Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 19 Uses of Statistical Methods

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 19 Uses of Statistical Methods

Project and Project Report
Project means a plan or programme, capable of analysis, planning and implementation. There are professional and academic projects. A professional project will have definite objectives, an area of implementation, and a time period within which it will be executed.

An academic project is purely an academic exercise to study a problem. It may or may not have practical application. Developing a project by conducting a survey and preparing a report will help in analyzing relevant information and suggesting improvements in a product or system. Students, researchers, marketing groups, etc., undertake such projects. Reports of such studies are called project reports.

Steps Towards Making a Project
The steps towards making a project are discussed below:
Identifying a problem or an area of study: You should be clear about what you want to study. The objective of the project has to be clearly stated. For instance, you may like to study consumer spending among households, water or electricity problems relating to households in an area and the like.

Choice of the target group: After that, you must identify the target group. If your project relates to books, then your target group will mainly be students. For the project studies of consumer projects like toothpaste, soap etc. all rural and urban populations form the target group. So the choice of target group is very important while undertaking a project.

Collection of data: Next comes the data collection. Data for the study may be collected from primary sources or secondary sources. If the data are primary a questionnaire or an interview schedule should be prepared. Telephone, postal method, e-mail, etc. may also be adopted. Secondary data are available from published and unpublished sources. Which type of data are to be used depends on the nature of your project study.

Organisation and presentation of data: After collecting the data by using various methods, the next step is to present them in a systematic manner. This is done with the help of tabulation and suitable diagrams, eg: bar diagrams, pie diagrams, graphs, etc.

Analysis and Interpretation: Measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, correlation, etc. will enable you to calculate average, variation and relationship that exist among the variables. These help us in analysing and interpreting the results.

Conclusion: The last step is to draw meaningful conclusions after the analysis and interpretation of the results. Based on the results, you can predict the future and give suggestions for government policy implications.

Bibliography: This section is meant for mentioning details of all secondary sources of data used in the study. These include magazines, newspapers, research reports etc.

Structure of the Project Report
The essential elements of Project Reports, briefly.
1. Introduction: In the section of the introduction, the project is introduced. The need and significance of the project are highlighted. The relevance of the project is explained. This section gives the reader of the report an idea about the need, importance and relevance of the project.

2. Statement of the problem: Most projects in economics deal with an economic problem and attempt to find ways to solve the problem. There can be exceptions where a Project need not be related to any problem at all. Even then, the issue that is studied has to be properly and clearly defined. This is called the statement of the problem.

3. Objectives: The objectives of the project have to be clearly stated. Without being too descriptive, the objectives have to be listed and numbered.

4. Methodology: Methodology refers to the techniques and methods used in the analysis. The nature of data, sources of data, and techniques of analysis have to be clearly stated.

5. Analysis: This is the most important part of any project report. This forms the body of the project report.

6. Limitations/Constraints: No study is 100 percent perfect. Many imperfections can creep into the report due to the limitations of the study. Limitations may arise due to problems of sampling, inaccurate answers to questions, subjective factors, lack of professionalism of enumerators, lack of adaptability of secondary data, etc.

7. Conclusion: Analysis of data will facilitate the derivation of conclusion. In this section of the report, the findings and conclusion of the study are numbered and listed.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 18 Index Numbers

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 18 Index Numbers

Index Numbers
An index number is a statistical device for measuring changes in the magnitude of a group of related variables. It represents the general trend of diverging ratios, from which it is calculated. It is a measure of the average change in a group of related variables over two different situations. An index number also measures changes in the value of the variables such as prices of a specified list of commodities, the volume of production in different sectors of industry, production of various agricultural crops, cost of living, etc.

Uses of Index Numbers:

  • help in the study of trends.
  • help in policy formulation.
  • useful in measuring the purchasing power of money.
  • help in deflating various values.
  • act as economic barometers.

Some Important Index Numbers
1. Consumer price index: Consumer price index (CPI), also known as the cost of living index, measures the average change in retail prices. The CPI for industrial workers is increasingly considered the appropriate indicator of general inflation, which shows the most accurate impact of price rise on the cost of living of common people.

2. Wholesale price index: The wholesale price index number indicates the change in the general price level. Unlike the CPI, it does not have any reference consumer category. It does not include items pertaining to services like barber charges, repairing, etc.

3. Industrial production index: The index number of industrial production measures changes in the level of industrial production comprising many industries. It includes the production of the public and the private sector. It is a weighted average of quantity relatives. In India, it is currently calculated every month with 1993 – 94 as the base.

4. Index number of agricultural production: Index number of agricultural production is a weighted average of quantity relatives. Its base period is the triennium ending 1981-82. In 2003-04 the index number of agricultural production was 179.5. It means that agricultural production has increased by 79.5 percent over the average of the three years 1979-80, 1980-81 and1981-82. Foodgrains have a weight of 62.92 percent in this index.

5. Producer Price Index: The producer price index number measures price changes from the producers’ perspective. It uses only basic prices including taxes, trade margins and transport costs.

Issues in the Construction of an Index Number
You should keep certain important issues in mind, while constructing an index number.
1. You need to be clear about the purpose of the index. Calculation of a volume index will be inappropriate when one needs a value index.

2. Besides this, the items are not equally important for different groups of consumers when a consumer price index is constructed.

3. Every index should have a base. This base should be as normal as possible. Extreme values should I not be selected as the base period. The period should be also not belong to too far in the past. The comparison between 1993 and 2005 is much more meaningful than a comparison between 1960 and 2005. Many items in a 1960 typical consumption basket have disappeared at present. Therefore, the base year for any index number is routinely updated.

4. Another issue is the choice of the formula, which depends on the nature of the question to be studied. The only difference between Laspeyres’ index and Paasche’s index is the weights used in these formulae.

5. Besides, there are many sources of data with different degrees of reliability. Data for poor reliability will give misleading results. Hence, due care should be taken in the collection of data. If primary data are not being used, then the most reliable source of secondary data should be chosen.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 17 Correlation

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 17 Correlation

Correlation
The relationship between any two or more variables is referred to as correlation. Correlation studies and measures the intensity of relationships among variables.

Positive and Negative Correlation
When the values of two variables move in the same direction, the correlation is said to be positive; and when the values of two variables move in the opposite direction, the correlation is said to be negative. That is, if the value of one variable increases with an increase (and decreases with a decrease) of the value of the other variables, they are said to be in positive correlation. Likewise, if the value of one variable increases with a decrease (and decreases with an increase) of the value of the other variable, they are said to be in negative correlation.

Techniques of measuring correlation
Scatter Diagram: A scatter diagram is a useful technique for visually examining the form of relationship, without calculating any numerical value. In this technique, the values of the two variables are plotted as points on a graph paper. The cluster of points, so plotted, is referred to as a scatter diagram. From a scatter diagram, one can get a fairly good idea of the nature of the relationship. In a scatter diagram the degree of closeness of the scatter points and their overall direction enable us to examine the relationship. If all the points lie on a line, the correlation is perfect and is said to be unity. If the scatter points are widely dispersed around the line, the correlation is low. The correlation is said to be linear if the scatter points lie near a line or on a line.

Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Correlation: This is also known as the product-moment correlation and simple correlation coefficient. It gives a precise numerical value of the degree of linear relationship between two variables X and Y. The linear relationship may be given by Y = a + bX.

This type of relationship may be described by a straight line. The intercept that the line makes on the Y-axis is given by a and the slope of the line is given by b. It gives the change in the value of Y for very small change in the value of X. On the other hand, if the relation cannot be represented by a straight line as in Y = X2 the value of the coefficient will be zero.
It clearly shows that zero correlation need not mean absence of any type of relation between the two variables.

Spearman’s Rank Correlation: Spearman’s rank correlation was developed by the British psychologist C.E. Spearman. It is used when the variables cannot be measured meaningfully as in the case of price, income, weight etc. Ranking may be more meaningful when the measurements of the variables are suspect. Consider the situation where we are required to calculate the correlation between height and weight of students in a remote village. Neither measuring rods nor weighing scales are available. The students can be easily ranked in terms of height and weight without using measuring rods and weighing scales.

Rank correlation coefficient and simple correlation coefficient have the same interpretation. Its formula has been derived from simple correlation coefficient where individual values have been replaced by ranks. These ranks are used for the calculation of correlation. This coefficient provides a measure of linear association between ranks assigned to these units, not their values. It is the Product Moment Correlation between the ranks.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 16 Measures of Dispersion

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 16 Measures of Dispersion

Dispersion
A measure of dispersion can tell you about income inequalities, thereby improving the understanding of the relative standards of living enjoyed by different strata of society. Dispersion is the extent to which values in a distribution differ from the average of the distribution.
To quantify the extent of the variation, there are certain measures namely:

  1. Range
  2. Quartile Deviation
  3. Mean Deviation
  4. Standard Deviation
  5. Lorenz Curve

Range
Range (R) is the difference between the largest (L) and the smallest value (S) in a distribution.
Thus, R = L – S
A higher value of Range implies higher dispersion and vice-versa.

Quartile Deviation
The presence of even one extremely high or low value in distribution can reduce the utility of range as a measure of dispersion. Thus, you may need a measure which is not unduly affected by the outliers. In such a situation, if the entire data is divided into four equal parts, each containing 25% of the values, we get the values of Quartiles and Median. The upper and lower quartiles (Q3 and Q1 respectively) are used to calculate Inter Quartile Range which is Q3 – Q1.

Mean Deviation
Mean deviation of a series is the arithmetic average of the deviations of various items from a measure of central tendency. In aggregating the deviations, algebraic signs of the deviations are not taken into account. It is because, if the algebraic signs were taken into account, the sum of deviations from the mean should be zero and that from the median is nearly zero. Theoretically, the deviations can be taken from any of the three averages, namely, arithmetic mean, median, or mode; but, the mode is usually not considered as it is less stable. Between mean and median, the latter is supposed to be better because the sum of the deviations from the median is less than the sum of the deviations from the mean,
Co-efficient of MD = \(\frac{\mathrm{MD}}{\text { Average }}\)

Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is defined as the square root of the arithmetic average of the squares of deviations taken from the arithmetic average of a series. It is also known as the root-mean-square deviation for the reason that it is the square root of the mean of the squared deviations from AM.

Standard deviation is denoted by the Greek letter a (small letter ‘sigma’). The term variance is used to describe the square of the standard deviation. Standard deviation is an absolute measure of dispersion. The corresponding relative measure is called the coefficient of SD. The coefficient of variation is also a relative measure. A series with more coefficient of variation is regarded as less consistent or less stable than a series with less coefficient of variation.
Symbolically, Standard deviation = σ
Variance = σ2
Coefficient of SD = \(\frac{\sigma}{\bar{x}}\)
Coefficient of variation = \(\frac{\sigma}{\bar{x}} \times 100\)

Lorenz Curve
The measures of dispersion discussed so far give a numerical value of dispersion. A graphical measure called the Lorenz Curve is available for estimating dispersion.

Lorenz Curve uses the information expressed in a cumulative manner to indicate the degree of variability. It is especially useful in comparing the variability of two or more distributions.

Construction of the Lorenz Curve
Following steps are required for the Construction of the Lorenz Curve

  1. Calculate class mid-points and find cumulative totals
  2. Calculate cumulative frequencies
  3. Express the grand totals and convert the cumulative totals into percentages,
  4. Now, on the graph paper, take the cumulative percentages of the variable (incomes) on the Y-axis and cumulative percentages of frequencies (number of employees) on the X-axis.
  5. Draw a line joining Co-ordinate (0, 0) with (100, 100). This is called the line of equal distribution.
  6. Plot the cumulative percentages of the variable with corresponding cumulative percentages of frequency. Join these points to get the curve.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 15 Measures of Central Tendency

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 15 Measures of Central Tendency

Measures of Central Tendency
The measuring of central tendency is a way of summarizing the data in the form of a typical or representative value. There are several statistical measures of central tendency or “averages”.
The three most commonly used averages are:

  • Arithmetic Mean
  • Median
  • Mode

Arithmetic Mean
Arithmetic mean is the most commonly used measure of central tendency. It is defined as the sum of the values of all observations divided by the number of observations and is usually denoted by x. In general, if there are N observations as x1, x2, x3,……, xN, then the Arithmetic Mean is given by
Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 15 Measures of Central Tendency 1

Individual Series
In individual series, values of the variables are given individually without any group, classes, or frequency.
In this case, as stated above, finding the arithmetic mean is to add all the individual values and then divide the sum by the total number of observations and is known as the direct method.

Discrete Series
Here, the data are in the grouped form and frequency for each observation is given. But it is not in the form of classes. Here also we use direct method or assumed mean method or step deviation method to find the arithmetic mean. If a particular method is not insisted, you can follow any method which is suitable for the problem.
In this method, mean \(\bar{x}=\frac{\varepsilon f x}{N}\)

Continuous Series: In continuous series, data are given in frequency classes. The mid-value (m) of the class has to be found out first.
Mean \(\bar{x}=\frac{\varepsilon f x}{N}\)

Median
Median is that positional value of the variable which divides the distribution into two equal parts, one part comprises all values greater than or equal to the median value and the other comprises all values less than or equal to it. The Median is the “middle” element when the data set is arranged in order of magnitude.

Individual Series: For finding the median of an individual series, first arrange it in ascending or descending order and then locate the middlemost item. The value of the middlemost item will be the median.
Median = value of \(\left(\frac{N+1}{2}\right)\)th item

Discrete Series: In discrete series items are grouped and frequencies are given. There will not be any classes. For finding the median of a discrete series, first we arrange the items in ascending or descending order as before. Then, we find less than cumulative frequencies. Now, it is easy to locate the value of \(\left(\frac{N+1}{2}\right)\)th item.

Continuous Series: In Continuous series, data is given in frequency classes. For finding the median, first we identify the median class. Median class is the class in which the value corresponding to the frequency (N/2)th item may lie. After identifying the median class, we use the following formula for finding the median:
Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 15 Measures of Central Tendency 2
Where,
L = lower limit of the median class
N = total frequency
cf = cumulative frequency of the class preceding the median class
f = frequency of the median class
c = class width of the median class

Mode
Mode is the value around which there is the greatest concentration of values. In other words, it is the item having the largest frequency. In some cases, there may be more than one point of concentration of values and the series may be bi-modal or multi-modal. When one value occurs more frequently than any other value, the distribution is called uni-modal.

The word mode is derived from the French word ‘la mode’ which means fashion or the most popular phenomenon. Mode is thus the most popular item of a series around which there is the highest frequency density. It is denoted by Mo.

i) Individual Series: Comparing to mean and median, computation of mode is easy. In individual series, the mode is that value which repeats the highest number of times. It is often found by mere inspection.

ii) Discrete Series: In discrete series, the mode is determined just by inspection. The item having the highest frequency is taken as mode.

iii) Continuous Series: In continuous series, mode lies in the class having the highest frequency. Hence the modal class may be determined either by inspection or by grouping table. Then mode is determined using the formula:
Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 15 Measures of Central Tendency 3
where,
L0 = lower limit of the modal class
D1 = difference between the frequencies of the modal class and the class preceding it (ignoring the sign)
D2 = difference between the frequencies of the modal class and the class succeeding it (ignoring the sign); and
c = class interval of the modal class

Quartiles
Quartiles are the measures which divide the data into four equal parts; each portion contains an equal number of observations. Thus, there are three quartiles. The first Quartile (denoted by Q1) or lower quartile has 25% of the items of the distribution below it and 75% of the items are greater than it. The second Quartile (denoted by Q2) or median has 50% of items below it and 50% of the observations above it. The third Quartile (denoted by Q3) or upper Quartile has 75% of the items of the distribution below it and 25%of the items above it. Thus, Q1 and Q3 denote the two limits within which central 50% of the data lies.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 14 Presentation of Data

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 14 Presentation of Data

Presentation of Data
The most common form of presenting the data are textual or descriptive presentation, tabular presentation and diagrammatic presentation.

Textual Presentation of Data: This is the method of presenting data in text form. This method of presentation is possible only when the quantity of data is not too large. Following are the two examples of presenting the data in a textual format appeared in news papers.

Tabular Presentation of Data: Tabular presentation is the systematic arrangement of data in rows and columns. In other words, tabulation is a layout of figures in rectangular form with appropriate heading to explain different rows and columns.

Diagrammatic and Graphical Representation of Data: It is the more attractive and eye-catching method of presenting data. This provides the quickest understanding of the actual situation to be explained by data in comparison to tabular or textual presentations. The diagrams are broadly divided into three namely geometric diagrams, frequency diagram and arithmetic line graph. Again, geometric diagrams are classified into bar diagram and pie diagram.

Parts of a Table
A good table should have the following parts.
i) Table Number: Table number is essential for identifying the table; especially when more than one table is presented. It is the table numberthat distinguishes one table from the other. For easy reference, they are numbered according to their order of appearance in the text. It may be placed at the top or at the bottom)

ii) Title: Every table should contain a title, because it narrates about the contents of the table. Just like the table number, the title can also be placed at the top or bottom of the table. The title should be clear, brief, carefully worded, unambiguous and complete. It should be capable of giving the clear idea about the table.

iii) Captions: It is also called the column heading, which gives a designation to the column. It is given as the top row. Under each column head, there may be subheads. In table-14.4 above, there are three captions: rank, name of country and production of wheat.

iv) Stubs: It is also called the row heading, which gives a designation to the row. It is given as the left column and that column is called the stub column.

v) Body of the Table: It is the most important part of the table. It contains the actual data. The body is arranged generally from left to right in rows and from top to bottom in columns.

vi) Unit of Measurement: The units of measurement of the figures in the data should always be given in the table. It can be given with the title if the same unit is used in the whole table. If different units are used for different columns, they should be given with the respective column headings; and if different units are used for different rows, they should be given with the respective row headings.

vii) Source: It is a brief statement indicating the source from where the data is taken. If more than one source, all of them should be written there. This will help the reader to check the figures and gather more information if required. It also helps in indicating the authenticity of data. Generally, source is written in the bottom of the table.

Various Kinds of Diagrams
There are various kinds of diagrams in common use. Amongst them the important ones are the following:
1. Geometric diagram
2. Frequency diagram
3. Arithmetic line graph

Geometric Diagram: Bardiagram and pie diagram come in the category of geometric diagram for the presentation of data. The bar diagrams are of three types- simple, multiple and component bar diagrams.

i) Bar Diagram
Simple Bar Diagram: Bardiagram comprises a group of Equi-spaced and equi-width rectangular bars for each class or category of data. The height or length of the bar reads the magnitude of data.

Multiple Bar Diagram: Multiple bar diagrams are used for comparing two or more sets of data, for example, import and export for different years, marks obtained in different subjects in different classes, etc.

Component Bar Diagram: Component bar diagrams or charts also called sub-diagrams are very useful in comparing the sizes of different component parts and also for throwing light on the relationship among these integral parts.

ii) Pie Diagram
A pie diagram is also a component diagram, but unlike a component bar diagram, a circle whose area is proportionally divided among the components it represents. It is also called a pie chart. The circle is divided into as many parts as there are components by drawing straight lines from the centre to the circumference. Pie charts usually are not drawn with absolute values of a category. The values of each category are first
expressed as a percentage of the total value of all the categories.

It may be interesting to note that data represented by a component^bar diagram can also be represented equally well by a pie chart, the only requirement being that absolute values of the components have to be converted into percentages before they can be used for a pie diagram.

Graphical Presentation
Data in the form of grouped frequency distributions are generally represented by frequency diagrams like histogram, frequency polygon, frequency curve and ogive.

a) Histogram: A histogram is a two-dimensional diagram. It is a set of rectangles with bases as the intervals between class boundaries (along X- axis) and with areas proportional to the class frequency. If the class intervals are of equal width, which they generally are, the area of the rectangles are proportional to their respective frequencies. However, in some type of data, it is convenient, at times necessary, to use varying width of class intervals. The width in a histogram is as important as its height. We can have a bar diagram both for discrete and continuous variables, but histogram is drawn only for a continuous variable. Histogram also gives value of mode of the frequency distribution graphically.

b) Frequency Polygon: A frequency polygon is a plane bounded by straight lines, usually four or more lines. Frequency polygon is an alternative to histogram and is also derived from histogram itself. A frequency polygon can be fitted to a histogram for studying the shape of the curve. The simplest method of drawing a frequency polygon is to join the midpoints of the topside of the consecutive rectangles of the histogram.

c) Frequency Curve: The frequency curve is obtained by drawing a smooth freehand curve passing through the points of the frequency polygon as closely as possible. It may not necessarily pass through all the points of the frequency polygon but it passes through them as closely as possible.

d) Ogive: Ogive is also called cumulative frequency curve. As there are two types of cumulative frequencies, for example less than type and more than type, accordingly there are two ogives for any grouped frequency distribution data. Here in place of simple frequencies as in the case of frequency polygon, cumulative frequencies are plotted along y-axis against class limits of the frequency distribution. For less than give the cumulative frequencies are plotted against the respective upper limits of the class intervals whereas for more than ogives the cumulative frequencies are plotted against the respective lower limits of the class interval. An interesting feature of the two ogives together is that their intersection point gives the median.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 13 Organisation of Data

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 13 Organisation of Data

Classification of Data
The groups or classes of classification can be done in various ways. The way you want to classify them would depend on your requirement. Likewise, the raw data could be classified in various ways depending on the purpose at hand.

1. Chronological Classification: They can be grouped according to time. Such a classification is known as a Chronological Classification. In such a classification, data are classified either in ascending or in descending order with reference to time such as years, quarters, months, weeks, etc. The variable ‘population’ is a Time Series as it depicts a series of values for different years.

2. Spatial Classification: In Spatial Classification the data are classified with reference to geographical locations such as countries, states, cities, districts, etc.

3. Qualitative Classification: Sometimes you come across characteristics that cannot be expressed quantitatively. Such characteristics are called Qualities or Attributes. For example, nationality, literacy, religion, gender, marital status etc. They cannot be measured. Yet these attributes can be classified on the basis of either the presence or the absence of a qualitative characteristic. Such a classification of data on attributes is called a qualitative classification.

4. Quantitative Classification: Characteristics like height, weight, age, income, marks of students, etc. are quantitative in nature. When the collected data of such characteristics are grouped into classes, the classification is a Quantitative Classification.

Continuous and discrete variable
A variable is that characteristic whose value is capable of changing from unit to unit. Variables can be continuous or discrete. A continuous variable is that which can take any value in a specified interval. Whereas discrete variables are those which can assume only certain values.

Exclusive and Inclusive Methods
Exclusive Method: Under the method, the upper-class limit is excluded but the lower class limit of a class is included in the interval. Thus an observation that is exactly equal to the upper-class limit, according to the method, would not be included in that class but would be included in the next class. On the other hand, if it were equal to the lower class limit then it would be included in that class.

Inclusive Method: There is another method of forming classes and it is known as the Inclusive Method of classification. In comparison to the exclusive method, the Inclusive Method does not exclude the upper-class limit in a class interval. It includes the upper class in a class. Thus both class limits are parts of the class interval.

Frequency Array
For a discrete variable, the classification of its data is known as a Frequency Array. Since a discrete variable takes values and not intermediate fractional values between two integral values, we have frequencies that correspond to each of its integral values.

Frequency Distribution
A frequency distribution is a comprehensive way to classify raw data of a quantitative variable. It shows how the different values of a variable are distributed in different classes along with their corresponding class frequencies.

Each class in a frequency distribution table is bounded by Class Limits. Class limits are the two ends of a class. The lowest value is called the Lower Class Limit and the highest value the Upper-Class Limit.

Class Interval or Class Width is the difference between the upper-class limit and the lower class limit. For class 60-70, the class interval is 10 (upper-class limit minus lower class limit).

The Class Midpoint or Class Mark is the middle value of a class. It lies halfway between the lower class limit and the upper-class limit of a class and can be ascertained in the following manner:

Class Midpoint or Class Mark = (Upper-Class Limit + Lower Class Limit)/2

The classmark or mid-value of each class is used to represent the class. Once raw data are grouped into classes, individual observations are not used in further calculations. Instead, the classmark is used. Frequency Curve is a Graphic representation of a frequency distribution.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 12 Collection of Data

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 12 Collection of Data

Sources of Data
Statistical data can be obtained from two sources. The enumerator may collect the data by conducting an inquiry or an investigation. Such data are called Primary Data, as they are based on first-hand information.
If the data have been collected and processed by some other agency, they are called Secondary Data. Generally, the published data are secondary data.

Methods of Collecting Primary Data
There are three basic ways of collecting data:

  1. Personal Interviews
  2. Mailing (questionnaire) Surveys
  3. Telephone Interviews

1. Personal Interviews: This method is used when the researcher has access to all the members. The researcher conducts face to face interviews with the respondents. Personal contact is made between the respondent and the interviewer. The interviewer has the opportunity of explaining the study and answering any query of the respondents.

2. Mailing Questionnaire: When the data in a survey are collected by mail, the questionnaire is sent to each individual by mail with a request to complete and return it by a given date. The advantages of this method are that it is less expensive. It allows the researcher to have access to people in remote areas too, who might be difficult to reach in person or by telephone. It does not allow the influence of the respondents by the interviewer. It also permits the respondents to take sufficient time to give thoughtful answers to the questions.

3. Telephone Interviews: In a telephone interview, the investigator asks questions overthe telephone. The advantages of telephone interviews are that they are cheaper than personal interviews and can be conducted in a shorter time. They allow the researcher to assist the respondent by clarifying the questions. The telephone interview is better in the cases where the respondents are reluctant to answer certain questions in personal interviews.

Collection of Secondary Data
Secondary data are those which are available in published or unpublished records. Once a decision is taken to collect secondary data, the question of sources of data arises. There are two sources for the collection of secondary data, namely, published sources and unpublished sources.
Published Sources:

  • Official publications of the central, state, and local governments.
  • Official publications of international agencies like the United Nations Organization and its subsidiaries.
  • Reports and publications of trade associations, chambers of commerce, banks, etc.
  • Reports of committees and commissions.
  • Reports published in technical trade journals.
  • Reports submitted by researchers, economists, etc.

Unpublished Sources:

  • Unpublished materials found with research institutes, trade associations, chamber of commerce, etc.

Census Survey and Sample Survey
Under census method, we collect information from each and every unit of population relating to the problem under investigation. On the other hand, the under-sample method, rather than collecting information about all the units of population, we collect information from a few selected items from the population.

Methods of Sampling
There are various methods of selecting samples from a population. These are called sampling techniques.
The two types of sampling techniques are random sampling and non-random sampling.

Random Sampling Methods
Random sampling is a technique of drawing a sample from the population in which each and every unit of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. It is further divided into simple random sampling and restricted random sampling.

a) Simple random sampling: In this method, the sample is taken from the population without making any division or classification of the population. Hence, every unit of the population has an equal chance of being selected in the sample. Simple random sampling may be done either by using lottery method or by Table of random numbers.

b) Restricted random sampling: Restricted random sampling is of mainly three types. Stratified sampling, systematic sampling and cluster sampling.

1. Stratified sampling: When the population is heterogeneous, stratified sampling method is used. Under this method the whole population is divided into various groups or strata of units, such that the units in each class possess similar characteristics. For example, suppose you are studying about the consumption pattern of students in your school. The population comprises the whole students studying in various standards of your school. A student studying in standard-5 and a student studying in standard-9 may have different consumption patterns. That is, for this characteristic, the population is heterogeneous. Hence, different standards can be selected as different groups or strata. Then sample is drawn from each stratum at random.

2. Systematic sampling: A systematic sampling is formed by selecting one at random and then selecting the rest at evenly spaced intervals until the sample size has been reached. Suppose that in the nature club of your school, there are 100 members and you want to make a core group of 10. First you number the 100 students of the club from 1 to 100. By lottery method or by random table method you select one student from the first ten. Let it be the 7th student. Then take an appropriate interval and select the rest 9 students. If the interval you had taken is 10, then the second student in the sample is the 17th student, the third student in the sample is the 27th student, etc.

3. Cluster sampling: This type of sampling is carried out in several stages. Suppose we are studying about the employment of households in Kerala. In the first stage, Kerala is divided into three or four zones. Then each zone is divided into districts. Then each district is divided into villages. From each district, sample of villages may be taken at random. From each selected village, households of required size are also taken at random. Since several stages involve in cluster sampling, it is also known as multi-stage sampling.

Non-Random Sampling
In this method of sampling the investigator himself makes the choice of sample from the population according to his own discretion which he thinks to be the best. Here, all the units in the population do not have equal chance of being selected in to the sample.

Sampling Errors and Non-Sampling Errors:
Sampling Errors
The purpose of the sample is to take an estimate of the population. Sam^g error refers to the differences between the sample estimate and the actual value of a characteristic of the population. It is the error that occurs when you make an observation from the sample taken from the population. Thus, the difference between the actual value of a parameter of the population and its estimate is the sampling error.

Non-Sampling Errors
Non-sampling errors are more serious than sampling errors because a sampling error can be minimized. But errors due to mistakes while framing tables and data entry will affect the final result. They are non-sampling errors.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 11 Introduction

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 11 Introduction

Statistics
Statistics deals with the collection, classification analysis, and interpretation of numerical data. In our daily language, the word ‘Statistics’ is used in two distinct senses: singular and plural. In the plural sense, ‘statistics’ means ‘numerical facts systematically collected’ as described by the Oxford Dictionary. Thus, the simple meaning of statistics in the plural sense is data.

Functions of Statistics

  • It simplifies the complexity of data: Complex numerical data are simplified through statistical methods.
  • It reduces the bulk data: Huge data can be reduced to a few figures and thus, easily understandable.
  • It adds precision in thinking: It actually sharpens one’s thinking faculty.
  • It helps comparison of different sets of figures: e.g. import and export of two countries can be compared.
  • It indicates trends and tendencies: Helps in making future plans.
  • It helps in studying relationships between different factors: With the help of statistical methods, one can study the relation between two or more variables.
  • It guides in the formulation of policies and helps in planning: Planning and policies of the government are based on statistical data.

Limitations of Statistics
The limitations of statistics are given below.

  • Statistical laws are true only on average.
  • Statistics can be misused.
  • Statistics deals only with quantitative data.
  • Statistical results lack mathematical accuracy.
  • Statistical facts are collected for a pre-determined purpose.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 10 Comparative Development Experience of India with its Neighbours

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 10 Comparative Development Experience of India with its Neighbours

Development Path – A Snapshot View
India, Pakistan, and China have many similarities in their developmental strategies. India, China, and Pakistan became independent and started initiating their developmental strategies at almost the same time. India and Pakistan became independent in 1947 and China in 1949. All three countries adopted the planning strategy for economic growth and development. India’s five-year plan started in 1951, Pakistan’s in 1956 (called medium-term plan), and China’s in 1953. Government and the public sector played a major role in these economies. However, with the introduction of economic reforms in tune with globalisation the role of market was redefined. Till the 1980s, all the three economies had almost similar growth rate and other economic indicators.

China
After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China under one-party rule, all the critical sectors of the economy, enterprises, and lands owned and operated by individuals were brought under government control. The Great Leap Forward (GLF) campaign initiated in 1958 aimed at industrializing the country on a massive scale. People were encouraged to set up industries in their backyards. In rural areas, communes were started. Under the Commune system, people collectively cultivated lands.

In 1958, there were 26,000 communes covering almost all the farm population. GLF campaign met with many problems. A severe drought caused havoc in China killing about 30 million people. When Russia had conflicts with China, it withdrew its professionals who had earlier been sent to China to help in the industrialization process.

In 1965, Mao introduced the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-76) under which students and professionals were sent to work and learn from the countryside. The present-day fast industrial growth in China can be traced back to the reforms introduced in 1978.

Pakistan
Pakistan followed the mixed economy model with, co-existence of the public sector and private sector. Pakistan also followed a protectionist policy in international trade. The introduction of the Green Revolution resulted in a rise in the production of food grains. In the 1970s, the nationalization of the capital goods industry took place. In the late 1970s and 1980stherewasashift in the economic policy in favor of de-nationalization and encouragement to the private sector.

Pakistan got substantial financial support from western nations. There was an increase in the number of emigrants and their remittance to their home country. The remittance and Western nation’s support helped the country in stimulating economic growth. In 1988 more reforms were introduced. FDI was encouraged, direct taxes were reduced and many areas of the economy were opened to private and foreign investment.

Demographic Indicators
Demographic indicators of India, China, and Pakistan can be summarised as follows:
Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 10 Comparative Development Experience of India with its Neighbours 1

The table shows the population growth as being highest in Pakistan, followed by India and China. Scholars point out the one-child norm introduced in China in the late 1970s as the major reason for low population growth. They also state that this measure led to a decline in the sex ratio, the proportion of females per 1000 males. However, from the table, you will notice that the sex ratio is low and biased against females in all three countries. Scholars cite son preference prevailing in all these countries as the reason. In recent times, all three countries are adopting various measures to improve the situation.

The One-child norm and the resultant arrest in the growth of the population also have other implications. For instance, after a few decades, in China, there will be more elderly people in proportion to young people. This will force China to take steps to provide social security measures with fewer workers. The fertility rate is also low in China and very high in Pakistan. Urbanization is high in both Pakistan and China with India having 28 percent of its people living in urban areas.

Indicators of Human Development
The HDI (Human Development Index) developed by UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) is an index which has universal acceptance as a good measure of the quality of human life. Since 1990 the UNDP has been publishing information related to HDI. This report ranks countries on the basis of their HDI. The following table presents some of the selected indicators of development.
Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 10 Comparative Development Experience of India with its Neighbours 2
Source: Human Development Report, 2014

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 9 Environment Sustainable Development

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 9 Environment Sustainable Development

Environment
The environment is defined as the total planetary inheritance and the totality of all resources. It includes all the biotic and abiotic factors that influence each other. While all living elements – the birds, animals and plants, forests, fisheries, etc. are biotic elements and abiotic elements include air, water, land, etc. Rocks and sunlight are all examples of abiotic elements of the environment. A study of the environment then calls for a study of the interrelationship between these biotic and abiotic components of the environment.

Functions of the Environment
The environment performs four vital functions

  • It supplies resources: resources here include both renewable and non-renewable resources.
    Renewable resources are those which can be used without the possibility of the resource becoming depleted or exhausted. That is, a continuous supply of the resource remains available.
  • It assimilates waste
  • It sustains life by providing genetic and bio-diversity
  • It also provides aesthetic services like scenery, etc.

Global Warming and Ozone Depletion
Two important issues faced by our environment is global warming and ozone depletion.

Global warming: Global warming is a gradual increase in the average temperature of the earth’s lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. Much of the recent observed and projected global warming is human-induced. It is caused by man-made increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases through the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

Ozone Depletion: Ozone depletion refers to the phenomenon of reductions in the amount of ozone in the stratosphere The problem of ozone depletion is caused by high levels of chlorine and bromine compounds in the stratosphere The origins of these compounds are chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), used as cooling substances in airconditioners and refrigerators, or as aerosol propellants, and bromo fluorocarbons (halons), used in fire extinguishers. As a result of depletion of the ozone layer, more ultraviolet (UV) radiation comes to Earth and causes damage to living organisms. UV radiation seems responsible for skin cancer in humans; it also lowers production of phytoplankton and thus affects other aquatic organisms. It can also influence the growth of terrestrial plants.

State of India’s Environment
India has abundant natural resources in terms of rich quality of soil, hundreds of rivers and tributaries, lush green forests, plenty of mineral deposits beneath the land surface, vast stretch of the Indian Ocean, ranges of mountains, etc. The black soil of the Deccan Plateau is particularly suitable for the cultivation of cotton, leading to a concentration of textile industries in this region. The Indo-Gangetic plains – spread from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal – are one of the most fertile, intensively cultivated and densely populated regions in the world.

India’s forests, though unevenly distributed, provide green cover for a majority of its population and natural cover for its wildlife. Large deposits of iron ore, coal and natural gas are found in the country. India alone accounts for nearly 20% of the world’s total iron-ore reserves. Bauxite, copper, chromate, diamonds, gold, lead, lignite, manganese, zinc, uranium, etc. are also available in different parts of the country. However, the developmental activities in India have resulted in pressure on its finite natural resources, besides creating impacts on human health and well-being.

The threat to India’s environment poses a dichotomy -threat of poverty-induced environmental degradation and, at the same time, threat of pollution from affluence and a rapidly growing industrial sector. Air pollution, water contamination, soil erosion, deforestation and wildlife extinction are some of the most pressing environmental concerns of India.
The priority issues identified are :

  • land degradation
  • biodiversity loss
  • air pollution with special reference to vehicular pollution in urban cities
  • management of fresh water and
  • Solid waste management. Land in India suffers from varying degrees and types of degradation stemming mainly from unstable use and inappropriate management practices.

Sustainable Development
The concept of sustainable development was emphasized by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which defined it as: ‘Development that meets the need of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs’.

Strategies for sustainable development
Strategies for sustainable development include the following.

  • Use of Non-conventional Sources of Energy: LPG, Gobar Gas in Rural Areas:
  • CNG in Urban Areas
  • Wind Power
  • Solar Power through Photovoltaic Cells
  • Mini-hydel Plants
  • Traditional Knowledge and Practices
  • Bio-composting
  • Bio-pest Control

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 8 Infrastructure

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 8 Infrastructure

Infrastructure
Infrastructure means some kinds of permanent installation, which are used over a long period of time for the supply of basic inputs like railway lines, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, etc. Infrastructural facilities are often referred to as economic and social overheads.

  1. The economic infrastructure consists of energy, transport, communication
  2. The social infrastructure consists of education, health, and housing.

Relevance of Infrastructure
Infrastructure plays important role in economic growth and development. Developed nations have good record of social and economic infrastructure. The contributions of infrastructure are:
• It invites investment which leads to growth.
• It enhances productivity.
• It improves the quality of life of people.

State of Infrastructure in India
Two important infrastructures in India are energy and health. We shall examine their details below:

Energy: Energy is very vital for rapid economic growth. There is a big gap between consumer demand and the supply of electricity in India. Energy is a critical aspect of the development process of a nation. It is, of course, essential for industries. Now it is used on a large scale in agriculture and related areas like the production and transportation of fertilizers, pesticides, and farm equipment. It is required in houses for cooking, household lighting, and heating.

Sources of Energy: There are commercial and non-commercial sources of energy. Commercial sources are coal, petroleum, and electricity as they are bought and sold. Non-commercial sources of energy are firewood, agricultural waste, and dried dung. These are non-commercial as they are found in nature/ forests. While commercial sources of energy are generally exhaustible, non-commercial sources are generally renewable.

Non-conventional Sources of Energy: Both commercial and non-commercial sources of energy are known as conventional sources of energy. There are three other sources of energy which are commonly termed as non-conventional sources – solar energy, wind energy and tidal power.

Power/Electricity: The most visible form of energy, which is often identified with progress in modern civilization, is power, commonly called electricity; it is one of the most critical components of infrastructure that determines the economic development of a country.

Health: Health is an essential element of human resource development. Health is a holistic process related to the overall growth and development of the nation. WHO defines health as Economists judge the health conditions of the people of a country by looking at the following indicators.

  • Infant mortality
  • Maternal mortality
  • Life expectancy
  • Nutritional levels
  • Incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases
  • Health infrastructures

Health System in India: India’s health infrastructure consists of a three-tier system such as primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary health care includes health education, health problems, prevention and control of diseases, promotion of nutrition, issues relating to potable water and sanitation, maternal and child health care, immunization against major infectious diseases like Polio, T.B, diphtheria, promotion of mental health and provision of essential drugs, etc.

Primary health care is provided through, sub-centers catering to a population of about 5000, Primary health care centres (PHCs) at block level and community health centres (CHCs) at the district level. The primary health care centres have only limited facilities. When the patient need advanced health care they are referred to secondary or tertiary hospitals.

Secondary care institutions are those which have facilities for clinical investigations like X-ray, clinical laboratory, scanning, etc., specialist doctors like a surgeon, gynecologists, pediatricians, etc. It is mostly available in district headquarters and big towns and cities.

Tertiary health care institutions these are health care institutions at the top of the three-tier system, devoted in health care, health education and research: Medical colleges, super-specialty hospitals and multi-specialty hospitals. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Bangalore, Sree Chithra Institute of Medical Science (SCIM) Trivandrum, etc., are tertiary health care institutions.

Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM): Natural systems of medicine have to be explored and used to support public health. There is a great scope of advancement of medical tourism in India. It includes six systems: Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Naturopathy and Homeopathy (AYUSH). At present, there are 3,004 ISM hospitals, 23,028 dispensaries and as many as 6,11,431 registered practitioners in India. But little has been done to set up a framework to standardize education orto promote research. ISM has huge potential and can solve a large part of our health care problems because they are effective, safe and inexpensive.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 7 Employment-Growth, Informalisation and Related Issues

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 7 Employment-Growth, Informalisation and Related Issues

Workers and Employment
Those activities that contribute to Gross National Product (GNP) or national income are known as economic activities. When farmers work in a field or a labour work in a factory, or doctor works in a hospital they produce goods or services. All those who are engaged in economic activities including self-employed are called workers. The employment situation is diverse and complex in India. It is due to the developing nature of the economy and the socio-economic and demographic factors that influence it.

Participation of People in Employment
The worker-population ratio is an important indicator of the employment situation in an economy.
Worker population-ratio refers to the ratio of workers to the population. It is computed by dividing the number of workers(W) by the total population (P) and express it in terms of percentage (W/P)*100. This ratio is useful in knowing the proportion of the population actively contributing to the production of goods and services in a country. The worker-population ratio in India for 2011 was 39.3%.

Employment in Firms, Factories, and Offices
In the course of the economic development of a country, labour flows from agriculture and other related activities to industry and services. Generally, we divide all economic activities into eight different industrial divisions. They are:

  1. Agriculture
  2. Mining and quarrying
  3. Manufacturing
  4. Electricity, gas and water supply
  5. Construction
  6. Trade
  7. Transport and storage
  8. Services.

For simplicity, all the working persons engaged in these divisions can be clubbed into three major sectors, viz.

  • Primary sector includes (1) and (2)
  • Secondary sector which includes (3), (4), and (5)
  • Service sector which includes divisions (6), (7), and (8).

Unemployment and Types of Unemployment
The unemployment situation in India is highly complex. There are different types of unemployment in our country like open unemployment, disguised unemployment, seasonal unemployment, etc. Unemployment is a situation in which people are willing to work at the prevailing wage rate, but do not get any work.

Open Unemployment: Open unemployment is the situation in which people above a certain age who are able to work and willing to work at the prevailing wage remain unemployed. Open unemployment is involuntary in nature. They are willing to work, but employment opportunities are not available to them. People standing in some selected areas waiting to be recruited as the hired worker is a case of open unemployment.

Disguised Unemployment: When more persons are working in a job than actually required, the situation is termed as disguised unemployment or hidden unemployment. If some workers are withdrawn from work, either total production or productivity falls. This type of unemployment is prominent in Indian agriculture.

Seasonal Unemployment: The type of unemployment caused by a change in seasons is termed as seasonal unemployment. This is normally found in the agricultural sector of India. Agriculture normally provides only seasonal employment and people are employed during the busy sowing and harvesting seasons. Seasonal unemployment could also be found in agro-based industries such as sugar mills, rice mills, cotton-spinning mills, etc.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 6 Rural Development

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 6 Rural Development

Rural Development
Rural development is quite a comprehensive term but it essentially means a plan of action for the development of areas which are lagging behind in socio-economic development. It essentially focuses on the action for the development of areas that are lagging behind in the overall development of the village economy. Some of the areas which are challenging and need fresh initiatives for development in India include:

  • Development of human resources including- literacy, more specifically, female literacy, education, and skill development-health, addressing both sanitation and public health
  • Land reforms
  • Development of the productive resources of each locality
  • Infrastructure development like electricity, irrigation, credit, marketing, transport facilities including construction of village roads and feeder roads to nearby highways, facilities for agriculture research and extension, and information dissemination
  • Special measures for alleviation of poverty and bringing about significant improvement in the living conditions of the weaker sections of the population emphasizing access to productive employment opportunities.

Credit and Marketing in Rural Areas
Credit: Growth of rural economy depends primarily on the infusion of capital, from time to time, to realize higher productivity in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors. As the time gestation between crop sowing and realization of income after production is quite long, farmers borrow from various sources to meet their initial investment on seeds, fertilizers, implements and other family expenses of marriage, death, religious ceremonies.

A major change occurred after 1969 when India adopted social banking and a multi-agency approach to adequately meet the needs of rural credit. Later, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was set up in1982 as an apex body to coordinate the activities of all institutions involved in the rural financing system.

The institutional structure of rural banking today consists of a set of multi-agency institutions, namely, commercial banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), co-operatives and land development banks. Recently, Self-Help Groups (henceforth SHGs) have emerged to fill the gap in the formal credit system because the formal credit delivery mechanism has not only proven inadequate but has also not been fully integrated into the overall rural social and community development. By March end 2003, more than seven lakh SHGs had reportedly been credit linked. Such credit provisions are generally referred to as micro-credit programmes.

Agricultural Market System
Agricultural marketing is a process that involves the assembling, storage, processing, transportation, packaging, grading and distribution of different agricultural commodities across the country. Let us discuss four such measures that were initiated to improve the marketing aspect.

1. The first step was regulation of markets to create orderly and transparent marketing conditions.

2. Second component is provision of physical infrastructure facilities like roads, railways, warehouses, godowns, cold storages and processing units.

3. Co-operative marketing, in realizing fair prices for farmers’ products, is the third aspect of a government initiative.

4. The fourth element is the policy instruments like

  • assurance of minimum support prices (MSP) for 24 agricultural products
  • maintenance of buffer stocks of wheat and rice by Food Corporation of India and
  • distribution of food grains and sugar through PDS.

These instruments are aimed at protecting the income of the farmers and providing food grains at subsidized rate to the poor.

Diversification into Productive Activities
Diversification of farm products has two aspects: The first one relates to the diversification of crop production. The second one relates to the shift of the workforce from agriculture to other allied activities such as livestock, poultry, fishers, etc., and to non-farm sectors like food processing. Diversification of agriculture helps to provide alternative employment opportunities in the non-farm sector and will minimize the risk of depending exclusively on agriculture. These activities related to diversification are given below:

  • Animal husbandry
  • Fisheries
  • Horticulture

Sustainable Development and Organic Farming
In recent years, awareness of the harmful effect of chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides on our health is on a rise. Conventional agriculture relies heavily on chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides, etc., which enter the food supply, penetrate the water sources, harm the livestock, deplete the soil and devastate natural eco-systems. Efforts in evolving technologies which are eco-friendly are essential for sustainable development and one such technology which is eco-friendly is organic farming.

Benefits of Organic Farming:
1. Organic agriculture offers a means to substitute costlier agricultural inputs (such as HYV seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) with locally produced organic inputs that are cheaper and thereby generate good returns on investment.

2. Organic agriculture also generates income through international exports as the demand for organically grown crops is on a rise.

3. Studies across countries have shown that organically grown food has more nutritional value than chemical farming thus providing us with healthy foods.

4. Since organic farming requires more labour input than conventional farming, India will find organic farming an attractive proposition.

5. Finally, the produce is pesticide-free and produced in an environmentally sustainable way.

Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 4 Poverty

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Kerala Plus One Economics Notes Chapter 4 Poverty

Poverty and Poverty Line
Poverty is a multi-dimensional concept. It is defined as a situation in which a section of society is unable to fulfill even the basic necessities of life or deprived of basic necessities of life. Poverty is measured on the basis of the poverty line. One way is to determine it by the monetary value (per capita expenditure) of the minimum calorie intake that was estimated at 2,400 calories for a rural person and 2,100 for a person in the urban area.

Causes of Poverty
Important causes of poverty in India are:

  • Low income
  • Lack of assets
  • Unemployment
  • Inequality
  • Exploitation
  • Population explosion
  • Undesirable economic growth
  • Inflation
  • Absence of industrialisation.

Poverty Eradication Programmes
Poverty eradication programmes in India are classified as follows:

Self-employment Programmes
Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP): The IRDP was introduced in 2nd October 1980. This programme has been renamed as
Swarnajayanthi Grama Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) from 1st April 1999. The SGSY is a very holistic programme compared to IRDP. SGSY is developed by merging various programmes such as TRYSEM (Training of Rural Youth for Self-employment), DWCRA (Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas), GKY (Ganga Kalyan Yojana), MSW (Million Well Scheme), and SITRA (Supply of Improved Tool Kits to Rural Artisans). It forms SHG’s (Self-Help Groups) of poor people and formulates self-employment programmes under their leadership. It includes development of infrastructure, technology, credit and marketing managements, etc. Unlike other programmes, the priority of the employment programme can be fixed by the beneficiaries.

Wage Employment Programmes
1. National Rural Emptoyment Programme (NREP): NREP was the new name given to Food for Work Programme. It was launched in 1980 as a centrally sponsored scheme with state and central governments sharing equal amounts. The aim of this programmer the development of community assets like drinking water wells, irrigation wells, rural roads, schools, etc.

2. The Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP): This programme was launched on 15th August 1983 to supplement NREP. This is a centrally sponsored scheme with 100 percent fund by the union government.

3. Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) and Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY): NREP and the RLEGP were merged and renamed into a single rural employment programme known as Jawahar Rozgar Yojana. JRY came into effect from 1st April 1999. The aim of the programme was to provide gainful employment for unemployed rural areas. The urban version of JRY is known as Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY).

4. The Million Well Scheme (MWS) was to provide open irrigation well, free of cost, to poor small and marginal farmers belonging to SC/ST category.

5. Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) was introduced for providing houses, free of cost to SC/ST families. Now this facility is extended to other poor families too.

6. Pradan Manthri Gramodaya Yojana: Gramin Awas (PMRY)
The PMRY: GAwas launched on 1st April, 2000. The programme aims at providing the housing needs of the rural people.

7. National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) 2005: In August 2005, the Parliament has passed a new Act known as National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005. The act provides guaranteed wage employment to every household whose adult volunteer is to do unskilled manual work for a minimum of 100 days in a year. Thj act came into force from 2nd February 2006 and implemented in India’s 200 most backward districts. Later on it was extended to all over the country in two phases. The programme was later on renamed as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGP) or commonly called Employment Assurance Scheme.

Social Security Programmes: There are not many programmes for the social security of the poor. However, there are some centrally sponsored schemes. They are as follows:

  • Old-age pension for the elderly who are without support.
  • Financial support in the event of the death of the breadwinner.
  • Support for women of poor households on pregnancy.

Food Security Programmes: It is essential to ensure food security to the masses. As we know, though there js sufficient production of food grains, millions of people are starving in the country. The problem is mainly of distribution. To overcome these several measures are taken by the government. They are as follows:

1. Public distribution system (PDS): Foodgrains are made available at cheaper prices and distributed through Fair Price Shops, ration shops, Maveli Stores, Neethi Stores etc.

2. Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS): The TPDS initiated in June 1997 aims at ensuring the availability of food grains to BPL families.

3. Integrated Child Development Schemes (ICDS): A nutrition programme meant for children below 6 years of age, pregnant and lactating women.

4. Mid-day Meal at School: Mid-day Meal at School is in operation in several states. The programme was launched in all India level on 15th August 1995.

5. Annapurna Scheme: This programme was commenced from 2000-01. Poor old people who are not getting old-age pensions are covered under this scheme.

6. Antyodaya Anna Yojana: This scheme is launched for the poorest of the poor. Under this scheme, food grains are made available to very poor families at a highly subsidised price.