NIOS Class 12th Economics English Medium Solve Assignment (TMA) 2021

 Economics (318)

Tutor Marked Assignment

1. Answer any one of the following questions in about 40-60 words.

(a) Every economy in the world has its own characteristics by which it is known or identified as a developed or developing economy. In the light of this statement explain the following features of the Indian economy:

1. Low level of per capita income and.

2. High level of capital formation.

Ans- 1. A low per capita income can have many causes, but the reason is always the same: there is a lack of resources available to part or all of the population. Sometimes it’s a very rich upper class refusing to share a source of wealth, other times it can be a drought causing a food shortage. Either way, you end up with a lower income per person, which reduces demand. Since something like food is always necessary, the shrinking wealth pool (either from prices rising or income falling) will go to necessities at a higher percentage. Lower

2. High-Level Capital formation is a concept used in macroeconomics, national accounts, and financial economics. Occasionally it is also used in corporate accounts. It can be defined in three ways:

• It is a specific statistical concept, also known as net investment, used in national accounts statistics, econometrics, and macroeconomics. In that sense, it refers to a measure of the net additions to the (physical) capital stock of a country (or an economic sector) in an accounting interval, or, a measure of the amount by which the total physical capital stock increased during an accounting period. To arrive at this measure, Standard valuation principles are used.
• It is used also in economic theory, as a modern general term for capital accumulation, referring to the total “stock of capital” that has been formed, or to the growth of this total capital stock.
• In a much broader or vaguer sense, the term “capital formation” has in more recent times been used in financial economics to refer to savings drives, setting up financial institutions, fiscal measures, public borrowing, development of capital markets, privatization of financial institutions, development of secondary markets. In this usage, it refers to any method for increasing the amount of capital owned or under one’s control, or any method in utilizing or mobilizing capital resources for investment purposes. Thus, capital could be “formed” in the sense of “being brought together for investment purposes in many different ways.

2. Answer any one of the following questions in about 40-60 words.

(a) Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Keeping this statement in view explains the importance of sustainable development.

Ans- Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

The concept of sustainable development can be interpreted in many different ways, but at its core is an approach to development that looks to balance different, and often competing, needs against an awareness of The environmental, social, and economic limitations we face as a society.

All too often, development is driven by one particular need, without fully considering the wider or future impacts. We are already seeing the damage this kind of approach can cause, from large-scale financial crises caused by irresponsible banking to changes in global climate resulting from our dependence on fossil fuel-based energy sources. The longer we pursue unsustainable development, the more frequent and severe its consequences are likely to become, which is why we need to take action now.

If sustainable development focuses on the future, does that mean We lose out now?

Not necessarily. Sustainable development is about finding better ways of doing things, both for the future and the present. We might need to change the way we work and live now, but this doesn’t mean our quality of life will be reduced. A sustainable development approach can bring many benefits in the short to medium term, for example:

Savings – As a result of SDC scrutiny, the government has saved over £60m by improving efficiency across its estate.

Health & Transport – Instead of driving, switching to walking or cycling for short journeys will save you money, improve your health, and is often Just as quick and convenient.

3. Answer any one of the following questions in about 40-60 words.

(b) Statistical data can be systematically organized and presented in the form of tables, graphs, and charts. One of such charts is a pie chart or diagram. Explain the steps involved in the construction of the pie chart.

Ans- 

Construction of Pie Chart :

It is a circular graph that is used to represent data. In this:

• Various observations of the data are represented by the sectors of the circle.

• The total angle formed at the center is 360°.

• The whole circle represents the sum of the values of all the components.

• The angle at the center corresponding to the particular observation component is given by

If the values of observation/components are expressed in percentage, then the central angle corresponding to a particular observation/component is given by

Steps of construction of pie chart for a given data:

1. The following table shows the numbers of hours spent by a child on different events on a working day.

Represent the adjoining information on a pie chart

The central angles for various observations can be calculated as:

Now, we shall represent these angles within the circle as different sectors. Then we now make the pie chart:

4. Answer any one of the following questions in about 100-150 words.

(a) “One way to collect data is to collect it directly from the respondent. Another way is to adopt the data already collected by someone else.” Keeping this statement in mind explain the methods of collecting primary data.

Ans-

Methods for collecting primary data There are several methods for collecting primary data. Some of which are:

1. Direct personal interview: In this method investigator (also called interviewer) has to be face-to-face with the person from whom he wants information. The person from whom this information is collected to called a respondent.

2. Indirect oral investigation: Under this method data are collected through indirect sources. Under this method questions relating to the inquiry are put to different persons and their answers are recorded. This method is most suitable when the person from whom the information is sought is either unavailable or unwilling.

3. Questionnaire method: In this method, a list of questions called a questionnaire is prepared and sent to respondents either through post or given personally to them. This method is suitable where the fi 8/13 inquiry is wide.

5. Answer any one of the following questions in about 100–150 words.

(b) “By comparing the per capita income of India and the United States, we can say that India is a developing economy while the United States is a developed economy”. Such comparisons are possible only with help of statistical analysis of economic data. Explain the importance of statistics in economics focusing on the given statement.

Ans- Economic Reforms Process:

Since July 1991 the country has taken a series of measures to structure the economy and improve the balance of payments position. The New Economic Policy (NEP-1991) introduced changes in the areas of trade policies, monetary & financial policies, fiscal & budgetary policies, and pricing & institutional reforms. The salient features of NEP-1991 are (1) liberalization (internal and external), (ii) extending privatization, (iii) redirecting scarce Public Sector Resources to Areas where the private sector is unlikely to enter, (iv) globalization of economy, and (v) market-friendly state. Research reports reveal that this macro-economic adjustment program is remarkable for its relatively painless transition compared with similar programs elsewhere and a large part of the credit for the absorption of these shocks is due to the steady increase in agricultural production. The GATT Agreement signed in 1995 will fundamentally change the global trade picture in the agricultural sector.

Impact of Economic Reforms Process on Indian Agricultural Sectors

The agricultural sector is the mainstay of the rural Indian economy around which socio-economic privileges and deprivations revolve, and any change in its structure is likely to have a corresponding impact on the existing pattern of social equality. No strategy of economic reform can succeed without sustained and broad-based agricultural development, which is critical.

• Raising living standards,
• Alleviating poverty,
• Assuring food security,
• Generating buoyant market for expansion of industry and services, and
• Making a substantial contribution to the national economic growth.

IXPlan Strategy on Agricultural Development

The agricultural development strategy for the Ninth Five Year Plan is essentially based on the policy on food security announced by the Government, to double the food production and make India hunger-free in ten years. The Strategy to ensure food security is as follows:

• Doubling food production
• Increase in employment & incomes
• Supplementary/sustained employment and creation of rural infrastructure through Poverty Alleviation Programmes (PAP)
• Distribution of food grains to the people Below the Poverty Line (BPL)

The Ninth Plan Target is to achieve a growth rate of about 4.5% per annum agricultural output and production of 234 MT of food grains by 2001-02. The Policy thrust and key elements of the Growth Strategy, as proposed in the Ninth Five Year Plan Document (Volume II: PP444), are as follows:-

• Conservation of land, water, and biological resources
• Rural infrastructure development
• Development of rainfed agriculture
• Development of minor irrigation
• Timely and adequate availability of inputs
• The increasing flow of credit
• Enhancing public sector investment
• Enhanced support for research
• Effective transfer of technology
• Support for marketing infrastructure
• Export promotion

6. Prepare a project on any one of the following.

(a) Statistics is concerned with the collection, presentation, analysis, and interpretation of data but this data is mostly collected by the user and then presented in a meaningful manner. One of the ways to present data is through frequency distribution. Visit children in your neighborhood and record the age of at least 30 of them and then construct a frequency distribution of both exclusive as well as inclusive types.

Ans- The first UNDP Human Development Report published in 1990 stated that: “The basic objective of development is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives.” It also defined human development as a process of enlarging people’s choices”, “and strengthen human capabilities in a way that enables them to lead longer, healthier, and fuller lives.

From this broad definition of human development, one gets an idea of three critical issues involved in human development interpretation. These are: to lead a long and healthy life, to be educated, and to enjoy a decent standard of living. Barring these three crucial parameters of human development as a process enlarging people’s choices, there are additional choices that include political freedoms, other guaranteed human rights, and various ingredients of self-respect.

Objectives of Human Development:

In traditional development economics, development meant the growth of per capita real income. Later on, a wider definition of development came to be assigned that focused on distributional objectives. Economic development, in other words, came to be redefined in terms of reduction or elimination of poverty and inequality,

These are, after all, a goods-oriented view of development. True development has to be people- centered’. When development is defined in terms of human welfare it means that people are put first. This people – oriented’ view of development is to be called human development

It is thus clear that per capita income does not stand as a true index of development of any country. To overcome this problem and to understand the dynamics of development, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) developed the concept of the Human Development Index (HDI) in the 1990s. This index brought in revolutionary changes not only in development but also in the policy environment in which the government was assigned a major role instead of market forces 

Economic development now refers to expanding capabilities. According to Amartya Sen, the basic objective of development is the expansion of human capabilities. The capability of a person reflects the various combinations of doings and beings’ that one can achieve. It then reflects that the people are capable of doing or being. Capability thus describes a person’s freedom to choose between different ways of living

Components of Human Development:

The noted Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq considered four essential pillars of human development

These are:

i. Equality,

ii. Sustainability

iii. Productivity, and

iv. Empowerment

i. Equality:

If development is viewed in terms of enhancing people’s basic capabilities, people must enjoy equitable access to opportunities. Such may be called equality-related capabilities. To ensure equality-related capabilities or access to opportunities what is essential is that the societal institutional structure needs to be more favorable or progressive.

ii. Sustainability:

Another important facet of human development is that development should keep going’, should last long’ The concept of sustainable development focuses on the need to maintain the long-term protective capacity of the biosphere. This then suggests that growth cannot go on indefinitely; there are, of course, ‘limits to growth

iii. Productivity:

Another component of human development is productivity which requires investment in people. This is commonly called investment in human capital. Investment in human capital in addition to physical capital can add more productivity.

iv. Empowerment:

The empowerment of people-particularly women is another component of human development. In other words, genuine human development requires empowerment in all aspects of life. Anyway, decentralization and participation empower people, especially the women and the poor. It then breaks the ‘deprivation trap’. Mahbub ul Haq asserts: “If people can exercise their choices in the political, social and economic spheres, there is a good prospect that growth will be strong, democratic, participatory and durable.”