Page 304
Let's Discuss
-
Looking at the photograph can you explain how a doctor, teacher, engineer and a tailor are an asset to the economy?
• Doctor: Provides healthcare and medical treatment, keeping the workforce healthy and fit, which prevents loss of working days and increases national productivity.
• Teacher: Imparts knowledge, literacy, and specialized skills to students, molding human resource into productive human capital for the future growth of society and the economy.
• Engineer: Develops and maintains modern machinery, software, industrial technology, and infrastructure, which drives industrialization and technological progress.
• Tailor: Converts textiles into usable, well-fitted garments, generating employment and adding commercial value to the secondary manufacturing sector.
Page 306
Let's Discuss & Activity
-
Do you notice any difference between the two friends? What are those?
• Education and Training: Sakal attended school, passed his higher secondary examination, and completed a vocational course in computer software. Vilas did not attend school and remained uneducated.
• Health Status: Sakal was physically strong and healthy with no frequent doctor visits. Vilas suffered from arthritis and his mother lacked the financial means to take him to a doctor.
• Employment and Income: Sakal obtained a skilled job in a private IT firm, designed innovative software, and received salary promotions. Vilas was forced to sell fish in the village like his mother, earning only a meager livelihood as an unskilled laborer. -
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.
Case Study: Ravi (Resembling Vilas)
Ravi is a fourteen-year-old boy living in an urban slum near the railway station. Due to acute poverty and the untimely demise of his father, his mother works as a domestic maid. Lacking money for school books and uniform, Ravi dropped out of elementary school to assist his family. He currently collects and sorts scrap materials and works as a helper at a roadside tea stall, earning barely ₹80 to ₹100 per day. Due to chronic malnutrition and lack of formal education or vocational training, he remains trapped in low-income, unskilled labor.
Page 308
Picture 2.3 Sector Classification
-
Based on the picture can you classify these activities into three sectors?
Activity in Picture Ans 1. Tractor ploughing an agricultural field Primary Sector 2. Manufacturing factories with chimneys and industrial plants Secondary Sector 3. Cargo ship, port cranes, and airplane handling transport and trade Tertiary Sector
Page 310
Activity - Economic and Non-economic Activities
-
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?
• Cultivating paddy and vegetables: Primary Sector.
• Dairy farming and poultry keeping: Primary Sector.
• Brick-making and construction: Secondary Sector.
• Grocery store shopkeeper: Tertiary Sector.
• School teacher and auto-rickshaw driver: Tertiary Sector. -
Say whether these activities are economic or non-economic activities:
Statement Ans 1. Vilas sells fish in the village market. Economic activity 2. Vilas cooks food for his family. Non-economic activity 3. Sakal works in the private firm. Economic activity 4. Sakal looks after his younger brother and sister. Non-economic activity -
Ask your sister or your classmate what she would like to take up as a career?
My classmate mentioned that she aspires to become a software engineer in an information technology firm. She wants to pursue computer science and artificial intelligence because this profession provides excellent career growth, high skill acquisition, financial independence, and equal earning opportunities at par with men in the organized sector.
Page 312
Let's Discuss (Graph 2.1 Literacy Trends)
-
1. Has the literacy rates of the population increased since 1951?
Yes, the literacy rate of the population has increased substantially from 18% in 1951 to about 85% in 2018 (and 77.7% in 2017 as per the graph).
-
2. In which year India has the highest literacy rates?
India has the highest literacy rate in the latest recorded period shown on the graph, which is the year 2017 (and 2018 in text data).
-
3. Why literacy rate is high among the males of India?
Male literacy is higher due to deep-rooted patriarchal social attitudes, where families have historically prioritized educating sons as the future breadwinners, while girls were often burdened with domestic chores and child care.
-
4. Why are women less educated than men?
Women have lower education levels due to gender discrimination, social preference for educating male children, early marriage practices, domestic responsibilities at home, poverty, and safety or distance concerns regarding schools in rural areas.
-
5. How would you calculate literacy rate in India?
In India, the literacy rate is calculated as:
Literacy Rate (%) = (Number of literate persons aged 7 years and above / Total population aged 7 years and above) × 100 -
6. What is your projection about India's literacy rate in 2025?
With nationwide flagship programs like Samagra Shiksha, the National Education Policy, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and expanding digital education, India's overall literacy rate is projected to rise above 88% to 90% by 2025.
Page 314
Activity & Let's Discuss (Table 2.1 Higher Education)
-
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.
In our school survey across classes VI to X, there are 260 boys and 245 girls enrolled. The minor difference shows encouraging near-parity due to state government incentives like free textbooks, uniforms, transport facilities, and mid-day meals, though a slight drop in female enrolment is observed in higher classes due to domestic burdens or migration.
-
1. Is the increase in the number of colleges adequate to admit the increasing number of students?
No, although the number of colleges expanded from 750 in 1950-51 to over 46,000 in 2020-21, the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education is around 27%, meaning a large proportion of college-age youth still cannot gain admission to quality higher education institutions.
-
2. Do you think we should have more number of universities?
Yes, we need more universities, particularly high-quality public research institutions, specialized technical universities, and multidisciplinary colleges, to cater to India's vast youthful population and promote advanced research.
-
3. What is the increase noticed among the teachers in the year 2015-16?
The number of teachers in universities and colleges increased from 12,61,350 in 2014-15 to 14,38,000 in 2015-16, registering an increase of 1,76,650 teachers.
-
4. What is your idea about future colleges and universities?
Future colleges and universities should emphasize digital classrooms, multidisciplinary curriculum, artificial intelligence, industry-oriented vocational training, affordable quality education, and blended learning combining online and practical laboratory experiences.
Page 316
Let's Discuss (Health)
-
Do you think any firm would be induced to employ people who might not work efficiently as healthy workers because of ill health?
No profit-maximizing firm would be induced to employ workers with frequent ill health. Unhealthy workers suffer from frequent absenteeism, lack stamina, work inefficiently, and cannot maximize their output for the overall growth of the organization.
-
Study Table 2.2 and answer the following questions:
1. What is the percentage increase in dispensaries from 1951 to 2020?
2. What is the percentage increase in doctors and nursing personnel from 1951 to 2020?• 1. Increase in Dispensaries and Hospitals: In 1951, dispensaries and hospitals were approximately 9,209 (or roughly 10,000), which grew to 36,068 by 2020-2021, representing an increase of nearly 290%.
• 2. Increase in Doctors and Nursing Personnel: Registered doctors grew from 61,800 in 1951 to over 12.5 lakh by 2020 (over 1900% increase). Nursing personnel increased from 18,054 in 1951 to 35,14,373 in 2021, representing an extraordinary increase of over 19,000%.
Page 318
Let's Discuss & Activity
-
3. Do you think the increase in the number of doctors and nurses is adequate for India? If not, why?
No, the increase is still not adequate. The doctor-population and nurse-population ratios in India remain below World Health Organization (WHO) recommended standards, especially in rural and remote regions where primary health centers regularly face acute shortages of medical specialists.
-
4. What other facilities would you like to provide in a hospital?
Clean round-the-clock emergency care, subsidized diagnostic laboratories, digital ICU units, free generic medicine dispensaries, ambulance transport, dedicated maternal-child care wards, and clean sanitation facilities.
-
5. Discuss about the hospital you have visited.
During a visit to our local Community Health Centre (CHC), we observed a busy outpatient department, a functioning pharmacy, a minor operation theater, and maternity beds. While basic medical care was accessible and free, patients faced long waiting lines and a shortage of advanced diagnostic imaging equipment like CT scanners.
-
Activity: Visit a nearby hospital, either government or private and note down the following details:
• How many beds are there in the hospital you have visited?
• How many doctors are there in the hospital?
• How many nurses work in that hospital?
• How many hospitals are there in your locality?
• How many dispensaries are there in your locality?• Number of beds: 100 beds in the Area Government Hospital.
• Number of doctors: 14 doctors including physicians and pediatricians.
• Number of nurses: 32 registered nurses and nursing staff.
• Hospitals in locality: 2 government hospitals and 5 private nursing homes.
• Dispensaries in locality: 4 Urban Primary Health Centres/dispensaries. -
Sakal's mother Sheela looked after the domestic chores, children and helped her husband Buta in the field. Sakal's brother, Jeetu, and sister, Seetu, spend their time playing and roaming. Can you call Sheela or Jeetu or Seetu unemployed? If not, why?
No, neither Sheela, Jeetu, nor Seetu can be called unemployed.
• Sheela: Unemployment exists only when people willing to work for market wages cannot find jobs; Sheela works within the domestic domain and is not seeking work outside for pay.
• Jeetu and Seetu: They are children below 15 years of age and therefore fall outside the working age population (15 to 59 years).
Page 322
Picture 2.6 Activity
-
Can you remember how much did you pay when you asked him to mend your shoes or slippers?
I paid ₹20 to ₹30 to the roadside cobbler for stitching and repairing the sole of my damaged footwear.
Page 324
Exercises
-
1. What do you understand by 'people as a resource'?
'People as a resource' refers to a country's working population in terms of their existing productive skills, abilities, and knowledge. It looks at population as a productive economic asset that contributes to the creation of the Gross National Product (GNP).
-
2. How is human resource different from other resources like land and physical capital?
Human resource is superior to other resources because it is active and can make use of land and physical capital. Land and physical capital cannot become useful or productive on their own without human knowledge, effort, and skill.
-
3. What is the role of education in human capital formation?
Education enhances an individual's knowledge, cognitive abilities, and technical skills, increasing productivity and earning capability. It opens new opportunities, improves personal health and hygiene consciousness, and contributes to the overall national income, cultural development, and good governance.
-
4. What is the role of health in human capital formation?
Good health enables a person to realize their physical and mental potential and fight illness. A healthy person has greater stamina and working efficiency, maximizing output, whereas ill health reduces productivity and turns human resource into an economic liability.
-
5. What part does health play in the individual's working life?
In an individual's working life, good health maintains continuous employment without frequent loss of working days, improves work performance and productivity, enhances overall quality of life, and ensures steady family earnings.
-
6. What are the various activities undertaken in the primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector?
• Primary Sector: Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, poultry farming, mining, and quarrying.
• Secondary Sector: Manufacturing and processing of goods, such as textile milling, sugar production, steel fabrication, and construction.
• Tertiary Sector: Trade, transport, communication, banking, education, healthcare, tourism, and professional IT services. -
7. What is the difference between economic activities and non-economic activities?
• Economic Activities: Activities performed for money, pay, or profit that add value to the National Income (e.g., a farmer selling wheat or a salaried clerk working in an office).
• Non-economic Activities: Activities performed out of love, care, duty, or domestic chores for self-satisfaction without monetary compensation (e.g., a mother cooking meals for her household). -
8. Why are women employed in low paid work?
A large majority of women have received limited formal education and low skill training compared to men. They are predominantly employed in the unorganized sector, where jobs lack security, legal protection, and maternity benefits, leading to lower wages.
-
9. How will you explain the term unemployment?
Unemployment is a situation in which individuals who belong to the working-age population (15 to 59 years) and are willing to work at prevailing market wages are unable to find gainful employment.
-
10. What is the difference between disguised unemployment and seasonal unemployment?
Point of Difference Disguised Unemployment Seasonal Unemployment 1. Nature of Problem More workers are engaged in an activity than actually required; removing extra workers does not reduce total output. Workers cannot find employment during certain slack months of the year. 2. Typical Area Common in rural family-owned agricultural plots. Common among agricultural labor during the gap between sowing and harvesting seasons. -
11. Why is educated unemployed, a peculiar problem of India?
In India, the rate of unemployment among matriculates, graduates, and post-graduates has increased faster than among non-educated youth. A paradoxical manpower mismatch exists where there is an excess of graduates with general degrees alongside a critical shortage of candidates with specific technical skills demanded by expanding industries.
-
12. In which field do you think India can build the maximum employment opportunity?
India can build the maximum employment opportunities in the tertiary (services) sector—particularly in information technology, biotechnology, tourism, healthcare, logistics, and retail—as well as in small-scale labor-intensive manufacturing and agro-processing in the secondary sector.
-
13. Can you suggest some measures in the education system to mitigate the problem of the educated unemployed?
1. Introducing vocational, skill-based courses at the secondary and higher secondary school level.
2. Aligning college curricula directly with industrial, technical, and digital requirements.
3. Promoting practical internships, entrepreneurship education, and technical training.
4. Establishing career guidance and skill development centers linked to local job markets. -
14. Can you imagine some village which initially had no job opportunities but later came up with many?
Yes, as illustrated in the chapter's 'Story of a Village', when one family trained a son in agro-engineering, he designed an improved plough that raised farm yields. Success inspired the village to set up a school with a teacher. Later, a daughter was trained as a tailor, saving farmers travel time. Increased time spent on farming boosted agricultural surplus, attracting outside traders and creating multiple new jobs like teachers, agro-engineers, and tailors.
-
15. Which capital would you consider the best — land, labour, physical capital and human capital? Why?
Human capital is the best among all forms of capital. While land, labour, and physical capital are essential inputs, they are passive resources that cannot produce anything on their own. Human capital utilizes knowledge, intelligence, and modern skills to mobilize, manage, and transform physical capital and land into productive economic output.
📄 Download or view this worksheet/page:
