Indian Economy Textbook Questions – Human Development: Concept and HDI · UNDP Composite Indices (GDI, GII, IHDI, MPI, PHDI) · PQLI and Other Indices · India in the Human Development Reports · Inter-State Comparison (SDG India Index, Health Index, MPI) · Tamil Nadu Human Development Reports · Tamil Nadu and India Compared (Part 1)
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SDGs: UN resolution 70/1 (25.9.2015), 17 goals and 169 targets; they came into effect on 1.1.2016, not 2015, so statement 3 is wrong.
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Indian Economy Textbook Questions – Human Development: Concept and HDI · UNDP Composite Indices (GDI, GII, IHDI, MPI, PHDI) · PQLI and Other Indices · India in the Human Development Reports · Inter-State Comparison (SDG India Index, Health Index, MPI) · Tamil Nadu Human Development Reports · Tamil Nadu and India Compared (Part 1) – 20 questions, subject: Economy. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.
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1.
In which year was the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) established by the UN General Assembly?
Correct Answer: B [1965]
Explanation:
UNDP was set up by the UN General Assembly in 1965 by merging two earlier UN programmes. 1945 = UN founded; 1990 = first HDR.
2.
Which report opened with the sentence “People are the wealth of nations”?
Correct Answer: C [Human Development Report 1990]
Explanation:
UNDP's first Human Development Report (1990) opens with "People are the wealth of nations".
3.
In the UNDP classification, countries with an HDI value of 0.800 or above belong to which group?
Correct Answer: D [Very high human development]
Explanation:
HDR 2025 cut-offs: very high ≥ 0.800; high 0.700–0.799; medium 0.550–0.699; low < 0.550.
4.
How is UNDP’s Gender Development Index (GDI) calculated?
Correct Answer: A [Female HDI ÷ Male HDI]
Explanation:
GDI = female HDI ÷ male HDI (HDR 2025 Technical Notes). India: 0.631 ÷ 0.722 = 0.874.
5.
Match the UNDP index with the Human Development Report that introduced it:
| a. HDI | 1. HDR 1995 |
| b. GDI | 2. HDR 2020 |
| c. GII | 3. HDR 1990 |
| d. PHDI | 4. HDR 2010 |
Correct Answer: C [3 1 4 2]
Explanation:
HDI = HDR 1990; GDI = HDR 1995; GII = HDR 2010; PHDI = HDR 2020.
6.
Who devised the Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI)?
Correct Answer: D [Morris D. Morris]
Explanation:
PQLI = Morris D. Morris (1979). HDI = Mahbub ul Haq (UNDP); GNH term = King Jigme Singye Wangchuck; HDI1–HDI4 = Biswajit Guha.
7.
As per the Human Development Report 2025 (2023 data), what is India’s HDI rank?
Correct Answer: B [130 out of 193]
Explanation:
HDR 2025 (6.5.2025): HDI 0.685, 130 of 193, medium human development. 134 = HDR 2023/24; 132 = HDR 2021/22; 131/188 = HDR 2016.
8.
Match the Human Development Report with India’s HDI value published in it:
| a. HDR 2016 | 1. 0.633 |
| b. HDR 2021/22 | 2. 0.685 |
| c. HDR 2023/24 | 3. 0.624 |
| d. HDR 2025 | 4. 0.644 |
Correct Answer: A [3 1 4 2]
Explanation:
HDR 2016 = 0.624; HDR 2021/22 = 0.633; HDR 2023/24 = 0.644; HDR 2025 = 0.685 (each as published in that report).
9.
What were Tamil Nadu’s score and rank in NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index 2023-24?
Correct Answer: D [78; 3rd]
Explanation:
PIB 12.7.2024: Tamil Nadu 78 (66 in 2018), 3rd. 79 = Kerala and Uttarakhand (joint first); 71 = India's score.
10.
According to the Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 2017, which district is last in HDI?
Correct Answer: C [Ariyalur]
Explanation:
TNHDR 2017: Ariyalur 0.282 (last), Kanniyakumari 0.944 (first). Dharmapuri was last and Chennai first in the 2003 report.
11.
Match the items relating to the Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 2003:
| a. Top district | 1. 0.657 |
| b. Last district | 2. Chennai |
| c. State HDI | 3. 29 |
| d. Number of districts | 4. Dharmapuri |
Correct Answer: B [2 4 1 3]
Explanation:
TNHDR 2003: first Chennai (0.757); last Dharmapuri (0.584); State HDI 0.657; HDI computed for 29 districts.
12.
According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2023, what is the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of Tamil Nadu?
Correct Answer: D [12]
Explanation:
SRS 2023: Tamil Nadu 12, India 25 (per 1,000 live births). 35 = TN's MMR (SRS 2021-23, earlier level); 41 = TN's IMR in 2004.
13.
Match the Human Development Report with what it introduced:
| a. HDR 1990 | 1. IHDI, GII, MPI |
| b. HDR 1995 | 2. Human Development Index (HDI) |
| c. HDR 2010 | 3. Planetary pressures-adjusted HDI (PHDI) |
| d. HDR 2020 | 4. GDI, GEM |
Correct Answer: A [2 4 1 3]
Explanation:
HDR 1990 = HDI; HDR 1995 = GDI, GEM; HDR 2010 = IHDI, GII, MPI; HDR 2020 = PHDI (planetary pressures-adjusted HDI).
14.
Which statements about Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen are correct?
- Mahbub ul Haq was a former Finance Minister of Pakistan.
- Amartya Sen initially resisted the single-number HDI.
- Mahbub ul Haq won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998.
Correct Answer: C [1, 2 only]
Explanation:
Haq was Pakistan's former Finance Minister; Sen first resisted a single-number HDI. Sen, not Haq, won the Nobel in 1998.
15.
Match the HDR year with the HDI feature introduced then:
| a. 1990 | 1. Mean years of schooling (1/3) added to education |
| b. 1991 | 2. Geometric mean and GNI per capita |
| c. 1995 | 3. Adult literacy alone for education |
| d. 2010 | 4. Combined gross enrolment ratio (1/3) added to education |
Correct Answer: B [3 1 4 2]
Explanation:
1990: adult literacy only; 1991–93: mean years of schooling added (⅓); 1995: gross enrolment ratio (⅓); 2010: geometric mean, GNI per capita.
16.
Which statements about the HDI goalposts in HDR 2025 are correct?
- Life expectancy has a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 85 years.
- The maximum for mean years of schooling is 15 years.
- The maximum for GNI per capita is $40,000 (PPP).
Correct Answer: D [1, 2 only]
Explanation:
Life expectancy 20–85; mean schooling 0–15; GNI per capita max $75,000 (2021 PPP). The $40,000 cap is the old method dropped in 2010.
17.
Which of the following statements about UNDP indices are correct?
- In a country with no inequality, the IHDI equals the HDI.
- The PHDI adjusts the HDI using carbon dioxide emissions per capita and material footprint per capita.
- The reproductive health dimension of the GII includes the maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent birth rate.
Correct Answer: B [1, 2, 3]
Explanation:
All three correct: with no inequality IHDI = HDI; PHDI adjusts for CO2 and material footprint per capita; GII has MMR and adolescent births.
18.
Assertion (A): As per HDR 2025, India’s Gender Inequality Index (0.403) is lower than the South Asia average (0.458).
Reason (R): The GII is computed from three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market.
கூற்று–காரண வினாக்களுக்கான தேர்வுகள்
(A) கூற்றும் காரணமும் சரி; காரணம் கூற்றுக்குச் சரியான விளக்கம்
(B) கூற்றும் காரணமும் சரி; ஆனால் காரணம் சரியான விளக்கம் அல்ல
(C) கூற்று சரி; காரணம் தவறு
(D) கூற்று தவறு; காரணம் சரி
Options for Assertion–Reason questions
(A) Both A and R are true; R is the correct explanation of A
(B) Both A and R are true; R is not the correct explanation of A
(C) A is true; R is false
(D) A is false; R is true
Correct Answer: B []
Explanation:
Both true, but R only describes how GII is built; it does not explain why India's value is lower.
19.
Match the index with the body that created or publishes it:
| a. Human Capital Index (HCI) | 1. Ministry of Statistics (MoSPI) |
| b. Human Development Index (HDI) | 2. World Bank |
| c. Gross National Happiness (GNH) | 3. UNDP |
| d. SDG National Indicator Framework (NIF) | 4. Bhutan |
Correct Answer: C [2 3 4 1]
Explanation:
HCI is by the World Bank (2018), HDI by UNDP (1990), GNH by Bhutan, and the SDG National Indicator Framework by MoSPI (284 indicators in 2025).
20.
Which statements about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are correct?
- The 2030 Agenda was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25.9.2015.
- It has 17 goals and 169 targets.
- These goals came into effect from 1.1.2015.
Correct Answer: D [1, 2 only]
Explanation:
SDGs: UN resolution 70/1 (25.9.2015), 17 goals and 169 targets; they came into effect on 1.1.2016, not 2015, so statement 3 is wrong.
? Full lessons and explanations – Indian Economy PDF textbook (₹299): www.shanmugamiasacademy.in/study-materials/tnpsc-gs-unit-5-indian-economy
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Here you get the answer with a one-line explanation. NPSC பொது அறிவு அலகு V — தமிழகப் பொருளாதாரம் முழுவதும் · 10 அத்தியாயங்கள் · 400 பயிற்சி வினாக்கள் விடை + விளக்கத்துடன் · அட்டவணைகள், காலவரிசைகள், மனவரைபடங்கள் · அக்டோபர் 2026 வரையிலான தரவுகள்
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