common failures faced by India and Pakistan are as below:

• There are a lot of problems faced by private sector like bribe, loan from public financial institution, tax evasion etc.
• Politicians and government officials did not change. They still preferred controls rather than freedom of choice.
• The relative inward looking economic policy and high protection of domestic industry did not allow India and Pakistan to take advantage of globalisation.
• High fiscal deficit averaging 78% of GDP continued for a fairly long period of time owing to huge borrowings by the government.
• Private capital formation failed to trend up to the desired level.

Q.3) What similar developmental strategies have India and Pakistan followed for their respective developmental paths?

Ans:- India and Pakistan both have followed a similar developmental strategy. The main similarities between the developmental strategies can be summed up as:

• India and Pakistan both have started their developmental programmes based on economic planning soon after their independence in 1947.
• Both the countries relied on the public sector for initiating the process of growth and development.
• Both of them have followed the path of mixed economic structure involving the participation of both the state as well as the private sector.
• Both of them introduced economic reforms at the same time to strengthen their economies.

Q.4) How do you explain re-emergence of poverty in Pakistan?

Ans: – Consequent upon economic reforms, Pakistan economy witnesses a significant breakthrough in GDP growth. But the momentum of growth has failed to sustain itself. Rather, the GDP growth has considerably slipped to once again push the Pakistan economy into the vicious circle of ‘low-incomelow-growth’. Political instability in Pakistan is perhaps the most important factor that explains the reemergence of poverty in this country. Domestic terrorism is the second important factor. The third important factor is ‘shift in focus’ from economic growth to defence preparedness. Fourth, Pakistan government has failed to improve its agriculture through institutional reforms. Agriculture still continues to be controlled by absentee landlords.

Long Answer Type Questions: – (6 marks for each)

Q.1) Comment on the growth rate trends witnessed in China and India in the last two decades.

Ans:– India, with democratic institutions, performed moderately, but the majority of its people still depend on agriculture. Infrastructure is lacking in many parts of the country. It is yet to raise the Standard of living of more than one-fourth of its population that lives below the poverty line. On the other hand, the lack of political freedom and its implications in China are the major concern in the last two decades. The country used the market system without losing political commitment and succeeded in raising the level of growth along with poverty alleviation. China used the market mechanism to create additional social and economic opportunities. The country has also ensured social security in the rural areas by retaining collective farming known as Commune System. Public intervention in social infrastructure prior to the introduction of the economic reforms has brought positive results in the human development indicators of China.

Q.2) Compare and contrast the development of India, China and Pakistan with respect to some salient human development indicators.

Ans:- The following are the indicators of human development:

• Life Expectancy
• Adult Literacy Rate
• Infant Mortality Rate
• Percentage of the population below poverty line
• GDP per capita
• Percentage of the population having access to improved sanitation
• Percentage of the population having access to improved water sources.

On the basis of individual indices of these parameters, a Human Development Index (HDI) was constructed. The higher the value of HDI, higher will be the level of growth and development of a country. The rankings are accorded to the countries as per their HDI. China ranked 81, India 128th and Pakistan 136th. High ranking of China is due to the higher GDP per capita. Moreover, the one-child norm led to sustained rise in the GDP, consequently, China was ranked higher than India and Pakistan in HDI.

Q.3) Describe the path of developmental initiatives taken by Pakistan for its economic development.

Ans:-

• With the aim of economic development, Pakistan adopted the pattern of mixed economy where both private and public sectors coexist
• Pakistan introduced a variety of regulated policy framework for import substitution, industrialisation during 1950s and 1960s. This implies producing goods domestically to substitute imports, thereby, discouraging imports and simultaneously encouraging and developing domestic industries.
• In order to protect domestic industries producing consumer goods, policy measure was initiated to create t tariff barriers.
• The introduction of Green Revolution mechanised agriculture leading to the increase in the production of food grains.
• The mechanisation of agriculture was followed by the nationalisation of capital goods industries in 1970s.
• In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Pakistan shifted its policy orientation by denationalising the thrust areas, thereby, encouraging the private sector.
• All these above measures created an environment conducive to initiate the economic reforms that were ultimately initiated in 1988.

Q.4) What are the various means by which countries are trying to strengthen their own domestic economies?

Ans:- The following are the various means through which the nations are trying to strengthen their own domestic economies:

• Nations are forming various regional and economic groupings like SAARC, European Union, G8, G-20, ASEAN etc. in order to strengthen their economies. These groups provide a common platform to the member countries to raise their voice in a unified manner on common issues to safeguard their common interests.
• Further, they are also interested in knowing the developmental process adopted by their neighbouring nations, so as to analyse their strengths and weaknesses. Accordingly, they formulate policies to accelerate social progress and cultural development among the member countries.
• Moreover, nations also resort to liberalising their economies. This minimises the government interference in economic activities. The economy is governed by market forces, i.e., demand and supply forces. Nations also resort to the process of globalisation to open up their economies to provide wide international market to their domestic producers.

Q.5) Write a few lines on the comparative development experiences of India and its neighbouring countries.

Answer: Few lines on the comparative development experiences of India and its neighbouring countries are.

• India and Pakistan started its development process almost at the same time in the year 1947. Whereas, the Republic of China was established in the year 1949.
• India launched its five-year plan in 1951-1956, while Pakistan started its plan in 1956 and China started in the year 1953.
• India and Pakistan follow the same strategy as generating a large public sector and rising public expenditure on social development.
• All three counties have the same growth rates and per capita income until the year 1980.
• In all the three countries economic reform started from India 1991, China 1978, and Pakistan 1988.

Q.6) Explain the Great Leap Forward campaign of China as initiated in 1958.

Answer: – 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 the power there. All the sectors of economy including various enterprises and all land owned by individuals was brought under governmental control. A programme called ‘The Great Leap Forward’ was launched in 1958. Its aim was to industrialise the country on a large scale and in as short a time as possible. For this, people were even encouraged to set up industries in their backyards. In villages, village Communes or cooperatives were set up. Communes means collective cultivation of land. Around 26000 communes covered almost all the farm population in 1958. The Great Leap Forward programme faced many problems. These were:

• In the earlier phase, a severe drought occurred in China and it killed some 3-crore people.
• Soviet Russia was a comrade to communist China, but they had border dispute. As a result, Russia withdrew its professionals who had been helping China in its industrialisation bid.

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