People as Resource – Very Short Answer Type Questions
CBSE Class 9 Social Science – Economics
Chapter 2: People as Resource
Topics: Overview | Economic Activities by Men and Women | Quality of Population | Unemployment
CBSE Board Examinations – NCERT Based Very Short Answer Questions
Topic 1 – Overview & Concept of People as Resource (Q1–Q12)
Q1. What does the term “people as resource” mean?
Answer:
It means viewing people as an asset (resource) that can contribute to production and economic development.
Q2. Which two main factors convert people into a resource?
Answer:
Education and health mainly convert people into a productive resource.
Q3. What is human capital?
Answer:
Human capital is the stock of educated, skilled and healthy people in a country.
Q4. What do you mean by human capital formation?
Answer:
Human capital formation means developing people’s skills, education and health through investment.
Q5. How is human capital similar to physical capital?
Answer:
Both require investment and increase productivity and income in the future.
Q6. Give one example showing that investment in human capital gives returns.
Answer:
Money spent on a child’s education helps him get a better job and higher income later.
Q7. When does a human being become an asset for the economy?
Answer:
When a person is healthy, educated, skilled and able to work productively, he becomes an asset.
Q8. When is a human being considered a liability?
Answer:
An illiterate, unskilled, unhealthy and unemployed person is considered a liability.
Q9. Name the two major sectors where India needs to invest to improve human capital.
Answer:
India needs to invest in the education sector and health sector.
Q10. Why is population not always a burden for a country?
Answer:
If properly educated and healthy, population becomes human resource and helps in development.
Q11. Which age group is considered the working population in India?
Answer:
People in the age group 15–59 years are considered the working population.
Q12. What does the term “labour force” include?
Answer:
It includes all persons who are working or are willing and able to work at existing wage rates.
Topic 2 – Economic Activities by Men and Women (Q13–Q25)
Q13. What are economic activities?
Answer:
Activities that produce goods and services and bring income are called economic activities.
Q14. Name the three sectors of economic activities.
Answer:
Primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary (service) sector.
Q15. Give one example each of primary, secondary and tertiary sector activity.
Answer:
Primary: farming; Secondary: manufacturing sugar from sugarcane; Tertiary: teaching.
Q16. What are market activities?
Answer:
Market activities are economic activities performed for pay or profit.
Q17. Define non-market activities.
Answer:
Non-market activities are production activities mainly for self-consumption or done without payment.
Q18. Is a woman cooking food for her family a worker in official data? Why?
Answer:
No, because her work is unpaid domestic work and is treated as a non-market activity.
Q19. Give one example of a woman’s work that is counted as an economic activity.
Answer:
A woman working as a teacher in a school and receiving salary is doing an economic activity.
Q20. Why is women’s work often undervalued in India?
Answer:
Because much of their work is unpaid household work and not recorded in national income.
Q21. Which sector in India generally employs more men than women with higher wages?
Answer:
The organised or formal sector generally employs more men with better wages.
Q22. What do you mean by gender division of labour?
Answer:
It means a social pattern where men and women are given different types of work based on gender.
Q23. Name the broad categories of workers in India as per economic activities.
Answer:
Self-employed workers and hired workers (regular and casual).
Q24. What is meant by regular salaried employees?
Answer:
Workers who work in a fixed job and receive a regular salary every month are regular salaried employees.
Q25. Who are casual wage labourers?
Answer:
Workers employed on a daily or seasonal basis, with no job security, are casual wage labourers.
Topic 3 – Quality of Population (Q26–Q38)
Q26. What determines the quality of a population?
Answer:
Education, health and skill training determine the quality of a population.
Q27. How does education improve the quality of population?
Answer:
Education improves people’s skills and knowledge, making them more productive and employable.
Q28. What is literacy rate?
Answer:
Literacy rate is the percentage of people in a country who can read and write with understanding.
Q29. How does a low literacy rate affect economic development?
Answer:
Low literacy reduces skills and productivity, which slows down economic development.
Q30. What does the term ‘health’ mean in Economics?
Answer:
It means the physical and mental well-being that enables a person to work productively.
Q31. How does good health contribute to human capital formation?
Answer:
Healthy people can work regularly, with more energy and efficiency, increasing productivity.
Q32. Name the ministry that looks after education in India at the central level.
Answer:
The Ministry of Education (previously Ministry of Human Resource Development) handles education.
Q33. Mention one government initiative to improve elementary education.
Answer:
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is an initiative to provide universal elementary education.
Q34. What is the Right to Education (RTE) Act?
Answer:
It is a law that makes free and compulsory education a right for children aged 6–14 years.
Q35. Why is expenditure on education and health called an investment?
Answer:
Because it increases people’s productivity and earnings in the future, just like investment in capital goods.
Q36. What do you understand by ‘infant mortality rate’?
Answer:
It is the number of children who die before the age of one year per thousand live births.
Q37. How does improvement in health services affect infant mortality?
Answer:
Better health services reduce infant mortality by preventing and treating diseases effectively.
Q38. Why is it important for a country to focus on both education and health together?
Answer:
Because educated and healthy people are most productive; neglect of either reduces overall quality of population.
Topic 4 – Unemployment (Q39–Q50)
Q39. What is unemployment?
Answer:
Unemployment is a situation where people willing and able to work do not find work at current wages.
Q40. Name any two types of unemployment discussed in this chapter.
Answer:
Disguised unemployment and seasonal unemployment.
Q41. What is disguised unemployment?
Answer:
It is a situation where more people are employed than required and removal of some does not reduce output.
Q42. In which sector is disguised unemployment most common in India?
Answer:
It is most common in the agricultural sector of rural areas.
Q43. What is seasonal unemployment?
Answer:
Seasonal unemployment occurs when people get work only during some seasons of the year.
Q44. Give one example of seasonal unemployment.
Answer:
Farm labourers remain jobless between sowing and harvesting seasons.
Q45. What is educated unemployment?
Answer:
Educated unemployment is when people with degrees or diplomas do not find suitable jobs.
Q46. Which type of unemployment is rising among the urban educated youth in India?
Answer:
Educated unemployment is rising among the urban educated youth.
Q47. How does unemployment affect the economy of a country?
Answer:
It leads to loss of production, lower income, poverty and wastage of human resources.
Q48. How does unemployment affect an individual’s self-confidence?
Answer:
Long-term unemployment creates frustration, loss of self-confidence and mental stress.
Q49. Which areas of India mainly face disguised and seasonal unemployment?
Answer:
Rural areas, especially those depending mainly on agriculture, face these types of unemployment.
Q50. Mention one way to reduce unemployment in rural areas.
Answer:
By promoting non-farm activities like dairy, small industries and service jobs to create more employment.