Class 9 : Social Science (In English) – Lesson 18. People as Resource

EXPLANATION & SUMMARY

📍 1. Concept of People as a Resource
👥 People become a resource when their existing skills and abilities are developed through education, training, and health care.
🌾 Unlike land or capital, human resources create and use technology, drive innovation, and generate income.
📚 Educated, healthy, and skilled citizens transform population into an asset.

📍 2. Human Capital Formation
🏫 Education: Improves productivity and innovation—e.g., trained farmers use advanced techniques.
🏥 Health care: A healthy workforce can work longer hours with fewer absences.
📈 Investment in people yields returns in higher productivity and economic growth, similar to investments in factories or machines.

📍 3. Quality of Population
📊 Measured by literacy rate, health levels, and skill development.
💡 High quality → higher income, lower poverty.
⚠️ Low quality (illiteracy, malnutrition) → poverty cycle and unemployment.

📍 4. Role in Economic Activities
🌾 Primary sector: Agriculture, forestry, fishing.
🏭 Secondary sector: Manufacturing and industry.
🛍 Tertiary sector: Services—education, health, IT, banking.
👩‍🏫 Women’s participation in education and jobs improves economic output and social progress.

📍 5. Education in India
📚 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Right to Education Act increased enrollment.
💻 Literacy rate improved but gender gaps persist.
✏️ Education also reduces fertility rates and empowers marginalized communities.

📍 6. Health and Nutrition
🏥 Public health programs reduce disease burden.
🌱 Nutrition for children through schemes like Mid-Day Meal boosts attendance and learning outcomes.
🧑‍⚕️ Healthy population lowers medical costs and enhances work efficiency.

📍 7. Unemployment and Underemployment
📜 Seasonal unemployment: Agriculture-based workers jobless off-season.
🏭 Disguised unemployment: More workers employed than necessary—common in rural farms.
⚠️ Leads to lower productivity and underutilisation of human potential.

📍 8. Population as an Asset vs. Liability
✅ Asset: When educated, skilled, and healthy.
❌ Liability: When illiterate, unskilled, or unhealthy, increasing dependency ratio.
🌍 Countries like Japan invested heavily in human capital despite scarce natural resources and became economic powers.

📍 9. Government Initiatives
📚 Skill India, Digital India, and PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana target youth skills.
🏥 National Health Mission expands rural health care.
✏️ Education reforms (NEP 2020) aim for 21st-century competencies.

📍 10. Importance of Women Empowerment
👩‍🎓 Educating women improves family health, reduces poverty, and drives inclusive growth.
🛠 Gender equality in employment maximises workforce potential.

📍 11. Sustainable Development Link
🌱 Human resources manage environmental resources efficiently.
🧠 Knowledge of conservation and green tech reduces resource depletion.
🔗 Human capital is central to achieving SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).

📝 Summary (~200 words)
“People as a Resource” views the population as an asset rather than a burden when properly developed. Education, health, and skill training convert people into productive human capital. Quality of population—reflected by literacy, health, and skills—determines economic strength. Educated and healthy workers increase productivity in all sectors: primary (agriculture), secondary (manufacturing), and tertiary (services). India invests in programs like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Skill India, and National Health Mission to enhance human capital. Unemployment and underemployment remain challenges, leading to underutilisation of potential. Women’s education and employment are crucial for social progress. Countries like Japan prove that even with limited natural resources, investment in people ensures prosperity. Human resources also play a vital role in sustainable development by managing natural resources wisely. Ultimately, treating people as a resource is essential for long-term growth, poverty reduction, and national development.

⚡ Quick Recap (~100 words)
👥 People become resources when educated, skilled, and healthy.
📚 Education and 🏥 health care form human capital.
📈 Quality of population drives economic growth.
🌾🌍 Active in primary, secondary, tertiary sectors.
❌ Unemployment/underemployment waste human potential.
✅ Government schemes: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Skill India, National Health Mission.
👩‍🎓 Women’s empowerment boosts inclusive development.
🌱 Sustainable use of resources relies on knowledgeable citizens.
⚡ Investing in people converts population from liability to asset.

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QUESTIONS FROM TEXTBOOK

Question 1:
What do you understand by “people as a resource”?
Answer:
👥 It means viewing the population as an asset rather than a liability.
📚 When educated, skilled, and healthy, people contribute productively to the economy.
📈 Human beings become human capital through education, training, and health care.

Question 2:
How is human resource different from other resources like land and physical capital?
Answer:
🌾 Land and capital are passive—they need human effort to generate value.
👩‍🏫 Human resource is active—it uses knowledge and skill to utilise land, tools, and technology.
📈 Unlike other resources, human capital grows with education, skill-building, and health investments.

Question 3:
What is the role of education in human capital formation?
Answer:
📚 Enhances productivity: Trained workers use technology efficiently.
💡 Promotes innovation: Educated people develop new methods and products.
👩‍🎓 Social benefits: Reduces poverty, improves health awareness, and empowers women.

Question 4:
What is the role of health in human capital formation?
Answer:
🏥 Healthy workers: Work longer hours with better efficiency.
🌱 Reduced absenteeism: Less disease → stable workforce.
📈 Higher productivity: Healthy individuals can learn new skills and contribute effectively.

Question 5:
What part does health play in the individual’s working life?
Answer:
🏃‍♂️ Good health allows consistent work performance.
🌾 Prevents loss of income due to illness.
🧠 Enhances focus, stamina, and creativity—vital for economic success.

Question 6:
What are the various activities undertaken in the primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector?
Answer:
🌾 Primary: Agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining.
🏭 Secondary: Manufacturing industries, processing units, construction.
🛍 Tertiary: Services like education, health, banking, IT, trade, and transport.

Question 7:
What is the difference between economic activities and non-economic activities?
Answer:
💰 Economic: Activities producing goods/services for income (e.g., farming, teaching).
❤️ Non-economic: Done for love, care, or social service without monetary gain (e.g., household chores, volunteering).

Question 8:
Why are women employed in low paid work?
Answer:
👩‍🔧 Limited education & skills: Fewer opportunities for high-paying jobs.
🏭 Social norms & discrimination: Employers undervalue women’s work.
📉 Preference for flexible or informal jobs: Leads to lower wages.

Question 9:
How will you explain the term unemployment?
Answer:
📜 Unemployment is when people willing and able to work at prevailing wages cannot find jobs.
⚠️ It results in underutilisation of human capital and economic loss.

Question 10:
What is the difference between disguised unemployment and seasonal unemployment?
Answer:
🐂 Disguised: More workers employed than needed; surplus workers add no output (common in farms).
🌾 Seasonal: Workers jobless during off-seasons (e.g., agricultural labour after harvest).

Question 11:
Why is educated unemployed a peculiar problem of India?
Answer:
📚 Large number of educated youth lack suitable jobs.
🏭 Skill mismatch—education not aligned with market needs.
⚠️ Results in brain drain or underemployment despite qualifications.

Question 12:
In which field do you think India can build the maximum employment opportunity?
Answer:
🌾 Agriculture & allied activities: With better technology and diversification.
🏭 Small-scale industries & manufacturing: Labour-intensive sectors create more jobs.
🛍 Service sector: IT, tourism, health, and education offer expanding opportunities.

Question 13:
Can you suggest some measures in the education system to mitigate the problem of educated unemployed?
Answer:
📚 Update curricula with skill-based and vocational training.
🏫 Strengthen industry-institute linkages for apprenticeships.
💡 Promote entrepreneurship and career guidance.
🧑‍💻 Encourage digital literacy and emerging technology skills.

Question 14:
Can you imagine some village which initially had no job opportunities but later came up with many?
Answer:
🌱 Example: A village introducing dairy cooperatives or small-scale food processing.
🏭 Government schemes like MGNREGA or rural industries can convert idle manpower into productive work.
📈 Shows how investment in human and physical capital can transform local economies.

Question 15:
Which capital would you consider the best — land, labour, physical capital or human capital? Why?
Answer:
👥 Human capital is the best because:
🧠 It utilises land, labour, and tools efficiently.
📚 Education and skills increase its value over time.
🌍 Countries with limited natural resources but strong human capital (e.g., Japan) achieve prosperity.

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OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR EXAMS

🌟 SECTION A — Multiple Choice Questions (1 mark each)
Question 1: Which of the following converts population into human capital?
🔵 (a) Migration
🟢 (b) Education and health care
🟡 (c) Natural disasters
🔴 (d) Physical capital investments
Answer: 🟢 (b) Education and health care

Question 2: Disguised unemployment is generally found in:
🔵 (a) IT sector
🟢 (b) Agriculture
🟡 (c) Banking
🔴 (d) Heavy industry
Answer: 🟢 (b) Agriculture

Question 3: Which is considered the most productive asset of a country?
🔵 (a) Land
🟡 (b) Labour
🟢 (c) Human capital
🔴 (d) Physical capital
Answer: 🟢 (c) Human capital

Question 4: Seasonal unemployment occurs mainly in:
🔵 (a) Urban services
🟢 (b) Rural agriculture
🟡 (c) IT parks
🔴 (d) Banking
Answer: 🟢 (b) Rural agriculture

Question 5: Japan is often cited as an example of growth through:
🔵 (a) Vast natural resources
🟢 (b) Human capital formation
🟡 (c) Heavy borrowing
🔴 (d) Agricultural exports
Answer: 🟢 (b) Human capital formation

Question 6: Activities like teaching, banking and health care belong to:
🔵 (a) Primary sector
🟡 (b) Secondary sector
🟢 (c) Tertiary sector
🔴 (d) Quaternary sector
Answer: 🟢 (c) Tertiary sector

Question 7: A healthy workforce contributes to:
🔵 (a) Lower productivity
🟢 (b) Higher productivity and economic growth
🟡 (c) Population decline
🔴 (d) Natural resource depletion
Answer: 🟢 (b) Higher productivity and economic growth

Question 8: The Right to Education Act aims to:
🔵 (a) Replace vocational training
🟢 (b) Provide free and compulsory education to children
🟡 (c) Encourage seasonal migration
🔴 (d) Reduce disguised unemployment
Answer: 🟢 (b) Provide free and compulsory education to children

Question 9: In India, educated unemployment is mainly seen among:
🔵 (a) Unskilled rural workers
🟡 (b) Agricultural labourers
🟢 (c) Highly skilled and educated youth
🔴 (d) Elderly population
Answer: 🟢 (c) Highly skilled and educated youth

Question 10: Which of these is NOT an economic activity?
🔵 (a) Farming for sale
🟡 (b) Teaching for salary
🟢 (c) Volunteering at an orphanage
🔴 (d) Factory work
Answer: 🟢 (c) Volunteering at an orphanage

Question 11: The Mid-Day Meal scheme primarily helps in:
🔵 (a) Increasing exports
🟡 (b) Reducing disguised unemployment
🟢 (c) Improving school attendance and nutrition
🔴 (d) Providing wage employment
Answer: 🟢 (c) Improving school attendance and nutrition

Question 12: Human capital formation means:
🔵 (a) Importing machinery
🟡 (b) Building more factories
🟢 (c) Investing in the health and education of people
🔴 (d) Increasing money supply
Answer: 🟢 (c) Investing in the health and education of people

Question 13: Unemployment common when jobs exist only during peak seasons is:
🔵 (a) Structural
🟡 (b) Disguised
🟢 (c) Seasonal
🔴 (d) Cyclical
Answer: 🟢 (c) Seasonal

Question 14: “People as a Resource” implies:
🔵 (a) Population growth should be unchecked
🟡 (b) Population is a liability
🟢 (c) Population is an asset when educated and healthy
🔴 (d) Only physical labour matters
Answer: 🟢 (c) Population is an asset when educated and healthy

Question 15: Women are often employed in low-paid work because of:
🔵 (a) High bargaining power
🟡 (b) Government policy only
🟢 (c) Gender discrimination and lack of education
🔴 (d) Overqualification
Answer: 🟢 (c) Gender discrimination and lack of education

Question 16: A country with high literacy and strong health indicators will likely have:
🔵 (a) Weak economic growth
🟢 (b) Strong human capital
🟡 (c) Low productivity
🔴 (d) Poor social development
Answer: 🟢 (b) Strong human capital

Question 17: Hidden unemployment where surplus labour adds no output is called:
🔵 (a) Structural unemployment
🟡 (b) Seasonal unemployment
🟢 (c) Disguised unemployment
🔴 (d) Educated unemployment
Answer: 🟢 (c) Disguised unemployment

Question 18: Vocational education focuses on:
🔵 (a) Leisure activities
🟡 (b) Population control
🟢 (c) Specific skill development for employment
🔴 (d) General knowledge only
Answer: 🟢 (c) Specific skill development for employment

Question 19: Skill India and Digital India primarily aim to:
🔵 (a) Reduce imports
🟡 (b) Replace physical capital
🟢 (c) Develop human capital and job opportunities
🔴 (d) Increase grazing land
Answer: 🟢 (c) Develop human capital and job opportunities


🌟 SECTION B — Very Short Answer (2 marks each)
Question 20: Define “People as a Resource.”
Answer:
👥 It is the idea that population is an asset when educated, skilled, and healthy—not a liability.
📚 Through education, vocational training, and health care, individuals become productive workers who can generate income, create innovation, and drive economic growth.

Question 21: Mention two indicators of the quality of population.
Answer:
📈 Literacy rate: Shows the educational attainment and skill potential of citizens.
🏥 Health status: Includes life expectancy, infant mortality, and nutrition, reflecting people’s ability to work effectively and sustain productivity.

Question 22: Give two examples of economic activities.
Answer:
🌾 Agricultural farming for sale: Crops grown for the market generate income and jobs.
🏭 Manufacturing in factories: Producing goods like textiles or machinery contributes to GDP and employment.

Question 23: Give two examples of non-economic activities.
Answer:
❤️ Caring for a sick family member without payment—done out of love and duty.
✨ Volunteering in community clean-ups or NGOs—social service without monetary gain.

Question 24: What is meant by disguised unemployment?
Answer:
🐂 Disguised unemployment exists when more workers are engaged in a task than required, so extra workers add no output.
🌾 It is common in Indian agriculture, where five people may be working on a farm that needs only three, hiding surplus labour.

Question 25: State two causes of educated unemployment in India.
Answer:
📚 Skill mismatch: Education does not align with actual job market needs—graduates lack practical skills.
🏭 Slow job creation: Industrial and service sectors have not expanded quickly enough to absorb the growing educated youth population.

🌟 SECTION C — Short Answer (3 marks each)
Question 26: Explain three benefits of investing in human capital.
Answer:
📈 Higher productivity: Skilled workers handle advanced technologies and increase output efficiently.
💡 Innovation and competitiveness: Educated people develop new products and ideas, boosting the economy.
🌾 Better living standards: Higher income levels reduce poverty, improve health, and empower communities socially and economically.

Question 27: Differentiate between economic and non-economic activities with examples.
Answer:
💰 Economic activities: Done for monetary gain (e.g., a teacher earning a salary, a farmer selling crops).
❤️ Non-economic activities: Performed without pay for love, affection, or community service (e.g., parents cooking for family, volunteers helping in disaster relief).
👥 Economic activities drive GDP growth, while non-economic ones build social cohesion.

Question 28: What are the main sectors of economic activity? Give one example each.
Answer:
🌾 Primary sector: Uses natural resources—e.g., farming or fishing.
🏭 Secondary sector: Processes raw materials—e.g., textile manufacturing or automobile production.
🛍 Tertiary sector: Provides services—e.g., banking, education, or transport.

Question 29: Why are women generally employed in low-paid jobs?
Answer:
👩‍🎓 Educational barriers: Many women lack advanced education or training for high-paying roles.
⚖️ Gender discrimination: Employers undervalue women’s work, offering lower wages even with equal skills.
🛠 Informal sector dependence: Many women choose flexible, informal jobs due to childcare responsibilities, which often pay less.

Question 30: What steps can be taken to reduce rural unemployment?
Answer:
🌱 Diversify agriculture: Encourage dairying, fisheries, and horticulture to provide year-round jobs.
🏭 Promote small-scale industries: Support rural crafts and food processing units to absorb surplus labour.
🛤 Infrastructure development: Build rural roads, irrigation facilities, and digital networks to attract investment and create jobs.

Question 31: Describe two ways health influences working life.
Answer:
🏥 Physical endurance: Healthy workers can sustain long hours and physically demanding tasks without frequent illness.
📈 Mental focus and creativity: Good health improves cognitive abilities, enabling innovation and problem-solving, which increase productivity across sectors.

🌟 SECTION D — Long Answer (5 marks each)
Question 32: Discuss the role of education in economic development.
Answer:
📚 Increases productivity: Skilled workers use resources efficiently and adopt modern technology.
💡 Drives innovation: Educated individuals create new methods and products, strengthening competitiveness.
⚖️ Social benefits: Education reduces poverty, promotes equality, and empowers marginalized groups.
🏭 Boosts employment opportunities: Vocational training prepares youth for diverse industries.
🌍 Sustains growth: A knowledgeable workforce is essential for long-term national prosperity.

Question 33: Explain the relationship between population, human capital formation, and economic growth.
Answer:
👥 Population as a base: When invested in through education and health, population transforms into human capital.
📈 Human capital formation: Leads to skilled workers, innovation, and higher income generation.
🌾 Economic growth link: Countries like Japan grew rapidly by developing human capital, despite scarce natural resources.
💡 Negative scenario: Without investment, a growing population strains resources, causing unemployment and poverty.

Question 34: How can India convert its large population into a productive asset?
Answer:
📚 Improve education quality: Emphasize vocational and skill-based training aligned with market needs.
🏥 Strengthen health infrastructure: Provide affordable health care and nutrition programs.
🛠 Support entrepreneurship: Facilitate microfinance and startups to generate local employment.
👩‍🎓 Empower women: Increase female literacy and workforce participation.
🌱 Expand technology and sustainable farming: Modernise agriculture and industries to absorb surplus labour.

Question 35: Analyse the causes and consequences of disguised unemployment.
Answer:
📜 Causes: Population pressure on small farms, lack of alternative employment, and traditional agricultural methods.
🐂 Consequences: Reduced productivity per worker, hidden underemployment, and economic inefficiency.
📉 Economic loss: Surplus labour does not contribute to output, lowering overall growth.
💡 Solutions: Develop rural industries, improve irrigation, and provide skill training to redeploy surplus workers.

Question 36: Why is educated unemployment considered peculiar to India? Suggest measures to address it.
Answer:
📚 Peculiarity: India has many educated youth but limited matching jobs, creating underemployment or brain drain.
⚠️ Causes: Education often theoretical, lacking practical/vocational skills; industrial growth has not kept pace with population.
💡 Measures:
Update curricula with market-relevant skills.
Encourage startups and entrepreneurship.
Expand labour-intensive sectors like manufacturing and tourism.
Provide career counselling and promote digital literacy.

🌟 SECTION E — Case/Source-Based (4 marks each)
Question 37: Case: A district increased literacy rates and improved health care. Discuss the economic outcomes of these investments.
Answer:
📈 Higher productivity: Literate, healthy workers perform efficiently and adopt modern technology.
🛍 Diverse job creation: Improved skills attract new industries and service providers to the district.
💰 Rising incomes: Better employment opportunities reduce poverty and improve living standards.
🌍 Sustained development: Over time, a strong human capital base drives innovation, civic responsibility, and balanced growth, strengthening the economy at local and national levels.

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