Social - People as a Resource

INTRODUCTION -

Population becomes human capital when there is investment made in the form of education, training and medical care. Human capital is the stock of skill and productive knowledge.

Existing productive skills and abilities of a countries working people. Population as a productive aspect emphasis contributes to the increase of the gross national product. A well-developed human resource base can lead to increased productivity and, consequently, a higher GNP, as more educated and healthier individuals are likely to earn higher incomes and contribute more effectively to the economy.

Population is a human resource (positive aspect of a large population). Negative aspects of a large population can be providing food, education and access to health facilities.

Human resource is further developed by becoming more educated and healthy — human capital formation which adds to the productive power of the economy of the country — physical capital formation. ‘

Human capital formation' refers to the process of enhancing the skills, knowledge, and health of a population, thereby increasing its productivity and economic contribution. Investing in education, training, and healthcare transforms the existing 'human resource' into a more valuable asset for the economy. When individuals receive better education, they acquire skills that enable them to perform tasks more efficiently and effectively, leading to higher productivity. Similarly, when people are healthier, they are more capable of working consistently and at higher levels of output. This improvement in human capital parallels 'physical capital formation,' which involves investments in tangible assets like machinery and infrastructure that also boost productivity. The excerpt highlights that both forms of capital—human and physical—yield returns on investment. For instance, educated individuals tend to earn higher incomes due to their increased productivity, while healthier individuals can contribute more effectively to the workforce. Therefore, just as investments in physical capital enhance the economy's productive capacity, so too do investments in human capital, ultimately driving economic growth and improving the overall standard of living.

Investment in human capital (education, training, medical care) yields return like investment in physical capital. Higher incomes earned because of higher productivity of educated / trained persons — higher productivity of healthier people. Educated and healthier people gain more higher incomes but society also gain in other indirect ways — more educated or a healthier population spreads to those who themselves were not educated or given medical care.

Human capital is superior to other resources — land and physical capital, because human resource makes use of it. land and physical capital cannot be useful on their own.

Large population was considered a liability rather than an asset. But large population can be turned into a productive asset by investment in human capital. example - spending resources on education and health care, training agricultural and industrial workers to use modern technology, useful scientific researches, etc.

Investment in human resource (education, training, health care) can give high rates of return in the future. Investment in people is the same as investment in land and capital.

Return on investments on a child — higher earnings and greater contributions to the society. Educated parents invest more heavily on the future of their child — because they have realised the importance of education for themselves, they are conscious of proper nutrition and hygiene, look after their child‘s needs for education and good health. A virtuous cycle is created in this case. In contrast, the cycle may continue by disadvantaged parents who are uneducated and lacking in hygiene, keep their children in the same state.

Educated parents, who understand the value of education and health, invest more in their children's education and well-being. This investment leads to better opportunities and higher earnings for the children, which in turn allows them to provide better education and health for their own children in the future. The excerpt highlights that educated parents are more conscious of their children's needs, creating a cycle of improvement. As they invest in their children's education and health, the children grow up to be more productive and capable, thus contributing positively to society and breaking the cycle of disadvantage. This contrasts with a vicious cycle, where uneducated and disadvantaged parents may perpetuate a lack of investment in their children's education and health, keeping them in a state of disadvantage.

Other countries like Japan have invested in human resource. These countries are developed / rich. They import the natural resources needed for their country. How have they become rich / developed? — They have invested in people, esp. in health and education. They make efficient use of their land and capital. Efficiency and the technology evolved by these people helped develop the country.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES BY MEN AND WOMEN -

Various activities have been classified into three main sectors — primary, secondary and tertiary.

Primary Sector - agriculture, forestry,animal husbandry, fishing, poultry, farming, mining and quarrying. Secondary Sector - Manufacturing. Tertiary Sector - Trade, transport,communication, banking, education, health, tourism, services, insurance, etc. Activities in this sector result in the production of goods and services. These activities add value to the national income — called economic activities.

Economic Activities have two parts — market activities and non-market activities. Market Activities - remuneration (compensation or payment received by an individual for their work or services) to anyone who performs i.e., activity performed for payor profit. These include production of goods or services, including government service. Non-Market Activities -- production for self-consumption. These can be consumption and processing of primary product and own account production of fixed assets.

Women generally look after domestic chores while the mean work in the fields. Women are not paid for their service delivered in the family. The household work done by women is not recognised in the National Income. Women are paid for their work when they enter the labour market. Their earning like that of their male counterpart is determined on the basis of their education and skill.

Education and skill are the major factors of the earning of any individual in the market. A majority of women have a meagre education and low skill formation. Women are paid less compared to men. They have no job security. Activities related to legal protection is minimal.Employment in this sector is characterised by irregular and low income. Absence of basic facilities such as — maternity leave, childcare, social security systems, etc. However women with high education and skill formation are paid at the same level as men. Teaching and Medicine sector attracts them the most. Some women have entered administrative and other services that require high levels of scientific and technological competence.

QUALITY OF POPULATION -

Depends upon — literacy rate, health of a person indicated by life expectancy, skill formation acquired by the people. The quality of the population ultimately decides the growth rate of the country. Literacy and healthy population are an asset.

EDUCATION - It enhances the national income, cultural richness and the efficiency of governance. There is a provision made for providing universal access, retention and quality in elementary education — with an emphasis on girls. Setting up schools like Navodaya Vidyalaya in each district. Literacy is not only a right, it is also needed if the citizens are to perform their duties and enjoy their rights properly. Over the past 60 years, there has been a significant growth in the number of university and institutions of higher learning in specialised areas.

STATISTICS - The plan outlay on education has increased from Rs 151 crore in the first plan to Rs 99,300 crore in 2020–21. The expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP rose from 0.64% in 1951–52 to 3.1% in 2019–20 (B.E.) and has remained stagnant around 3% from past few years. The Budgetary Estimate as stated in the Budget Documents of Union State Governments, Reserve Bank of India, the expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP has declined to 2.8%in 2020–21 (B.E.) The literacy rates have increased from 18% in 1951 to 85% in 2018. Literacy among males is nearly 16.1% higher than females and it is about 14.2% higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas. As per 2011 census, literacy rates varied from 94% in Kerala to 62% in Bihar. The primary school system (I–V) has expanded to over 7,78,842 lakh in 2019–20. Large expansion of schools has been diluted by the poor quality of schooling and high dropout rates. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a significant step towards providing elementary education to all children in the age group of 6–14 years by 2010. Mid-day meal scheme has been implemented to encourage attendance and retention of children and improve their nutritional status. These policies could add to the literate population of India. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education in the age group of 18 to 23 years is 27% in 2019–20.

HEALTH - The health of a person helps him to realise his/her potential and the ability to fight illness. He/ She will not be able to maximize his/her output to the overall growth of the organization. Health is an indispensable basis for realising one’s well-being. Improvement in the health status of the population has been the priority of the country. Our national policy aims at improving the accessibility of healthcare, family welfare and nutritional service with focus on the underprivileged segment of the population.

STATISTICS - These measures, which have been adopted, have increased the life expectancy to over 67.2 years in 2021. *Infant mortality rate (IMR) has comedown from 147 in 1951 to 28 in 2020.**Crude birth rates have dropped to 20.0 (2020) and ***death rates to 6(2020) within the same duration of time. Increase in life expectancy and improvement in childcare are useful in assessing the future progress of the country. Increase in longevity of life is an indicator of good quality of life. Reduction in infant mortality involves the protection of children from infection, ensuring the nutrition of both the mother and the child, and childcare.

UNEMPLOYMENT -

Unemployment is said to exist when people who are willing to work at the going wages cannot find jobs. The workforce population includes people from 15 years to 59 years. In India we have unemployment in rural and urban areas. Nature of unemployment varies from rural to urban areas. However, the nature of unemployment differs in rural and urban areas. In case of rural areas, there is seasonal and disguised unemployment. Urban areas have mostly educated unemployment.

Seasonal Unemployment - Happens when people are not able to find jobs during some months of the year. People dependant upon agriculture usually face this problem. There are certain busy seasons when sowing, harvesting, weeding and threshing is done. Certain months do not provide much work to the people dependant on agriculture.

Disguised Unemployment - People appear to be employed. They have agricultural plot where they find work. This usually happens among family members engaged in agricultural activity. example - The work requires the service of five people but engages eight people. Three people are extra. These three people also work in the same plot as the others. The contribution made by the three extra people does not add to the contribution made by the five people. If three people are removed the productivity of the field will not decline. The field requires the service of five people and the three extra people are disguised unemployed.

Educated Unemployment - Many youth with matriculation, graduation and postgraduation degrees are not able to find jobs. Inability of educated people who are willing to work to find gainful employment implies a great social waste.

Unemployment leads to wastage of manpower resource. People who are asset to for the economy turn into a liability. It increases economic overload — dependence on working population increases. Increase in unemployment is an indicator of a depressed economy. It also wastes the resource which could have been gainfully employed. If people cannot be a resource they naturally appear as a liability to the economy.

In india — statistically unemployment rate is low. low income and productivity counted as employed. appear to work throughout the year but income is not sufficient for them. poor people engage in any activity despite its earning potential — keeps them on a subsistence level.

employment structure in primary level is characterised by self employment.

agriculture — most labour-absorbing sector of the economy. some of the surplus moved to secondary sector — small-scale manufacturing and tertiary sector — biotechnology, information technology.