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Human capital and economic growth goes hand in hand. Human capital formation accelerates the economic growth whereas economic growth in turn facilitates human capital formation. The interrelationship between economic growth and human capital formation can be explained with the help of the below mentioned points. 

1. Increase in the Productivity of Physical Capital: Physical capital refers to the stock of produced means of production. It consists of machines, production plants, tools and equipments. The skilled workers handle the productive assets in such a manner that these not only enhance their productivity and but also lead to an efficient utilization of the physical capital. When the productivity increases, the pace of growth is automatically accelerated.  

2. Innovation of Skills: An educated person is more productive and skillful. He has the potential to develop new skills and innovative new techniques that can be more efficient and productive. Greater the number of skilled and trained personnel, greater will be probabilities of innovations.  

3. High Participation Rate and Equality: Human capital endowed with higher technical skills and innovating power is more productive and efficient. Higher the participation rate, higher is the degree of social and economic equality across the country.  Thus, we can conclude that human capital and economic growth goes hand in hand. Human capital formation accelerates the economic growth whereas economic growth also facilitates human capital formation.

(i) Health infrastructure  

There is a saying “The greatest wealth is health”. The wealth of a country can be increased with the efforts of healthy workforce. Investment in health sector increases efficiency, efficacy and productivity of a nation's workforce. In contrast to an unhealthy person, a healthy person can work better with more efficiency and, consequently, can contribute relatively more to the GDP of the country. Good health and medical facilities not only extends life expectancy but also improves quality and standard of life. Investing in health sector ensures the perennial supply of healthy workforce. Some of the common expenditures incurred in the health sector are on providing better medical facilities, easy availability of life savings drugs, common vaccination, spread of medical knowledge, provision of proper sanitation and clean drinking water, etc. Thus, the expenditure incurred on health is important in building and maintaining a productive work force.  

(ii) Expenditure on migration  

Migration refers to the movement of people from underdeveloped or developing countries to t developed countries in search for better avenues. Migrations contribute to human capital formation as it facilitates the utilization of inactive or underdeveloped skills of an individual. The cost of migration involves cost of transportation, and cost of living at the migrated places. Usually, the cost of migration is very high due to the high cost of transportation and high cost of livelihood in the developed countries. Still, people migrate in search of better job opportunities and handsome salaries. Migration of human capital helps the underdeveloped countries to acquire technical skills, efforts reducing methods and efficient ways of performing tasks. These skills and know-how are transmitted by the migrated people to their home country that not only add to the economic growth and development but also enhance the human capital of the home country. If the gains from migration outweigh the migration costs then it can be inferred that migration leads to better utilization of human capital skills.

The term infrastructure refers to the underlying tangible and organisational structures that are essential for the smooth and prosperous functioning of an economy. In other words, infrastructure is regarded as a core support system that enables an economy to grow and develop. Generally, the term infrastructure means technical structure such as roads, transport, communication, bridges, dams, power, public institutions like schools, hospitals, etc. The difference between a developed country and an underdeveloped country can be mainly attributed to the lack of sufficient and technically advanced infrastructure. Infrastructure has two-fold benefits- as an input and as a support system. Infrastructure as an input (roads, bank and power) facilitates the production process and attracts investment from domestic as well as from foreign investors. Infrastructure as a support system (such as schools, hospital) develops the quality of human capital by imparting quality and technical education and health facilities. This raises the standard and quality of living and helps the economy to eradicate major economic problems like poverty, unemployment and inequality. Hence, it can be concluded that the presence of quality and sufficient infrastructure is a necessary and sufficient condition for accomplishing economic growth and development.

Infrastructure is broadly classified under two categories: 

a. Economic infrastructure  

b. Social infrastructure  

(a) Economic Infrastructure refers to the elements of economic change that aid in the process of production and distribution. It improves the quality of economic resources and, thus, raises the  productivity of the economy as a whole. In this way, it serves as a support system to economic growth. Energy, transportation, communication, banking and financial institutions are some of the examples of economic infrastructure. Greater the economic infrastructure, greater will be the production and more generation of employment opportunities. Thus, expenditure incurred on the economic infrastructure can be regarded as a necessary condition for economic growth.  

(b) Social Infrastructure refers to all those facilities and institutions that enhance the quality of human capital. Educational institutions, hospitals, nursing homes, housing facilities etc. are some of the examples of social infrastructures. The availability of such infrastructures raises the human productivity, thereby, improves the quality of standard of living. Unlike, economic infrastructure, social infrastructure indirectly increase the productivity and production of goods and services. For example, availability of better health care and medical facilities enable a perennial supply of healthy workforce that in turn is reflected in the form of increased production levels.  

Both economic and social infrastructures are interdependent on and complementary to each other. While economic infrastructure fosters economic growth, social infrastructure enhances the quality of standard of living and thereby leads to the welfare of the economy as a whole. The combined effect of these two infrastructures contributes to the prosperity of the economy. The economic growth attained with the help of economic infrastructure is imperfect without human development, which is attained by means of social infrastructure. Thus, one infrastructure supports the other.

Shoeshine boy is a odd man out. All others (a rickshaw puller, a mason, and mechanic shop worker) are hired workers. They render their services to their employers and receive rewards in the form of salaries or wages in return. On the other hand, shoeshine boy is a self-employed worker and carries out his occupation himself.

India being an agrarian economy has majority of population dependent on the agricultural sector to earn their livelihood. Although, the developmental strategies in India have aimed at the reduction of population dependent on agriculture, yet the reduction in the population engaged in agricultural sector has not been significant. In 1972-73, about 74 % of the work force was engaged in primary sector which reduced to 50% in 2011-12 . On the other hand, the shares of secondary and tertiary sectors in employment rose from 11 % to 24 % and 15 % to 27 % respectively. The work force distribution indicates that over the last three decades i.e. from 1972-2000, people have moved from self-employment and regular salaried employment to casual wage worker. This particular pattern of movement from self employment and regular salaried employment to casual wage work is termed as casualisation of work force. Thus, it can be concluded that although changes in the distribution of workforce have taken place, yet industrial and tertiary sector need to increase their share in the workforce distribution by generating more employment opportunities and absorbing excess labor from the agricultural sector.

The three major sectors of an economy i.e. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary collectively are known as occupational structure of an economy. The primary sector is the main source of employment for majority of workers in India. Secondary sector provides employment to only about 24 per cent of workforce. About 27 per cent of workers in the service sector and about 67 percent of the workforce in rural India depends on agriculture, forestry and fishing. About 16 per cent of rural workers are working in manufacturing, construction and other industrial activities. In addition, the tertiary sector is taking a lead over the secondary sector as a source of employment and increasing share in India's GDP. As far as the distribution of male and female is considered, a high percentage of total female workforces are engaged in the primary sector than in the secondary and tertiary sectors. About 17 per cent of rural people are employed in service sector and about 60 per cent of urban workers are in service sector. The secondary sector gives employment to 30 per cent of urban work force. Though both men and women workers are concentrated in the primary sector, women workers concentration is very high there. About 63 per cent of the female workforce is employed in the primary sector whereas less than half of males work in that sector. Men get opportunity both in secondary and service sector.

Yes, Raj can be considered as a worker. This is because his work is contributing to the total output of the farm. Further, as implied by the definition of worker, a person who is engaged in an economic activity or is assisting anyone in an economic activity and, thereby, contributing to the GDP of the country is regarded as worker, so, Raj is a worker.

The percentage of female workforce in the rural areas is nearly 30 % while it is only 14 % in the urban areas. This depicts that as compared to the urban women more rural women accounts for higher share in the female workforce. While on the one hand, the rural women are less educated, unskilled and low productive, on the other hand, urban women being more educated and more skilled and productive have higher probability to get employment. Ironically, the urban female accounts for lesser share in the female workforce as compared to their rural counterparts. The following are the reasons for low share of urban females in the total female workforce:  

1. As in the agricultural and allied activities, high degree of skills and specializations is not required, so, rural women engage themselves to support their family on farms.  

2. As poverty in the rural areas is more widespread than in the urban areas, so, the rural women engage themselves in low productive jobs just to support the livelihood of their families.  

3. As the urban families usually earn comparatively higher income than the rural families and, further, poverty in the urban areas is not as widespread as that of in the rural areas, so, there is lesser need for female members to get themselves employed.  

4. The decision to take up jobs by the female members rests on the family's decision rather than her individual decision.  

5. Although female literacy in India is improving, yet it has to get much better before urban female accounts for higher share in the total female workforce.

An establishment with four hired workers is known as informal sector establishment.  

An informal sector is an unorganized sector of the economy. It includes all enterprises that hire less than 10 workers, except farming and self employment ventures. Therefore, an establishment with four hired workers is known as informal sector establishment.

Lesser women are found in regular salaried employment as compared to men because a larger proportion of women are engaged in the economic activities without stable contracts and steady income. The stable contracts and steady income are two features prevalent in the regular salaried employment. Women are engaged in informal segments of the economy, where they are not entitled to any social security benefits. Moreover, women work in more vulnerable situations than men and have lower bargaining power and, consequently, are paid lesser than the male workforce. Thus, the women workers are more likely to be found in the self- employment and casual work as compared to men rather than regular salaried employment.

Yes, it is necessary to generate employment in the formal sector rather than in the informal sector because, employee benefits such as pension, provident fund, gratuity etc. are provided in formal sector rather than in the informal sector. The workers and enterprises in the formal sector get regular salary and incentives as compared to informal sector. Formal sector uses modern technology and advanced machinery in the production process. Thus, generation of employment in the formal sector reduces poverty, income inequality and other social evils to some extent.

Regular salaried employees are those hired workers who are on the permanent payrolls of their employers. They are usually skilled workers and are entitled to all types of social security benefits. The concentration of these workers is higher in the urban areas as compared to the rural areas because such jobs require skilled and specialized workers. The opportunities to acquire and enhance such skills are available more in the urban areas. And these skills are acquired through the process of training and education that cannot be accessed in the rural areas due to the lack of investment, infrastructure and low literacy level of rural people. Further, the big companies are concentrated only in the urban areas due to the presence of infrastructure and availability of modern facilities like banks, transport and communication, etc. Therefore, the bulk of the jobs for the regular salaried employees are concentrated more in the urban areas resulting in the increase in number of the regular salaried employees.

No, a beggar, a thief, a smuggler, a gambler cannot be called as workers. A worker is involved in a production activity that contributes to the GDP of a country. As none of them (a beggar, a thief, a smuggler and a gambler) are involved in any legal economic production activity that contributes to the national income of the country, hence, none of them can be regarded as workers.

The following are the suggestions that can generate employment opportunities in village: 

(i) Increase Production: It is of prime importance to increase production in the agricultural and industrial sectors in order to increase employment. For this purpose, small scale and cottage industries should be promoted. This will not only generate new employment opportunities but also assist the industrial sector, as the production of the small scale and cottage industries act as subsidiaries to the industrial sector.  

(ii) Increase Productivity: The demand and productivity for labor are directly related to each other. The higher productivity generates higher profits that in turn implies higher investment and generates higher demand for labor. Rural workers should be imparted technical knowledge and modern know-how that will not only increase their productivity but also enhance their acceptability of modernization.  

(iii) Control over Population: Population explosion is one of the important concerns for India. It hinders economic growth prospects. The rising population leads to the rise in unemployment and, therefore, poverty. Thus, rural people should be made aware of various birth control measures and also the benefits associated with family planning and nuclear-family.  

(iv) Creating Non-agricultural Employment: India being an agrarian economy employs a  major proportion of workforce in the agricultural sector. The development of this sector is still a far cry and, consequently, suffers from disguised unemployment. Moreover, as agriculture is a seasonal occupation, so, many farmers remain unemployed for three to four months in a year. Thus, it is necessary to engage these people in non-agricultural sectors for the phase they are off from cultivation. Creation of non- agricultural job like pottery, handicrafts, not only reduces disguised unemployment but also contributes to enhanced income to the farmers in the off-season, which could be invested in the farm to improve farm productivity and farm products.  

(v) Easy Credit and Finance: Often, the rural people find it difficult to access finance due to the lack of sufficient financial institutions in the rural areas. Even if the finance or the credit is available, then this is provided at higher lending rates. The lack of credit acts as a bottleneck for the rural growth. Thus, financial institutions and banks should be set up to provide easy credit to the rural people.

(vi) Education and Health Facilities: Rural areas have always lagged behind in education and health care facilities. This not only impedes their productivity but also reduces their life expectancy and quality of standard of living. Along with primary and secondary schools, night schools for adults, imparting technical education and technical know-how, proper sanitation and hospitals should be established in the rural areas.

Worker-Population ratio is defined as the proportion of population that is actively contributing to the production of goods and services. It is measured by the ratio between the country's workforce and its total population. This ratio acts as an indicator for assessing the employment level in a particular country at any point of time. Higher the worker-population ratio higher is the engagement of people in the productive activities and vice-versa. Worker-population ratio is estimated by dividing the total work force by the total population and multiplying by 100. Algebraically,

Worker-Population Ratio =(Total Workforce / Total Population) X 100 

Micro credit refers to credit and other financial services provided to the poor through Self Help Groups (SHGs) and non government organisations. The Self Help Groups are playing a crucial role in meeting the credit requirements of the poor by inculcating saving habits among the rural households. The individual savings of many farmers are pooled together to meet the financial requirements of the needy members of the SHGs. The members of these groups have been linked with the banks. In other words, SHGs enable the economically poor individual to gain strength as part of a group. Also, the financing done through SHGs reduces transaction costs for both the lenders and the borrowers. The National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) plays a key role in providing credit at special concessional rates. Presently, more than seven lakhs SHGs are operating across different rural areas. SHGs' programmes are becoming popular among the small and marginal borrowers owing to their informal credit delivery mechanism along with minimum legal formalities.

Finance and credit are the two essential requirements for rural development. The rural areas often suffer from low income leading to low rate of savings. Farmers find it very difficult to increase their productivity by investing on their farm lands. Further, the limited number of banks that are available in the rural areas prefer to forward credit to the farmers with large land-holdings. Getting credit from banks being difficult, the small and marginal farmers fall easy prey to the money lenders. The importance of credit in rural development is highlighted in the following points:  

1. Credit helps the farmers to commercialize their farming. In other words, commercial farming requires funds that are provided via credit. As the small and the marginal farmers produce only for their subsistence, they fail to generate sufficient surplus to reinvest on their lands leading to degradation of the land.  

2. Secondly, given the long gestation period between sowing and harvesting of the crops,  credit is extended to the farmers for meeting their initial requirements of farm inputs like seeds, fertilizers, etc.  

3. Credit saves the farmers from the vicious circle of poverty. The farmers require funds for meeting their general and specific needs. These needs are to be fulfilled via credit.  

4. Lastly, agriculture has always been dependent on the climate. In the absence of good monsoon or crop failure, farmers are worst hit. Thus, in order to save them from such tragedy, crop insurance and farm credit plays a vital role.

Rural areas support the bulk of India's population. Simultaneously, these areas are the breeding ground of poverty, hunger and starvation. So, to accelerate the process of growth and development of a country, rural development must be accorded priority. Rural development refers to the actions and initiatives taken for the social and economic development of the rural or backward areas. The key issues in rural development are as follows:  

1. Human Capital Formation- Rural areas lack quality human capital. Therefore, rural development programmes should aim at development of human resources by investing in education, technical skills development through on-the-job training, health care, etc.  

2. Development of Productive Resources- Productive resources help in generating employment opportunities. In rural areas, the main occupation is agriculture that usually suffers from low productivity, lack of infrastructure and disguised unemployment. Thus, rural development must aim at development of alternative sources of occupation. Development of productive resources reduces excess burden on the agricultural sector, thereby, increasing productivity and income of the rural people.  

3. Development of Rural Infrastructure- Infrastructure development is a very crucial issue at the micro level. It provides a support system to all the production activities in the economy, the absence of which makes economic growth and social development impossible. Development of rural infrastructure includes development of bank, credit societies, electricity, means of transport, means of irrigation, development of markets, facilities for agricultural research, etc.  

4. Land reforms- Land reforms along with technical reforms must be initiated in the rural areas. These enable the use of modern techniques and methods, thereby, increasing the productivity and aggregate volume of farm output. In addition, land reforms lead to efficient and optimum use of land, enabling large scale production.   

5. Lessening Poverty- Poverty is one of the main causes of rural underdevelopment. Poverty is not a problem in itself; in fact, it gives rise to many other interrelated problems like unemployment, inferior human capital, underdevelopment and backwardness, inequalities, etc. An important step that should be taken in order to tackle the poverty is to develop income-earning assets. Such assets would generate income, raise living standards and make rural people self-sufficient.

People work for earning their livelihood. A person who is involved in production activity contributing to the flow of goods and services in the economy is called a worker. In other words, a worker is regarded as an economic agent who contributes to the production of goods and services, thereby, to the GDP during a particular year. A worker renders services to others and receives rewards in the form of wages, salaries or in kind. Hence, we can say that when an individual is engaged in a production activity or self employed and contributes to the generation of GDP, then, that person is referred to as a worker. For example, a doctor, an engineer working in a factory, etc.

The following are the various steps initiated by the Indian government to develop the rural markets:  

1. Regulated Markets: The government came up with the concept of regulated market where the market committee monitors the sale and purchase of the products. This Market Committee consists of farmers, government agents and traders. This practice infuses greater transparency in the marketing system with proper scales and weights. Such committees ensure the farmers and the consumers in receiving fair price in exchange of their products  

2. Infrastructure Development: The present infrastructure is not sufficient to meet the growing demands of the farmers. Indian government provided cold storages and warehouses that help the farmers to sell their product at the time when the price is attractive. In addition, railways offer subsidized transport facilities to the farmers. This enables the farmers to bring their product to urban areas where they can earn huge profits.  

3. Co-operative Agricultural Marketing Societies: The government also started co-operative marketing under which the farmers get access to fair prices. This is due to the better and enhanced bargaining power of the farmers via collective sale in the market.  

4. MSP Policy: Minimum Support Price is a minimum legislated price that a farmer may charge in exchange for his products. This enables them to sell their products in the open market at a higher price. The MSP insulates the farmers in case of price fall as this is the minimum price that they can receive. The need of such assurance to the farmers is of immense importance as farming in India is subject to many uncertainties

Importance of Animal Husbandry  

Animal husbandry is the most important non-farm employment in India. It is also known as Livestock Farming. Poultry, cattle and goats/sheep are the important components of livestock farming in India. Most of the rural families carry out livestock farming together with crop farming in order to increase their income. It can be said that livestock farming provides sustainable livelihood to the people in the semi arid and arid regions where farming cannot be performed well. Further, capital investment in livestock farming is comparatively less than that in crop farming. In addition, livestock farming is an important source of employment for rural women. Presently, animal husbandry is the most important source of alternative employment, employing approximately 70 million small and marginal farmers. Besides providing employment, livestock farming has resulted in increased production of milk, eggs, meat, wool and other by- products, enhancing the consumption bundle qualitatively and nutritionally. 

Importance of Fisheries  

'Fisheries' are an important source of livelihood in the coastal states such as Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The fishing community in India depends on water bodies both inland and marine water bodies. Inland sources include rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams, while, the marine sources include seas and oceans. The increasing efforts by the state governments have attracted funds in this sector, boosting the production. Despite a significant segment engaged, this sector contributes only 1.4% to India's total GDP.

Importance of Horticulture  

Horticulture is emerging as an important source of livelihood in the rural areas. Horticultural crops include fruits, vegetables, medicinal and aromatic plants and flowers. Presently, India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables that includes mangoes, bananas, coconuts, cashew nuts and variety of species. There has been a considerable rise in the income levels of families engaged in horticultural production. The increase in horticultural production has lowered the vulnerability of small and marginal farmers. This has provided a gateway of opportunities for employment for women. In contrast to fishing, Horticulture does not suffer from ecological and environmental problem. Hence, horticulture must be promoted with sufficient investment and infrastructure.

With the nationalization of the commercial banks after 1969, the concept of social banking came into existence. It implies extending institutional credit at moderate rate of interest. The National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) has made a significant progress in the field of rural credit. It cannot be denied that the institutional credit has freed the farmers from the trap of money lenders and mahajans. But, on the other hand, institutional credit is not free from deficiencies. The rural or institutional credit has invariably been associated with security or collateral. Consequently, a substantial number of farmers cannot avail credit. Also, the commercial banks failed to encourage the habit of thrift among farmers. In addition to this, the leniency on the part of the government to collect taxes was another setback in the rural banking. This further led to the emergence of the feeling among the farmers of not repaying the borrowed amount. This increased the defaulter's rate and led to financial unfeasibility for the rural banks.

In the initial years, it has been observed that the yields from Organic Farming are lesser than the modern agricultural farming. So, the farmers found it difficult to undertake large scale production. Also, due to the low yield per hectare, this technique was not financially viable for the small and marginal workers. The products obtained from organic farming have shorter life and are quickly- perishable. Moreover, the choice in production during off-season is quite limited in Organic Farming. Despite these shortcomings in the initial years, India has attained comparative advantage in Organic Farming due to labor intensive techniques. Hence, the availability of labor in abundance popularized Organic Farming in India. Due to the growing awareness about the advantages of the organic farm produced products, there is an increase in the demand for these organic produces in the metro cities.

Organic farming has some notable advantages as compared to the conventional farming. The advantages of the organic farming are as follows:

1. Discards Use of Chemicals: Unlike conventional farming, organic farming is free from synthetic chemicals. The chemicals present in the chemical fertilizers penetrate into the ground water and raises its nitrate content. This cause health hazards and pollutes the environment. Therefore, organic farming is an environment friendly method of farming.  

2. Sustains Soil Fertility: The use of chemical fertilizers leads to erosion of soil fertility. Organic farming discards the use of chemical fertilizers. Therefore, this farming is practiced to produce non-toxic food for the consumers without degrading the soil fertility.  

3. Healthier Food: Organically grown crops have high nutritional value than the conventionally grown crops. Also, the demand for organic farming rises rapidly even at a higher price.  

4. Inexpensive Technology for Small and Marginal Farmers: The small and marginal farmers constitute the bulk of the farming. Organic farming offers an inexpensive farming technique to these small and marginal farmers.  

5. Generates Income from Exports: It generates higher income from exports as there is huge international demand for organic crops.

Limitations of Organic Farming:  

Despite the above mentioned benefits, Organic Farming suffers from the following limitations: 

1. Organic Farming offers lesser yield than the conventional farming. Therefore, the productivity of the Organic Farming is lower than that of the conventional farming.  

2. The popularity of organic farming depends on the awareness and willingness of the farmers to adopt this technology. Due to lower productivity, farmers lack initiative to adopt Organic Farming techniques.  

3. The inadequate infrastructure and problem of marketing are the major concerns that need to be addressed to promote Organic Farming.  

4. As Organic Farming offers lesser yield than conventional farming, this farming is not financially viable for the small and marginal land-holdings farmers.

Organic farming refers to a system of farming that sustains and enhances the ecological balance. In other words, this system of farming relies upon the use of organic inputs for cultivation. The traditional farming involves the use of chemical fertilizers, toxic pesticides, etc. that harms the ecosystem drastically. Therefore, this type of farming is practiced to produce toxic-free food for the consumers while simultaneously maintaining the fertility of the soil and contributing to ecological balance.This type of farming enables eco friendly sustainable economic development.

The government has adopted various programmes to help the elderly people and poor and destitute women. One of such programmes is National Social Assistance Programme, introduced by the central government. This programme targets elderly people, widows and the poor and destitute women who are alone and have no one to take care of them. Under this programme, these targeted people are given pension to sustain their livelihood.

The National Food for Work Programme (NFWP) was launched by minister of rural development, Central Government on November 14, 2014 in 150 of the most backward districts of India with the objective of generating supplementary wage employment. This programme provides food in exchange of work done by laborers. This programme was aimed to protect poor people against reduction in their purchasing power capacity in the natural calamities prone areas.The work done by the laborers includes watershed development works, water harvesting and construction of metal roads connecting rural and urban areas. This programme not only provides laborers with food but also creates semi-durable assets that facilitate economic and social development of the backward areas.

The calorie-based norm is not adequate to identify the poor because of the following reasons:  

(a)  This mechanism does not differentiate a very poor from other poor. It categorizes them into one category that is, 'poor'. Consequently, it indicates whole class of poor and not, especially, those poor who are the most needy.

(b) This mechanism uses inappropriate proxies for income like Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE), etc. These items do not act as suitable and appropriate proxies for income to measure calorie requirements.  

(c) This mechanism does not consider various important factors that are associated with poverty. These factors are health care, clean drinking water, proper sanitation and basic education. Mere estimation of calorie intake does not reflect the true economic condition of an individual.  

(d) Another shortcoming of calorie-based norm is that it fails to account for social factors that exaggerate and worsen poverty like ill health, lack of access to resources, lack of civil and political freedom, etc.Therefore, because of these shortcomings in the calorie-based norm, it cannot be used to identify the poor.

Yes, it cannot be denied that China's rapid industrial growth is an aggregate outcome of the various economic reforms that were introduced in phases since 1978. In the initial phase, reforms were initiated in agriculture, foreign trade and investment sectors. The system of collective farming known as Commune System was implemented. Under this system, land was divided into small plots that were allocated to the individual households. These households were allowed to keep the remaining income from land after paying the taxes to the government. In the later phase, reforms were initiated in the industrial sector. The reforms also included dual pricing. The dual pricing implies that the farmers and the industrial units were required to buy and sell a fixed quantity of inputs and output at the price fixed by the government and the remaining quantities were traded at the market price. The reforms also included setting up of Special Economic Zones to attract foreign investors. Therefore, China's rapid industrial growth is attributable to the success of different phases of its economic reforms.

The important implication of the one-child norm in China is the low population growth. This measure also led to the fall in the sex ratio in China, i.e. the proportion of females per thousand males. However, the country believes that in the coming decades there will be more elderly people in proportion to the young people. This will oblige the country to provide social security measures with fewer workers.

                      Select Demographic Indicators,2013

Source: World Development Indicators, www.worldbank.org

From the above data, we can conclude that:  

China has the highest population size closely followed by India. The population of Pakistan is very small and it constitutes about one tenth of population of China or India. The Density of population is lowest in China and highest in India. One child norm in China has lowered the growth rate of population in that country. The sex ratio is low in all the three countries as the society is biased against women and male dominated. The fertility rate is highest in Pakistan and lowest in China whereas China has the highest degree of urbanization as compared to India and Pakistan.

China's rapid economic development is an aggregate outcome of the introduction of the reforms in phases since 1978. The following are the various factors that led to the rapid growth in the economic development in China:   

1. In the initial phase, reforms were initiated in agriculture, foreign trade and investment sectors. The system of collective farming known as Commune System was implemented. Under this system, land was divided into small plots that were allocated to the individual households. These households were allowed to keep the remaining income from land after paying the taxes to the government.  

2. In the later phase, reforms were initiated in the industrial sector. During this phase, the private firms, village and township enterprises were allowed to produce goods and services and to compete with the State Owned Enterprises.  

3. The dual pricing were implemented. This implies that the farmers and the industrial units were required to buy and sell a fixed quantity of inputs and output at the price fixed by the government and the remaining quantities were traded at the market price. Gradually, with rapid increase in aggregate production in the later years, the quantities traded in the market increased by many folds.  

4. The reforms also included setting up of Special Economic Zones to attract foreign investors and to encourage its exports.

Therefore, the aggregate focus of all these economic reforms resulted in rapid industrial growth and economic development in China.

According to above data of India and China's the sectoral contribution towards GDP in 2003, contribution of agriculture to GDP in china was 15% while in india it was 23%. On the other hand manufacturing contributes the highest to GDP in china at 53%, whereas in india service sector contributes the highest at around 51%.

The process of economic growth has led to a tremendous shift in the sectoral share of output and employment. The percentage share of the primary sector in total output and employment tends to decrease while that of the secondary and tertiary sector tends to increase. This indicates that both the economic are developing.The experience of china is similar to that of the other developed countries in the world. The experience of the developed countries shows that secondary sector followed by tertiary sector emerge as the leading sectors of the economy. Compared to china,India showed a direct shift from the primary sector to tertiary sector. This is due to the fast integration of these two economics with the other market economies of the world.

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.

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

1. Nations are forming various regional and economic groupings like SAARC, European Union, G-8, 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. 

2. Further, they are also interested in knowing the developmental process adopted by their neighboring nations, so as to analyse their strengths and weaknesses. Accordingly, they formulate policies to accelerate social progress and cultural development among the member countries.  

3. Moreover, nations also resort to liberalizing their economies. This minimizes the government interference in economic activities. Market forces, i.e. demand and supply forces govern the economy.  

4. Nations also resort to the process of globalization to open up their economies to provide wide international market to their domestic producers.

The following are the indicators of human development:  

(i)     Life Expectancy  

(ii)    Adult Literacy Rate  

(iii)   Infant Mortality Rate  

(iv)   Percentage of the population below poverty line  

(v)    GDP per capita  

(vi)    Percentage of the population having access to improved sanitation  

(vii)   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.

The indicators of human development are:  

(i) Life Expectancy.  

(ii) Adult Literacy Rate.  

(iii) Infant Mortality Rate.  

(iv) Percentage of the population below poverty line.  

(v) GDP per capita Income  

(vi) Percentage of the population having access to improved sanitation  

(vii) Percentage of the population having access to improved water sources.

India is fortunate enough to have abundant natural resources. It comprises of rich and fertile soil, plenty of rivers and tributaries, green forests, mineral deposits, mountains, etc. The Indo-Gangetic plains are the most fertile, densely populated and cultivated plains in the world. The black soil of the Deccan Plateau is suitable for the cultivation of cotton in the country. India's lush green forests serve as a natural cover for the majority of the population. India holds more than 20 % of the world's total iron ore reserves. There are mountain ranges that facilitate the operation of the mini hydro plants. It also has vast variety of flora of 15,000 species of plants. The country is also endowed with numerous minerals that are found under the earth's surface like coal, natural gas, copper, diamonds, etc.

The major difference between rural and urban poverty in India lies in the standard of living. The latter enjoys higher living standard compared to the former and the standard of living may be attributable to the wide income disparity and gap between the two.  Another major difference is the level of education and also access to education. The urban Poor enjoy better access to quality education than the rural counterparts. Thirdly, health care facilities prevalent in the urban areas are far better than that of in the rural areas. Also the rural poor people lack access to these health facilities and important medical information. Fourthly, the difference lies in the type of houses they live in. The rural poor lives in kutcha house, while the   urban poor resides in pucca houses which are well developed with proper sanitation facilities. Fifthly, rural poverty is temporary as the rural poor can migrate to urban areas to seek employment but, on the other hand, urban poverty is permanent.

Estimates Source: Planning Commission Estimates (Uniform Reference Period)

Yes, it is correct to say that poverty has shifted from rural to urban areas.Above data show that rural poverty has declined significantly from 56.4% in 1973-74 to 28% in 2004-05 whereas decline in urban poverty (from 49% to 25.7%) is not that significant. Further, the gap between the rural and urban poverty ratios which was around 7% in 1973-74 fell to just around 2% in 2004-05 again signifying the shift in poverty from rural to urban areas.

Training refers to the act of acquiring skills, knowledge and competency required to perform a particular job efficiently and effectively. On-the-job training is the most effective kind of training to a trainee, imparting him the technical skills and know-how at the actual work site. In this type of training, a trainee is assisted (or hands on) and trained by a trainer (usually by an experienced employee), when the trainee is actually doing the job. This helps the trainee not only to acquire the theoretical and practical skills simultaneously but also enables him to learn from the experiences of his trainer, thereby, can increase his efficiency and productivity. This is the most common type of training programs because the returns in terms of increased productivity far exceed the cost of the training. Thus, the expenditures on such training improve the quality of human capital by enhancing its productivity, efficiency and income earning capacity.  

The need for on the job training has been highlighted in the following points: 

(i) On-the-job training is the most common method to train freshers or new employees.  

(ii) This type of training helps the trainee to acquire the theoretical and practical skills simultaneously.  

(iii) It enables the person to absorb values, norms and standards of an organisation within the organisation because the employee sees them in everyday action.  

(iv) As it is done under the supervision of a skilled or experienced worker, the trainee can learn from the experiences of the supervisor.  

(v) It is a cost efficient method as the benefits accruing in terms of higher productivity outweigh the expenditure incurred on such training.

Meeting the basic needs of all that requires distribution of resources is our moral responsibility. However, it is realized that if the resources (nonrenewable) are utilized fully then these will deplete so fast that it will not meet the production capacity of the future generation. The economic development achieved today in such manner cannot be sustained for a long time as the production capacity of the future generations in absence of productive resources reduces. Therefore, sustainable development is the process of economic development that aims at meeting the needs of the present generation without comprising the needs of the future generations. Sustainable development maximizes welfare of both present and future generations. In other words, it is that process of economic growth that is sustained over a long period without causing any fall in quality of life of the future generations.

Environment performs several functions, but its essential function of sustaining life carries much significance. Environment provides us with life supporting elements like Sun light, soil, water and air. On extracting resources at a more rapid pace than its regeneration, the carrying capacity of the environment reduces, leading to a failure in its life sustaining function. This results in environmental crises, one of the common problems faced by almost all the countries of the world.

Degradation of land refers to the gradual but consistent loss of fertility. This is emerging as a serious concern in the context of environmental issues in India. The following are the factors that contribute to land degradation in India:  

(i) Soil Erosion: The removal of upper layer of the soil caused by agents like strong winds or floods is termed as soil erosion. The top most layer of the soil carries major and essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Consequently, the loss of this layer deteriorates the quality and productivity of land.  

(ii)  Alkalinity and Salinity of Soil: The salinity and alkalinity is caused by the problem of water logging. Water logged on the top layer of soil absorbs all the nutrients present in the soil, thereby, reducing its fertility. 

(iii) Deforestation: The growing population along with their ever growing demand lead to large scale destruction of forest cover. The reduction of forest coverage leads to soil erosion that in turn causes climate change  

(iv) Shifting Cultivation: The practice of shifting cultivation and subsistence farming carried by the small and the marginal farmers result in the replenishment of soil nutrients and, hence, its fertility.  

(v) Excessive use of Fertilizers: The excessive use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides lowers the quality and fertility of soil.

(vi) Desertification: The spread of deserts in arid and semi arid areas is referred to as desertification. It occurs due to overgrazing of the animals. This results in the reduction of lush green areas that in turn leads to replenishment of soil fertility.

Opportunity cost is the cost that is foregone when we make a choice or a decision. If a piece of land is to be used for wheat production then the production of say, rice, is to be sacrificed. The loss of rice production is the opportunity cost of producing wheat. In the similar way, the cost of negative environment is the opportunity cost of huge expenditure incurred on health and searching new alternatives. This is explained elaborately in the following paragraph;  

When the resources are extracted at a more rapid pace than its regeneration, then we say that the carrying capacity of the environment reduces. In such situation, environment fails to perform its function of sustaining life, thereby, resulting in environmental crises. Therefore, there arises a need for exploration of new alternative eco-friendly resources to avoid environmental crisis. Moreover, environmental crises lead to greater incidence of respiratory and water borne diseases, necessitating higher health expenditures and investments. The costs involved in searching new alternative resources together with the greater health expenditures constitute the opportunity costs of negative environmental impact. Such opportunity costs are very high and require voluminous financial commitments by the government. Therefore, the opportunity costs of negative environmental impact are high.

Air pollution, water contamination, soil erosion, deforestation and wild life extinction are some of the most pressing environmental concerns for India. But the priority issues include global warming, land degradation, ozone depletion and management of fresh water.  

Opportunity cost is the cost that is foregone when we make a choice or a decision. If a piece of land is to be used for wheat production then the production of say, rice, is to be sacrificed. The loss of rice production is the opportunity cost of producing wheat. In the similar way, the opportunity cost of correction for environmental damages refers to the huge amount of expenditure incurred on searching for new efficient alternatives. The heavy intensive and extensive extraction of both renewable and non-renewable resources demands expenditure for exploring new alternative resources in order to avoid an environmental crisis. 

The discovery of such resources requires heavy investment by the government. In addition, implementation and maintenance of these alternative resources involve very high cost. The best example is the advent of CNG in order to reduce the rising problem of pollution in Delhi. The government has incurred heavy investment to popularize CNG and to make the consumers aware regarding its uses. Therefore, the correction for environmental damages involves high opportunity cost.

Public health refers to the act of protecting public's health through education, research and development and promotion of healthy lifestyle. It aims at the improvement and well being of the people around the globe. It focuses on the protection and improvement of health of the entire population rather than individual.  

In the recent years, India has embarked upon the development of vast infrastructure.. At the village level, varieties of hospitals were set up by the name of Primary Health Centers (PHCs). The large number of hospitals is run by various voluntary agencies and by the private sector. The hospitals are managed by professionals and by Para Medical professionals trained in medical, pharmacy and nursing colleges. There has been a significant expansion in the provision of health services. The number of hospitals and dispensaries has increased from 9300 to 44000 and hospital beds from 1.2 to 6.3 lakh during 1951 to 2000. Also, nursing personnel has increased from 0.18 to 23.44 lakhs and allopathic doctors from 0.62 to 9.2 lakhs during the same period. The provision of various facilities has resulted in the eradication of small pox, polio, leprosy, and other deadly diseases.

The sources of energy that are generally available free to the users and that do not have a recognized market are referred to as Non-commercial energy. This form of energy is used for domestic and for consumption purposes, for example, Firewood, agricultural waste, animal waste (cow dung), etc.

The percentage use of different sources of energy is referred to as pattern of energy consumption. It can only be analysed when different sources of energy are converted into a common unit, which is termed as MTOE (Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent) in India. The pattern of energy consumption has undergone considerable change overtime. The use of primary sources like coal, petroleum and natural gas has undergone a significant change. The non-commercial use of this energy has increased from 36% to 76% during 1953-54 to 2004-05. The percentage of direct final consumption of coal has drastically reduced irrespective of the increase in the total consumption of coal. Its consumption increased from 95 million tonnes in 1980-81 to 355 million tonnes in 2008-09. Also, the consumption of oil, for which our country was dependent upon Gulf countries, has increased. The consumption of electricity in the agricultural sector has increased overtime, whereas, it remained the highest in the industrial sector as compared to other sectors.

The following reforms have been initiated by the government to meet the energy crises: 

1.  Privatisation in Power Generation Sector: The government earlier had the monopoly in the generation and distribution of electricity. Now, private sector has been given the rights to generate power.  

2.  Privatisation in Power Transmission: The Indian government has approved Tata Power and Power grid Corporation of India for constructing transmission networks in joint venture.  

3.  POWER for ALL by 2012: The Ministry of Power has set up an objective of 'POWER for ALL by 2012' to achieve the target of 1000 KwHr (Units) of per capita consumption of electricity in India. This objective is aligned with the objective to achieve an economic growth of 8% p.a. The main motive of this target is to improve the quality of power, improve the commercial viability of power industries and to provide power to all.    

4. Setting up Regulatory Mechanism: The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) along with State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERC) has been established in 19 states under the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998. These commissions and authorities regulate tariff, promote efficiency and competition.  

5.  Encouraging FDI: In order to achieve the target of POWER for ALL by 2012, the Ministry of Power aimed at attracting US $250 billion of Investment (FDI and Domestic Investment Combined) into the power sector.    

6.  Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme (APDRP): APDRP has been initiated in the year 2000-01 with the motive of improving financial viability, reducing transmission and distribution losses and promoting transparency through computerization.  

7.  Awareness: The government is encouraging people to increase the use of renewable resources and also creating awareness among the people to reduce the conventional resources. During the Eight Five Year Plan, government has set up National Energy Efficiency Programme (NEEP) that aimed at conservation of petroleum products.  

8.  Improving Productivity: The Indian government has been emphasizing on the measures to improve the productivity of the existing power generating industries.