NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11 Human Capital Formation In India

Detailed, Step-by-Step NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11 Human Capital Formation In India Questions and Answers were solved by Expert Teachers as per NCERT (CBSE) Book guidelines covering each topic in chapter to ensure complete preparation.

Human Capital Formation In India NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11

Human Capital Formation In India Questions and Answers Class 12 Economics Chapter 11

Question 1.
What are the two major sources of human capital in a country?
Answer:
The two major sources of human capital in a country are education and health, The contribution of an educated person to the economic growth is more than an uneducated person. Similarly, a healthy persor provides uninterrupted labour supply for a longer period than an unhealthy person. Hence, education and health are the most important factors for the economic growth.

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11 Human Capital Formation In India

Question 2.
What are the indicators of educational achievement in a country?
Answer:
The indicators of educational achievement in a country are:

  • Adult literacy rate measures the proportion of literate population in the age group of 15 and above.
  • Primary completion rate is the percentage of students who complete the last year of primary schooling.
  • Youth literacy rate measures the proportion of literate population in the age group of 15 and 24 years.
  • Net attendance ratio is the total number of children of age group 14 and 15 years attending school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group.
  • Teacher-pupil ratio is the number of students, attending the school divided by the number of teachers in the school.

Question 3.
Why do we observe regional differences in educational attainment in India?
Answer:
There are wide regional differences in educational attainment in India. The per capita expenditure on education was ? 34,651 in Himachal Pradesh in 2014-15 while it was only 4,088 in Bihar during the same period. This leads to differences in educational opportunities and attainment across states. The following factors are responsible for disparity in educational attainment across states:

(i) Economic Factors: Relatively affluent states are in a position to invest more in education by building schools, colleges and appointing qualified teachers.

(ii) Political Factors: The commitment on the part of state governments also plays a significant role in proper implementation of education schemes. Thus, difference in political will towards creating better human capital among different states is another reason for regional differences in educational attainment.

(iii) Socio-cultural Factors: Each state has its own social norms and traditions, which may create difference in attitude towards education across regions. People in socially developed regions understand the importance of education while in socially backward regions education is not considered important, especially for girls.

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11 Human Capital Formation In India

Question 4.
Bring out the differences between human capital and human development.
Answer:
Following are the points of difference between human capital and human development:

S.No. Human Capital Human Development
1.

2.

In human capital, education and health are considered as a means to increase labour productivity.

Human capital treats people as means to an end, wherein the end is the resulting increase in productivity.

In human development, education and health are considered to be an integral part of human well-being.

Human Development treats humans as ends in themselves.

Question 5.
How is human development a broader term as compared to human capital?
Answer:
Human development is a far broader concept as compared to human capital. Human development involves those factors which lead to social welfare and development. On the other hand, human capital focuses only on human beings and their contribution to the economy. Human development includes overall prosperity of individuals through education and health, while human capital considers human beings as a source of Increasing economic productivity.

Question 6.
What factors contribute to human capital formation?
Answer:
The following factors contribute to human capital formation:

  • Investment in education
  • Investment in health
  • job training
  • Expenditure in migration
  • Information relating to labour and other markets

Question 7.
How government organisations facilitate the functioning of schools and hospitals in India?
Answer:
Government organisations play a significant role in the functioning of schools and hospitals in India. Since private institutions are guided by the profit motive, the price they charge for providing education and health facilities is high.

Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the government to regulate their functioning. In order to ensure that health and education facilities also reach the weaker and underprivileged section of the society, the government has set up various organisations such as:

(i) Education Sector

  • NCERT (National Council of Education Research and Training) is responsible for designing textbooks up to grade 12. It forms the base for school curriculum in India.
  • UGC (University Grants Commission) is the prime funding authority for university education.
  • AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) enforces rules and regulations regarding technical education in India.

(ii) Health Sector

  • ICMR (India Council for Medical Research) enforces rules and regulations regarding research in health sector.
  • National Institute of Health and Family Welfare is responsible for promotion of health and family welfare programmes.

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11 Human Capital Formation In India

Question 8.
Education is considered as an important input for the development of a nation. How?
Answer:
The availability of educated labour force facilitates adaptation of new technologies. Economists have stressed the need for expanding education opportunities in a nation as it accelerates the development process. Education confers highly valued benefits apart from higher earning capacity.  Following are the benefits of attaining education:

  • Its gives better social standing and pride.
  • It enables to make better choice in life.
  • It provides knowledge to understand the changes taking place in the society.
  • It stimulates innovations.

Question 9.
Discuss the following as a sources of human capital formation:
(i) Health Infrastructure
(ii) Expenditure on Migration
Answer:
(i) Health Infrastructure: Health means state of complete physical, mental and social soundness.Investment in health facilities is essential to build a physically and mentally strong human capital, thereby increasing labour productivity. It involves availability of preventive and curative medicine, supply of clean drinking water and good sanitation.

A healthy person is more productive than a sick person who is unable to work efficiently due to bad health. Thus, development of health facilities through expenditure on health infrastructure will directly increase the supply of healthy labour force and hence, enhance the human capital formation.

(ii) Expenditure on Migration: People migrate in search of jobs that fetch them higher salaries than what they may get in their native places. For instance, engineers and doctors migrate to other countries for higher salaries that they may get in such countries. Migration involves transportation cost, higher cost of living in the migrated place and psychic cost of living in an unknown socioculture set-up. The increased earnings at the new place outweigh the cost of migration. Hence, expenditure on migration is also a source of human capital formation.

Question 10.
Establish the need for acquiring information relating to health and education expenditure for the effective utilisation of human resources.
Answer:
The need for acquiring health and education expenditure reiated information for the effective utilisation of human resources is discussed below:

(i) Education: Investment in education is considered as the most important source of human capital. Without education, human beings have only brutal manpower, that is, they have only physical labour. Investment in education gives human being additional skills to do the same ; job The information related to education includes information regarding availability of seats in i educational institutions, courses, eligibility requirement and fee being charged for the courses.  Such information enables people to make better choice among various options available to j them. This leads to effective utilisation of human skills and knowledge.

(ii) Health: Availability of information related to health creates awareness among people. Earlier various health measures were not adopted due to lack of information. For instance, a few years back, people considered AIDS as a disease, which could spread even by shaking hands or sharing food. However, with awareness campaigns people have now become informed about  it.

The use of health related information and family welfare programmes ensures the supply of  healthy workforce. It helps in making human resource effective by increasing the capacity to j work and improving productivity.

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11 Human Capital Formation In India

Question 11.
How does investment in human capital contribute to growth?
Answer:
Growth means increase in real national income of a country. National income of a country is the sum total of the market value of all goods and services produced during the period of one year in that country. The contribution of an educated person to economic growth is more than an uneducated person.

In the same way, a healthy person provides uninterrupted labour supply for a longer period of time. Thus, health is also an important factor for economic growth. The skilled and healthy labours make effective utilisation of the material inputs and capital, which increases the productivity and ultimately results in faster economic growth.

Beside education and health, an individual’s income generating capacity factors are on-the-job training, labour market information and migration. All these factors enhance productivity of human capital, which contributes to economic growth.

Question 12.
‘There is a downward trend in inequality world-wide with a rise in the average education levels’. Comment.
Answer:
A rise in the average education level has resulted in reduced inequality at the global level. Governments of different countries are investing heavily in the education sector thereby making better earning opportunities available to all. Distribution of income has become less biased and income inequality between the rich and the poor is reducing across the world. A rise in education level not only reduces inequality but also helps in alleviating problems like poverty, unemployment and underutilisation of resources.

Question 13.
Examine the role of education in the economic development of a nation.
Answer:
Education confers highly valued benefits apart from higher earning capacity. It plays a significant role in the economic development of a country.
(i) Enhances Knowledge and Skills: It inculcates quality skills and knowledge among the people, which enhances their productivity. This gives better opportunity to do work and earn higher income.

(ii) Promotes Modern Methods: An educated individual is more open to adopt new and modern techniques in production methods. This can boost the economy of a nation.

(iii) Eradicates Inequality: Education is an effective tool for reducing inequality. It increases the income earning capacity of economically backward people/ regions in a country thereby reducing the unequal distribution of income.

(iv) Encourages Innovation: An educated person has the ability to innovate new skills and techniques that can make the production process more efficient and hence, help in the economic development of a nation.

(v) Increases Participation Rate: Education enables a greater proportion of population to participate in the economic activities of the nation, thereby accelerating the development process.

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11 Human Capital Formation In India

Question 14.
Explain how investment in education stimulates economic growth?
Answer:
Economic growth means increase In reai national income of a country. Naturally, the conm bution of the educated person to economic growth is more than that of an illiterate person Invest, tent in education is considered as the most important source of human capital. Without education, human beings have only brutal manpower, that is, they have oniy physical labour.

Investment in education gives human being additional skills to do the same job. Individuals are able to make better choice among various-options available to them. This leads to effective utilisation of human skills and knowledge thereby stimulating the nation’s economic growth.

Question 15.
Bring out the need for on-the-job training of a person.
Answer:
Firms incur expenditure on providing on-the-job training to their workers. Training imparts technical skills and know-how among the workers while working at the actual work site. On-the-job training helps in enhancing the productivity of the workers and facilitates better utilisation of raw materials. It enables workers to absorb values and standards of an organisation. The workers may be trained by either of the following two methods:

  • Training within the firm under the supervision of a skilled worker
  • Off-campus training

Question 16.
Trace the relationship between human capital and economic growth.
Answer:
The role of human capital formation in economic growth is very significant. The importance of human capital in economic growth is clear from the wording of India’s Seventh Five Year Plan document: “Human resources development or human capital has necessarily to be assigned a key role in any development strategy, particularly in a country with a large population.

Trained and educated on sound lines, a large population can itself become an asset in accelerating economic growth and in ensuring social change in desired directions.” There is a positive relationship between human capital and economic growth, The labour skill and efficiency of an educated and healthy person is more than an uneducated and unhealthy person.

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11 Human Capital Formation In India

Question 17.
Discuss the need for promoting women’s education in India.
Answer:
There has been extreme gender inequality in India in terms of participation in employment, education and decision making. Women have always been neglected in the field of education, which has led to their weaker and lower status in India. However, in orderto achieve overall economic development and growth, female education and empowerment should be given priority. The following points explain the need for promoting women’s education in India:

  • To improve their economic independence and feasibility
  • To raise the social and moral status of women
  • To maintain favourable fertility rate
  • To enhance health care of women and their children
  • To enable them infuse good moral values and impart quality education to her children

Question 18.
Argue in favour of the need for the different forms of government intervention in education and health sectors.
Answer:
In India, the education and health sectors services are provided both by public as well as by private institutions. The different forms of government intervention in education and health sectors are important because:
(i) The private institutions are guided by profit motive and hence, the cost of education and health sen/ices provided by them is higher. As a result, it is difficult for majority of the population to avail these services due to their economic inability. Public institutions, on the other hand, are guided by the motive of social welfare to enhance human capital. Thus, it becomes the responsibility of the government to provide quality education and health facilities at economical cost.

(ii) Private institutions neglect the remote and rural areas where people lack initiative for education and health. Thus, the role of government is to encourage and make them aware of advantages of education and health.

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11 Human Capital Formation In India

Question 19.
What are the main problems of human capital formation in India?
Answer:
The main problems of human capital formation in India are:

(i) Limited Resources: The resources required to invest in education, health and other sources of human capital insufficient. Although the government is investing huge amounts in human capital, the returns are very low due to high pressure of population.

(ii) Implementation Problems: The government has initiated various programmes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and National Rural Health Mission to supplement human capital formation. These programmes suffer from corrupt officials and faulty implementation. As a result, the benefits do not reach the targeted people.

(iii) Poor Quality: Human capital formation in India has been progressing rapidly in quantitative terms. However, quality of human capital is far from satisfactory. Health facilities are inadequate in many areas. A large number of educational institutions are being opened, which impart inferior quality of education and skills, and produce unemployable educated youth.

(iv) Improper Planning: There has been improper planning for human capital formation, which has resulted in shortage of manpower in the health and education sectors. There are schools but no teachers and there are hospitals but no doctors. Moreover, physical infrastructure falls short of the requirement.

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Economics Chapter 11 Human Capital Formation In India

Question 20.
In your view, is it essential for the government to regulate the fee structure in education and health care institutions? If so, why?
Answer:
Education and health are the most important sectors for the formation of quality human capital. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the government to ensure that these services reach all the sections of the society. For this purpose, either the government should directly provide these sendees through government institutes or encourage private sector participation. India has a vast population, which still lacks health care and education.

It is not feasible for the government alone to fulfill the requirement due to lack of resources. Hence, private sector is allowed to operate in these sectors. However, private sector is driven by profit as primary motive. If the fee becomes unaffordable for the common people, the purpose of these facilities will be defeated. Therefore, the government must intervene and regulate the fee structure in education and health care institutions.

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