social development

Quality of life, life expectancy, literacy, standard of living and migration in India

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Quality of life, life expectancy, literacy, standard of living and migration in India

Human development—a comprehensive approach

  • Human development is a process of enlarging people’s choices. But human development is also the objective, so it is both a process and an outcome. Human development implies that people must influence the processes that shape their lives. In all this, economic growth is an important means to human development, but not the end.
  • Human development is the development of the people through building human capabilities, by the people through active participation in the processes that shape their lives and for the people by improving their lives.
  • It is broader than other approaches, such as the human resource approach, the basic needs approach and the human welfare approach

Measuring human development

  • The composite Human Development Index (HDI) integrates three basic dimensions of human development.
  • Life expectancy at birth reflects the ability to lead a long and healthy life.
  • Mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling reflect the ability to acquire knowledge. And gross national income per capita reflects the ability to achieve a decent standard of living.
  • To measure human development more comprehensively, the Human Development Report also presents four other composite indices.
  • The Inequality-adjusted HDI discounts the HDI according to the extent of inequality.
  • The Gender Development Index compares female and male HDI values.
  • The Gender Inequality Index highlights women’s empowerment. And the Multidimensional Poverty Index measures nonincome dimensions of poverty.

India’s Human Development Index 2016

  • India was ranked 131 in the 2016 Human Development Index (HDI) among the 188 countries.
  • India scored 0.624 and was placed in medium human development category.
  • The index was unveiled recently as part of the Human Development Report (HDR) 2016 titled Human Development for Everyone published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
  • India related facts: India’s HDI value increased from 0.428 in 1990 to 0.624 in 2015. However, its average annual growth in HDI (1990-2015) was higher than that of other medium HDI countries.
  • Life expectancy at birth: In India, it has increased from 68 years to an average of 68.3 years — 69.9 years for women and 66.9 years for men.
  • Access to knowledge: India’s expected years of schooling remains at 11.7 years, while mean years of schooling increased from 5.4 to 6.3 years.
  • India’s Gross National Income (GNI) based on per capita purchasing power parity (PPP): It has risen from $5,497 to $5,663.
  • Gender Inequality Index (GII): India ranked 125 among 159 countries. Only 12.2% of Parliament seats are held by women. 8% of women above the age of 15 years are part of India’s labour force — compared to 79.1% men. The ratio of maternal mortality is 174 against every 100000 live births.
  • Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI): It is difference between the HDI and IHDI, expressed as a percentage of the HDI, indicating the loss in human development due to inequality.
  • India’s HDI was pegged at 0.624, but its value falls 27.2% after being adjusted for inequalities, resulting in a HDI value of 0.455.
  • Life expectancy adjusted with inequalities between 2010 and 2015 fell 24%, resulting in a value of 0.565.
  • The percentage of inequality in education in 2015 was 39.4% or 0.324 and inequality in income 16.1% or 0.512.

Social Progress Index: India’s quality of life improves

  • The measurement of quality of life is critical to understand whether economic growth is fostering social development across the globe or not.
  • It is essential to ranks countries on the basis of government’s effectiveness at meeting basic human needs, at providing a foundation for well-being with basic education and environmental protection, and at creating opportunities for all citizens to make personal choices and reach their full potential.
  • This kind of framework is being used by the Social Progress Imperative to create the Social Progress Index. It is observed that the world incorporating 128 countries scores 64.85 on social progress.
  • It registers a 2.6 percent increase from 2014.
  • The performance is best in Basic Human Needs with a score of 89.62 followed by Foundations of Well-being and Opportunity.
  • The major factors that contribute to the improvements in social progress are increased access to information & communication and enhanced advanced education landscape. On the other hand, Personal Rights which includes measures of political rights and freedom of expression is declining in most countries.
  • A rapid deterioration of rights, especially in terms of falling political participation and worsening freedom of expression and assembly, points out that the choices of citizens are being threatened.
  • Also, the advancements in Personal Safety have been intangible. This is mainly due to the reverse changes in the homicide rate and violent crimes which some countries are experiencing.

Quality of life: Which is the best Indian city to live in?

  • One of the most difficult financial decisions one has to make in life is to decide the place where they would choose to stay. The location one chooses is influenced by a host of pros and cons. The cost of living, the availability of economic opportunities, the quality of life, education facilities, among others are some of the many deciding factors.
  • Mercer, the global human resources consulting firm, has released its 18th annual Quality of Living Survey, listing 2016 city rankings of best places to live in.
  • Mercer evaluated local living conditions in more than 440 cities surveyed worldwide according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories such as political and social environment, economic environment, socio-cultural environment, medical and health considerations, schools and education, public services and transportation, recreation, consumer goods, housing, and natural environment.
  • As per the Mercer ranking, Hyderabad has been ranked as the best city in India to stay in with a ranking of 139 out of 230 cities in the world.
  • Pune has been selected as the second best Indian city with a rank of 144.
  • Other Indian cities that found a place in the list are: Bangalore (145), Chennai (150), Mumbai (152), Kolkata (160), and New Delhi (161).

Literacy in India

  • The 15th official census in India was calculated in the year 2011. In a country like India, literacy is the main foundation for social and economic growth. When the British rule ended in India in the year 1947 the literacy rate was just 12%.
  • Over the years, India has changed socially, economically, and globally.
  • After the 2011 census, literacy rate India 2011 was found to be 74.04%.
  • Compared to the adult literacy rate here the youth literacy rate is about 9% higher. Though this seems like a very great accomplishment, it is still a matter of concern that still so many people in India cannot even read and write.
  • The numbers of children who do not get education especially in the rural areas are still high. Though the government has made a law that every child under the age of 14 should get free education, the problem of illiteracy is still at large.
  • Now, if we consider female literacy rate in India, then it is lower than the male literacy rate as many parents do not allow their female children to go to schools. They get married off at a young age instead.
  • Though child marriage has been lowered to very low levels, it still happens. Many families, especially in rural areas believe that having a male child is better than having a baby girl. So the male child gets all the benefits.
  • Today, the female literacy levels according to the Literacy Rate 2011 census are 65.46% where the male literacy rate is over 80%.
  • The literacy rate in India has always been a matter of concern but many NGO initiatives and government ads, campaigns and programs are being held to spread awareness amongst people about the importance of literacy. Also the government has made strict rules for female equality rights. India literacy rate has shown significant rise in the past 10 years.
  • Here are some facts about different states literacy rate, Kerala is the only state in India to have 100% literacy rate. It is followed by Goa, Tripura, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra, Sikkim.
  • The lowest literacy rate in India is seen in the state of Bihar.
  • We also need to think why is the literacy rate is low here in India compared to other developed countries. Basically the population in India is very high. Being the 7th largest country its population stands 2nd in the world after China. There are over 1 billion people in India.
  • The number of schools and educational centers especially in rural areas is less. Even today many people are below the poverty line. Also people aren’t aware that children should get free education according to the law

Standard of living in India

  • Standard of living in India varies from state to state.
  • With one of the fastest growing economies in the world, clocked at a growth rate of 7.6% in 2015, India is on its way to becoming a large and globally important consumer economy.
  • According to Deutsche Bank Research, there are between 30 million and 300 million middle-class people in India. If current trends continue, India’s share of world GDP will significantly increase from 7.3 in 2016 to 8.5 percent of the world share by 2020.
  • In 2011, less than 22 percent of Indians lived under the global poverty line, nearly a 10 percent reduction from 29.8 percent just two years prior in 2009.
  • According to NCAER, India’s middle class population would be 267 million in 2016.
  • Further ahead, by 2025-26 the number of middle class households in India is likely to more than double from the 2015-16 levels to 113.8 million households or 547 million individuals.
  • Another estimate put the Indian middle class as numbering 475 million people by 2030.
  • It is estimated that average real wages will quadruple between 2013 and 2030.
  • The standard of living in India shows large disparity.
  • For example, there is widespread poverty in rural areas of India, where medical care tends to be very basic or unavailable, while cities boast of world class medical establishments. Similarly, the very latest machinery may be used in some construction projects, but many construction workers work without mechanisation in most projects.
  • However, a rural middle class is now emerging in India, with some rural areas seeing increasing prosperity. In general, the southern Indian state of Kerala ranks top for most of the indices.
  • In 2010, the per capita PPP-adjusted GDP for India was US$3,608.

Migration in India

  • One important facet of study on population is the study of migration arising out of various social, economic or political reasons.
  • For a large country like India, the study of movement of population in different parts of the country helps in understanding the dynamics of the society better.
  • At this junction in the economic development, in the country, especially when many states are undergoing faster economic development, particularly in areas, such as, manufacturing, information technology or service sectors, data migration profile of population has become more important.
  • When a person is enumerated in census at a different place than his / her place of birth, she / he is considered a migrant. This may be due to marriage, which is the most common reason for migration among females-or for work, what is the case as generally among males, etc.
  • It also happens that many return to their place of birth after staying out. To capture such movements of population census collect information on migration by last helps to understand the current migration scenario better.
  • In India, as per census 2001, about 307 million person have been reported as migration by place of birth. Out of them about 259 million (84.2%), migrated from on e part of the state to another, i.e., from one village or town to another village or town. 42 million (2%) from out side the country.
  • The data on migration by last residence in India as per Census 2001 shows that the total number of migrants has been 314 million. Out of these migrants by last residence, 268 million (85%) has been intra-state migrants, those who migrated from one are of the state to another.
  • 41 million (13%) were interstate migrants and 5.1 million (1.6%) migrated from out side of the country.

Why do people migrate?

  • People migrate for many different reasons. These reasons can be classified as economic, social, political or environmental:
  1. economic migration – moving to find work or follow a particular career path
  2. social migration – moving somewhere for a better quality of life or to be closer to family or friends
  3. political migration – moving to escape political persecution or war
  4. environmental causes of migration include natural disasters such as flooding
  • Some people choose to migrate, eg someone who moves to another country to enhance their career opportunities. Some people are forced to migrate, eg someone who moves due to war or famine.
  • A refugee is someone who has left their home and does not have a new home to go to. Often refugees do not carry many possessions with them and do not have a clear idea of where they may finally settle.

Push and pull factors of Migration

Push factors are the reasons why people leave an area. They include:

  1. lack of services
  2. lack of safety
  3. high crime
  4. crop failure
  5. drought
  6. flooding
  7. poverty
  8. war

Pull factors are the reasons why people move to a particular area. They include:

  1. higher employment
  2. more wealth
  3. better services
  4. good climate
  5. safer, less crime
  6. political stability
  7. more fertile land
  8. lower risk from natural hazards

Migration usually happens as a result of a combination of these push and pull factors.

Arunachal Pradesh Planned Development

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Arunachal Pradesh Planned Development

Till the first plan period there was practically no accent of economic or social development in Arunachal Pradesh. The tribal economy was backward and non monetized economy, land was scarce, technology primitive, manpower was scarce and unskilled, malnutrition, and illiteracy were some of the visible problems.

First and Second Five Year Plan

The first five year plan sanctioned a total outlay of only Rs. 3 crore. The plan was ushered only in 1953 as a result of which the final expenditure was even lesser than the actual outlay with just Rs. 2.01 Crore.

The top priority during the first two plans were given to the transport and communication services accounting for 35 to 40 percent of total plan expenditure in order to construct all weather roads in the territory. Next priority sector was social and community services, which received 32 to 35 percent of the total plan expenditure. In the field of education, more attention was given to consolidation and improvement of existing schools, rather than setting up new ones.

The extension of medical services got into stride in 1951 with the establishment of a separate medical department. In the agriculture sector emphasis was given to draw the attention of farmers to practice settled cultivation from the usual jhum cultivation.

Third Five Year Plan

The total outlay for the third five year plan ( 1961-66) was Rs. 7.15 Crores, which was because of extra allocation of Rs. 2 Crores for improvement of communication. The urgency for the development of transport and communication was felt after the Chinese aggression in 1962. As a result of which 306 kms of road was added during the third plan. During the third plan period, the highest priority was given to social and economic infrastructure of the territory.

During the three Annual Plans (1966-69) the topmost priority was given to extension of social and community services followed by transpo.rt and communication sector. Under Social and Community Services activities were confined to motivate the people in the field of education, covering more villages with water supply schemes, provision of health facilities, etc. Industry got very meager percentage of total o_utlay in all the plan period and the possible reason could be the absence of infrastructural development coupled with the absence of manpower and other resources.

Fourth Five Year Plan

During this period the fourth five year plan (1969-74) was already underway with the total outlay of Rs. 17.99 crores but actual expenditure at the end of the plan period went up to Rs. 21 crores as shown in Table 3 .1. In the agricultural and allied sectors the objective continued to be on increase in food production through various schemes such as land reclamation and development, terracing improved jhuming, irrigation etc. And from the general framework it appeared that more emphasis was given on land development and terracing, but food production was far from the required quantity.

Fifth Five Year Plan

During Fifth Plan the Pradesh Council was converted into a provisional legislative council in 1975. Arunachal Police was established in 1974. In the same year Arunachal Pradesh Planned DevelopmentState transport Department was set up with the aim to connect the administrative headquarters and to promote greater interaction to build economic, social and cultural link within and outside the territory. Transport and communication continued to be one of the topmost priority areas, with about 35 percent of states total plan expenditure devoted for its development. New roads-both surfaced and unsurfaced were constructed connecting the sub-divisional headquarters.

Sixth Five Year Plan

The sixth five-year plan (1980-85) period brought in lot of changes in addition to the . already existing institutions as well as development process. Top-most priority was given to social and community services accounting for 31 percent of the total plan allocation. By the end of same year Plan 3 colleges, 62-higher/ high school, 132 middle/ senior basic schools and 1144 primary/ junior basic schools with the total of 1338 schools were in existence in the territory.

About. 25 percent of total fund were allocated for the further development and maintenance of the transport and comm·unication services. As a result of which 300 krn , surfaced and 800krn unsurfaced road was constructed in the VI plan.

Emphasis was also laid on the development of agriculture and allied activities, village and small-scale industries and extension of essential services in the rural and backward areas.

Seventh Five Year Plan

With an outlay of Rs. 549 crores, the main thrust in the seventh five-year plan ( 1985-90) continued to be on the development of physical and social infrastructure facilities, agriculture and allied services, power, transport and communications .

In agriculture sector the main emphasis continued to be on increase in foodgrain production to generate surplus production, to wean the jhumias to settled cultivation.

Attempt was made by government to provide subsidised transport facilities to help the farmers to dispose off their produce in nearest markets. To overcome the endemic marketing problem Arunachal Pradesh Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act was passed in 1989.

During the seventh plan and subsequent Annual plans ( 1990-91 & 1991-92) governments objective was to execute micro as well as comparatively large hydel schemes

Eighth Five Year Plan

The proposed outlay for the VIII plan was Rs. 1728.62 crores. However, the actual expenditure turned out to be Rs. 1714.62 crores. The broad objectives of the Eight five-year Plans (1992-97) were:

  • Development ofbasic infrastructure

(ii) Self-sufficiency in food. ·

(iii) Promotion of horticulture

(iv) Rapid development of local resources based on industries

(v) Development of manpower resources (vi) Welfare programme: literacy, health care, minimum needs programmes etc.

 

 

Urban spheres of influence and rural urban fringe

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Urban spheres of influence and rural urban fringe

Urban spheres of influence

  • Urban spheres of influence reflect centre-to-hinterland relationship, compared with the non-central region, the centre assumes more complex economic functions, and provides more economic activities.
  • Famous theoretical contributions to this research field are the Central Place Theory (Christaller, 1933), the extension to the Central Place Theory (Losch, 1940), the modification to the Central Place Theory (Isard, 1956), and An Economic Theory of Central Places.
  • After verification and conceptual refinement of these classical literatures, it can be found that any study on delineating sphere of urban influence has been guided by either of two research approaches: the empirical research and model research.
  • Empirical method determines sphere of urban influence according to data features and regional characteristics. As for example, sphere of urban influence in America is described in terms of the extent of the regional delivery system (Huff, 1973).
  • Models are developed to capture the interaction between or spaces using theoretical understanding, the intensity and pattern of contact among cities, and thus those models help to determine the sphere of urban influence.
  • In modeling, the sphere of urban influence, Huff (1973) and Lutz (1995) made a great contribution by using a model namely “Sphere of Urban Influence and Urban System” to delineate the urban sphere of influence of United States of America, Ireland and Ghana.
  • Now-a-days in Western countries, the study of sphere urban of influence is diminishing in general. By virtue of their high degree of economic and social development, most of the developed countries have accessed post-industrial society, where node-to-node interactions have become, as compared to the node-to-hinterland relationships.
  • But, for the developing countries, they are still pursuing industrial development and hence, develop the industries; the node-to-hinterland relationships are distinctly dominant.

Urban Spheres of Influence on Population

  • The urban sphere of influence can be defined as the geographical region which surrounds a city and maintains inflow-outflow relationship with the city.
  • Every urban centre, irrespective of the size of population and the nature of function, has a region of influence. Generally speaking, as the size of the population increases, the multiplicity of functions increases. As a result, the influence zone is larger and vice versa.
  • The term sphere of influence area was first used by Northam and supported by Canter. Other terms to express a similar entity, which have got recognised, include umland and city region. Umland is a German word which means the area around. The term was first used by the Allies in the Second World War.
  • The term city-region was first used by Dickinson. It is used to describe a similar situation on a much larger scale. Some other terms which have become popular include urban field, tributary area and catchment area. The term sphere of influence is preferred by political geographers.

Delineating the Sphere of Influence Area:

  • Several methods have been worked out by geographers and sociologists, but no single method seems to be perfect.
  • The pre-First World War geographers depended primarily on empirical methods (through questionnaires and field surveys) taking into account all those relevant functions which are performed by cities and the surroundings of the city.
  • The influence zone of each function is first delineated. It brings out the multiplicity of boundaries of spheres of influence area.
  • Harris has suggested that a common boundary is to be drawn from within those boundaries which are very close to each other.
  • Harris himself drew a sphere of influence area for the Salt Lake City of Utah State in USA. He used 12 important services for this purpose which included retail trade, wholesale grocery and drug sale, radio broadcasting, newspaper circulation, telephone services, banking distribution etc.
  • Harris scheme shows greater dependence upon the services of the cities. He practically ignored the services rendered by rural areas.
  • Geographers like Carter, Dickinson and Green studied the sphere of influence area and their empirical methods gave due weightage to the rural services.
  • The post-Second World War geographers began to use statistical methods. This made the inferences more precise, logical and scientific.
  • This method, however, has the disadvantage of being rigid. Still, it is a popular method throughout the world.
  • The conclusion of the method brings the delineated influence area closer to Christaller’s observations, who suggested that every urbane settlement (service centre) is supposed to have a hexagonal influence region.
  • It solves the problem of existence of shadow zone which normally appears in the case of spherical delineation of the influence region.
  • The statistical method is based on the principle of gravitation.
  • Reilly propounded the Law of Retail Gravitation to delineate the market zone of urban centres. Since marketing is a principal function, this method is used by geographers to delineate the zone of influence area.

This method states that:

  • P= MA x MB / d2
  • where MA = Mass of centre A measured by population size, such that MA > MB
  • MB = Mass of centre B
  • d = distance between two cities.
  • The result will mark the distance of the sphere of influence area from Mass (city) A; the remaining distance will mark the influence area of Mass (city) B.
  • Modern urban geographers give importance to this method as they consider this cut-off as an important factor for development of respective influence areas.
  • Some development authorities have begun to use the sphere of influence area as the basis of regional planning.
  • They use detailed questionnaires to understand the nature of influence. They consider factors such as daily commuting, functional structure of village, household types of villages, milk supply, vegetable supply, newspaper circulation etc. This approach seems to have some practical utility.
  • It gives due weightage to natural hindrances.
  • Factors like rivers, mountains, forests, marshy lands etc. are bound to modify the influence area and in that case, the statistical method is not of much relevance. Information collected through questionnaires is, however, properly processed through different statistical methods and a composite index, indicating a common boundary, is worked out. This common boundary gives the limit of the sphere of influence area.
  • Thus, it becomes clear that the sphere of influence area is highly relevant in socio-economic patterns of a city and its surroundings.
  • In India, the regional planners have given due recognition to the role of city regions or spheres of influence areas in the ‘Growth Pole’ strategy adopted by the Planning Commission of India in the Sixth Five- Year-Plan.

Rural urban fringe

What is the rural-urban fringe?

  • The rural-urban fringe is the boundary zone outside the urban area proper where rural and urban land uses intermix.
  • It is an area of transition from agricultural and other rural land uses to urban use.
  • Located well within the urban sphere of influence the fringe is characterised by a wide variety of land use including dormitory settlements housing middle-income commuters who work in the main urban area.
  • Over time the characteristics of the fringe change from largely rural to largely urban. Suburbanisation takes place at the urban boundary of rural-urban fringe.
  • The nature of the rural-urban fringe is influenced by four main factors: agricultural policy, regional planning, the urban economy and the agricultural economy.
  • Baker et al have identified four types of fringe resulting from these influences:
    1. Disturbed landscapes
    2. Neglected landscapes
    3. Simplified landscapes
    4. Valued landscapes

Increasing demand for land in the rural urban fringe area because:

  • Land is cheaper – as the accessibility of the RUF is lower than that of the inner city areas and most of the people have to travel to the inner city for work, fewer people are willing to live in the RUF. Thus the land prices are lower.
  • There is less traffic congestion and pollution – as the area is a new development in the outskirts, and the population living in the area is lesser than the inner city, the traffic congestion and pollution levels are lesser.
  • There is easier access and a better road infrastructure – as it is a newer development with a lot of space available.
  • There is a more pleasant environment with more open space – the amount of open space decreases with time as the extent of development increases, and so does the pleasant environment.

In INDIA study by Sudesh Nangia in Delhi Metropolitan region for R-U Fringe

  • In India, Sudesh Nangia studied Delhi Metropolitan region (1976), and highlighted some of the chief characteristics of the R-U fringe around the metropolis.
  • She pointed out that the fringe area extended over 212 sq km and encompassed 177 villages within its fold. The zone is not concentric but polygonal in shape (Figure 17.2).
  • Its structural units include slums and squatter-settlements, built-up dwellings without any proper plan, mixed land uses, areas of agricultural production usurped by lot of industrial units, dispersed location of settle­ments suffering from urban facilities, and also it commands sewerage treatment plant and recreation centres as well.

 

  • L. Singh studied R-U fringe of Varanasi and called it an extension of the city itself, actual and potential.
  • According to him, “the R-U fringe is an area where most of the rural land is forced into urban uses prematurely”.
  • Singh studied urban fringe of ‘KAVAL’ towns and concluded that their fringe areas coalesced together inheriting all the evils of large conurbations such as horrible slums, appalling house and traffic congestion and long daily trip to work

Beneficial development in rural urban fringe area:

The rural urban fringe is characterised by a mixture of land uses, most of which require large areas of land

  1. Housing developments as urban sprawl continues
  2. Science and business parks
  3. Hyper-markets and superstores
  4. Retail parks and out of town shopping centres
  5. Office developments
  6. Hotels and conference centres
  7. Airport expansion

Issues in Urban rural fringe

Uses    Positive Aspects Negative Aspects
Agriculture   Many well managed farms and small holdings Farms often suffer litter, trespass and vandalism; some land is derelict in the hope of planning permission
Development   Some well-ited, carefully landscaped developments such as business and science parks Some developments, such as out of town shopping areas cause heavy traffic flow and pollution. Unregulated businesses such as scrap metal and caravan storage. Airport expansion
Urban Services   Some, such as reservoirs or cemeteries, may be attractive. Mineral workings, sewage works, landfill sites etc can be unattractive and polluting
Transport   New cycleways and footpaths can improve assess to countryside Motorways destroy countryside and promote new development, particularly near junctions.
Recreation and sport  

 

 Country parks, sports fields and golf courses can lead to conservation. Some activities such as stock car racing and scrambling erode ecosystems and create localised litter and pollution
Landscape and nature conservation  

 

 

 Many SSSI (sites of special scientific interest) and AONB (Areas of natural beauty) Much degraded land eg. land ruined by fly-tipping; many SSSIs under threat