Solutions to NCERT Class 9 Economics 2024-2025 Chapter 2: People as Resource

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Find Solutions for NCERT Class 9 Economics Chapter 2: People as Resource, here.

Exercises (Page 27):

1. What do you understand by people as a resource?
Answer:

‘People as resource’ is a way of referring to a country’s working people in terms of their existing productive skills and activities. This means the ability of the population to contribute to the creation of Gross National Product or GNP. Like other resources population is also a resource- a human resource. But population can only be called a resource or an asset if it is endowed with the skill to generate wealth, otherwise it is a mere number and a liability. When the existing ‘human resource’ is further developed by becoming more educated and healthier, it is called ‘human capital formation’ which adds to the productive powers of the country along with other physical resources.

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

The differences between human resource and other resources are as follows:
(i) Human resource involves education, healthcare and skill development etc.
Physical capital includes land, building, machinery, infrastructure etc.
(ii) Human capital is intangible and service oriented
Physical capital is tangible that you can see and feel.
(iii) Human capital continues to grow through education and training.
Physical capital faces erosion over the time.
(iv) Human capital takes a long time to produce perceptible benefits.
 Physical capital can produce quick results.

3. What is the role of education in human capital formation?
Answer:

Education is vitally important for human capital formation. Education and training equip people with the skills necessary to transform physical resources into wealth. Children and parents both have to be conscious about the changes that good education can bring to their lives in terms of higher earnings and greater contribution to society. Investment in education is extremely important because it yields a return just like investment in physical capital. We can see that higher incomes are earned due to superior knowledge and productivity of educated and better trained persons. Let us take the example of a child who has good education and as a young man becomes a doctor. Studying medicine needs money but when he becomes a doctor, he can pay back many times more to the society.

4. What is the role of health in human capital development?
Answer:

Health is vital for anyone to realise his full potential to contribute to society.
In order to maximise one’s output as a factor of overall growth a person must be healthy because healthy people can achieve higher productivity. People cannot work efficiently because of ill health. So, their productivity would be low which in turn would drag down total earnings of the country. Moreover, the growth rate will not be sustainable. Not only that, unhealthy section of population causes wastage of resources which could have been better utilised.

5. What part does health play in the individual’s working life?
Answer:

Good health of a person helps him realise his full potential and illness sets him back. If the individual is not able to maximise his contribution to the overall growth of an organisation, he may find himself in a vulnerable position. It all begins from childhood with proper health check-up and constant monitoring which can increase longevity of people and enable them to make a greater contribution to society. Good health increases a person’s zest for life and motivation to do better and be more productive which positively affects the growth rate of the country.

6. What are the various activities undertaken in the primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector?
Answer:

Various economic activities undertaken in the three economic sectors are:
(i) Primary sector includes agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry farming, mining and quarrying.
(ii) Secondary sector is mainly about manufacturing industries
(iii) Tertiary sector includes Trade, transport, banking, communication, education, health, tourism services, insurance etc.

7. What is the difference between economic activities and non-economic activities?
Answer:

Activities which add value to national income are called economic activities. These include production of goods and services including government service. Economic activities are also called market activities which respond to demand and supply in the market.
Non-economic activities are those producing something for one’s own consumption. For example, raising paddy only for family consumption is a non-economic activity. This does not add to the national income as it cannot be assigned any monetary value.

8. Why are women employed in low paid work?
Answer:

Due to historical and cultural reasons there is a division of labour between men and women in the country. Women do the domestic work while men work in fields and factories. While men are earning members women do not get paid for their jobs as homemakers. Women are paid for their work only when they enter the labour market. There also they are discriminated against regarding pay. The reasons are:
(i) A majority of women have low education and low skill sets. Their employability is low compared to men which decides the pay factor.
(ii) Most women work in sectors where job security is not there and as a consequence get exploited.

9. How will you explain the term unemployment?
Answer:

Unemployment is unavailability of jobs when people are willing to work at the going wage rates. The workforce population includes people from 15 years to 59 years. This obviously is a huge age group that is present in the labour market. Slow economic development and other factors cannot match up to that. So, people find it difficult to find gainful employment which is a huge waste of human resources. In our country surplus manpower co-exists with shortage in certain sectors.

10. What is the difference between disguised unemployment and seasonal unemployment.
Answer:

(i) Features: Disguised unemployment usually happens when a job which can be done by three persons is done by five. It is hidden unemployment as the services of extra two people, who appear to be employed, are not really required. Disguised unemployment is mostly an agricultural phenomenon as family members of small landholders pitch in with excess labour without producing extra output.
Seasonal unemployment, on the other hand takes place when people are not able to find work for some months in the year. People dependent on agriculture usually face this seasonal unemployment because there are busy seasons when extra people are hired, but they are laid off during the rest of the year.

(ii) Impact: Disguised unemployment exists throughout the year while seasonal unemployment
hits a high during off season.
(iii) Output: Disguised unemployment does not impact the output of the economy. Seasonal unemployment creates high and low in the economy with consequent spikes in output.

11. Why is educated unemployment a peculiar problem in India?
Answer:

One of the pressing problems in India is the problem of educated unemployed youth especially in urban areas. The peculiarity of the problem is that more the qualification the less is the chance of finding a suitable job. A paradoxical situation where manpower shortage in certain categories co-exists with surplus in others. The reasons for this unfortunate situation can be seen below:

(i) Wrong education policy: Our stress on technical education like engineering without creating a proper industrial base is backfiring on us. There is a mismatch between demand and supply of engineers. Master’s Degree holders are worse off.
(ii) Rise in population: There is a huge pressure on the employment market as population is growing at a faster rate than job opportunities.
(iii) Lack of mentoring: This is one factor which is responsible for students choosing wrong career paths where he or she might find it difficult to land a job.
(iv) Biased theoretical education: Students are not encouraged in problem solving methods. They learn subjects mechanically.
(v) No Internship opportunities: Landing a job requires some experience in the relevant field. Here, colleges and universities do not have tie-up with industries to impart valuable practical training.

12. In which field do you think India can build the maximum employment opportunity?
Answer:

India is an agricultural country and agriculture, in-spite of mechanisation is a labour- intensive sector. This sector still has maximum employment potential. We have to bring more land under cultivation which has remained static in recent times. Increased agricultural output can also open the doors of many agro- based industries like food and fruit processing. These industries can provide employment to many people in the rural and semi-urban areas. Tertiary industries like transport, packaging will grow up around such industries. So, development of agriculture can have a multiplier effect as far as employment is concerned.

13. Can you suggest some measures in the education system to mitigate the problem of educated unemployment?
Answer:

To tackle the problem of educated unemployment the following measures are suggested:
(i) Industry oriented courses: Colleges and universities have to formulate industry specific curriculum instead of general courses. This improves the student’s chances of getting a job. Most of our educated youth do not have industry specific training.
(ii) Mentoring: Mentoring from high school level onwards can help a student choose subject (s) which could help him getting a job.
(iii) Internship: Opportunities to work in an organisation help in gaining valuable experience. As experience is a crucial factor for getting job offers, internship which imparts practical training in real life situations can go a long way to boost a candidate’s chances of getting a job.
(iv) Vocational training: Courses aimed at vocational training in soft skills like Lab technician, Optometry, Website developer, Tax consultants, photography, entrepreneurship etc can enhance the chances of educated youth getting jobs.

14. Can you imagine some village which initially had no job opportunities but later came up with many?
Answer:

The farmers of Janakpur grew sufficient foodgrains to sustain themselves. There were no other opportunities except farming. The family members were helping each other by stitching their own clothes and teaching their children.

One of the farmers decided to send his son to an agricultural college where he learnt the science of modern farming. The boy was intelligent and completed his studies obtaining a degree in agricultural engineering.

His special interest was in fruit and vegetable processing. He went back to his village and decided to start a tomato processing factory. He approached a local nationalised bank and submitted a proposal. Being a technically qualified engineer his application was approved and a term loan of 5 lakhs and working capital loan of 5 lakhs were sanctioned.

He started a factory on a piece of land owned by his family. Soon, quality tomato sauce was produced using farm fresh tomatoes. The enterprise created job opportunities in the village in the form of labour whom he had trained.

A small printing press also came up to supply the labels. Two persons invested money in motor vans to ferry his products in different mandis.

Soon, the elders met and decided to request the panchayat to open a school in their village. It was set up with government aid. Teachers were recruited from the village itself as the village had several educated unemployed young men. Gradually tailoring shops came up to stitch school uniforms and cater to other customer needs. The economy of the village was vibrant with economic activities.

It was because of a young man’s aspirations and the expertise he had earned from the agricultural college that a sleepy farming village became a hub of many economic activities.

15. Which capital you would consider the best – land, labour, physical capital and human capital?
Answer:

Among the four factors of production human capital is the best. The purpose of economic activity is production of wealth. Now, economic activity depends on four factors – land, labour, capital (Investment) and organisation (human capital). Land is essential for agriculture and industry, labour creates value out of the static land, and physical capital or monetary investment act as facilitator. But all these activities would be in vain without the intervention of organisation or human capital because resources cannot become useful on their own – they need intervention of human capital. The following factors may be noted about the role of human capital:

(i) Human capital activates other resources.
(ii) Human resource can adapt itself in changing circumstances bringing in new ideas or improving the existing ones.
(iii) It can improve the labour productivity and earnings of physical capital.
(iv) Education, healthcare and training ramp-up a country’s economy.

Solutions to In-Text Questions for NCERT Class 9 Economics Chapter 2: People as Resource

Let’s discuss (Page 17)

Looking at the photograph can you explain how a doctor, teacher, engineer and a tailor are an asset to the economy.

Answer:

A Doctor cures people and helps them to remain healthy so that they may remain productive.

A teacher introduces students to different subjects and imparts knowledge which they can contribute to increase the country’s wealth in future.

An engineer is at the core of manufacturing industries and helps introduce new technology for development of the country.

A tailor fulfils a basic need of people, i.e. clothing and in the process contributes to the economy.

Let’s Discuss (Page 18)

Do you notice any difference between the two friends? What are those?
Answer:

The main differences between the two friends Sakal and Vilas are as follows:

(i) Education – Sakal passed his Higher Secondary examination and went on to do a vocational course in computers which equipped him with technical skills. Vilas was not interested in studies.

(ii) Motivation – Sakal was ambitious and enthusiastic about software. Vilas had no special skill and lacked the motivation to acquire any special skill.

(iii) Health – Sakal was a healthy young boy, whereas Vilas suffered from arthritis which prevented him from attending school.

(iv) Family Support– Sakal’s father supported his decision to pursue a computer course and raised a loan for his studies. Vilas had lost his father when he was two years old, so when his mother fell ill so he was forced to support his family by selling fish.

Activity – page 18

Visit a nearby village or a slum area and write down a case study of a boy or girl of your age facing the same condition as Vilas or Sakal.

Answer:

There is a big slum called Lake Camp near our house in Bhawanipur. I often visit the camp with my friends to organise awareness programmes about education and health-care. For these people, life has always been a struggle, some win overcoming all odds while others lose their ways into nothingness. Here are two case studies which you may use as a model:

Case Study no 1 – Navin

Take for example the case of fourteen-year-old Navin, son of a street hawker. Navin attended the primary school but often had to miss classes to help his father. He had two young sisters who were not given the chance of attending school and one of them was epileptic. They would do the household chores while their mother went out to work as housemaid to support the family. Navin’s father had no regular income and the little that he earned doing odd jobs was spent on alcohol.

Navin was a bright boy till he dropped out of school. Gradually he fell into the clutches of anti-social elements and became a drug addict. The family pass their days in utter hopelessness.

Case Study no 2 – Mala   

Mala was a thirteen year old girl who grew up in a modest family of five. Her father was a carpenter who worked in a small enterprise. Life had offered him very little choice but he was determined to educate his eldest daughter, Mala.

In course of time, Mala passed out of school where she learnt about computers and things they could do. She was inspired to become a computer engineer. Her father encouraged her a lot and even took a loan from his employer to get her admitted in a good college near Pune. After her graduation, Mala got a job offer in an information technology firm and in due course repaid her father’s loan. The family now overcome poverty and can lead a more comfortable life.

The stories tell us that sometimes people are caught in a vicious cycle of poverty where they submit themselves to fate like Navin. But some people are determined enough to make the best use of prevalent conditions to come out winners like Mala.

Activity – Page 20:

Visit a village or colony located near to your residential area and note down the various activities undertaken by the people of that village or colony. If this is not possible, ask your neighbour what is their profession? In which of the three sectors will you categorise their work?

Answer:

My neighbour, Rani, is a banker, while her husband, Vivek owns a small-scale manufacturing unit which produces car spare parts.

Rani’s work may be classified under tertiary sector of the economy.

Vivek’s work may be classified under secondary sector of the economy.

Say whether these activities are economic or non-economic activities:
(i) Vilas sells fish in the village market
(ii) Vilas cooks food for his family
(iii) Sakal works in the private firm
(iv) Sakal looks after younger brother and sister

Answer:

(i) Economic activity
(ii) Non-economic activity
(iii) Economic activity
(iv) Non-economic activity

Let’s Discuss : Page 21
Study the graph on Page 21 and answer the following questions:

1. Has the literacy rates of the population increased since 1951?
2. In which year India has the highest literacy rates?
3. Why literacy rate is high among the males of India?
4. Why are women less educated than men?
5.  How would you calculate literacy rate in India?
6. What is your projection about India’s literacy rate in 2025?

Answers:

1. Yes. The literacy rate of India has risen from approximately 28% to 85% in 2017.

2. The graph shows that India has the highest literacy rate in 2017.

3. Literacy rate is high among the men of India because traditionally, men are the bread earners, so parents prioritise the education of their sons over their daughters.

4. In India women generally do household work which does not need formal education, So, the literacy rate among women is low in India

5. The rate of literacy or percentage of literacy in India can be calculated by dividing the number of literates by total population and multiplying by 100. The following example may be considered:
Number of literates: 90 crore
Total population: 120 crore

So, the rate of literacy will be:
90 / 120 x 100 = 75%

6. The graph shows that every 10 years India’s literacy rate is rising by 10% or 1% per year. So, taking 2017 as the base year when the total literacy rate was approximately 77% India would achieve a literacy of 77%+ 8% = 85%

Activity (Page 22)

Activity: Count the number of boys and girls studying in your school or in your neighbouring co-ed school. Ask the school administrator to provide you with the data of boys and girls studying in the classroom. Study the difference if any and explain for reasons in the classroom.

Answer:

The number of students studying in my school is 2026, of which 1121 are boys and 905 are girls.

The number of boys studying in our classroom is 29.

The number of girls studying in our classroom is 21.

Although, the number of boys is greater than girls in the class, the difference is not very marked. In recent times with Government of India’s “beti bachao, beti padhao “initiative, the enrolment of girls in schools has increased considerably.

Let’s Discuss: (page 23)
Reference: Higher education table on page 22

1. Is the increase in the number of colleges adequate to admit the increasing number of students?
Answer:

No. Given the rising number of students every year the number of colleges is not adequate. We can see that during the year 2017-18 the number of students has increased by 757010 over the year 2016-17. In fact, the number of students has been steadily rising since 1950-51 making it imperative to add more colleges.

2. Do you think we should have more number of universities?
Answer:

The number of universities has been steadily rising. So, there is no necessity to increase the number of universities for the time being. Instead, the strategy should focus on quality education, adoption of international curriculum standard and networking.

3. What is the increase noticed among the teachers in the year 2015-16?
Answer:

During the year 2015-16 the number of teachers increased by 176650 over the number of 2014-15, an increase of about 14%

4. What is your idea about future colleges and universities?
Answer:

The success of higher education in India depends upon adopting new strategies which would focus on increasing access, quality and introduction of state specific curriculum modification. There should be vocational training opportunities, distant learning facilities and networking through information technology. Adequate research facilities in collaboration with industries can make higher education more meaningful.

Let’s Discuss: (Page 24)
Study table 2.2 and answer the following questions

1. What is the percentage increase in the dispensaries from 1951 to 2020?
Answer:

To calculate the percentage increase in the dispensaries from 1951 to 2020 accurately, we need the number of dispensaries for both years.Since the data for 1951 is not available in the given Table, we cannot calculate the percentage of increase correctly.
Calculation can at best be made based on assumption. Assuming that in 1951 India had 10000 dispensaries and in 2020 the number is 32000, there is an aggregate increase of 22000 dispensaries. In percentage terms it will be (22000/10000) × 100 = 220%

2. What is the percentage increase in doctors and nursing personnel from 1951 to 2020?
Answer:

In the absence of specific data it is difficult to estimate number of doctors in 1951. Again, we can calculate based on assumption as done in the previous question.

3. Do you think that the increase in the number of doctors and nurses is adequate for India? If not. why?
Answer:

The increase in the number of doctors and nurses is not inadequate in India. The ratio stands at 1:800 approx. which is better than World Health Organisation (WHO) standard. But doctors are mostly concentrated in big cities and towns. Primary health centres in the villages often suffer from lack of doctors and nurses.

4. What other facilities would you like to provide in a hospital?
Answer:

The following facilities may be added to existing infrastructure in hospitals:
(i) Introduction of scanners in most hospitals
(ii) Computerised admission process to avoid patient harassment
(iii) Introduction of more trauma and child care units
(iv) Better waiting rooms for patients
(v) Subsidised medicine shops

5. Discuss about the hospital you have visited
Answer:

My recent visit to a district hospital was a harrowing experience. The place seemed to open to everyone and suspicious looking men were seen loitering inside the gate.

I had taken a relative to get him admitted in trauma care unit as he had met with a road accident. There was no bed available even in an emergency situation like this. The doctors were too busy, in fact they were overwhelmed. I did not know what to do when a tout approached me to get the patient admitted if I agreed to pay Rs 10000. After waiting for two hours with a critical patient, finally a bed was arranged.

The doctor examined the patient and prescribed some medicines for immediate application. None of the medicines were available in the hospital store, I had to fetch them from outside.

There was no waiting room so I had to spend the night in a corridor where scores of people were waiting. I could even see a stray dog going inside a ward. The nightmarish experience left a deep scar on my mind and made me sceptical about the tall claims of the government about improvement in healthcare services.

6. Draw the graph as an exercise using fig, 2.1 as guide
Answer:

Do it yourself with the help of your teacher.

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