Development — Class 10 Economics (CBSE) explained

What you’ll learn

1. 1

   Lesson 1: Different People, Different Developmental Goals

   5 min
   • Development Begins with Questions About a Better Life
   • Life Situations Shape Developmental Goals
   • Development for One May Be Destructive for Another
   • Income Matters, but So Do Freedom and Respect
   • A Better Choice Depends on a Mix of Goals
   • National Development Requires a Fair and Just Path
   • A Development Decision Can Have Unequal Consequences
2. 2

   Lesson 2: Comparing Development: Income and Other Indicators

   5 min
   • The Purpose of Comparison Determines the Criterion
   • Average Income Accounts for Population
   • The World Bank Uses Per Capita Income to Classify Countries
   • Identical Average Income Can Hide Very Different Lives
   • An Increasing Average Does Not Prove Everyone Is Better Off
   • Rank the Three States by Per Capita Income
   • Health and Education Change the Comparison
3. 3

   Lesson 3: Public Facilities and Human Development

   5 min
   • Money in Your Pocket Cannot Buy Everything You Need
   • Collective Provision Can Be Better and Cheaper
   • Health and Nutrition Depend on Functioning Facilities
   • Literacy and School Attendance Measure Different Things
   • BMI Must Be Interpreted with Age
   • Human Development Combines Income, Health and Education
   • Read Each Human Development Indicator Separately
4. 4

   Lesson 4: Sustainability, Application and Practice

   6 min
   • Development Must Be Maintained for Future Generations
   • Groundwater Evidence Shows a Threat from Overuse
   • Renewable Does Not Mean Unlimited
   • Crude Oil Stocks Face Different Pressures
   • Environmental Consequences Do Not Stop at Boundaries
   • Use the Average to Find a Missing Income
   • Compare Undernutrition Using the Adult BMI Table
   • Recap: Explain Development with Goals, Evidence and Sustainability

Key concepts

Conflicting developmental goals

Different goals are not always conflicting goals. A conflict appears when achieving one person's goal works against another person's interests.

National development

National development means thinking about these questions, not simply accepting every proposal as equally important.

Criteria for comparison

Income is considered one of the most important attributes for comparing countries. Greater income can help people obtain more of the things they need.

Per capita income

The result is average income, also called per capita income.

Collective provision

For many important things, collective provision is the best way and also the cheapest way.

Human development measures

Income is important, but it is an inadequate measure of development on its own. The Human Development Report, published by the United Nations Development Programme, or UNDP, compares countries using educational levels, health status and per capita income.

Resource categories

Renewable resources are replenished by nature, as crops and plants are.

Non-renewable resource estimates

The estimated duration for World is forty-seven years if extraction continues at the rate used for this estimate.

Exam focus

Board exam

CBSE assesses this chapter in the 2026-27 year-end board examination.

Syllabus

Development. Learning outcomes: enumerate and examine the different processes involved in setting developmental goals; analyse and infer how the per capita income depicts the economic condition of the nation; evaluate the development goals with reference to their efficacy, implemental strategies, relevance to current requirements of the nation; compare the per capita income of some countries and infer reasons for the variance; analyse the multiple perspectives on the need of development.

Exam note

Board-assessed in full. sample paper: different goals of development MCQ and a 5-mark data-table question (infant mortality, literacy, net attendance ratio of three states); practise reading the textbook's tables.

Paper pattern

Social Science (087): 80 marks, 3 hours, 38 questions, all compulsory, in four sections of 20 marks each (A History, B Geography, C Political Science, D Economics); internal assessment 20. Section D Economics 20 marks from Development, Sectors of the Indian Economy, Money and Credit, and Globalisation and the Indian Economy (subtopics "What is Globalisation?" and "Factors that have enabled Globalisation" only); Consumer Rights is project work. 2026-27 sample paper Section D: 6 MCQs (including data/table and assertion-reason), 3 SA (3), 1 LA (5, data-table analysis). No map items. Word limits: VSA 2 marks <=40 words, SA 3 marks <=60 words, LA 5 marks <=120 words, case-based 4 marks (three sub-questions) <=100 words. Whole-paper type weightage: MCQs 20x1 (inclusive of assertion-reason, differentiation and stem), 2-mark 4x2, 3-mark 5x3, case study 3x4, 5-mark 4x5, map pointing 5. Internal choice in a few questions only.

Question style

Weightage to competency levels (whole paper): Remembering and Understanding 24 marks (30%); Applying 11 (13.25%); Analysing, Evaluating and Creating 40 (50%); Map skill 5 (6.25%).

Practice in the app

96 board-pattern questions with marking schemes: 26 multiple choice (1 mark), 14 assertion–reason (1 mark), 19 very short answer (2 marks), 19 short answer (3 marks), 6 long answer (5 marks) and 12 case-based (4 marks).

Sample questions with marking points

Board-pattern questions from the AI Lessons practice set for this chapter. The marking points show what an examiner looks for; full model answers are in the app.

1. Very short answer2 marks

   Interpret Haryana's per capita income of Rs 3,25,759 for 2023–24. Does it establish that every resident earned this amount?

   Marking points

   • Interprets the figure as average income per person for one year, 2023–24.1
   • States that individual incomes can differ and the figure is not every resident's actual income.1

2. Short answer3 marks

   A village has no adequate high-school facilities. A resident argues that each family should arrange education privately elsewhere. Give three arguments for collective provision instead.

   Marking points

   • Collective provision can provide important educational services more effectively and cheaply.1
   • Private schooling elsewhere depends on a family's ability to afford it.1
   • Adequate local facilities expand educational opportunities and address barriers, particularly for girls.1

3. Long answer5 marks

   A proposal defines a developed society as one with the highest per capita income, regardless of income distribution, public services or resource use. Evaluate this definition in five points, including groundwater and crude oil in your discussion.

   Marking points

   • Recognises per capita income as useful but insufficient for judging overall development.1
   • Explains that average income hides distribution or disparities.1
   • Recognises non-income goals such as freedom, security, respect or equal treatment.1
   • Explains the importance of public health and educational facilities or collective provision.1
   • Links future development to keeping groundwater use within replenishment by rain.0.5
   • Recognises crude oil as non-renewable and exhaustible, requiring attention to future resource availability.0.5

Frequently asked questions

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