“People are not participants in development but only passive recipien…

The correct answer is Option (4) → Welfare Approach

Option (1) Income Approach — Incorrect. One of the oldest approaches, it links human development to income: the higher the income, the more freedom a person enjoys. It says nothing about people being passive recipients.

Option (2) Basic Need Approach — Incorrect. Proposed by the ILO, it stresses six basic needs — health, education, food, water supply, sanitation and housing. It ignores human choices, but it is not described in terms of people as recipients of government spending.

Option (3) Capability Approach — Incorrect. Linked to Prof. Amartya Sen, it treats building human capabilities in health, education and access to resources as the key, which makes people active, not passive.

Option (4) Welfare Approach — Correct. It looks at people as beneficiaries or targets of all development activities and asks for higher government spending on education, health and amenities. People are not participants but only passive recipients; the government is responsible for raising human development.

Note: The same question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2026 on 14-05-2026 (Slot 1), and in CUET (UG) 2025 on 26-05-2025 (Slot 1).