Assertion (A): China is ahead of India and Pakistan on many human development indicators.
Reason (R): China set up special economic zones in order to attract foreign investors.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Assertion (A): China is ahead of India and Pakistan on many human development indicators. — True. China does better than India and Pakistan on many human development indicators.
Reason (R): China set up special economic zones in order to attract foreign investors. — True. Special economic zones were one of China’s reform measures.
A is about China’s lead in human development. R is about a step China took to bring in foreign investment.
Why R does not explain A? Special economic zones bring foreign investment; they are not the source of China’s better health and education. The real reason is the pre-reform strategy: before 1978 China had already built up infrastructure in education and health and had extended basic health services massively in rural areas.
NCERT (2026-27): “Recap China is ahead of India and Pakistan on many human development indicators. However these improvements were attributed not to the reform process but the strategies that China adopted in the pre-reform period.” “8.6 Development Strategies — an Appraisal … It was found that establishment of infrastructure in the areas of education and health, land reforms, long existence of decentralised planning and existence of small enterprises had helped positively in improving the social and income indicators in the post reform period. Before the introduction of reforms, there had already been massive extension of basic health services in rural areas.” “8.2 Developmental Path—a Snapshot View … In order to attract foreign investors, special economic zones were set up.” |