Development
Topic: Human Development: Concept, Approaches and Measurement · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 6 "Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context"
Meaning
Development is a change for the better in a country's economy, society and environment. It looks at more than one thing at once, it is always positive, and it is meant to last. It is different from economic growth. Growth is only a change in quantity, such as income or output, and it can go up or down. Development is a change in quality, and it happens only when growth actually improves people's lives. In the 1950s and 1960s, development simply meant GNP (gross national product, the total income of a country) and per capita income (average income per person). In the 1970s it grew to include "redistribution with growth" (sharing the gains more fairly) and basic needs. By the 1980s and 1990s it meant the well-being and choices of all people.
Example
Kerala, a state on India's south-west coast, has high literacy and long life expectancy even though its income per head is modest. Some oil-rich Gulf states show the opposite: high income but weaker social indicators.
Don't confuse with
- Economic growth: growth measures only how much the economy produces and can be negative. Development is about quality of life and is always positive.