• Development is the sum total of income plus quality of life. Besides seeking more income one way or another, people also seek things like equal treatment, freedom, security, respect of others etc.
• Different people have different goals in their life. What may be development for one may not be development for another. This can be understood by the following example : To get more electricity, an industrialist may want more dams. But this may submerge the land and disrupt the lives of people who are displaced, such as tribes.
• One common thing among all people is the desire for more income. With this income they buy goods and services for their daily needs. Quality of life depends on non-material things also. Example - A job may give you less pay but may offer regular employment that enhances your sense of security.
• Ideas of development differ at individual and national level. For example, a landless rural labourer may desire more days of work and better wages at individual level; but at national level he may want good educational and health facilities in local area.
• The average income can be calculated by dividing national income by the population. It is also called per capita income.
• Standard of living of people in a country depends on their per capita income. Countries with higher per capita income are more developed than others with less per capita income.
• Education and health also play an important role in the country’s development. To know about other criteria we sould be familiar with some terms :
  Infant Mortality Rate (IMF) : It indicates the number of children who die before the age of one year, as a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year.
  Literacy Rate : It measures the proportion of literate population in the 7 and above age group.
• Net Attendance Ratio : It is the total number of children of age group 6-10 attending school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group.
• Public facilities are those which are provided by the government to satisfy collective needs of the people. Example – schools, hospitals, community halls etc. It is the best and the cheapest way to provide these goods and services collectively.
• Human development index is the quality of life-index prepared by UNDP. It has mainly three indicators.
• Life Expectancy at Birth : It denotes average expected length of life of a person at the time of birth.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio : It shows enrolment ratio in primary schools, secondary schools and in higher education.
• Per Capita Income : It is calculated in dollars for all countries so that it can be compared.
• Adding all the three indicators and dividing by 3, gives the human development index :

HDI = (LE index + GER index + Per capita income index)/3

LE = Life expectancy
GER = Gross enrolment ratio

• Human Development Report published by UNDP is useful for comparison between different countries regarding the educational level of their people, their health status and real per capita income.
• Sustainable development is that process which fulfills the needs of present generation, without causing any harm to the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs.
• It requires preservation of stock of resources including exhaustible natural resources and environmental resources.
• Recent studies show that groundwater in India is exhausted because of overuse. 1/3 of the country is overusing its groundwater reserves
• Another area is exhaustion of natural resources. The resources of crude oil would last only for 43 years more.