Human Capital Formation In India NCERT Solution

• Bring out the need for on-the-job-training for a person.
  
  Answer: On the job training is very important for any job. It involves training the person suitable skills which are relevant to the job. Responsibilities and challenges keep on changing in a job and hence, on the job training is a continuous process. By providing on the job training an organization ensures that the employee becomes more skillful and thus more productive.
• Discuss the need for promoting women’s education in India.
  
  Answer: India is a patriarchal society in which there is too much gender-based discrimination. Most of the thinkers believe that educating a woman helps in educating the family and subsequently the society. Women’s education is found to have positive effect on reducing the family size as it helps in reducing fertility. As the example of developed nations show, greater participation of women in the workforce helps in economic growth of the nation.
• Argue in favour of the need for different forms of government intervention in education and health sectors.
  
  Answer: As this chapter shows, investment in education and health is important for human capital formation. But normal consumers usually do not have enough information about the institutions which provide these services. Private providers of these services often acquire the monopoly status.
• What are the main problems of human capital formation in India?
  
  Answer: Some of the problems of human capital formation in India are discussed as follows. A large section of the population is so poor that is cannot afford even the basic education and healthcare facilities. Most of the people cannot afford to get treatment at super speciality hospitals. Similarly, most of the people cannot afford to get higher education. The government expenditure on education and healthcare has been increasing over the years but in terms of percentage of GDP it is not adequate.
• In your view, is it essential for the government to regulate the fee structure in education and health care institutions? If so, why?
  
  Answer: Profit maximization is a major goal of most of the private institutions. More often than not, private institutions in education and healthcare sector indulge in exploitation of their consumers. As we know most of the people are not in a position to afford the expenses for these institutions. Moreover, education and healthcare not only provide benefit to the individual but to the whole society. Hence, it is essential for the government to regulate the fee structure in education and healthcare institutions.

• Education is considered to be an important input for the development of a nation. How?
  
  Answer: It is a fact that an educated person earns higher income than an uneducated manual labourer. In a factory, a shop-floor worker earns much less than people at managerial level and this difference is because of difference in skills and education. To understand it better, we can compare the situation in India with that in Ireland. It is said that Ireland is a country which uses its knowledge economy very efficiently. If India begins to use its knowledge economy as efficiently as Ireland does then its per capita income would improve from current level of $ 1,000 to $ 3,000 by 2020. This illustrates why education is considered to be an important input for the development of a nation.
• Discuss the following as a source of human capital formation
  • Health infrastructure
    
    Answer: Investment on health infrastructure helps in making healthy citizens which can lead a long life. A healthy worker would be in a position to utilize maximum number of working days and hence his productivity would be better than an unhealthy worker. Thus, health infrastructure is an important source of human capital formation.
  • Expenditure on migration.
    
    Answer: People often migrate in search of better employment opportunities. Migration involves various costs. One of the costs involved in migration is the cost of travel. Another cost is the higher cost of living in a bigger place. Additionally, migration also involves psychological costs of settling in an alien cultural environment.
• Establish the need for acquiring information relating to health and education expenditure for the effective utilisation of human resources.
  
  Answer: Information relating to health and education expenditure reveals many aspects. It shows relative number of people who can afford education and healthcare expenses and those who cannot. This figure can be utilized in deciding the current number of available human resources. This figure also helps in deciding about the section of the society which needs help from government agencies. Thus, information relating to health and education expenditure is essential for effective utilization of human resources.
• How does investment in human capital contribute to growth?
  
  Answer: Human capital is a means to achieve and improve economic productivity. Investment in human capital helps in building the human capital for the economy. Investment in education helps in preparing qualified and skilled human resources. Similarly, investment in health helps in preparing healthy human resources which can be better at productivity. A better productivity of the human resources helps in economic growth of the nation.