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CBSE Class 10 Economics • Understanding Economic Development
Development Class 10 MCQs with Answers
Practise 120 carefully selected MCQs on Development for Class 10 Economics, covering developmental goals, income and averages, public facilities, human development, HDI and sustainability.
120MCQs
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Complete Development Revision
Use the MCQs to test recall, then move to the detailed questions and answers for written-answer preparation.
How to use this page: Attempt every question before checking the answer. Mark questions you miss, revise the relevant concept, then retry them.
Exam focus: Give special attention to different developmental goals, per capita income and its limitations, public facilities, HDI, health and education indicators and sustainability.
Quick strategy: Treat every incorrect answer as a revision target rather than simply checking the score.
REVISION SET
Questions 1–40Development — Core Concepts
1. Development is best understood as
Correct answer: B. progress towards goals and improved living conditions
2. Why can two people have different developmental goals?
Correct answer: B. Their needs, aspirations and situations differ
3. Which is a non-material goal mentioned in the chapter?
Correct answer: A. Respect
4. Which pair can represent conflicting developmental goals?
Correct answer: B. More electricity through dams and protection of displaced people's land
5. What may be development for one person?
Correct answer: B. Sometimes not development, or even destructive, for another
6. People commonly seek more income through
Correct answer: A. regular work and better wages
7. Which is NOT presented as an important non-material goal?
Correct answer: D. Population size
8. Why is money not enough for a good life?
Correct answer: B. Some important goods and conditions require collective provision
9. A job with less pay may be preferred when it provides
Correct answer: B. regular employment and greater security
10. National development requires thinking about
Correct answer: B. which goals are fair and benefit people
11. For country comparison, total income is less useful because countries have different
Correct answer: B. populations
12. Average income is calculated as
Correct answer: B. total income divided by total population
13. Per capita income is another name for
Correct answer: B. average income
14. A major limitation of average income is that it
Correct answer: B. hides income distribution
15. If two countries have the same average income, the more equitable one may be preferred because
Correct answer: B. income is distributed more evenly
16. Which indicator measures deaths of children before age one per 1,000 live births?
Correct answer: B. Infant Mortality Rate
17. Literacy rate in the chapter refers to the proportion of people aged
Correct answer: B. 7 and above
18. Net Attendance Ratio in the table refers to children aged
Correct answer: C. 15–17
19. Why did the chapter compare Haryana, Kerala and Bihar using social indicators?
Correct answer: B. Income alone does not fully show development
20. In the chapter's 2023–24 data, which state had the highest per capita income among Haryana, Kerala and Bihar?
Correct answer: C. Haryana
21. In the chapter's data, which state had the lowest infant mortality rate among the three?
Correct answer: B. Kerala
22. What does the Haryana-Kerala comparison demonstrate?
Correct answer: B. Income alone is not a complete measure of development
23. Which public facility is discussed as an important collective service?
Correct answer: A. Basic healthcare
24. A pollution-free environment generally cannot be guaranteed by
Correct answer: B. one individual's money alone
25. Why are public facilities important?
Correct answer: B. They can provide essential goods and services collectively
26. The UNDP Human Development Report compares countries using
Correct answer: B. education, health and income dimensions
27. HDI stands for
Correct answer: A. Human Development Index
28. Life expectancy at birth means
Correct answer: B. average expected length of life at birth
29. In the chapter's table, HDI ranks are based on
Correct answer: B. countries in the world
30. Which country in the chapter's table had a higher life expectancy than India despite lower per capita income?
Correct answer: A. Nepal
31. Which neighbouring country is shown with an HDI rank of 89 in the chapter's table?
Correct answer: B. Sri Lanka
32. Which country is shown with an HDI rank of 168?
Correct answer: B. Pakistan
33. Which country is shown with an HDI rank of 150?
Correct answer: A. Myanmar
34. What does the use of health and education indicators show?
Correct answer: A. Development has multiple dimensions
35. The word 'human' in human development emphasises
Correct answer: B. people's health and well-being
36. Purchasing Power Parity helps
Correct answer: A. make income figures comparable in purchasing-power terms
37. A renewable resource is one that
Correct answer: B. is replenished by nature
38. Groundwater is described as
Correct answer: B. renewable but capable of overuse
39. Groundwater becomes overused when
Correct answer: B. use exceeds natural replenishment
40. Why is groundwater sustainability important?
Correct answer: B. continued overuse can reduce future availability
REVISION SET
Questions 41–80Income, Indicators & Public Facilities
41. Crude oil is described as
Correct answer: B. non-renewable
42. Non-renewable resources
Correct answer: B. exist in a fixed stock and can be exhausted
43. New discoveries of oil
Correct answer: B. can add to known reserves but do not make the overall stock unlimited
44. If oil prices rise, countries dependent on imports may face
Correct answer: B. a greater economic burden
45. Sustainability asks whether development can
Correct answer: A. continue without exhausting resources and damaging future prospects
46. Environmental degradation
Correct answer: B. can affect areas across boundaries
47. The chapter's central idea about development is that it is
Correct answer: B. a broad and continuing debate about goals and well-being
48. A country with a high average income can still have
Correct answer: B. large inequalities
49. Which measure is most directly an average?
Correct answer: A. Per capita income
50. Which is an example of a public facility?
Correct answer: A. A community school
51. Why can collective security be cheaper than individual security?
Correct answer: A. One service can protect many people
52. What does the chapter suggest about education?
Correct answer: B. Access to education is an important aspect of human well-being
53. Why does the chapter mention women and paid work?
Correct answer: B. To show dignity, respect and security also matter
54. Which is NOT a reason for using per capita income?
Correct answer: C. It fully describes inequality
55. If total income rises but population rises faster, per capita income may
Correct answer: B. fall
56. If average income rises, can we conclude every group is better off?
Correct answer: B. No, because averages can hide disparities
57. The chapter's Country A and Country B example mainly illustrates
Correct answer: B. income distribution
58. A country with equal income distribution may be preferred because
Correct answer: B. extreme poverty and extreme concentration are reduced
59. The main criterion used by the World Bank in the chapter for country classification is
Correct answer: A. per capita income
60. The UNDP approach described in the chapter
Correct answer: B. combines health, education and income
61. Which is an education indicator used in the chapter's comparison?
Correct answer: A. Mean years of schooling
62. Which is a health indicator in the chapter?
Correct answer: A. Life expectancy
63. The chapter's 2023 table lists India's life expectancy at birth as
Correct answer: C. 72
64. The chapter's table lists India's mean years of schooling for people aged 25 and above as
Correct answer: B. 6.9
65. Which country in the table has the highest life expectancy among the listed countries?
Correct answer: B. Sri Lanka
66. Which country in the table has the lowest mean years of schooling?
Correct answer: C. Pakistan
67. The chapter says HDI rank for India is
Correct answer: B. 130
68. Which pair is correctly matched?
Correct answer: A. Sri Lanka—HDI rank 89
69. What does per capita income fail to tell us directly?
Correct answer: B. Income distribution
70. Which statement about renewable resources is correct?
Correct answer: B. They can be overused if consumption exceeds replenishment
71. Which statement about crude oil is correct?
Correct answer: B. It is non-renewable and finite
72. Why is development a continuing debate?
Correct answer: A. People's goals and social conditions change and can conflict
73. Which is a material goal?
Correct answer: A. Higher wages
74. Which is a non-material goal?
Correct answer: A. Freedom
75. A safe and secure environment can help women
Correct answer: B. take up jobs or run businesses
76. The chapter's example of a dam highlights
Correct answer: B. possible conflict between development goals
77. Which question is central to national development?
Correct answer: A. Who benefits and whether the path is fair
78. Why should future generations be considered?
Correct answer: B. Unsustainable development can reduce their resource base
79. Which statement best describes sustainable development in the chapter?
Correct answer: B. Development that considers present needs and future generations
80. What can public healthcare help prevent?
Correct answer: B. Infectious diseases through community-wide preventive steps
DATA • APPLICATION
Questions 81–120Human Development & Sustainability
81. Why is a clean environment partly a collective good?
Correct answer: A. Pollution can affect everyone in a community
82. Which is NOT an indicator used in the chapter's human-development discussion?
Correct answer: D. Number of luxury cars
83. The chapter's rural education table concerns
Correct answer: A. Uttar Pradesh
84. In the Uttar Pradesh rural table, male literacy rate is
Correct answer: B. 76%
85. In the Uttar Pradesh rural table, female literacy rate is
Correct answer: A. 54%
86. In the Uttar Pradesh rural table, rural children aged 10–14 attending school were
Correct answer: A. 85% male and 82% female
87. Which issue is highlighted by the Uttar Pradesh education activity?
Correct answer: A. The gap between literacy and school attendance
88. According to the chapter, Tamil Nadu's rural ration-shop use was
Correct answer: C. 90%
89. West Bengal's rural ration-shop use in the cited study was
Correct answer: A. 35%
90. The ration-shop example is used to discuss
Correct answer: A. public distribution and access to facilities
91. Which statement is consistent with the chapter?
Correct answer: B. Good health and education also depend on public facilities and other factors
92. Which is the best conclusion from the chapter?
Correct answer: B. Development involves income, quality of life, fairness and sustainability
93. The chapter's final exercise asks students to relate development to
Correct answer: A. environmental sustainability and resource use
94. Why are consequences of environmental degradation a shared issue?
Correct answer: A. They can cross national and state boundaries
95. Which statement about the future is closest to the chapter's message?
Correct answer: B. Present development should not undermine future well-being
96. What does the chapter suggest students should do with data tables?
Correct answer: B. Use them to compare indicators and understand development
97. Which of these is a direct example of an average hiding inequality?
Correct answer: A. One very rich person and many poor people producing a moderate average
98. If a state has high income but poor health outcomes, the chapter suggests
Correct answer: A. income alone should not be treated as a complete measure
99. Which resource is used in the chapter to illustrate renewable-resource overuse?
Correct answer: A. Groundwater
100. Which resource is used to illustrate a finite, non-renewable stock?
Correct answer: B. Crude oil
101. The chapter says new oil discoveries
Correct answer: A. add to known reserves but do not remove the finite nature of the resource
102. What is one reason India may be affected by higher oil prices?
Correct answer: A. India depends on imported oil because domestic stocks are insufficient
103. What is the broad lesson of comparing India with neighbours?
Correct answer: A. Income ranking alone does not determine human-development outcomes
104. Why is life expectancy a useful development indicator?
Correct answer: A. It reflects an important aspect of health and longevity
105. Why is schooling an important development indicator?
Correct answer: A. Education contributes to human well-being and capabilities
106. Which statement best captures the role of income in development?
Correct answer: A. Income is important but inadequate by itself
107. Which of the following best represents a balanced development approach?
Correct answer: A. Higher income with better health, education, fairness and sustainable resource use
108. Which chapter section directly introduces the idea of 'Different People, Different Goals'?
Correct answer: A. What Development Promises
109. Which idea follows from different developmental goals?
Correct answer: B. Development choices may require balancing competing interests
110. Which example shows a non-income goal?
Correct answer: A. A worker wanting security and respect
111. Why might a high-paying job still be unattractive?
Correct answer: A. It may lack job security and reduce family time
112. What does the chapter's discussion of women imply about development?
Correct answer: A. Economic participation and social respect can reinforce one another
113. Which measure is a 'per person' measure?
Correct answer: A. Per capita income
114. What does a country's total income divided by population tell us?
Correct answer: A. Average income per person
115. What can a very high average conceal?
Correct answer: A. A large number of people with low incomes
116. Which indicator is directly connected with survival in early childhood?
Correct answer: A. Infant Mortality Rate
117. Which indicator is directly connected with schooling participation?
Correct answer: A. Net Attendance Ratio
118. Which statement best explains why government services matter?
Correct answer: A. Some essential services create benefits for the wider community
119. Which development choice is most consistent with sustainability?
Correct answer: A. Using groundwater no faster than it is replenished
120. What does the chapter's closing message suggest about development?
Correct answer: A. Society must continually ask where it wants to go and what goals it should pursue
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