Unit-II
Chapter-4
Human Development
The words ‘growth’ and ‘development’ are not
new to you. Look around you, almost everything
that you can see (and many that you cannot)
grows and develops. These may be plants, cities,
ideas, nations, relationships or even you
yourself! What does this mean?
Do growth and development mean
the same thing?
Do they accompany each other?
This chapter discusses the concept of
human development as it pertains to nations
and communities.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Both growth and development refer to changes
over a period of time. The difference is that
growth is quantitative and value neutral. It may
have a positive or a negative sign. This means
that the change may be either positive (showing
an increase) or negative (indicating a decrease).
Development means a qualitative change
which is always value positive. This means that
development cannot take place unless there is
an increment or addition to the existing
conditions. Development occurs when positive
growth takes place. Yet, positive growth does
not always lead to development. Development
occurs when there is a positive change in
quality.
For example, if the population of a city
grows from one lakh to two lakhs over a period
of time, we say the city has grown. However, if a
facilities like housing, provision of basic services
and other characteristics remain the same, then
this growth has not been accompanied by
development.
Can you think of a few more examples to
differentiate between growth and development?
Write a short essay or draw a set of pictures illustrating
growth without development and growth with
development.
For many decades, a country’s level of
development was measured only in terms of its
economic growth. This meant that the bigger
the economy of the country, the more developed
it was considered, even though this growth did
not really mean much change in the lives of most
people.
The idea that the quality of life people enjoy
in a country, the opportunities they have and
freedoms they enjoy, are important aspects